A520.9.5.RB - Power

In my organization, it is very important to develop and use personal sources of influence and power to lead team members. I believe that my strongest sources of influence stem from my expertise and personal attraction. I enjoy becoming an expert with the technical details of my job and the jobs of those who I lead, and I gain this knowledge to build trust, respect, and credibility from my team. The more I know about the “business” aspect of my team’s job duties, the more I can lead them to make good decisions, and the less I have to tell them what to do because they trust I am using my knowledge of their job to make these decisions. Personal attraction is also a strength of mine, as this comes from my relationship building skills. I build relationships with my team so that we work with one another, not them for me. I know them and connect with them on a personal level enough so that the majority of our conversations revolve around personal matters and subjects. By doing this it makes it easy to have a difficult conversation regarding work, along with building trust and friendship.

I believe that my genuineness and strong ability to connect and build relationships with others helps me embody the characteristics of likeable people, the strongest ones being supporting an open, honest, and loyal relationship, enduring sacrifices if the relationship should demand them, and engaging in social exchanges necessary to sustain a relationship. The majority of my day at work is engaging my team and motivating them to succeed at their job tasks. I do this by building on the relationships that I have already formed with them, engaging and inspiring, and making them feel valued. They know their jobs well enough so that I do not have to watch over them, which comes from the trust that we built with one another.

I think I do a good job of influencing both my team and my leader. I use the same influence techniques with my boss through relationship building and technical knowledge. Our strong friendship and mutual respect for one another allows me to take on projects and make decisions without having my manager involved because he trusts me to make the right one. He also gives me the freedom to guide my own development and those of my team because of his trust in my decision making and ability to help others. I think my boss and I have much of the same characteristics regarding work, influence, and power so we connect real well on a personal and professional level. This makes it fairly easy to be influenced by him and for me to influence him to work the way I want to. My boss does not have to use his positional power to influence me because of our relationship and mutual respect, which also benefits me because of the freedom he allows me in almost every aspect of decision making and leading my team.

A520.7.3.RB - The Importance of Having a Coach and Mentor

I truly believe that all successful people have had mentors and coaches in their life. Mentors act as navigators throughout your career to help you make sound decisions and stay grounded as a professional. Coaches help you develop technical skills and abilities to be able to excel in the workplace and further your career. In my experience, the good coaches and mentors, no matter what capacity they lead you in, are irreplaceable. I will use my own experiences with coaching and mentoring to shed light on the advantages of having one, or being one.

When I first started in my current role with Target I was new to the company, to the retail and distribution worlds, and operations management. I was given a mentor in the first couple of weeks who had been with the organization for 6 years in an operations management role with experience in every department within the distribution center. My mentor essentially helped me become accustomed to the rules, regulations, and atmosphere of the distribution center and the organization. He was very experienced, so he helped me gain a good perspective on the retail industry and also helped me answer tough questions regarding the leadership style used at Target. He helped me set short term goals in my training period and helped me meet these goals. I currently have a new mentor who is in a more senior position, helping me mainly with development and career progression. He helps me work on my leadership weaknesses and helps me accomplish goals associated with my team and the department, along with personal goals. If it wasn’t for these mentors I would be much worse off in my current role. They did and still do an excellent job helping me develop as a leader, as a person, and helping me become acclimated to my new role.

In the same role I was assigned to be the coach/mentor of a new manager in a different department. My main objective was to help him become acclimated to the organization and help develop his technical and leadership skills. We often met with one another to talk about his new role and to assist him with his technical training. I organized developmental and leadership activities to help him with his team. I also served as a guide in which to help steer him to make good decisions. It was very gratifying to see him develop as a person and a leader while gaining the training and skills necessary to be effective and efficient.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of having a mentor or coach is knowing that they are there to help you, develop you, and train you. They are there for you, not someone else or to fulfill their own agenda. It is essentially free knowledge and advice that is there for the taking, as long as you are receptive to what they have to give. 

A520.6.5.RB - Team Roles

I don’t think that there is a more important role a leader could take in the workplace than a relationship-building one. Strong relationships between team members and between their managers are essential to any team, and not just professional ones, personal ones. As part of my routine while I was still training as a manager in my current role, I spent the entire shift building relationships with my team and getting to know them on a personal level before leading them. These relationships make giving feedback easier, make coaching easier, and they allow me to work with my team, rather than the team working for me. They know what do, how to do it, and when to do it and I allow them the freedom to do their jobs as they choose as long as they are meeting expectations set forth by the company.

In meetings and other forums where decision are being made, I take the role of a facilitator where employees feel valued and comfortable speaking. Everyone is on the same level, and I am there to help them with their concerns, their challenges while developing them and helping them succeed. I actively engage my team, whether it be through recognition or through coaching to improve in an area. They know that when I approach them it could be to either talk casually, speak about upcoming work details, or to coach them and help them improve. I facilitate job tasks by removing obstacles for them so that they can successfully do these tasks, and I give them the information, resources, and training to complete them by our standards.

I strongly encourage team members to work problems between themselves to improve their communication and collaboration skills, along with building a positive team culture. I allow the “captains” of different functions to make decisions for their group and to respond to different challenges they may face. This empowers not only the captains to make effective decisions, but also the team members as they become involved in the decision-making process for being the experts in their functions. I only become involved if I absolutely have to because I want each team to work together, to form and improve relationships with one another, and to be able to solve problems by themselves using their knowledge, skills, and training.

The relationships I have with my team members make it easier to facilitate tasks and empower them to make decisions as a team. I trust them that they will make the right decision, and if not, learn from the bad ones. They trust that I will support their decisions and help them improve and learn if a bad one is made. Relationships create trust, which in turn create a pleasant and strong atmosphere conducive to learning, development, and high performance. They help by making team members feel valued and appreciated for what they contribute to the organization.

A520.5.3.RB - Forrestor's Empowerment

In Forrestor’s article he explains six ways in which organizations and their leaders have managed to give empowerment a bad name, including precipitous empowerment mandates, overreliance on a narrow psychological concept of empowerment, one-size-fits-all empowerment, neglecting the needs of power sharers, a piece-meal approach, and distortions of accountability.

Precipitous empowerment mandates revolve around organizations removing or implementing new stages of responsibility for employees without sufficient time to allow employees to become adjusted. When talking about overreliance on a narrow psychological concept of empowerment, this concept is when organizations attempt to tell employees what they are, what they could be, what they want or need when it comes to their job. This may create a false sense of power and responsibility. The one-size-fits-all approach to empowerment is fairly self-explanatory. It explains the fact that not all employees respond to the same empowerment techniques. Neglecting the needs of power sharers is about organizations trying too hard to empower front-line managers while neglecting the ones in the middle. Middle level managers have more responsibility and have more influence on those below them, so why are they often left out of the plan? Organizations often try piece-meal approaches or cookie-cutter approaches to empowerment and get results opposite the ones that they wanted. Organizations need tailored, creative ways to empower employees because it is something that needs to be taken seriously due to the consequences. Distortions of accountability relates to employees being given greater responsibilities with the same amount of accountability as employees with lesser responsibilities. These employees cannot be protected from the consequences of their actions.

On the other end of the spectrum, the article explains six ways to potentially save organizations from these pitfalls, which include enlarging power, being sure of what you want to do, differentiate among employees, support power sharers, build fitting systems, and focus on results. These somewhat align with the five dimensions mentioned in the text, Developing Management Skills, which can be expanded upon. Self-efficacy deals with a person having the competence and ability to perform a task. Each employee must be trained appropriately and have the ability to do the jobs that are delegated to them. The second dimension, self-determination, relates to employees having a choice in what tasks they do and don’t do. The third dimension, which is personal consequence, is related to the results of the task they take on. Basically, effort produces results and no one will be there to correct mistakes. The fourth dimension, meaning, revolves around employees having tasks that give them a purpose. They are able to produce goals from their jobs and do them successfully because they align with the employee’s standards and ideals. The final dimension, trust, is perhaps the most important as it allows employees to complete tasks because they trust they will be treated fairly and valued as people. 

A520.4.3.RB - Motivation Beyond Money

Andy does a fine job of outlining these motivators that people like me respond to, which are interesting work, recognition, and the expansion of one’s skill set. If the work that someone is doing does not interest them, how can you keep them engaged enough to do it every day and excel at it? It’s nearly impossible, and for me having an interesting job is a rather big motivator. Along with it being interesting comes challenge, excitement, and achievement, all of which allow me to continue to do it day in and day out.

Recognition, which is arguably the most important one, is crucial for me. I consider myself to be an over achiever, and because of that I enjoy being recognized for my efforts, my contributions to the organization. And who doesn’t? Every employee, no matter the level in the organization, wants to know their true value by being recognized. It’s part of the big picture concept where employees want to see their contributions and hear about them from leadership.

The expansion of one’s skill set is also a no-brainer. Organizations need highly trained, intelligent people working for them, and with this comes training programs for different specializations and areas of focus for organizations. Leaders are often selected for promotions within the company, but not without some sort of training and advancement of skills. I enjoy learning new job skills, new trades, and furthering my education, basically anything that makes me better at what I do.

Additionally, I have other motivators, one of them being goal setting, both from my manager and myself. I establish long and short term goals that allow me to accomplish different tasks in my professional life, but I also like it when my manager does the same for me. I enjoy the challenge, and it often results in me discovering a new talent or skill that I possess.

The second motivator is feedback, both positive and negative. Just as much as I enjoy hearing everything that I am doing well at, I also like to hear what areas I could improve on. This makes me a stronger leader and helps me with personal and professional development.

A third motivator is my peers at work. Who I work with has a lot to do with my general demeanor at work. I enjoy working with friends, not co-workers, so building relationships with my peers is essential. I feed off of their positive energy and excitement, as they do me, and bouncing ideas off of them and collaborating is fun, effective, and good for development and relationship building.

A520.3.5.RB - Supportive Communication

Being a supportive communicator has to do with coaching, mentoring, listening, being genuine, personal accountability, and relationships. If a strong relationship is built, a negative conversation can be had without any party ever feeling like it was truly negative. This is where all of these attributes come into play. I plan to use coaching, behavioral observations, and validating statements to improve my supportive communication in my workplace.

Coaching - I regularly coach team members in various areas that may need improvement, but it may be hard for me to make the conversation come out as a positive one, even though it could be negative. Using open-ended questions and listening to that team member is one way of being supportive. I want to recognize those team members that exemplify the goals and attitudes that the organization strives for so that they continue them, and help mentor those team members that don't. This will include allowing the team member to own the behavior and find ways to improve. 

Observing of Behaviors - By observing behaviors I am able to give real-time feedback to team members while focusing on ways to prevent that same behavior from happening. so, observing behaviors could allow myself as leader to help the team member improve them. Removing obstacles is one role of a leader and the team member may need that help from to move forward. 

Validating Statements - The observations an coachings with team members will entail strong one-on-one communication. I will create a comfortable atmosphere for the team member where an exchange of ideas and thoughts is valued. I will listen effectively and make sure I remove any agenda I may have for the conversation. My relationship with the team member has to be strong in order for me to meet these objectives and have successful conversations.

Supportive communication is key for a happy and pleasant workplace. It's what makes employees return to work day after day to perform for the organization and its leaders. Simple things like listening and being genuine will go a long way and create an inviting environment that will spur conversation and make one seem more approachable.

A520.3.1.RB - Decision Making

If I had to use three words to describe my decision-making they would be creative, logical, and flexible. I often use as much creativity as possible when making decisions, especially if another party is involved, like my family or my team at work. This allows some unpredictability in my results from the decision and also creates an exciting work environment by trying out new methods for solving problems. Logic shows up quite often in my decision-making because my job is technical and several job tasks revolve around data from various technical sources. I use my knowledge of the department and the team members to make informed decisions. I can learn from my mistakes and use that experience to make a better decision next time. I also make decisions that are flexible, meaning I can change specific aspects about them without affecting the end result. I do this by creating more than one plan for each decision, like back-up plans.

The three words that describe the opposite of my decision-making are unoriginal, irrational, and rigid. I think it would be very hard for me to make decisions that revolve around these three words, only because my personality plays a major part in my decision-making, and these three words are the complete opposite of who I am as a person and how I act. My family, along with my team at work, is anything but unoriginal so I cannot imagine having to make the same decisions day in and day out. The technical details of my job also prohibit me from making irrational decisions that could have a costly impact on the organization.

Overall, I enjoy making decisions the way I feel the most comfortable with, which is using past experience, knowledge, logic, and creativity. My personality shows through in my decisions and I would not like to detract from that. I have too much at stake to make decisions that are not original, not logical, and do not show a creative spirit. 

A520.2.6.RB - Time Management

Time management has been a strength of mine since joining the military, and I have been able to carry those skills over to my personal life and civilian career. I was always able to arrive to work on time when I was younger because it was my highest priority at the time, and I prioritized tasks while working to ensure I was completing the most important tasks first. Today, I think that prioritization is the biggest factor in my everyday time management. I have determined what tasks and activities are the most important, ensure that each has sufficient amount allocated to them, and use the rest of the time to complete the activities and tasks that aren’t as pressing. However, I am never in the position where I was not able to complete a task because I ran out of time, so I give every task a certain level of importance.

After examining myself and my self-awareness in the first module, I learned that my locus of control was strong. This aligns well with the fact that I have good time management skills because these two coincide. Time management has helped me in other areas of my life, especially with my locus of control. Being able to manage my time and prioritize tasks in my personal and professional life has given me more ownership of my actions. Everyone has activities and tasks that come with deadlines, but being able to meet these deadlines is satisfying and rewarding.

There are a few areas in which I could improve my time management skills, resulting in reduced stress. The first area is spending increased amounts of time on non-priority events, or those with no deadline or consequence for not completing. The biggest culprit is TV, and when I watch too much I have less time to spend on tasks that have a priority. Another area is separating tasks that are related to my personal and professional life. There are times when I spend too much time on work tasks and not enough on personal tasks, and vice versa. I need to find a sustainable balance for both. The last area is doing a better job of prioritizing activities better in my personal life. There are a lot of tasks that have no priority, but should, so there is no consistency with when and how these are completed, even though there should be.

My action plan for improving in these areas includes giving a priority to more tasks in my personal life, creating a balance for activities related to my professional and personal life, and decreasing the amount of time spent on non-priority activities. By putting a priority on tasks at home, this will allow me to meet my other goal of spending less time of non-priority tasks, allowing me to accomplish more of what I need and want to during my time away from work. I will also allocate myself a certain number of hours to spend on work related tasks so that they do not impede my ability to accomplish activities in my personal life.

  

A520.2.3.RB - Conflict Management

In a recent conflict that I was engaged in involving myself and a manager from another department, we used the collaborating method to reach a solution. At our update meeting that takes place half-way through the shift every day, he did not agree with a decision that I wanted to make. The decision I wanted to make would have been good for our department and the morale of my team, but may not have been the best for the building. The other manager had been in the building for 5 years so he was much more tenured then I was, but I felt like the decision I wanted to make was the right one and that his decision was going to have a negative impact on my team without actually helping the building.

We discussed it briefly during the update in front of the other managers, but decided to discuss it between the two of us in another room. We talked with one another for about 15 minutes, discussing the positives and negatives of each one of our points of view and how it might impact individual teams and the building as a whole. We eventually made the decision to rotate one of my team members to another department rather than let my team go home early. This prevented one of my teams from going home an hour early, which lowered morale of both the team and the individual who had to work in the other department.

In the end, the move did not do the building any good because of several other variables that night. I had to repair the morale of the team the following week and explain to them why I made the decision I did. I thought it was worth a try to help the building without favoring one team over the other, but the team did not see it that way. I am an operations manager before I am a manager for specific teams, so I felt like I had to support the opinion of the other manager who I had the conflict with. Our relationship allowed us to effectively manage the conflict, even though it did not have the intended results. 

A520.1.6.RB - Self-Awareness

There are many variables that affect the self-awareness of an individual, but in my personal experience, the MSLD program has allowed me to reflect on my personality, values, and thinking style and has made me more aware of myself as a leader, both in a personal and professional capacity.

My awareness of my strengths and weaknesses through self-evaluation has been one of the most improved areas since beginning the program. There have been several courses with self-evaluations, self-surveys, and activities that allowed me to evaluate how I could contribute positively to an organization as a leader, and what areas I could work on to become a better leader.

I have also been more confident in showing and integrating my personal values into my decision making at work. I always assumed that it would be hard to gain acceptance by others if my values were different, but I was wrong. I have been able to act genuinely in every facet of my professional life because of the community I work within, and I gained the confidence through the program, classmates, and instructors I have worked with thus far.

My cognitive style, or ability to think critically and act upon these thoughts, has improved since starting the program. In my very first course, thinking critically was the main learning lesson, and it gave me the tools and education I needed to develop deep, creative thought around every subject in order to become a more effective, efficient, innovative leader.

In addition, my attitude toward change is also different. Learning about transformational leadership and how change affects the organization and employees is remarkable to me, so I have become more open to this idea. I use change in a part of my daily routine, figuring different ways to keep employees happy and also various methods for developing them. Change in the workplace is good if it’s in the hands of a positive leader.

Overall, the program has had a positive effect on me and my self-awareness. It has helped me improve in several areas of leadership, given me the confidence to embrace my personality and values, and it has opened my eyes to who I am as a leader.

A520.1.2.RB - Self Awareness

I think that this self assessment was a good indicator of how I react, feel, and how I would respond in different situations in my personal and professional life. In the results, some of my strongest points were my locus of control, my openness to feedback, my awareness of my own values, emotional intelligence and core self-evaluation, and my cognitive style indicator. I think the majority of this has to do with the fact that I have a very diverse background with experience in various job fields and environments. Each organization I have worked for has had different values and goals, so I have had to learn to adapt and recognize my strengths and weaknesses and use them for my development and the benefit of the organization. 

In my opinion, the results were accurate and were a good indicator of my strengths and weaknesses. This tool was especially useful in helping me narrow down my weaknesses so that I can target them and create a plan to improve on them. For example, I scored in the median percentile on the tolerance of ambiguity scale, meaning I have mixed feelings about situations. I look at promising and threatening situations equally, when I should be more promising in thought, being that I am usually upbeat, fun, and optimistic in the workplace. This was surprising to me, but I viewed it as an opportunity to improve. My  naturally competitive personality has quite a bit to do with this, but I need to start looking at the positive in every situation and challenge myself to view obstacles as being good for development and growth, rather than a threat. It's challenges and difficult situations that make leaders like myself better and more developed. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my  openness to feedback self awareness scores were very high. I think that because I am open to feedback and aware of my weaknesses and strengths, it is easy for me to identify and improve in areas. My willingness to learn and adapt is my strength that allows me to do this.

Overall, the information and feedback from this assessment will prove to be beneficial to me in this course and in my journey as a leader. The results can be used and built upon for an indefinite period of time and will be used as a development and learning tool for myself. For a short term goal, I plan on incorporating my weaknesses into this course to help with my development, and my strengths for the development and learning of others. 

A521.9.4.GA - Reflections on Leadership

Denning’s applications of leadership are going to prove to be quite beneficial for me in not only a professional capacity, but also a personal one. These leadership traits and skills that Denning provides equip me with the tools needed to lead a team to accomplish a common goal for any organization in any field.

Leadership that Participates – This leadership dimension may be the most useful to me in the future, being that I am a relationship-oriented leader who puts significant emphasis on building relationships and engaging team members. Gaining trust, forming relationships, and leading by example through engagement and participation are the core behaviors that I should be displaying in order to be a participative leader.

Leadership that is like Conversation – Part of being a relationship-oriented leader is communicating openly and effectively with subordinates and managers. The key here is communicating as equals rather than two different groups or types of people that are not on the same level. By communicating as a member of your team, rather than someone in a position of authority, you and the audience will relive the story together. Active participation, increased attentiveness, and engagement are just a few of the positive side effects of conversational leadership.

Leadership that Fits the Modern Need – Leaders in today’s workplace need to be dynamic and flexible to adapt to changing business and organizational needs and wants. I would like to become a manager by which the rules set forth by the organization are flexible enough for my team to be dynamic, transformational, and high-performing. Possessing a multitude of traits and qualities that good leaders should possess will make an organization and its teams receptive and strong.

Good leadership cannot be summed up in these areas, but I hope to improve on these in order to be more effective and efficient.  

A521.8.4.RB - Making Contact

I feel that I am very comfortable and skilled when it comes to striking up a conversation with strangers. I have a very diverse background and upbringing that allows me to do this. In the 8 years that I have lived on my own, away from my family, I have had 4 different jobs and have lived at 5 different addresses. During my time at each job and address, I have had to initiate and develop relationships with complete strangers, and in some cases, rely on these strangers to save my life because of the location and the circumstances of my job. For these reasons initiating and engaging in conversation with strangers is not difficult for me, nor is it uncomfortable. I also have a very outgoing personality and have been called a people pleaser, so this helps with my comfort level around strangers. I think the more people, the easier it is for me to control the room and tailor messages. I feel very comfortable talking in front of large crowds, especially when I do not know the people in the room and the subject is familiar to me.

I grew up in a family of 14 children, most of them being younger than myself. There were numerous times when I had to take control of the group, which required strong communication and leadership skills. This allowed me to gain confidence when talking in front of others. I also left my hometown and family at the age of 18, being stationed overseas for my first assignment with no family or friends. I had to develop and improve on my communication skills and self-confidence to be able to meet new people at my first base and form relationships with them.

A521.7.4.RB - Knowledge Sharing Story

“Trust me, I have been doing this for 15 years and that’s not going to work.” This was the loadmaster’s response to my plan for loading an aircraft engine onto a C-130. I was a technical instructor and aircraft services supervisor for the Royal Saudi Air Force in 2009, and my team had been sitting out in the 130 degree heat for an hour waiting for the loadmaster to approve our request. The way that the loadmaster wanted to load the engine was not working, and after crunching some numbers and re-visiting regulations I had figured out a way that I thought would work. The loadmaster was skeptical of trying my method because I was young and I didn’t look like I knew what I was doing because of my age.

I sat down with him and explained how I came up with my method and why it would work. He was still a bit nervous about it, and the language barrier did not help the situation, but after he consulted the pilots and flight engineer he gave me the nod of approval. My team set up some wood by the ramp to create shoring for the engine to roll up while being pulled by the aircraft winch. We then tied a secure chain to the engine and connected it to the winch and tightened the winch just enough to start pulling. I placed 2 spotters by the ramp to ensure that the engine would not hit the ground while going up the ramp. The engine made it half-way up the ramp when we had to adjust the shoring to account for the length of the engine and the proximity to the ground and top of the aircraft ramp opening. We adjusted the shoring a few more times but the engine eventually made it safely up the ramp and onto the aircraft.

After the engine was secured to the aircraft floor, the loadmaster thanked me for my expertise and my confidence. He said that my knowledge was unexpected but appreciated. I believe that this moment was very significant in my development. My team seemed to trust and respect me a little bit more after this event, and it gave me the confidence I needed to challenge others and trust my knowledge and experience. 

A521.6.3.RB - High Performance Teams

High performance teams possess characteristics and traits that all organizations need and want. High performance teams exceed expectations, develop personally and professionally, possess passion and strength, and adjust rapidly to different situations.

I have had the opportunity to work on high performance teams within my organization. One of the teams was very diverse, comprised of individuals from different personal and professional backgrounds. We started out somewhat reserved and introverted, but as the team developed and succeeded in projects tasks, we opened up and became more comfortable with the team and with our strengths and weaknesses. We helped each other find and improve on our weaknesses, and utilized the strengths of one another to exceed the expectations of each assignment.

It was very helpful that each one of us shared values that were consistent with the organization. We believed in working very hard, communicating freely and sharing ideas, and having fun while doing it. I don’t think the team would have done as well without sharing these values. It helped us form personal connections with one another and made it easier to define goals and roles of each team member for each assignment.

One negative experience I’ve had with a work group was during a meeting. My partner and I were told by the manager of the group that we needed to assemble a presentation for the managers meeting that was being conducted a few weeks later. I thought I was going to assemble the presentation, and he was going to present it. When it came time, he ended up passing the torch to me and I had to present it, even though I was not ready for it. It made me uncomfortable and I felt that the trust between us was compromised. A positive experience I’ve had with a team was when one of my teams had a disagreement about how our business was going to be run. Because of our relationships and respect for one another’s expertise in the business, we managed to come to a quick decision that benefited the organization and team members. 

521.5.8.RB - Value Narrative

Excellence in safety is the value that I want to convey in my organization. Often times safety can be jeopardized because of the tempo of operations in a distribution center, resulting in unsafe behaviors from team members.

In one instance a team member failed to come to a complete stop at one of the intersections in the distribution center. As he traveled out into the aisle, his vehicle struck the vehicle of another team member, resulting in damaged equipment and possible injuries. No one was hurt but the equipment was damaged and it was an incident that could have resulted in much worse. The single protagonist in the story is safety. The team member decided to forgo safety to get his job tasks done quicker.

This story makes my value that much more clear and important. Employee safety should always come first, no matter what the job or organization. At Target, safety is always number one. We believe that everyone should leave work in the same condition in which they came, and safety should never be compromised. Unsafe behaviors from team members often lead to corrective action.

Target does a very good job of developing and implementing safety programs in all areas of the business, but it falls on the shoulders of the operations managers to ensure that safety is not being jeopardized because of team member expectations. When work becomes too much for someone and safety needs to be forgotten, something needs to change. I think this incident made managers aware of the consequences of not coaching and correcting unsafe behaviors. It is imperative that our operations managers know what to look for as far as safety is concerned, and know our safety action plans so that they can execute them. 

A521.5.4.RB - Aligning Vaues

The three basic components of an ethical community are trust, loyalty, and solidarity. Trusting that the members of your organization will act ethically toward you is extremely important. Target outlines unacceptable behaviors and actions in our business conduct guide, something that every new employee has to study and review before starting work. In this guide, every employee is expected to act honestly, professionally, and ethically, and hold others accountable for doing so. Loyalty refers to abstaining from breaking the trust of others, and be fulfilling the duties that come with that trust. Target expects its employees to be loyal to one another and to the organization, but the biggest way to help prevent loyalty from becoming a problem is employing sound, ethical professionals who value loyalty. Solidarity in an organization includes caring for and respecting other people’s interests and defending others, even if it interferes with personal interests. This term could easily coincide with diversity, but it entails not only accepting the differences and interests of others, but taking action on the behalf of others. Self-sacrifice can be done if the trust and loyalty is present.

Target has all three of these components established and present in our organization, but solidarity does not seem to be apparent as trust and loyalty. Team members are often backed when championing new ideas, but it seems to only be by the managers and not peers. I think that lower level employees need to do a better job of building trust with one another, and the organization could promote this through more team activities and trust building activities. 

A521.5.1.RB - Core Workplace Value Assessment

I was very fortunate to find an organization that values a lot of the same things that I do. After taking the online assessment, I found out that my top three values in an organization include being mentally challenging, professional development, and being respected and valued. My current organization fulfills all of these wants in various ways.

Working in a distribution center as an operations manager has its challenges, and I welcome them because I enjoy challenging work. Planning, staffing, and leading team members to perform at a high level are all mentally challenging, as there are road bumps that find themselves into my everyday work routine that make it more even more challenging than it already is. Target also does a great job of developing team members. I had the opportunity to go through a 90-day training program after starting, and there have been several other opportunities for me to learn and better myself, such as leading different projects, paying for education, and helping managers work on their leadership weaknesses. Target also respects all of their team members, from the lowest level employee to the highest one; everyone is given the same amount of respect and recognition for their efforts. I work hard to excel at my job, and it feels good to be recognized in front of senior leadership and peers for my accomplishments.

One of my values that Target falls short on is providing strong financial compensation and rewards. Bonuses are given, but individual performance does not have a huge impact on the bonus amount, and the bonuses are not sufficient for the amount of work being done. I feel that my education and experience is unique, and this teamed with my job knowledge and work ethic could be rewarded a bit more.

Overall, Target values much of the same things as I do. The organization continues to surprise me with how much they actually value, and it’s comforting to know that Target covers so many areas in terms of what they value and how much emphasis they put on it.

A521.4.3.RB - Subtleties of Communication and Hidden Messages

Non-verbal communication is extremely unforgiving and noticeable by people who may not even know you. When you show non-verbal communication that is not consistent with your verbal communication, credibility is lost and the audience may be less trusting of what you are trying to convey.

I am a naturally impatient person, and it shows sometimes in my non-verbal body language. As McKay and Davis state in the book, some of these non-verbal signs of impatience include sighs, frowns, and crossed arms and legs. I have a tendency to do this in meetings where the subject is dry and boring. This does not happen often at work, but it does in my personal life, and my wife is the first person to point it out to me. I need to become more understanding of the people I am listening to. I need to give them the respect and attention they deserve, as they have given to me. I sometimes cover up my emotions or feelings with words, when my actions and body movements may show differently. This happens more at work than it does in my personal life, mainly because I want my team to associate me with a positive attitude, not a negative one. If I am feeling down or sad, I will try my best not to show it so that it doesn’t have an effect on the people who I am surrounded by.

One specific instance is when I had a rather eye-opening meeting with one of my mentors at work. It happened at the beginning of my shift, so I had a bit of a drab attitude for the rest of the day. My team members knew something was wrong because I am typically outgoing, fun, and talkative at work, and I failed to display any of these traits that day. I told them nothing was wrong, but they knew. I could have opened up to them because I have very strong relationships with most of them, but I kept my feelings and emotions closed-up.

I think the main areas that need improvement in my communication skills surround my non-verbal language and body language. I am usually a positive person, but I don’t do the best job of hiding my feelings in my personal and professional lives. I think that family members and co-workers will be more accepting of my feelings and thoughts if I just open up, rather than hiding. I care a great deal about what people think of me, so I try not to show negativity. This could hurt me because it may come off as being insincere and not genuine. 

A521.3.4.RB - Personal Reflection

It was the end of the first semester of my senior year in 2004. I was not the most studious during my high school career, so I was in jeopardy of falling short of graduation by a semester hour. The only option I had was to sacrifice my free time that I earned and take a full schedule of classes for the last semester. To an ordinary student, this decision was a no brainer. For me, however, the decision was very hard. My family did not support education at all, which may have been one of the reasons why I did not care about my education. My parents gave me the option to drop out and work for my Dad, who started his own small business a few years prior. I felt compelled to take their offer, but then an overwhelming sense of responsibility and competitiveness came over me. I enrolled into a full schedule of classes and successfully finished high school. To this day, I am the only member of my immediate family to graduate from college, and the second person to achieve this in my extended family.

This is where my achievement-oriented spirit stems from. I enjoy challenging myself and completing difficult goals because of the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that comes with it. My wife is a very good motivator and support system for me in my goal setting. I typically take on leadership roles and difficult assignments at work, especially if I haven’t done them before.

While I was deployed to Iraq in 2008, my wife and I had only been married for 2 years, and my son was 1 year old. This was the first separation that we went through since being married and it really took a toll on our marriage and relationship. There were a couple close calls where my life was in real danger, and my health was in shambles. When I returned my wife and I promised one another never to separate again. We were not able to keep this promise, but we have continued to work on our relationship and stay close to one another. We do almost every activity together, and I have very little interaction with friends or co-workers outside of work because I devote all of my time to my family.

I became a very compassionate and devoted family man after our separation. My time and resources are geared toward taking care of my family and giving them what they want and need. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with them. This shows up at work because I have a high relationship style of leading, and building relationships with my team members and peers is extremely important.

A521.2.3.RB - Danger of Stories

Chimamanda did a very good job of using her personal stories to tell a story. All too often we use a single story to define a group of people, a geographical location, a style of music, or even a type of food. I don’t think that it’s because we want to use the single story, but rather the only choice that we have. Stereotypes exist in every facet of our lives, and it is very hard to distinguish fact from fiction when they encompass so much of what we do, how we think, and how we act.

I am not ashamed to say that I have fallen victim to a single story. When I first relocated to Saudi Arabia, I quickly realized that the Saudi nationals had a single story about Americans that involved the way we dress, the way we eat, our entire culture. It was then that I realized that I had a single story about them as well. It came from the movies I watched, the pictures and stories I heard in the news, and even the stories that were told by people who knew nothing more than what I knew of the country of Saudi Arabia. I’m sure it was the same for the Saudi nationals.

This coincides quite nicely with the lessons we learned about stories in this module. As we tell stories and use them to motivate others and change the way we think about something, the stories should be genuine, factual, and free from the single story stigma. We have to know that single stories have no room in the world of leadership communication. The people we communicate the stories to are going to be using the stories as a foundation of assurance and trust, free from stereotypes and judgment. I think that stories are very effective when used as tools for change, but they have to true stories that do not paint a group of people or countries in a light that could be questionable. Open-mindedness and trust are essential when telling and listening to these stories

A521.1.4RB - Kemp, Elijah

One common story within my organization deals with relationships and connection building. On my first day of work I had an agenda that consisted mostly of meetings with different managers and executives throughout the building. I was a bit intimidated at first because I was meeting with the entire senior team, and several other managers from other departments.

I entered the office of the first individual who I was meeting with, and he asked me if I wanted to walk the floor and talk or sit in the office. I never really had the opportunity to walk around a 1.8 million square foot building before, so I elected to walk and talk. The walk lasted about an hour, and we covered the entire perimeter of the building within that hour. The meeting went very well, and I seemed much more relaxed and comfortable when I wasn't sitting in a chair, confined to an office. For the other 5 meetings I had that day, I did the same thing. I walked, talked, and got to know some very good people. I soon realized that this was common practice for the organization, and our building was especially fond of the idea that meetings of all kinds should be stress-free and open.

Now that I have worked for the organization for almost a year, I have had the opportunity to walk with new executives and managers who are new to the company and the building. After talking with them, they were also surprised at how meetings were conducted, but it was a pleasant surprise. Everyone agreed that walking around the building, observing different behaviors from employees and watching everyday business while chatting was not only relaxing for both parties, it actually stimulated conversation and enhanced the relationship between the two, and the company knew this. The relationship between peers and senior management in my organization is the closest I have ever seen. Labeling it a big family does not do it justice.

Everyone in the organization shares this same story with family members, new hires, and other members of the organization. It's common for people to talk about "walks" and how they benefit the organization. They help bring to life the "fast, fun, friendly" environment that the organization boasts about.They help peers become close so they earn one another's trust and friendship, so that organizational goals can be met and the work environment becomes inviting, fun, and friendly. The walks have a huge impact on the organization. They promote friendship and collaboration between peers and leadership, they promote creativity, they open lines of communication and make it comfortable for people to discuss almost anything, and most importantly they help build connections. A big part of Target's culture is connecting and building relationships, and this certainly does that.

MSLD 500_Activity 9.4_Kemp,Elijah

This course was very beneficial to me and provided me with a lot of great tools that I can use throughout my graduate program. The 9-week format was ample time to cover all of the material and familiarize myself with all of the information presented. I thought that the instructor was very engaging and that the course was laid out well for me to be able to retain knowledge and incorporate the action research into the course assignments.

One of the biggest positives of the course was having a diverse student population. Students were able to incorporate life events and professional experience into discussion board questions, making for some very detailed, engaging discussions. The only negative experience I had with the course was not knowing about the Brain software before enrolling into the course. It would have been a good tool to get familiarized with before starting the course to avoid falling behind.

I thought that the critical thinking activities and information given to me during the course will be very beneficial in my organization for me and my team. I proved this with my action research project, but that was one small piece of knowledge that I incorporated into my routine at work, and this class had so much more than that to offer. It will be exciting to see the results from my team after using the tools and knowledge from this course. Almost every decision, both personally and professionally, needs to be thought out using critical thinking standards and skills, so it will also benefit my decision making in my home and with my family. The action research project was without a doubt my biggest takeaway from the class. It really helped me broaden my research horizons, engage my team at work with change, and challenge my peers at work to help benefit the organization. 

MSLD 500_Activity 8.3_Kemp,Elijah

Good presentation design is crucial to keeping your audience attentive, along with being able to retain the knowledge given. I think that being an effective presenter and keeping slide content to a minimum are the two most important points when creating a presentation.

I have sat through too many presentations where the presenter was either tired, boring, or simply did not care about the material being presented. This made for a bored audience and the information being conveyed was not retained as well as it could have been. Presenters need to be excited about the material and knowledgeable so they can illustrate key points for the audience, rather than filling up a slide with words. Having high energy and actually caring about the presentation will allow the audience to be more engaged, creating a more effective and fun environment.

Presentations should also be created in a way so that wording does not clutter slides, and slides are kept to a reasonable amount. Sometimes a picture can tell a story or convey a point. Audiences are said to respond better when they are visually stimulated, and this could not be made possible when using excessive wording, bullet points, and refraining from using stimulating images and graphics.

Creating a good presentation is not easy, but overcoming a few major obstacles could greatly improve the effectiveness of it. 

MSLD 500_Activity 7.3_Kemp,Elijah

Quantitative research is much different than qualitative research. The primary objective of quantitative research is to find out why something happens, not how. In quantitative research, everything should be quantified somehow, or expressed numerically and statistically. One of the biggest differences from qualitative research is that factors that cannot be observed can be measured. Some of the strengths include being able to compare different groups or classes, giving an explanation of causes, and allowing detailed measurements or tests to be expressed in numbers. The weaknesses include data that is only quantifiable data, it gives a very stagnant view of reality, and it asks correct questions that may appear to be close-ended, unlike open-ended questions in a qualitative study.

Quantitative research is very popular in the social science fields like psychology, sociology, and economics. This is because research in these fields can be expressed in statistical terms. The data collected is much more straight forward and factual, rather than opinionated and dynamic. Surveys are a very common method of data collection in this type of research, but the questions are very structured and the responses are pre-determined by the person administering the survey.

MSLD 500_Activity 6.3_Kemp,Elijah

Qualitative research is defined as a type of research that seeks to find answers by collecting evidence and producing findings that were not determined before. Some of the most common qualitative research methods are focus groups, participant observation, and interviews. Focus groups are crucial in collecting data with cultural norms taken into account, participant observation is taking information from people in their usual contexts, and interviewing is used for collecting data on individual thoughts, opinions, views, and background.

In qualitative research, the questions asked to find answers are open ended and appear to be flexible when compared with questions of quantitative research. Participants are given the option to choose their own responses rather than being forced to choose from a pre-determined set of answers. By having this flexibility, the answers are unanticipated by the researcher and they may be more complex and detailed in nature.

Perhaps another significant aspect of qualitative research is that it involves the beliefs, norms, and views of the local population that is involved in the research. Questions can be targeted to a specific audience or group of people who have similar characteristics, with everything from religion, gender, norms, and philosophies being used to in the answers. On the other hand, qualitative research does have its weaknesses. The number of people studied may be much less than in other research methods, the data may be much harder to compile and compare, and the questions asked are dependent upon the researchers own attributes and skills. 

MSLD 500_Activity 5.3_Kemp,Elijah

This is one class where I have been able to make immediate changes in my personal and professional life from the material and content being covered. Two of the biggest changes I have noticed in my decision making and thinking processes is becoming more aware of the assumptions that I make, and using the SEE-I process in real-life applications.

Assumptions are a necessary part of the thinking process as they represent the beginning of reasoning. I tend to make assumptions about people and events at work but rarely ever noticed it and never thought through the implications of making these assumptions. I have become more aware of these assumptions, and I have been able to think through the consequences of the assumptions I make by asking myself questions that pertain to the question at hand. I have found that assumptions are much easier to recognize and think through when I know why I am making them and what I am trying to accomplish by making them.

The SEE-I process has been very beneficial to me, both in my personal and professional life. At work, the SEE-I process has allowed me to better analyze problems and situations by defining them and going into more detail than I normally would. By writing down the situation or problem and using the process to break it down into more detailed sections, finding a solution becomes easier and my decision is made with more confidence.

In my opinion, the only way to make lasting, positive changes in the way I think is by applying the techniques and concepts in everyday life. Like any other subject or topic, information that goes unused is likely to be forgotten. I want to prevent this from happening by using most of the techniques, information, and concepts in my personal and professional life. Using the processes and information learned in this course will ensure the retention of the material and concepts while fine-tuning my critical thinking skills.

MSLD 500_Activity 4.3_Kemp, Elijah

After watching the video, it appears as if Sheena is well-traveled and well-versed in many cultures. I do agree with her in regards to her assumptions. I think that one of the greatest freedoms Americans truly value is freedom of choice. It does not matter if the decision we make is the wrong one, at least we were able to make the decision rather than have someone make it for us, no matter what we are deciding on. Our freedom of choice is something that we inherit and begin to use at a very young age, and because we know nothing else, not having the freedom to choose is quite frightening.

Sheena mentions in one of her examples that Americans, when compared with people from Europe, will actually still choose to make a decision even when the outcome of that decision is too great to handle or bear. This is what we are accustomed to. In other cultures the ability to choose may be severely limited, making freedom of choice a privilege and not an entitlement.

I think my favorite assumption about choice is that more options lead to better choices. We live in a country where you can walk into a grocery store and easily choose between 15 different types of hot sauce, or 25 different types of deodorant. If there were only 15 choices of deodorant, would our decision be of lesser quality than if we had 25 choices? I think not. I think that it actually hinders our ability to choose because we become accustomed to having more and more choices. When we walk into a store with only 5 choices of deodorant we may become lost and unable to choose. It gives us the mindset that we should have 25 choices of deodorant or else we couldn’t possibly make the best decision. We may be a bit spoiled in this regard.

Leadership and choices go hand-in-hand. As leaders we will be faced will decisions that not only affect us but employees and the organization we work within. If we make these assumptions while in leadership positions it could hinder performance and prevent us from maximizing employee potential. On the other hand, it may do the complete opposite. There may not be 10 different choices for us in particular situations, so will we still be able to make that decision, and can we live with it and talk through it? Sometimes there may only be one decision to make and it may not be the most popular one among employees. Or, will having several different options allow us to make the best possible decision for our organization and its team as opposed to having a few options, or maybe even one? I think at all depends on the organization and the leader.

“Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.”  -  Ayn Rand

MSLD 500_Activity 3.4_Kemp,Elijah

The Hunt Library has been a lifeline for me in my studies with ERAU, and the more I use it the more I realize how refreshing it is compared to typical search engines and informational databases. Traditional search engines offer researchers information from various sources, no matter how credible it is, but the Hunt Library offers sound information from credible sources that could have been reviewed by other students and faculty. For example, I typed the word “leadership” into the Hunt Library and it returned over 6 million results. Various content types like scholarly articles, peer reviewed articles, newspaper articles, and book reviews to name a few, were all generated and easily accessible for the student to use. When I typed the word “leadership” into Google it returned 81 million results, but the content that was returned was nowhere near as detailed as the Hunt Library, or as organized. Google generated everything from definitions to newspaper articles to businesses that offer leadership training.

In my opinion, the Hunt Library is tailored more to students than traditional search engines are. The content is much more detailed, easily accessible and simple to navigate, and the articles and content in general seem to be much more credible. The Hunt Library is student-friendly and serves as a great resource for any course that ERAU offers.

The Hunt Library was a great tool for me in my undergraduate studies, but it will be an even greater tool for me in my graduate studies. As mentioned earlier, the library is very easy to navigate around and has content readily available for almost any topic imaginable, especially leadership. Scholarly and peer reviewed articles are very convenient to use for term papers, and the newspaper articles are extremely beneficial for general discussions and questions throughout each course. It also makes it easy to cite because every piece of material in the library has a page showing the necessary information to give cite your work properly. The library is essentially a one-stop-shop for information, and with an 80-page paper on the horizon, the library is truly inviting.

ERAU has invested a generous amount of time and resources to ensure that students are being taken care of, and the Hunt Library is proof of that. 

MSLD 500_Activity 2.3_Kemp,Elijah

There are two areas in which I hold myself to very high standards: being a good husband and father, and also setting goals for myself.

I pride myself on dedicating almost all of my free time and energy to my family, whether it is helping them with something, cooking a meal, or having fun and enjoying a movie or sports game. Feeling loved and appreciated is perhaps the biggest benefit of being a “family man”, but there are several more. Being a good role model, setting a good example, and being a good provider are all added benefits of setting high standards as a father and a husband. I got married when I was 19, and I immediately had the responsibility of providing for my wife and my step-daughter. Because I had so much responsibility when I was young, I was forced to mature and grow up fast. My wife helped to develop my parenting skills, along with my confidence to live up to the high standards that her and I set for myself. Just as she holds herself to high standards as a mother and wife, I do the same in a father and husband capacity. Over the years I’ve fine-tuned my skills and abilities to overcome change and difficulties in my marriage while maintaining a good relationship with my wife. My maturity has increased every year with the help of my wife, through hard work and dedication. My priorities seem to have changed as well. My family now takes priority over every other person or function in my life, where they may not have in my early years of marriage.

I also hold myself to the standard of setting both short-term and long-term goals for myself. When I do not have goals in my future, I feel as if I am less accomplished, almost as if I have nothing to feel motivated about or to look forward to. My wife consistently empowers me to set goals for myself, both personally and professionally. My first goals included starting college courses and getting home from Iraq alive, and my current goals include finishing my master’s degree, obtaining a promotion at work, and spending more quality time with my family. I feel that over the years my goals have become more difficult to obtain. I enjoy achieving smaller goals that require less time and energy, but long term goals are typically harder to obtain and require much more effort, time, and resources. I think that as time goes by, I will become even more goal oriented. I also feel that this standard I hold myself to will have a positive impact on my first standard, which was being a good husband and father.

No goal is unattainable when you have the right people behind you.

MSLD 500 - Activity 1.6 - Kemp, Elijah

The foundation for critical thinking defines intellectual perseverance as having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others (http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/valuable-intellectual-traits/528).

In various careers today, especially those in leadership and managerial roles, intellectual perseverance is something that is visited on a daily basis. In my short professional career and in my time as an undergraduate student, I have had numerous opportunities to use my intellectual perseverance to overcome an obstacle, solve a problem, or succeed in a certain position. Being able to make the right decision at the right moment could mean the difference between success and failure, and as I progress in my educational and professional career, this term has never been more pronounced. Intellectual perseverance requires certain traits from an individual that come with experience and those that don’t. Courage, patience, and understanding are three very powerful words that come to mind when I think of this term. Having the courage to make decisions, talk through them, and deal with the consequences is enormous when pursuing a graduate degree, or facing a challenging situation at work. The same can be said for being patient with the process of succeeding, as success does not come easy in most tasks, and also for understanding the situation and views of others well enough to make informed decisions. Intellectual perseverance requires a higher degree of thinking that can be achieved through higher studies, so being able to develop as a critical thinker is pertinent to my success as a student and as a leader.

While I pursue my graduate degree with Embry-Riddle, I will draw from my past experiences as a leader to be successful. To me, intellectual perseverance and good leadership go hand-in-hand. Characteristics of a good leader include relating well to others, having the courage to make decisions, and understanding all view points before making the decision. Different strengths of different leaders can be leveraged to achieve different goals, and ultimately good leaders are respected, admired, and liked by their peers and followers. Building relationships with my peers in class and drawing from their knowledge, skills, and abilities is one way to help me maximize my learning potential as a graduate student. Also, understanding their viewpoints and taking them into consideration during discussions is essential to my development. I want to be able to actively engage the class and offer viewpoints that will help with their development as well.

I never thought I would be enrolled into a graduate degree program, nor did I think I would be a leader in my field, but the opportunity for me to prove myself as an effective and efficient leader has presented itself, both in my academic and professional careers. I have the opportunity to influence others who share the same desire to graduate with a degree in leadership, an opportunity to use my intellectual perseverance to complete challenging assignments and strenuous timelines. Just as I have made difficult decisions, removed obstacles for my team, and built relationships to accomplish tasks in my professional career, I will do the same in my educational endeavors. Some say good leaders are born, not made. In my opinion, good leaders can be made if they possess intellectual perseverance.