Create a blog posting describing how you can integrate supportive communication in your present position, utilize the guidelines detailed on page 265 and describe the expected outcomes that may result from your efforts.
The first guideline that I would like to utilize is point number four in supportive communications. It states "use problem-orientated statements; that is, focus on behavioral referents or characteristics of events, not attributes of the person" (Whetten, 2011). In my current facility, each person can approach the way the do their job in their own way. That is, as long as they are abiding by the technical rules laid out for us, they can operate at their own ability and understanding. In a lot of situations, people are called out for making a bad call or not making the correct judgment decisions. In some cases the people are singled out and reprimanded for their actions. What I would like to apply/implement is that we focus on the culture surrounding events and the characteristics that contributed to the error or problem. It could be that there is some weakness within the problem, but maybe the problem is within some other avenue. People can conform to change in the workplace, I think this supportive communication technique is important to that particular change. I would see a boost in moral and job appreciation if the facility was addressed, not the individual.
Secondly, I want to focus on "use specific rather than global statements, and, when trying to correct behavior, focus on things that are under the control of the other person rather than factors that cannot be changed" (Whetten, 2011). When a situation arises in my current workplace, there is a detailed look into why the situation evolved and who is to blame. In most cases (being contract), if the person working is to be at fault, they can be terminated for their lack of ability. In some cases, there is a failure to understand all of the third party influences that may be effecting a person and what those influences could do to make that person not preform at the top level. In recent years, sleeping has come under the lime light as a cause to some errors. Sleep deprivation and scheduling often play a huge part in why things happen in my career field. The companies involved are focusing to much on the basic approaches, such as how much sleep does the average person need and how can we make a better schedule. They need to look into specific situations that people are dealing with. An example would be a person with a newborn. Do they need to be on the hardest rotating schedule the facility has? Probably not. Because there are hierarchies to the schedule and tenure, the important influences that cause situations are unnoticed. It would be my goal to try and better understand the situation of each person. This was talked about in the first couple of weeks of class and getting to know someone could help the facility operate more smoothly.
Although there are ten different guidelines to help supportive communication, these are the two that I think I can best implement in the near future. It is important to understand your role in the facility as well as the role of your leadership. I fear that until I'm in a leadership role, the higher leadership will not listen, they assume everything runs smoothly and is the most efficient, so why take advice when they think they don't need it?
Whetten, D. & Cameron, K. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.). Pearson: Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
A520.3.1RB_SeabournBeau
What are a few words that describe your decision-making style?
- Rapid
- Informed
- Impulsive
What are the opposite of the words I chose?
- Slow
- Uninformed
- Calculated
Could you see any benefits to making decision using an approach that is based on either the opposites or somewhere in between and what outcome could you expect to see?
To answer the question in one word, yes. My decision making for many years has been impulsive and in some cases based on information that was biased or misleading. I have a natural tendency to get caught up in the heat of the moment and make irrational decisions based on emotion. What I have learned to do more recently is to slow down, gather all of the information about whatever subject it is, and then make an informed decision. My decision making style is changing as my graduate program moves along. Thus far, I have learned that perspective is a powerful tool and getting to know a situation or person is a good step to help hard problems get solved. Our text this week states that "diagnosing a situation so that the focus is on the real problem, not just it's symptoms"(Whetten,2011), is important. One of my personal traits is competitiveness. Like our reading mentions, competitiveness can be a good tool to use to help come through a problem or to gain a motivational edge. The downside for me is that I'm to competitive and that can make for impulsive decisions and irrational understanding of a situation. So to put my goals in practical use, I want to try and be better at understanding a situation from all angels, apply my learned leadership qualities, and then try and make the best decision I personally can. If a calculated, informed decision is made, maybe there might be a level of trust that is gained among my employees and maybe even higher management. My source this week states what I'm trying to accomplish this way:
- " Demand evidence. Whenever anyone makes a compelling claim, ask for supporting data. Don't take someone's word for it.
- Examine logic. Look closely at the evidence and be sure the logic holds up. Be on the lookout for faulty cause-and-effect reasoning.
- Encourage experimentation. If you don't have evidence, create some. Invite managers to conduct small experiments to test the viability of proposed strategies and use the resulting data to guide decisions" (Tips, 2011).
Although bullet point three is new to me, I find it interesting to explore further.I learned a lot this week from the ability to look at meanings of words and their opposites. I'm going to try and apply them as soon as I can.
References
Tips on Decision Making. (2011, April 14). Retrieved August 30, 2014, from http://hbr.org/product/harvard-business-review-on-making-smart-decisions/an/10323-PDF-ENG
Whetten, D. & Cameron, K. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.). Pearson: Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
A520.2.6RB_SeabournBeau
Assess my time management skills.
To be honest, until I started my leadership program, my time skills were very, very poor. Somehow taking upper level classes has inspired me to become more aware of my time both at work and at home. The reason for this is mostly do to the amount of time and effort that a masters program takes and how I have to fit that into my current on goings. There was a need to be more aware of everything else that I had already planned and then to fit other important things into that schedule also. So to say the least, my time managment skills are on the up swing and they're slowly getting better.
Evaluate how these skills have increased your locus of control.
I actually believe that time management has given me more control over things (book says destiny) that are important to me. When I wake up each day, I have a clear understanding of what I need to get done and where I need to be. I've created that habit in part do to my new born son and my MSLD class and some other small things. When someone takes the time to take control or their schedule, I believe that there is some sort of emotional gain. What I mean is, without time guidance, there is a lack of direction in your day, whether that be at work or home. Not having a plan for time is like not having a plan for your money. The old saying goes "time is money". Well is that is true then they should be scheduled the same way, with a plan.
Identify three new areas in which improved time management skills would reduce stress.
Work - Sometimes I have a tendency to waste time when I'm in the work place. I don't mean I'm not working, I mean that I don't always have a clear plan for my time when more pressing issues are not happening. To reduce stress, I could have a plan laid out to help me accomplish less important tasks, faster.
In recreational time - applying time management ideas to my free time could perhaps held me have, more free time. This weeks reading mentions a lot of ways in which people can improve their health as well as their success; like working out and eating right. At the current moment I don't pre-plan any recreational time, I basically take time when I can and as often as I can. I think it might be good to plan my off time. If I did that, I may be able to have more time doing the things I like to do.
Sleep- I'm not sure if the accurately applies but I always hear how people are either getting to much sleep or not getting enough. I think that if I would make it a habit to apply the top two ideas and combine that with a decent sleep schedule, I wouldn't be tired and worrying about having to get more sleep. The right amount of sleep can be timed out and applied to make me less stressed about everything each day.
Add an action plan to integrate these to your daily routine.
I want to be realistic here. The reading says that we should maybe apply one at a time to help us be more efficient with our time. What I want to do is try and pre-plan some of my off time. I want to do this by making lists of what I need to get done, how long that might take and then share that with my wife. I think doing that will eliminate any disagreements we might have as to how we should spend our time. I think each night we should determine what needs to get done and then number them from the most important on down. The next day, we work hard to get them done and if we come short at least the most important ones get addressed first.
Whetten, D.A. & Cameron, K.S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
To be honest, until I started my leadership program, my time skills were very, very poor. Somehow taking upper level classes has inspired me to become more aware of my time both at work and at home. The reason for this is mostly do to the amount of time and effort that a masters program takes and how I have to fit that into my current on goings. There was a need to be more aware of everything else that I had already planned and then to fit other important things into that schedule also. So to say the least, my time managment skills are on the up swing and they're slowly getting better.
Evaluate how these skills have increased your locus of control.
I actually believe that time management has given me more control over things (book says destiny) that are important to me. When I wake up each day, I have a clear understanding of what I need to get done and where I need to be. I've created that habit in part do to my new born son and my MSLD class and some other small things. When someone takes the time to take control or their schedule, I believe that there is some sort of emotional gain. What I mean is, without time guidance, there is a lack of direction in your day, whether that be at work or home. Not having a plan for time is like not having a plan for your money. The old saying goes "time is money". Well is that is true then they should be scheduled the same way, with a plan.
Identify three new areas in which improved time management skills would reduce stress.
Work - Sometimes I have a tendency to waste time when I'm in the work place. I don't mean I'm not working, I mean that I don't always have a clear plan for my time when more pressing issues are not happening. To reduce stress, I could have a plan laid out to help me accomplish less important tasks, faster.
In recreational time - applying time management ideas to my free time could perhaps held me have, more free time. This weeks reading mentions a lot of ways in which people can improve their health as well as their success; like working out and eating right. At the current moment I don't pre-plan any recreational time, I basically take time when I can and as often as I can. I think it might be good to plan my off time. If I did that, I may be able to have more time doing the things I like to do.
Sleep- I'm not sure if the accurately applies but I always hear how people are either getting to much sleep or not getting enough. I think that if I would make it a habit to apply the top two ideas and combine that with a decent sleep schedule, I wouldn't be tired and worrying about having to get more sleep. The right amount of sleep can be timed out and applied to make me less stressed about everything each day.
Add an action plan to integrate these to your daily routine.
I want to be realistic here. The reading says that we should maybe apply one at a time to help us be more efficient with our time. What I want to do is try and pre-plan some of my off time. I want to do this by making lists of what I need to get done, how long that might take and then share that with my wife. I think doing that will eliminate any disagreements we might have as to how we should spend our time. I think each night we should determine what needs to get done and then number them from the most important on down. The next day, we work hard to get them done and if we come short at least the most important ones get addressed first.
Whetten, D.A. & Cameron, K.S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
A520.2.3RB_SeabournBeau
For my example, I want to focus on a situation where I was the supervisor however, the subordinates were changing day to day and the work environment stayed the same. Each day our facility would staff itself based on the qualifications that each person had and were each person was training. For the situation I'll be referencing, I was almost always one of the supervisors on shift.
Like I said, each day I would have a new set of trainees and they rotated every two or three days back and forth. Although this is okay, the trainees had a hard time grasping the leadership style and approach I was using. I ran into a lot of resistance when I would demand hard work and dedication to getting these trainees qualified. The problem I ran into is that the trainees did not want to work outside work and they did not want to put in as much work as I was expecting them to. I was trying to push them to get qualified fast so my personal workload was smaller. Some where in the process, I became the leader and they became the subordinates. I did end up having to negotiate with them for a couple of reasons. First, I had to because not everyone wanted to go home and spend all their free time doing work related stuff. Second, not everyone learns the same way and everyone processes information differently. The negotiation between us came from a third party (my boss). He suggested that is the trainees were to apply themselves fully at work, that not much would be expected of them outside working hours (studying). Although I didn't gain that much, it took some stress off of the others. The catch for them though was that whoever showed the most promise or determination to learn, had first priority at the opportunity to move up. This made things interesting because they all then realized they had the same shot to get the same job regardless of tenure.
The result was some what mixed. Some of the people who saw this as an opportunity to move up faster, grasped the concept and took full advantage. Others decided that since the pressure was off of them to HAVE to try hard, they simply applied themselves less and less. Eventually (years later), those people who decided to not try hard at that time found themselves being passed by the people who did. The fact that I was making them ALL try hard was something I thought I was doing for all of them. The way some of them viewed it was as if I was pushing them to hard. I think there was a win win for both me and the facility and perhaps maybe the people who tried hard. It was ultimately a learning situation for all of us.
Can you see any room for improvement to how the conflict was handled.
I look back at this job/leadership role and I sort of regret not being a better leader. I didn't have any formal leadership training at the time and I didn't know how to handle people's outside influences in any decisions I made. Had my upper management understood that, we could have bi-passed all of this to begin. Overall, I learned a lot from that facility, mostly about how to handle those type of situations and how to look into young leaders.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
A500.1.6RB_SeabournBeau
Describe how your level of self-awareness has changed since you began your MSLD program with respect to the "Five Core Aspects of Self-Awareness" (p. 63)
Core Self Evaluation - Since I began my MSLD studies I have noticed that I have more self esteem and a bit more confidence. The tools I have picked up thus far have allowed me to have a new perspective on everyday dealings that I might not have before. For example, there is a person I work with that has had some issues adhering to the policies of our facility. Prior to taking any MSLD courses, I felt the way in which I tried to help him/address these issues was sub-par. Since I have learned a wide variety of new methods and ideas, I find myself feeling as though some progress is being made with this individual. Ultimately, this has led to me being more confident about my leadership qualities and making me happier overall. Saying I'm a grad student has also given my pride a boost since no one else in my family has ever gone to grad school before. So overall my core evaluation has seen a huge incline.
Values - I have found that although my values are the same as when I started this program, the idea that I'm correct in my thinking and "if you don't agree with me then your wrong" approach has dramatically changed. The change came when I started exploring how there are huge differences in cultural leadership based around a persons surroundings, family, and external influences. Like I said, my values have not changed that much, I still believe what I believe but I can now say that I am getting better at understanding why a person might have contrasting opinions or ideas as me. I think the overall gist is that my value maturity is increasing with my studies. The more I learn to understand people, the more I can apply these leadership techniques and qualities and become a more effective leader.
Cognitive Style - So what I have learned here is that I still have a long way to go in two of the three categories. I definitely fall into the creating style. I think there is some thrill to handling things this way, however I am quick to acknowledge that sometimes there can be negative consequences for not finishing something or making an error to late to fix it. Since I have started the MSLD program, I have become a little bit more of a planner. With all of the work that has to be completed, each week I find myself laying out all of the work and then determining when I will complete it. I've also adapted a few planning techniques to my personal life. I find it important to have a financial plan and a personal plan for my life. Especially now that I have a son. The other thing that I've noticed is that most companies have a structure that they follow. A creative style does not fit into structure that well and if I ever want to be in corporate America, I might want to increase my overall planning skills.
Attitudes Toward Change - Like other areas, I find that my attitude toward change has not seen that much development quite yet. The MSLD program has taught me a number of different techniques to help me adjust to changing environments and what not but ultimately I have not adjusted to the idea that leaders HAVE to be willing to change so much, rapidly. I completely understand that a company would want a leader who can constantly change to the times, technology, and innovation. I totally understand that side of the coin. What I'm not understanding is why they would potentially want us to change our leadership styles. I know that each place and time has a style of leadership required but it has been my experience that a good leader can lead anywhere, anytime. The reading this week said that we may be headed toward a huge change that only happens every two to three hundred years. I'm hoping that the changes are leaning back toward the older style of leadership where the leader, lead and didn't have a million different inputs from everyone and where people wanted to work and didn't think that there job was always secure. There may be change coming, I hope people know that a lot can change, quickly.
Emotional Intelligence - I personally believe that this may be the area in which I've had the biggest change. Like I've mentioned before, I find it difficult to understand why people want to come to work to discuss and do not job related things. In a previous class, we discussed in detail the art of gossip and how that can do good or bad things to a company. I argue that gossip is mostly bad, and for good reason. It can spread like a disease with no factual backing. Putting that aside, I do understand that life happens to people and sometimes there are emotional consequences to people in the workplace. Someone could be having a hard time dealing with a customer or someone could have put to much time into a project that wasn't successful. In cases like those, i have to be able to recognize that people sometimes need support from their leader. I've learned that a good leader can understand what is going on and then apply techniques to help them get through whatever situation they're in. I still think I have some room to grow here.I'm still having a problem understanding why a leader has to "babysit" emotional people at work. I may not be fully understanding the emotional intelligence side of things when I say that but I feel like each and every person should be able to filter what they can and cannot do/say in the workplace.
I find it interesting that I've progressed as much as I have thus far. The things I've learned are actually taking root in my life and I find that the MSLD program is helping my improve as a person. I look forward to exploring everything that is to come!
Core Self Evaluation - Since I began my MSLD studies I have noticed that I have more self esteem and a bit more confidence. The tools I have picked up thus far have allowed me to have a new perspective on everyday dealings that I might not have before. For example, there is a person I work with that has had some issues adhering to the policies of our facility. Prior to taking any MSLD courses, I felt the way in which I tried to help him/address these issues was sub-par. Since I have learned a wide variety of new methods and ideas, I find myself feeling as though some progress is being made with this individual. Ultimately, this has led to me being more confident about my leadership qualities and making me happier overall. Saying I'm a grad student has also given my pride a boost since no one else in my family has ever gone to grad school before. So overall my core evaluation has seen a huge incline.
Values - I have found that although my values are the same as when I started this program, the idea that I'm correct in my thinking and "if you don't agree with me then your wrong" approach has dramatically changed. The change came when I started exploring how there are huge differences in cultural leadership based around a persons surroundings, family, and external influences. Like I said, my values have not changed that much, I still believe what I believe but I can now say that I am getting better at understanding why a person might have contrasting opinions or ideas as me. I think the overall gist is that my value maturity is increasing with my studies. The more I learn to understand people, the more I can apply these leadership techniques and qualities and become a more effective leader.
Cognitive Style - So what I have learned here is that I still have a long way to go in two of the three categories. I definitely fall into the creating style. I think there is some thrill to handling things this way, however I am quick to acknowledge that sometimes there can be negative consequences for not finishing something or making an error to late to fix it. Since I have started the MSLD program, I have become a little bit more of a planner. With all of the work that has to be completed, each week I find myself laying out all of the work and then determining when I will complete it. I've also adapted a few planning techniques to my personal life. I find it important to have a financial plan and a personal plan for my life. Especially now that I have a son. The other thing that I've noticed is that most companies have a structure that they follow. A creative style does not fit into structure that well and if I ever want to be in corporate America, I might want to increase my overall planning skills.
Attitudes Toward Change - Like other areas, I find that my attitude toward change has not seen that much development quite yet. The MSLD program has taught me a number of different techniques to help me adjust to changing environments and what not but ultimately I have not adjusted to the idea that leaders HAVE to be willing to change so much, rapidly. I completely understand that a company would want a leader who can constantly change to the times, technology, and innovation. I totally understand that side of the coin. What I'm not understanding is why they would potentially want us to change our leadership styles. I know that each place and time has a style of leadership required but it has been my experience that a good leader can lead anywhere, anytime. The reading this week said that we may be headed toward a huge change that only happens every two to three hundred years. I'm hoping that the changes are leaning back toward the older style of leadership where the leader, lead and didn't have a million different inputs from everyone and where people wanted to work and didn't think that there job was always secure. There may be change coming, I hope people know that a lot can change, quickly.
Emotional Intelligence - I personally believe that this may be the area in which I've had the biggest change. Like I've mentioned before, I find it difficult to understand why people want to come to work to discuss and do not job related things. In a previous class, we discussed in detail the art of gossip and how that can do good or bad things to a company. I argue that gossip is mostly bad, and for good reason. It can spread like a disease with no factual backing. Putting that aside, I do understand that life happens to people and sometimes there are emotional consequences to people in the workplace. Someone could be having a hard time dealing with a customer or someone could have put to much time into a project that wasn't successful. In cases like those, i have to be able to recognize that people sometimes need support from their leader. I've learned that a good leader can understand what is going on and then apply techniques to help them get through whatever situation they're in. I still think I have some room to grow here.I'm still having a problem understanding why a leader has to "babysit" emotional people at work. I may not be fully understanding the emotional intelligence side of things when I say that but I feel like each and every person should be able to filter what they can and cannot do/say in the workplace.
I find it interesting that I've progressed as much as I have thus far. The things I've learned are actually taking root in my life and I find that the MSLD program is helping my improve as a person. I look forward to exploring everything that is to come!
Friday, August 15, 2014
A500.1.6RB_SeabournBeau
Prepare a Blogger entry by reflecting on the following questions regarding your overall experience with the self-awareness surveys:
To begin, I'm not sure I've taken a survey of this magnitude in quite some time. Do to some errors in my first attempt, i had to free hand everything on a separate piece of paper! My results were actually surprising to me. When I was reading through the questions, I felt as though I had all the "correct" answers and that everyone had to think like me, right? After I finished scoring all of the tests I learned that I am literally all over the place in relation to the "quartile" system the book referenced. For example, in the Cognitive Style Indicator I was in the top quartile while in the Emotional Intelligence Assessment I was in the bottom quartile. To be honest, I was only in the top qaurtile in the CSI assessment. Everything else happen to be in the third and fourth quartile. In relation to it "ringing true for me", I believe that it hit me square on the head. I tend to leave any emotional interference alone in my leadership skill set. I have always had the mentality that if people can't deal with things the way I do, then they are wrong. I however have found that I'm not always right. With that said, I find it important to try and be more emotionally understanding of situations and of people.
This information has made it clear to me that there are areas that I need to seriously pay attention to and that I need to focus on. In order for me to be a well rounded leader, I need to utilize the art of self awareness more. Until this series of surveys, like I mentioned before, I didn't think that anyone would interpret my leadership skills as wrong. I now know that there are some areas of improvement that I need to focus on. I'll try and keep a more open mind as I re-read the chapter again and try and better understand some of the information and techniques discussed.
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