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.