Spring Break.....Not Really A Break

What

This past Spring Break my friends and I thought we’d take a fun, relaxing vacation to Florida to get away from problems and conflicts at school.  With a group of 8 girls, this was anything but relaxing.  Although, many were my best friends there were conflicts amongst us that we had to creatively resolve so that everyone was satisfied.  

So What

Understand conflict was a sign of a healthy team, helped me cope with the disagreements we were having.  For example one evening some of us wanted to go out to eat, however the other half wanted to stay in the hotel for the night.  We had agreed that we would all stick together while in Florida, therefore we had to use our negotiation skills in order to improve our social relations.  Collaborating everyone’s ideas, we divided up the week so that half the time we went out, while other other half we stayed in.  To understand why team conflict occurs and how it can be managed effectively go to http://conflict911.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=11682.  

While this seemed like a great idea, some of the girls used their persuasive power to influence others to change their decisions about the week.  As Levi says, “Power tends to corrupt its users.”  It’s difficult to stand up for yourself when the majority are pushing you to do something you don’t want to do.  In this situation, assertiveness was the best solution because it encourages clear, direct communication.  Because she was assertive she was able to stand up for what she wanted even though she was a "low-status" person (non talkative), which has shown that people are more reluctant to state their opinions when they are less talkative.  

Now What

After this experience, I feel that I can handle conflicts in a group with more rational decision-making.  The Consensus Decision Making technique seems to best develop higher dynamics within a team.  Having a facilitator provides structure to a group and a final say while making a decision.  For a more in depth understanding of Consensus Decision Making go to http://www.actupny.org/documents/CDdocuments/Consensus.html.  Understanding the Models of Leadership definitely helped me when dealing with why conflict was occurring.  Being a behavioral and situational leader, allows me to make decisions based on someone’s behaviors in a certain environment.  To learn more about situational leadership as well as other styles go to http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/situational_leadership.htm.

It's the Process

What

After completing one semester previously on team-based learning I felt that working in my new group this semester would be a breeze.  Little did I realize that working with new group members completely changes the socialization, norms, and processes of the team as a whole.  For the Service Learning Project, my team has good communication skills and cooperates with each other for the most part.  As far as team beginnings, we have come to understand it truly is a slow start.  With the many phone calls, emails, and ideas we are having trouble landing on one solid idea for our Service Learning Project.  As Levi explains, understanding the stage theories helps explain why groups do most of their productive work during the later stages of projects.  I am hoping one we get over this hill, as all groups face conflict, we will become much more efficient.  After getting out of the storming stages, I believe my group has the ability to perform the assignment successful with our improving group dynamics.   For help on improving group cohesiveness and team building go to http://www.mascsa.psu.edu/dave/Group-Cohesion-and-Team-Building.pdf.    

 

So What

Because we are a new group, it is hard to get away from social loafing.  For more information about social loafing go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_loafing.   We try to please each other and support other’s ideas, however in order to be most efficient it is essential to have open communication.  We are all motivated individuals, therefore like to all have input on decisions for our group.  This may be causing a part of the issue we are having being indecisive.  I think once we buckle down on an idea, we are going to do great because of our commitment and hard work. 

 

Now What

Completing task behaviors, while maintaining social behaviors, and gaining individual benefit is our goal.  As a strong-willed team, I feel that our competition is against ourselves to do the best we can do.  After the struggles to come up with a project idea, we are now settling down and finalizing our ideas through stronger leadership in our group process.  For more information on strong leaders in the group process go to  http://www.clarityconceptsinc.com/leadershipgroupproc.pdf. 

The Ins and Outs of Teams

What?

This past week I’ve been working on a graphic design project with two other people in my class.  The professor told us to get into groups, and so we did.  However are we really just a “group”(http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/team_vs_group.html) -provides more information on the differences of groups and teams.  A group is a number of individuals working to complete some sort of task.  I believe we are more than a group, but instead a team.  A team is a special type of group in which people work interdependently to accomplish a goal.  We are completing a task, while maintaining social relations, and gaining individual benefit.   We are all very goal oriented and motivated, while still using each other to bounce ideas from one another to make an event better project. 

So What?

Because our team is a small collection of people we organized specific roles to each other first, and then brought our own ideas together to collaborate.  As a team, we all are accountable for our own parts and doing the work we should.  Luckily, we had the right group of people and were suitable for the tasks given to us.  With our creative minds, we enjoyed working on this project together, and kept great relations with each other as well.  With just a little conflict of ideas, we were able to have a strong group dynamic because we came over our issue with a better solution together. (http://wilderdom.com/games/InitiativeGames.html)- Provides helpful Team building activities to improve group dynamics.  

Now what?

Our group accomplished our task project, however are still waiting on the feedback and grade from the professor.  As far as determining the success, according to Hackman, we completed the task and are proud of our work. (http://www.ou.edu/faculty/M/Jorge.L.Mendoza-1/Teams.pdf)- Provides information on team development and obtaining goals.  We also maintained good social relations by using each other’s strengths to greater benefit the team and did not get in any bad conflicts we weren’t able to over come.  Lastly, we all benefitted individually because we all learned something new from each other about design, which furthered our education and knowledge of the subject.   As a team we knew we could rely on each other and worked together to accomplish a common goal.        

What makes a Great Organization "Great"?

The Good to Great Readings were my favorite readings of the semester because I felt like this was directly applicable to my Organizational Project, as well as my future career opportunities.  Learning what makes a “great organization” different from just a “good organization” depends strongly on the traits of the individuals that make up the organization.  A Level 5 leader builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.  Having modest, passionate, disciplined individuals will make the organization successful no matter what.  For more information, watch this video of Jim Collins discussing what a level 5 leader is like http://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/level-5.html#audio=81. 

This leads to the importance of “First Who, Then What.”  According to Collins, its all about “getting the right people on the bus” in the first place.  I completely agree with Collins because once you have the “right” people on board, the rest will fall into place.  For our Organizational Group Project we weren’t able to pick our groups.  However, we ended up being lucky because we do have the “right” people on board for our team project.  We are all self-motivated which makes completely our tasks that much easier for the team. 

After working in our groups for a while I felt it was refreshing when the Culture Maven came to speak to us about what makes her Organization successful.  She talked about how being engaged and honest with the organization will make it that much better.  For example, she would talk to employees one on one to get real, honest feedback.  Being able to confront the “Brutal Facts” of an organization is a key component of resolving issues and moving forward.  This helps in our own group when we come across problems that need to be fixed quickly.  Knowing that we can be upfront with each other builds our team dynamics and brings us closer.  For tips on improving your team dynamics, read this http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/blog/how_can_i_improve_team_dynamics_021635.html. 

I think the most important concept of Unit 5 was the “Hedgehog Concept.”  The Hedgehog Concept is an understanding of what an organization can be the best at in the world.  This is necessary for the core of a business, otherwise you can’t form your Hedgehog Concept.  To watch a video of Jim Collins describing the Hedgehog Concept watch this video http://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/hedgehog-concept.html#audio=79. 

In the future, I want to work for an organization that has strong core leadership, and a place where the individuals are the “right” people on board.  Understanding the importance of not relying on technology or skipping the steps of building momentum in a company and going straight for the breakthrough really makes a “great organization.”  Taking these concepts into my own Organizational Project will help my group be more successful.    

Organizational Culture - It's Important!

Our group dynamics is very much based on the Organic Model of Organizational Structure.  Although each of us is assigned a certain task, we encourage cross-functional teamwork and free flow of information so that everyone in the group knows what is going on at all times.   There is low formalization and decentralization through everyone communicating together on the same hierarchical level.  We value the power of the team and the trust that each member is pulling an equal weight in this Organizational Project.  I think our team has had a high performance rate, shown in our RATs, as well as the progression in our group project.  Having loser structure in our teams allows us to be more innovative and have a positive, stress free work environment, while still meeting deadlines and accomplishing our goals.  For more info on Organizational Structure and Leadership go to http://www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/schein.html. 

I’m satisfied with our work environment, however if an organizations is not pleased with their work environment, it is not too late to change the culture.  The Organizational Culture is the overall subjective perception of the organization based on factors such as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people  (go to http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt4ch16.html to find out more about Organizational Culture).  Although it is possible to change an organization’s culture, this will not take place over night.  How an organization impacts their employees determines job performance and satisfaction.  Having the Culture Maven from Rackspace come into talk to our class really allowed me to apply this information into the real world work force.  I was really interested in how she spent all her time analyzing the culture of her company and making sure the employees were completely satisfied with how everything is going.

“Happy employees = happy costumers.”  This phrase that the culture maven talked about truly sums up the importance of having a great organizational culture.  Going from good to great means just this for an organization.  Having healthy, happy employees will lead to a higher performance rate, which increases costumer’s satisfaction with the company.  Our group for the Organizational Project is using this as a driving force behind our work ethic.  Having positive attitudes allows us to work better together, as well as interview workers for the Collegiate Times in a more beneficial manner.   

Along with the Organizational Culture of a company, comes change.  Managers are the primary change agents in most organizations. Organizations have to keep up with their competitors by bringing more innovative and better ideas to the table.  If an organization’s culture cannot adapt to changes, then there will be no growth in that organization.  Having that low stress level of staying on top allows companies to strive higher and perform better at their jobs.  However, long-term stress plays a toll on the employee’s and can lower performance.  This applies to our Organizational Group Project because we keep our stress level lower to allow us to perform better as a team.  For tips on lower stress at work go to http://helpguide.org/mental/work_stress_management.htm.  

This unit, as well as the guest speaker, has really helped me in thinking about what kind of organization I want to work for.  I now know how important the culture of a company is, and that this will play a significant factor when I’m out interning and looking for a job in the future.  I am also applying the knowledge of the different structures of organizations to our team dynamics so that we can have a high performance out come. 

 

There’s no I in TEAM!

There are many different leadership theories that could go along with the success of our team dynamics.  Whether it’s the Big Five personality framework to the leader-member exchange theory (To take your own Personality Test go to àhttp://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/).  In this blog I’m going to discuss my personal experience in working and relate to this my Unit 3 readings.

This leadership class is the first class I’ve taken that focuses on the team dynamics (To watch a video on the importance of team dynamics go to à http://www.bnet.com/2422-13950_23-175110.html). Throughout high school, it seems that everything was independent and about the success of the individual.  After the readings in Unit 3, I have learned that the performance of the team is much higher than the performance of an individual.  For example, our groups always score higher on our team RATs versus our individual RATs because we are able to bounce ideas off one another.  As Robbins and Judge say, the effectiveness of teams depends on the team’s commitment.  We all trust each other to do our part for the greater good of the team’s outcome.  We are committed to the common goal of having a successful organizational project and all are driven to that one goal. 

Working in our teams for the organizational project has taught me a great deal about group behavior.  Role perception, norms, status differences, size of the group, and cohesiveness affect performanceand productivity.  Our team dynamic has been working great!  We have synergy and understand each other on a personal and professional level.  

Because our group is smaller and we are all on the same educational level, we communicate well leading to high performance.  Also, our cohesiveness as a group works because our personalities blend nicely, and we all have a driven work ethic.  I agree with Robbins and Judge, that smaller groups are more effective at action-taking tasks because as a smaller team we are able to get more accomplished.

Negotiation is also very important in the process of team activities to resolve conflicts.  So far, our team hasn’t had any major conflict.  We all listen to each other’s and collaborate on the best idea.  For example, while taking group RAT’s we will all listen to what each other thinks is the correct answer, but if only one person has a different answer from the rest that team member compromises (To learn more about team building and leadership go to à http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/teambuilding.html).

I’m proud of our team and the way we are handling our assignments.  For the future, I’m going to take what I have learned in this team setting and apply it to future team situations.

 

Leadership Blog- Unit 2

Working Together

As my summer job, I was a figure skating teacher for “Learn to Skate Lessons” at our local Ice Skating Rink.  After skating my whole life, what could be better than having a job getting paid while ice-skating!  My initial thoughts were that this would be a piece of cake; just helping others do what I do best.  However, I soon realized that there were many more aspects to coaching than just ice skating alone.  Understanding individual personalities, having the ability to make quick decisions, and perceiving the relation of different emotions and moods on how the students are performing, all helped build my leadership skills.

One particular incident I remember applies to the Unit 2 

readings very well.  It was a Friday and I was teaching my last group lesson before the weekend.  My usual six students all around the age of 5 were all bundled up and ready to go for their basic ice skating lesson.  I was tired from a long week, however in order to be a good leader I needed to put a smile on my face and be enthusiastic so that my students, as well as their parents, are excited about ice skating.  If I’m not in a good mood, then my students aren’t going to want to learn and the negative energy will spread, which is not what I want as a coach!  After about the first 10 minutes, the most talkative boy in the class fell on his knee after attempting to do swizzles (For more information on what swizzles are go toà  http://figureskating.about.com/od/glossaryofskatingterms/g/swizzles.htm .  He immediately started crying and I had to use my quick decision making skills

to solve this issue (For steps to learn about Rational Decision Making go to -- http://www.the-happy-manager.com/rational-decision-making-model.html .  After witnessing the fall and knowing that it wasn’t a painful fall, I picked him up off the ice and started talking to him.  I tried to distract him from what just happened by tickling him and joking around, saying “Oh I think your knee is still there, yep its still there, don’t worry you’re fine!”  The boy started laughing and I knew right away the pain didn’t upset him; rather he was just scared from the fall.  Instead of rushing him off the ice to his parents when he started crying, I made a better decision of helping him over come it and moving on with the class.

The rest of the ice-skating lesson went well and the whole group did  great.  As a coach, I need to motivate and encourage my students.  This is the key part to their success on the ice.  I used continuous reinforcement to in my classes by giving the kids high fives every time they successful completed a task.   I also used the operant conditioning learning style for the kids by giving them a sticker at the end of each class (For more information about Different Learning Theories go to à http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/theories.html.  This encouraged them to work hard to receive a sticker of accomplishment.  Even though each student had their own individual behavior and learning abilities, we worked together as a class to push the others who needed help.  As a leader I can now take all the experience I’ve learned from the summer and apply it to my daily life, whether its working in a group project or teaching lessons again next summer.