A631.5.4.RB - Leading System Wide Change

It’s hard enough being a leader in today’s workplace where more work and more thought are being asked on a daily basis, much less leading an entire organization through a process or change. This is especially difficult if that organization has established processes and employees who are not prone to change. Some leadership traits that come to mind when thinking of these change leaders are resilient and adaptable, relates well to others, inspiring, good communicator, and strategic. They must initiate a change at the right time, the right place, and in the right manner to do it successfully and have it accepted by the organization and its employees.

The traits described above are merely a foundation for a good leader, but using these traits effectively and capitalizing on these strengths are what’s going to make them successful. For example, there are leaders who communicate well but fail to communicate change in the forum, or use the wrong channel to roll it out to the organization. This is where strategic thinking comes into play. These attributed of good leaders coincide with one another, as neither one of them is better or worse, more or less effective than the other. They all play off one another and complement the leader in his/her entirety. I lost a very good change leader a few months ago when he was promoted to a headquarters position. This leader afforded autonomy to employees, knew what to say and how to say it, inspired others to excel, brought humor to the workplace when necessary, and carried out effective plans for our distribution center. I saw him carry out change within the building in a very positive attitude that was received by each and every employee quite easily because of who he was. He was that type of leader that made you not want to work for anyone else if possible.

I can’t say that one single leadership trait or attribute makes one successful. Different organizations of different sizes and industries require different leaders, but there are some effective leadership traits that are proven to be successful in nearly every situation. Good leaders are the ones who drive positive change despite what others think, who step outside of the box to solve problems, who inspire others to drive that change no matter what their role is in the organization. These leaders often change themselves as they move up the corporate ladder, but it’s always for the better. Personal and professional development is at the forefront of decision making and behavior. 

A631.4.4.RB - INSEAD Reflection

I think that one of the biggest benefits of a self-managed team is the developmental opportunities that the team members have with one another. They are expected to communicate effectively, develop relationships, delegate and plan work assignments, and operate seamlessly as a team. This experience allows them to develop one another and immerse themselves in learning opportunities that they would not get in other capacities. Another benefit is being able to truly succeed and fail as a team, which promotes teamwork, learning, and relationship-building. Self-managed teams may be closer than any other team based on the nature and scope of their work. One major drawback is having to diffuse problems and strategizing to remove obstacles within the team without the help of a manager, at least not on a regular basis. There are times when peers and teammates fail to come to a resolution and managers are necessary.

I would very much enjoy working within a self-managed team. I respond very well to autonomy afforded to me from leadership, and this is typical in self-managed teams. I also enjoy brainstorming with teammates, sharing work assignments, and collaborating with peers and teammates to solve problems. I do, however, think that the autonomy of self-managed teams is by far the most attractive benefit to me. If the relationships and teamwork are there, there does not have to be a leader 99% of the time because the team will overcome any obstacle within the group.

I feel that one of the main competencies I would need to develop to be the outside manager of a self-managed team is giving the team the autonomy to take on projects and tasks by themselves. I am by no means a micro-manager, but I like to be involved in certain processes of the teams that I do manage. This is because I am naturally a curious and detail-oriented person who enjoys observing and interacting with others, so it would be hard for me to completely hand over all control of work assignments, projects, communication, and interaction to the team. The outside manager serves as a coach for the team, and I think I would be an effective coach if I could get over the fact of giving the team almost complete independence.

A631.3.4.RB - Feedback and Goals

Feedback in an organization is arguably one of the biggest developmental tools leaders can use today, not only because more employees are responding to it, but also because of the value it provides to the organization and its employees. Real-time feedback for employees ensures that expectations and goals are being met. I think one of the biggest reasons there are generational differences between employees is because of competition in the workplace and workforce today. Employees now are going above and beyond, developing themselves and finding ways to improve to stay relevant to organizations. The younger generation has strong competition in almost every industry, so maintaining a competitive through continuous improvement from feedback and goal setting is important. I am part of the younger generation and enjoy feedback from both peers and senior managers because it allows me to continuously improve, gain a new perspective on my work habits, and because I feel valued and relevant.

The organization I work for has a culture of feedback, so I give and receive significant amounts of feedback at work. I do the same outside of work to my family and friends alike, which some appreciate and some don’t. I feel that relationships are built on this feedback, and the better the relationship the easier it is to give hard feedback to someone. I believe this feedback helps me to improve in areas in which I may not be as strong as I need to be.

Targeted feedback and goal setting has led to higher performance for me, and also a higher level of engagement. I feel that employees, peers, and leadership value me and respect me if they are giving me true, meaningful, and constructive feedback, whether it be good or bad. There are times when the feedback is not received as expected because of the way it was delivered, but even this serves as feedback for the person delivering it. This feedback is a continuous improvement tool for me because it allows me to receive information from others on my performance, building on the things I’m good at and improving on the ones I’m not so good at.

I feel that this reflection solidifies the fact that feedback is important in my development and growth as a leader and a person. Feedback is something that should never stop because I will always be a work in progress. There will always be something to improve on to help performance and keep me engaged in the workplace, and feedback is an avenue for others at work to help me achieve my goals and hold me accountable to my plans.

A631.2.5.RB - Collaboration and Competition

I think that the biggest contributor of our team’s success the first week was communication and time management. Everyone on the team was able to get started on the assignment long before the due date, allowing each of us time to complete detailed and quality work, and also allowing room for feedback and improvement. The time zone differences and work schedules among each team member was definitely the biggest road block we encountered, but this was communicated during the assignment, so it was expected. Decisions are made one day, and it may be a day or two before a team member contributes to that decision, so this inhibits problem solving to a certain extent being that there is an assignment due each week.

For this assignment, very little time was geared toward decision making and problem solving. The team knew what had to be done, how to do it, and the first few team members who contributed thought of an easy process for all of us to work on the assignment in a timely manner. We shared information via the discussion board in our group forum, and also via e-mail. Rather than utilizing the file exchange, we posted each file to the discussion board where it was highly visible for each team member. I don’t feel that there were any power struggles between team members, nor did I feel that that there was an authority figure in our group. Someone took the lead to submit the assignment, and the rest of us confirmed the document that was going to be submitted.

Collaboration was definitely a big part of this assignment, but more importantly this entire team. We utilized feedback, opinions, and knowledge from one another to get the assignment to where we wanted it to be in terms of quality, and we did this through good teamwork and communication. Each of us has strengths in teamwork and leadership, and we will continue to leverage these throughout the term to achieve desired results. Being that this was the first project we completed as a team, process intervention wasn't necessary. The assignment was very straight forward and we had no issues completing it and working as a team.

Overall, I thought the assignment was fun and a good ice breaker for our team. We all had the opportunity to observe and interact with one another and to become familiar with the team and our responsibilities. I have high hopes for this team.

A631.1.5.RB - Eco Seagate

I feel that the Eco Seagate team developmental process is extremely valuable to any organization. The activities that they use in the program, such as hiking, biking, and white water rafting are some of the hardest and most extreme sports depending on the terrain, with hiking and biking being arguably the most challenging individual sports. They use these individual and team sports and make them all team-oriented so that they must finish and succeed as a team. Essentially, the team is only as strong as the weakest link. This is very true in most all real world applications and team environments, especially in high-performing teams and organizations. The team goals and objectives, along with the reward system, are based around overall team performance. Teamwork, dedication, respect, hard work, perseverance, and relationship building appear to be the most apparent highlights of this program. Any team could benefit from these activities and apply what they learned to their projects and organizational teams.

High-performing organizations and teams need activities like these because they engage in all of these scenarios, just with different variables and tasks. Commitment and trust are two very powerful words that are often associated with high-performing organizations, and these activities build on these traits. They teach team members to trust one another, to commit to succeeding no matter what, no matter how hard it is. Is this not what organizations are looking for? Should this be taught and exercised in these high-performing organizations? I think so, without a doubt. All teams are going to encounter problems where their abilities, skills, and relationships are going to be tested, and what better place to do that then here. At least in this forum failure has no impact on the organization and its people and the organization and team can see what their reaction will be to the stress and challenge. This helps a high-performing learn a lot about themselves, their team members, and how they might perform under different circumstances.

I think any successful and high-performing organization could benefit from this activity, especially mine. Lower level and senior managers within our distribution centers work very closely with one another, and there are various teams that operate at any given time throughout the year, building upon relationships and improving processes. Given the fact that Target puts so much emphasis on relationships, this program would do wonders for the managers in our building. It seems to epitomize relationship building by building new relationships and strengthening those that have already been established. The activities really challenge those involved, much like the senior team does with lower level management. I think it would give them good exposure to crisis management and performing under pressure, stress, and conflict within a team environment. 

A630.9.4.RB - Hiring and Recruiting

Eric’s description of the Google culture makes complete sense to me. There are too many organizations out there searching for the ideal candidate, someone who fits the exact mold that they have created. This could really hinder an organization from hiring incredible people because it forces the organization to hire only people who fit the mold. It also makes sense that he views his organization as one that doesn’t need to be managed. In my experience, good employees will manage themselves and run the day-to-day operations without needing too much guidance or structure. The management team will essentially serve as coaches in the development of the employees rather than supervisors. This does not work in every organization because not every organization recruits and retains employees like Google does. They seem to hire those who are driven and motivated to manage themselves.

It certainly takes courage to implement this culture and point of view, especially in today’s workforce where supervisor and managerial positions are plentiful. This could be for several reasons, but it seems that managers are more active in their employees jobs now, not just from a developmental standpoint but from an operational one. This approach could backfire because employees could become too accustomed to not having anyone watching over them, which could lead to decreased production, lack of engagement on the manager’s part, and some employees not feeling valued because of the lack of a connection between them and a leader. Again, it works for Google because they hire the type that doesn’t mind it and actually thrive in this atmosphere, but for those who need to be managed and engaged often it wouldn’t work.

I think the biggest take-away from this video is learning that not every organization will hire and retain the same types of employees. Some will have a mold that they want their employees to fit into, some won’t. I try to look for diversity and skill set when hiring for our organization, those who want to succeed and have positive outlook on what’s ahead for them. I think Google has had success from this and I will plan to use it when hiring, leading, and retaining my team

A630.8.4.RB - Build a Tower, Build a Team

I think that Tom’s analysis of why kindergarteners perform better than MBA students on the spaghetti challenge is accurate. MBA students tend to be a bit more competitive, more direct, and more opinionated than kindergarteners, all of which would impact the performance of the team. In general, kindergarteners do a very good job of thinking outside of the box, along with using their imagination and creativity. Kindergarteners are also very like-minded and think in the same terms without letting their egos get in the way of the task. I think another reason why kindergarteners might perform better is because they have very good collaboration skills. They tend to get along almost immediately with others of the same age while sharing ideas and working together as a team.

In my opinion, CEOs with an executive assistant perform better than those without one because of the outside perspective brought into the group, and also because it’s a different skillset contributing to the project. Just as CEOs require strong skill sets in business, strategic thinking, and leadership, executive assistants have creative thinking, they effectively multitask, and have strong organizational skills. When these two skill sets are teamed together they are much more effective than those of a CEO alone.

This video teaches that collaboration and communication among team members are perhaps the most important factors in team performance and effectiveness. Kindergarteners are perhaps the epitome of collaboration and communication, which is why they work so well in teams. During process intervention, collaboration and communication make up the backbone of this strategy and allow team members to realize what they need to do better, how to do it, and what the outcome should look like. This takes solid communication and teamwork to be able to go through this process.

The biggest take away from this video, in my opinion, is solidifying the fact that collaboration is increasingly important to organizations, not only teams. Collaboration entails relationship building, communication, teamwork, and putting yourself in the place of others. Kindergarteners seem to do all of these exceptionally well, except for putting themselves in the place of others. Once professionals like MBA students, executives, and managers get over their egos and learnt to truly work with one another to accomplish a goal, the results are much more positive and substantial.