A631.9.2.RB - Video Debrief of Team MA

The environment that Steve Jobs created for the Next team to brainstorm was inviting and conducive to critical thinking. I thought that the open forum he encouraged among the team members was the type of environment that I enjoy working in, sharing thoughts and ideas with like-minded people. Steve clearly took over the meetings as the leader, steering the topics for discussion and doing the most amount of challenging. He directed the meeting, but encouraged others to join and provide appropriate challenges to the team regarding their plan. My leadership type is team-based, so allowing the team to collectively find answers to questions and determine priorities is something that I feel very comfortable with.

One thing that I really enjoyed about the Next start-up team is that they appeared to be getting away from everything to do these meetings, almost like a retreat where they can really focus on the topic at hand and get away from disturbances. I am a big proprietor of creating environments where team members feel comfortable and close, where thoughts, feelings, and ideas are shared openly and without judgment or criticism. This to me is a true team. The Next team knew what they had to do and how to do it, with leadership from Steve, and they planned together on how to accomplish it in the timeframe they established earlier. I also enjoy working out the details and planning to be perfect, which is something the Next team appeared to do quite often. They gave themselves tight deadlines and strict goals with little room for error, making it more important for them to rely on data.

Steve Jobs may not have made the best decisions with his new company, but from a teamwork standpoint I think he nailed it. He allowed the team to work together to determine what they needed to do, how it needed to happen, and with what. The team seemed more efficient and functional before running into financial problems, because they were able to focus on more of the project and end goal. I enjoyed watching the Next team operate and collaborate on building the next big thing. 

A631.8.4.RB - Reflective Analysis

In my opinion, the results of the Myers-Briggs personality test were quite accurate. My MBTI was ENFJ, meaning I am an extrovert, I am intuitive, I make decisions over feeling rather than thinking, and I prefer judging over perceiving. Right now in my career, all of these leadership traits that I possess fit nicely with my organization and the people I work with. My role with Target is very technical, but I utilize my strong skills with people to buy them into my ideas and plans so it doesn’t appear as if I am telling them what to do, it’s more like persuasion through relationships. My role also requires that use of critical thinking skills, along with quick decision making. I feel that it is somewhat easy for me to make decisions, especially important ones, mainly because I draw on my past experiences and feeling about making decisions, which I trust and have had success with.

Some of the areas that I feel I need to improve on, that the test pointed out were not some of my strengths, are using data and facts for decision making, developing other’s before myself, and expressing my ideas and opinions in front of others all the time. I feel that these three areas are keeping me from becoming a truly excellent leader, so I am focused on improving them in both my personal and professional lives. My current role forces me to make decisions based on factual evidence, which sometimes puts me in uncomfortable situations, but it also produces very good results and forces me to dig deeper into problems. I also tend to put people before myself, which cause me to neglect my own development and spend less time on personal projects, and sometimes even family when work becomes a priority. I have focused more on creating plans that are strictly followed with timelines, and not deviate from them. These timelines involve self-development activities and personal time for me to catch up and reflect. I still have ample time to mentor others, help them with their development, and build relationships. I also feel a bit uncomfortable showing my ideas and opinions due to them being different and unconventional, but I have been working on this by soliciting feedback from others on the results of these ideas to see if they actually work. I also use my people and communication skills to present them in different manners to allow people to understand them better.

                                                                                                                                         

Overall, I am pleased with the type of leader I am and how I fit into my organization. I think I am aware of what I am good at, what I am not, and how I can leverage my strengths in leadership to compensate for some of my weaknesses. Not every leader is perfect, but some are better than others, especially in certain capacities. I am in a role where energy, influence, and relationships are needed, and I am excelling at it because I possess all of these qualities. I think that as time passes, I will gravitate toward a more creative, energetic, and autonomous role where interaction with people takes up the majority of my time in the workplace. 

A631.7.4.RB - Future of OD

The future of OD is promising and bright. The claim that OD is simply a fad and will fade away after a short period of time is ridiculous, in my opinion. The development of organizations is as dynamic as every organization in existence. Organizations have so many different attributes, cultures, employees, motivators, goals, etc., that it’s hard to say that every developmental tool established will solve the problems of every organization out there, especially those yet to come. OD is dynamic in the sense that as these organizations change, so will the tools, programs, techniques, and objectives of the OD field for organizations.

For example, our organization established a middle management structure in our building that helped deal with the number of employees each manager was leading, and also to help with the culture and to help with relationship-building among leadership and their teams. This worked for the past five years, but as the competition in the retail industry became more fierce, we had to devise a way in which we met our objectives and remained relevant in the industry by saving money and delivering products to the stores that everyone would like. We recently changed our middle management structure again to meet these new objectives, and it’s a program that has a similar layout as those introduced to me throughout the two courses with ERAU. Why did we change? Because we had to, because the retail industry is dynamic and ever changing and the techniques and tools used five years ago would not have worked now, with every factor taken into account.

So, if you ask me, the field of OD is just warming up. As new technology emerges and industries become more competitive and organizations are looked upon to satisfy more employees and on a larger scale, the new techniques and programs of organizational development will be present. Organizations will never stop developing themselves to be better than they were the day before. We see it in current organizations and we will continue to see it, whether it be saving money, building a better culture, improving morale, improving performance, or developing a better product. This is a dynamic and promising field with a very positive future.

A631.6.4.RB - Transformational Strategies

Both of the videos seemed to highlight leadership techniques described in the book, but they are different in terms of approach and execution. “Mattress Mack” realized that his organization needed change to stay relevant and profitable. He used techniques in the book like the strategy culture matrix to assess the employees performance, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to improve in these areas. Jim sought to understand why his company was failing, the root cause of the problem, and fix it through transformational change. He utilized different tactics and approaches to this change by ensuring that his employees were well trained to deal with the change, equipped them with the tools they needed to satisfy the customer and keep them returning, and also made sure that everything they did could be measured. Jim used change management to see his company through this transformation. I think it paid off quite nicely for him and his team.

General McChrystal talked about the foundation of an effective team. He didn’t talk specifically about approaches in leadership, but did talk about ways in which to grow as a leader and stay relevant. In his experiences, the military and its leaders helped shape General McChrystal’s views on leadership and teams. He explained that leaders are allowed to fail and watching your team go through events without having control is the hardest thing he has ever had to do, but ultimately it made him a better person. I feel like General McChrystal’s leadership traits align with the core characteristics of any good organization and culture, involving risk, support, autonomy, openness, and sensitivity. The culture that he built on his teams revolves around relationships, trust, support, and teamwork.

I feel that both Jim and General McChrystal are both effective leaders with extensive experience in change management and transformation. Although from different backgrounds, they both lead their teams through change for the betterment of their organizations, which is not an easy task. Communication, strategy, teamwork, trust, and effective decision making all play a huge part in the success of managing change on any level.