A511.1.3.RB - Leadership vs. Management

The simple question "Why"? relates to cause and "Greater Goal."
Think about a leader who has inspired you. Was the person inspiring as an individual, or did you respond more to the cause to which the person enlisted you?
This week’s module was essentially an introduction to leadership along with discussion of the concepts of leadership and management. You may have noticed where they are the same and where are they different. Be that as it may, one of the roles of a manager is understood to involve the exercise of leadership.
For this reflective analysis, please continue that thought process and create a submission that encapsulates content from the module as well as your own thoughts on the issue of the intersection of leadership/management. You may approach this discussion from any angle. One might be simply to define managerial work and then analyze how leadership is a part of that. Perhaps you would prefer to examine Mintzberg’s various managerial roles and analyze how the leader role is either integral to or is not related to the remaining nine roles.
When planning this submission, you might also think about the video of Simon Sinek's TEDx talk and the “why” of leadership. Why does Southwest Airlines exist? Does the slogan “Freedom to Fly" make sense? This is what Herb Kelleher “sold” and SWA leadership still sells to its employees! What “cause” made his employees come to work every day, especially in the early days of the airline when they were paid substantially less than similar employees at other airlines. Is this “why” of leadership something that should be considered within the discussion of managerial work?

Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked, and complementary (Murray, n/d).
The words leadership and management have different definitions. Leadership is the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group. Management is the person or persons controlling and directing the affairs of a business, institution, etc (Dictionary.com). People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. If you talk about what you believe, you will attract those who believe what you believe (Sinek, 2009).
The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust (Murray, n/d).
There are leaders with a strong moral compass, who focus on the needs of their followers rather than their own self-interest. But does being such a leader actually pay off?

My old supervisor was someone who was supremely hard working. Everything she did was for the purpose of bettering society, the people she worked with and herself, in that order.She was passionate about diversity issues, particularly women's and LGBT rights. She was not simply a social media activist, "liking" pages on Facebook and signing online petitions. She was a letter-writer, caller, marcher, donor and teacher on these issues. She molded her work group around activism and encouraged, as well as participated in, community service and philanthropy initiatives. She challenged her staff to think, "What do I care about? What do I want to change?" She then asked us what we were doing to emphasize those interests. Did we simply believe it, or did we work for the progress of our ideals?
Servant leaders focus their attention on the long-term prosperity of the firm and the development
of their employees. In doing so, servant leaders basically activate a process of reciprocation in which
employees respond by performing better, not only individually but especially on behalf of the firm as a whole.
Caring about the organization’s success rather than his or her own, valuing honesty more than profits, and emphasizing the need to give back to the community are inspiring to individuals. Why? People want to be useful. They enjoy missions. Most do not want to do themselves, but giving them a mission is doing a part of their work for them. It's a convenience to hop on a bandwagon. 

But, as Simon Sinek notes, you must declare your mission. If you don't know why you do what you do, and people respond to why you do what you do, then how will you ever get people to vote for you, or buy something from you, or, more importantly, be loyal and want to be a part of what it is that you do?

We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves.


Refeences

Dictionary.com. Accessed at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/management?s=t

Hess, Edward D. (2013). Servant leadership: A path to high performance. The Washington Post. Accessed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/servant-leadership-a-path-to-high-performance/2013/04/26/435e58b2-a7b8-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html

Murray, Alan. (n/d). What is the Difference Between Management and Leadership? The Wall Street Journal. Accessed at http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/what-is-the-difference-between-management-and-leadership/

Sinek, Simon. (2009). How great leaders inspire action. TEDx. Accessed at http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action/transcript?language=en#t-587000

A520.6.5.RB: Team Roles

Write a blog entry on task-facilitating and relationship-building roles. In your blog, reflect upon your understanding of how these roles enhance team performance.

• Consider how you generally relate as a team-member.
• Do you actively engage your team to accomplish its mission?
• Do you work to improve the team cohesion and collaboration?

In any team, there are various roles for people to play a part.  People are the elements that make up a team, and the diversity among people is probably the single greatest reason why teams are so complex. Some people are leaders, some are followers, and some move between these roles. Two such teams roles are Task-facilitating and Relationship-building roles. Task-facilitating roles include:

• disseminating information,
• asking for clarifications, and
• directing members' efforts back to the task.

Building good relationships promotes team success (Cameron & Whetten, 2011, p. 514). Members do this by:

• crediting other's ideas and efforts,
• mediating conflicts, and
• challenging inappropriate exchanges.

These roles assist in unifying the team mentally and emotionally. Encouragement is important, whether you are a team leader or a fellow team member. As a team leader, I challenge myself to be clear and consistent about what I would like my team to achieve. As a task-facilitator, I give clear directions. I seek discussions involving thought from all members, and I respect their thoughts and encourage others to do so. Research on catastrophic group decisions has identified a distinctive pattern in the teams that have made poor decisions. One of the pitfalls of those groups is censorship of dissent. If team members pressure themselves or each other to suppress dissenting opinions in order to maintain harmony, the diversity of members' insights is wasted.  Effective team leaders understand that a moderate amount of task-focused conflict is constructive.  If their teams are not debating issues, effective team leaders promote debate by playing the role of devil's advocate. The shared goal must be the goal of everyone (Cameron & Whetten, 2011, p. 512). I also debrief with my team so we can learn to improve our weaknesses or celebrate the good techniques implemented by the team. 

Team cohesive and collaboration lead to effective team and results. My organization consistently holds events were staff and faculty can celebrate our achievements and socialize; we have monthly service excellence award ceremonies where we can nominate each other for exceptional work. We also have quarterly socials that usually have a cause tied to them - our Work Environment Quality Council is about to host a Fiesta Pot Luck, and a few months ago several staff members came together to throw a fundraiser for an injure international student.

I am a learning through experience and teamwork. It really strengthens ties between those with similar passions and people tend to be open to sharing about their personal lives and influences when they are working on topics they care about.

References

Cameron, S. K. & Whetten, A. D. (2011). Developing management skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

A521.6.3.RB - High Performance Teams

Based on this week's readings from the Denning text, identify the elements of high-performance teams and apply them to teams with whom you have worked in your organization. Next, Identify the importance of shared values and discuss the influence of shared values on your team's performance. Finally, examine the four patterns of working together and detail one positive and one negative experience. What could you have done to influence the outcomes?

High Performance Teams are...

Self-Directed

High Performance Team Members are self-directed. If the team is to be managed, management must be careful to focus the team on "what" needs to be achieved. As the Adviser for the Embry-Riddle Residence Hall Association, I am able to guide student leaders and aid them in leading others. Recently, the organization decided they wanted to be seen as service leaders, and have been able to develop several community service projects – our group has served hours at the local zoo, donated more than 1000 cans of food to two local food banks and made blankets for Project Linus, an organization that donates hand-made blankets for critically ill children.

Encompass a Shared Vision

All team members share and support a common vision that the team is working towards. Team members are highly focused on attaining objectives, usually because membership is appointed by the organization. High Performance Teams have developed a vision that brings real meaning to the work that is being performed. The vision describes a future state that team members find personally appealing and exciting. Teams need a winning vision, just as much as individuals have; when these are aligned, High Performance Teams are built. As a University community, ERAU endorses the core values of diversity, mutual respect, integrity, collegiality, academic freedom, stewardship, service, safety, and student success. Two of my deepest passions are diversity and service, which is why I enjoy working at this institution.

Time-Oriented

Focusing from what is to be done instead of holding endless discussions is the best approach to solving the problem. Deadlines do not need to be met immediately; they can be as much as a year away. However, 90 to 120 day or even shorter time-frames are more desirable and achievable by high performance teams.

Communication

The team makes extra-ordinary efforts to make certain everyone on the team understands the plan and progress towards its completion. An old military saying is that there are always 10 percent of the people who do not get the word. A High Performance Team recognizes this phenomenon and uses all communication vehicles available to get new information to every team member. They also pursue information themselves to make sure they have the most recent news. Within my Department, most of the team focuses of keeping open communication with each other - open doors, open minds and open mouths - which is why we rarely deal with the repercussions of miscommunication.

Involve Everyone

Team members work to make sure every member of the team is involved - like a well-oiled machine, High Performance Teams know there are no useless parts. This is siliar to the dynamics of a community. Every team member has a unique insight or contribution they can make towards team goal achievement which is why they must all contribute for the team to achieve full success.

Reviews Quality

The team stops at appropriate times to check the quality of its recent work. This is done to determine where the process could be improved and what learning can be shared with other team members. However, HPTs celebrate over new team learning or insights, and may celebrate the completion of a small task.

Care About Member and Team Growth

It is the responsibility of each and every High Performance Team member to search out and discover the capabilities of all the other team members. High Performance Teams take the time to celebrate small victories toward goal achievement.

Denning notes that the four patterns of working together are work groups, teams, communities and networks. Work groups have similar work tasks and report to the same supervisor. A benefit of a work group is that Teams consist of those who have clearly defined responsibilities, no decision making power, high degree of interaction among its member. Communities are self organized amd share responsibilities, common interests and values. Networks involve many people most have never met face-to-face, but share an interest in organizations and interests.

References

Whetten, D., & Cameron, K. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River,

   New Jersey: Pearson Education.

A521.5.4.RB - Aligning Values

Based on the readings in the Denning text and the assessment you took in A521.5.1 identify in detail the process of developing and aligning organizational values. Identify the three basic components of an ethical community and discuss how they might be applied in your organization. Are there values that are missing from your organization?

Discuss how you might develop those values and also align them with the values of the individuals in the organization

Three tenets of an ethical community are: 

• trust
• loyalty
• solidarity

In my organization, trust is established through students knowing that they can rely on our product (education) and that they will be treated fairly in the classroom, in our offices, and in the community. We practice loyalty by never giving up on students and providing them with resources to succeed. We do this through providing tutoring; through faculty holding office hours for students to come is an ask questions; through staff and faculty serving as advisers for student organizations and creating opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom; and through highlighting their achievements. Solidarity is sometimes practiced through helping students outside of the confines of the job - for example, one of my mentors drives one of our students two hours to a specialized doctor once a month for a long-term sickness - but I have not seen staff or faculty risk their reputation for students. I would like to see more leaders in the community question practices, identify red tape and play a more active role in connecting with students as people, but it is more important for me to point out what I see to the appropriate people, and to be as active with students as possible so that I can be a continued resource to them in any circumstance.


References

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative (Revised and updated edition). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons/Jossey-Bass

A521.5.5.GA - Projecting your Attitude to the Audience

Based on this week's readings from Whalen, create a Microsoft Word document describing the elements you would integrate into a public presentation. Be sure to list at least five elements and describe how you might integrate them into your narrative. Include the expected effect you believe these elements might have on your audience.
Five things I need to improve on as a public speaker are making sure that I am the focus of attention before I begin, moving around, utilizing turn, touch and tell, learning how to cut down presentations for time and keeping the audience entertained. I usually cut to the chase when I am presenting. I make sure most of the people who are supposed to be in the room are there, that the room is moderately quiet and that most people are not fiddling with their phones. I need to invest more time into reading my audience (Whalen, 2007, p. 170). If I make sure they are aware of what I want them to be doing when I begin, they will try to remain as such throughout.

At times I try to sell too much within a presentation. I really enjoy doing research, and I assume that other people want to hear all of the research that I have discovered, which leads to my presentation usually being longer than I anticipate them to be. However, Denning discusses how explaining processes ARE NOT STORIES (Denning, 2011). In a TIME article on presenting, it was noted that students were most engaged for the first 15 minutes or so of class, after which their attention gradually slacked off (Murphy Paul, 2012). This same article notes that we understand stories better than statistics; we remember them more accurately, and we find them more engaging to listen to in the first place. Therefore, making sure I make presentations concise is key to assuring most of the information is presented in those 15 minutes, and that a real life example is incorporated. Another reason why my presentations are often longer then I presume it's because I do ask a lot of questions and allow for the audience to participate quite often. Sometimes I need to cut them off to keep things moving. During a recent presentation for my resident assistants, I did not anticipate that the audience would have so many experiences to share about their downfalls and communication, and how they want to improve how they communicate. I could have shortened the presentation by skipping through some of my slides or perhaps skipping an activity.

Upon writing a review of my presentation, the director of my department noticed that I did not move around much. Most notably, this was because my back hurt at the time, and the podium was my saving grace. However, I could have addressed that in the beginning of presentation, as my staff usually sees me as someone who is energetic and lively. The future I will use turn, touch and tell while presenting. I don't believe I have ever utilized hand signals in gesturing to the screen when I present, but I do use a lot of movement as I speak, and that may look awkward behind a podium, particularly as someone who is not very tall.

At times I do elaborate on every bullet point. When I realize I am over on time, I tend to simply speak faster instead of choosing the most important bullet point, minimally elaborating, and moving forward. It is possible that I lose people when moving at a quick pace. Also, their attention may drop because I am no longer incorporating their feedback in a rush to finish. 

Finally, I want to make sure that I am keeping my audience entertained while I speak. I like to incorporate pictures, especially memes, videos, activities and discussion questions into my presentations. However, I have realized that I tend to be very excited in the beginning of the presentation, and I start to die as I wind down. I've tired myself out in the first couple of slides just trying to keep people's eyes on me.

My supervisor pointed out in my last presentation that if people start looking like they are distracted or bored, I need to inject a break into my presentation. I think this is a very good idea, because people will come back, hopefully focus going getting through the rest of what I have to say. Sometimes you will just need to move around. As noted in the beginning of Chapter 8, you can only stay on one subject for maximum of 10 seconds poor people's minds will wander (2007, p.169). If they have been sitting for a long time, they will need to stretch and move around before they can take in any more information (2007, p.170).

References

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative (Revised and updated edition). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons/Jossey-Bass

Whalen, J.D. (2007). The Professional Communications Toolkit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Murphy Paul, Annie. (2012). How to Get — and Keep — Someone’s Attention. TIME.
 Retrieved at http://ideas.time.com/2012/07/25/how-to-get-and-keep-someones-attention/

A520.5.3.RB - Forrestor's Empowerment

Review the article titled: “Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea” by Russ Forrester (2000).
In your blog, prepare a summary that compares and contrasts the concepts discussed to those discussed in the text.

In the best working teams, a commitment to and desire for team membership is present. If a manager's goal is to accomplish their own goals instead of the team's objectives, or to maintain independence from others, they are not leading. Empowered employees are more productive, psychologically and physically healthy, proactive and innovative, persistent in work, trustworthy, interpersonally effective, intrinsically motivated, and have higher morale and commitment than employees who are not empowered (2012, p.472). I would argue that if upper level management realizes that a restructuring of responsibilities is necessary between lower level and middle management due to lack of productivity, high turnover, and reports of workplace dissatisfaction, it would be far more effective to re-train middle management in order to establish teamwork and productivity, or to replace those who are leading ineffective teams.

The article by Russ Forrester titled "Empowerment: rejuvenating a potent idea" discusses several issues within the structure of management that it calls dysfunction for those within its ranks. Forrester discusses an enlightening set of conclusions about the psyche of middle management and the perceived threat and stress that empowerment of those underneath them may cause (Forrester, 2000). 

Organizational hierarchies are quite delicate. middle managers tend to see themselves as stressed by those on both sides of their position (Whetten & Cameron, 2012). They have work to do, yet they also have to make sure that those they supervise are busy with work and doing what they need to be doing. Alas, many middle managers are unsure of what task they can pass on to their supervisees because they want the work done right but are unsure if their supervisees have the skills to make sure the work is done correctly. Without having to waste more time explaining to their supervisee what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and when it needs to be done, many managers rather save the effort and end up just doing it themselves. As Forrester states, "most managers recognize that their job security and career progression depend on what the organization demands of them." Forrester continues, "they tend to see their security more at risk if they depend on others." 

If a manager spends more time micromanaging than doing their own work,
how are they setting a positive example for their staff?

The issue is that, when managers touch all of the work within the office, they underutilize their staff, leaving them bored, unproductive and either underfulfilled or unfulfilled. They also cannot focus on what they really need to be doing! The best workers will also feel as if their manager does not trust them. As Whetting and Cameron note in chapter 9, "team members will not follow a person whom they don't trust, who is hypocritical or dishonest, and whose motives appear to be personal aggrandizement instead of the welfare of the team" (2012, p.507). Perhaps middle managers believe that they are sparing their staff "dirty work" by keeping unpleasant, technical, or timely work to themselves. However, playing the role of martyr by refusing to involve others in disagreeable tasks or drudgery creates unrealistic expectations for employees and isolates managers (2012, p. 469). It also creates undue stress on the supervisor. Personal consequences can range from inability to concentrate, anxiety, and depression to stomach disorders, low resistance to illness, and heart disease (p. 113).

Why are companies keeping people around who
refuse to put their hand in?

Empowerment can happen through a middle manager, but oftentimes the dysfunctions discussed are highlighted by upper level management and become a process which disenfranchises middle management more than anything. For example, Forrester discusses how organizations give additional power to employees, but intentionally leave their accountability the same, to predict protect employees supposed security needs by shielding them from the risks associated with their actions. The problem this creates is that accountability remains with those from whom the power was transferred, and middle managers then bear the accountability without the control. Though one would assume that this would force middle managers to develop the team dynamic needed to survey their staff to their own benefit, they get angry and less cooperative in these circumstances (2000). However, is their lack of effective delegation which causes upper level management to presume that such restructuring is necessary.

As noted in Chapter 8, in order to empower, a leader must develop self efficacy, self determination, personal control, meaning, and trust in all of their team members. This means that managers must involve themselves in professional development, creativity, openness, honesty, fairness and consistency (2012, p.472). A leader-manager encourages experimentation, trial and error learning, freewheeling discussions of new possibilities, and demands personal responsibility by everyone for upgrading performance (2012, p.505).

References

Forrester, R. (2000). Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 67-80. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/210518384?accountid=27203

Whetten, D., & Cameron, K. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

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

McKay, Davis, & Fanning direct our attention to nuances associated with body language, paralanguage, meta-messaging and hidden agendas. Sometimes, our verbal messages are not congruent with our nonverbal messages. At times, our paralanguage belies our verbal content. Sometimes, we use hidden messages to "cover our tracks" and deliver positive messages about our intentions.

Reflect on Chapters 4-6 of Messages and create a blog posting that identifies how you might use the information in these readings to improve your ability to communicate with sincerity and congruence. Think about instances where you have been exposed to incongruent messages and how you felt at those times.

In your blog, use specific situations that you recall and describe changes that you would make using the technical jargon of the chapters. The goal is for you to become a more powerful communicator by understanding these common problems and deploying strategies to overcome them.

There are six main characteristics of effective language. Effective language is concrete and specific, not vague and abstract; concise, not verbose; familiar, not obscure; precise and clear, not inaccurate or ambiguous; constructive, not destructive; and appropriately formal (Austin, 1962).

In reviewing the way we communicate, only 7 percent of our communication is expressed verbally (McKay, Davis & Fanning, 2009). That means that 93 percent of our communication is expressed in the way we say things and how we look when we say them.

The six elements of paralanguage are pitch, residence, articulation, tempo, volume, and rhythm. We must think about how are voice communicates things like trust, intelligence, and care. We want to make sure that our voice reflects what we want to say, and that it is congruent with the words we speak. We also want to make sure that our social kinetics, or by communication, align with what we are saying (McKay, Davis & Fanning, 2009). There are cultural differences in body language, just as much as there are in verbal communication. This leaves room for miscommunication (Searle, 1979). Is important to communicating all backgrounds so that people may understand why we communicate the way we do and to lessen miscommunication.
They say a picture paints a thousand words – and the same can certainly be said for gestures. We all subconsciously give away hints as to our true feelings, through our movements and gestures.

There are several universal movements that tend to be straight-forward.
Someone's arms crossed in front of their chest is one of the body language examples that indicate that one is being defensive. The body language meaning of crossed arms may also show disagreement with opinions and actions of other people with whom you are communicating (CBS News). The gesture of head nodding usually signifies agreement or bowing, a submissive gesture that shows one is going along with another person's opinions. For example, when I am presenting to an audience, I become more confident by seeing people nod, especially with audible "yes"s and humming (mm-hmm). Nail biting demonstrates nervousness, stress, or insecurity.

Chapter 6 the hidden agendas within communication. I would say I am guilty of the "I'm Good But You're Not", "I'm Tough" and "I Know It All" agendas (McKay, Davis & Fanning, 2009). I do not like to seem insecure in any situation. Unfortunately, at times the only way I can find to describe what I want is to describe how I show my wants to other people. This is sometimes come off as me saying, what you are doing is wrong, do it like I am doing it. Generally speaking, however, I do not concern myself with the decisions of other people when they do not affect me. However, a lot of people do ask me for my opinion and my only example usually involves how I do it. In regards to being tough, my background assumes that I would be more resilient than others in most situations, however, I do find it difficult to deal with injustice and discrimination. I may be resilient, but my experiences are completely different than those I have faced as an adult. Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed by the things I am a part of (Austin, 1962), as noted in the text, the "don't attack me or I'll cut you up" approach is standard when people try to point out that I may be wearing myself out. Alas, be I know it all agenda is very much in line with the "I'm Good but You're Not" agenda. I will look into becoming more of a person who can acknowledge the strength people have within answer use those rates as examples to do better instead of using my own examples and encouraging them to do as I do. I will also try to be less defensive while still being open and interested and what other people have to say and teach me.

References

Austin, J. L. (1962). How to Do Things with Words. New York: Oxford University Press

CBS News. Body language: 23 must-know moves. Accessed at http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/body-language-23-must-know-moves/

McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: the Communication Skills Book (3rd edition). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications

Searle, John R. (1979). Expression and Meaning: Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts. New York: Cambridge University Press