A520.9.3.RB-Course Reflections- Trey McNeil

As I reflected on the topics covered in MSLD 520, I realized that we learned many interesting and intriguing topics. Each module seemed to offer a lesson on leadership, followership, and life in general. I learned personal skills, interpersonal skills, and group skills and had the opportunity to reflect on each. Some of the concepts I would like to discuss in this blog are work-life balance, intrinsic motivation, emotional intelligence, and relationship-building roles.

In module two, we discussed the positives of managing stress and work-life balance. From this module, I learned that I must take the appropriate steps to eliminate stress. According to Whetten and Cameron (2016), stress related doctor’s visits make up between 75 and 90 percent of all doctor’s visits and stress causes employees to miss an average of 25 days of work per year. Those numbers are staggering, so how do I begin to manage my stress? One way I could eliminate stress is prioritizing and saying no. I have a hard time saying no to people. It just does not feel right and makes me very uncomfortable, but saying yes could cause stress.

As I recall earlier this summer, I was asked by a coworker to come and help him move during the weekend, and of course, I said yes. Since I began school, I tend to spend most of the weekend working on schoolwork, so agreeing to help my coworker move altered my schedule and caused stress relating to school. Fortunately, I completed the work despite the stress, but the pressure could have been reduced by saying no.

I am also a worrier. I tend to worry about home while I am at work and work while I am at home. I learned that “being where I am” is a great way to reduce stress. I must focus my energy on what I am currently doing. If I am able to close my mind off to the other things that are worrying me, then I can be more productive in my present task. This concept could be useful as a leader or follower. A leader will be ineffective if they cannot get out of their head and remain in the present.

The final stress-related tactic I discovered in this course was to slow your mind down while doing nothing for ten minutes a day. Andy Puddicome (2012) stated that thinking about the day while doing nothing will allow you to see those stressors in a less stressful manner. When I first tried this exercise, I convinced myself it would not work before I started, so, of course, it did not work. By the third time I sat down to do nothing, I could tell how well it worked. I ended the exercise feeling much less stressful and energized to take on the next task. I have used this stress-relief concept several times throughout the semester and plan on continuing to practice the exercise.

Intrinsic motivation is another concept I found very helpful in this class. I learned that to me intrinsic motivation is much more powerful than extrinsic factors. Of course, I like my paycheck and would not reject a raise or bonus, but I am not 100% motivated by the money. I realized that extrinsic outcome could lead to employees working without feeling a passion or purpose for their work. Employees who lack passion will eventually lack production. It is very difficult to maintain production and efficiency if not motivation exist.

As a leader, I must be able to tap into the motivation of my followers. I must set up open communication and trust to determine their motivating factors. The next step is to help the followers reach and connect to their motivation. I have mentioned many times that I am more about people than I am numbers or production. Employees who can realize their motivation are happier and less stressful followers and that is my goal as a leader.

During this class, I realized that one of my downfalls is emotional intelligence.  Whetten and Cameron (2016) described emotional intelligence as the “ability to correctly diagnose and manage one’s own emotions and relationships with others” (p. 48). I sometimes have trouble controlling my emotions which is not a sign of emotional intelligence. I also lack the skill of diagnosing the feelings of others. This lack of diagnosing is a downfall as a leader and follower. As a follower, I must not let a bad day get worse. I must keep my emotions in check, so they do not put me in a foul mood. I once read about a concept known as the 80/20 rule stating that 80 percent of our emotions come from 20 percent of the causes. It stated that we should not let our emotions be bigger than the causes. Spill coffee on your shirt on the way to work? Someone cut you off causing you to slam on your breaks? Let it go. Do not let something that happened in the morning ruin your whole day.

As a leader, I must become more cognizant of the emotions of my followers. I must learn to diagnose and empathize with my followers. How can I properly lead them if I am misreading or completely missing their emotions?  I need to get to know them well enough to be intelligence to their emotions.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the concept of relationship-building roles in a team. I have always been more focused on the task-based roles as a teammate. I now understand that relationship-based goals are just as important, if not more important that the task-based goals.  Supporting, harmonizing, and tension relieving are important factors in a team. How can the team be successful task wise if the group is littered with discord? As a leader and follower, I need to focus a little more on relationship-based goals to coincide with my already strong task-based goals actions.

I enjoyed each week in this class as it brought new knowledge about leadership concepts. I am excited to move armed with the information I soaked up during the last nine weeks. 

References

Putticombe, A. (2012). All it takes in 10 mindful minutes [TEDGlobal]. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes?language=en

Whetten, D. & Cameron, K. (2016). Developing management skills (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Pearson

A635.8.3.RB-Transformational Strategies

System-wide changes that require transformational leadership are never desired. They can be stressful to leaders and followers alike and, if the leader does not make the correct moves, they could cause a company to experience a downfall. Brown (2011) defined strategy as an action utilized to achieve key organizational objectives. Transformational leadership requires developing strategies and sticking to them to weather the change. This week I had the opportunity to view two informative videos relating to transformational leadership.

The first video consisted of an interview of Jim McIngvale, who owns Gallery Furniture in Houston Texas (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). Jim described his love for the furniture business and the hard times he has faced in the 31 years of business. He described how in the 2008 recession resulted in a drop-off of about 75% of new houses built in the Houston area which caused less traffic in not only his furniture store but all furniture stores in the Houston area (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). Unfortunately, business tragedy struck yet again for McIngvale and company in 2009 when a fire resulted in a loss of about 80 percent of their inventory or $30 million (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). I can imagine the two events must have been devastating to McIngvale. How does a company recover from two events that harmed the business?

After nearly 30 years of business, McIngvale decided he must implement a new strategy to adapt to the changing times, so he turned his attention to people. I love this! I have mentioned multiple times how I feel about the role people play in organizational culture. They are the cogs that allow the culture to be successful. Brown (2011) mentioned that one shared value of organizational culture should be the sensitivity to the needs of the customer and employees or “the degree of responsiveness to changing needs” (p. 404). The focus shifted to not only the customer but also the employees. The employees were offered coaching and training in sales.

One training tactic implemented at Gallery was to focus more on the customer. McIngvale and the other leaders of the company preached customer contact after discovering that six out of ten customers left the store without buying anything (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). The leaders urged followers to build a rapport with the customers by emailing them or calling them soon after they left the store. This tactic resulted in an increase of about $300,000 (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). The training also involved teaching the employees to use IPads. A wellness and incentive program was also created at Gallery.

In my opinion, one of the best moves implemented at Gallery was providing information. The employees were given information about what sales tactics are working for each sales person. I believe information creates empowerment. If I, as an employee, know what tactics make me successful or unsuccessful, I can make the proper adjustments. I believe information and empowerment are crucial in transformational leadership. The newly implemented training and wellness systems allowed for lasting benefits to the employees, customer, and organization.  

Brown (2011) provided two informative figures relating to building success in organizations. One figure described the relative strength of corporate cultures, and the other described the strategy-culture matrix. McIngvale created a strong culture with his strategy revisions after the economic downfall and fire to his store. A strong culture is measured by a “strong member commitment to values and a high number of members sharing the values” (Brown, 2011, p. 405). Gallery also resembles a company who is managing the change by their “high need for strategic change and their high compatibility of change with existing cultures” (Brown, 2011, p. 406).

I also watched a 2011 TED video by Stanley McChrystal entitled Listen, learn ... then lead. McChrystal began his speech discussing the struggles a 46-year-old Army General encounters while jumping from a plane. He discussed the waiting game, the heavy equipment, the uncomfortable uniform, and how the ground feels when you land. But, this TED discussion was much bigger than a jump, because this particular jump took place on September 11, 2001. McChrystal mentioned that his first thought after he hit the ground was why do I do this? What is the point of all of this? But, then he saw the young soldiers landing just as they were taught and putting the parachute away just as they were taught and he knew that is why he chose this profession. He wanted to teach soldiers what to do in battle. Little did he know, all of the training and drills were about to become a reality.

McChrystal (2011) described his struggles of learning to build faith, confidence, and trust via the web. He had troops in twenty different countries, so his building confidence face-to-face was no longer a viable option. He described the many factors that changed after 9/11. One aspect that changed was people. This was an emotional and trying time for all people, especially soldiers. He said he had to learn to lead by building consensus not directing orders.

McChrystal (2011) described that relationships are a driving force in combat. He also discussed the Ranger code “I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy” (McChrystal, 2011, n.p.). He stated that every ranger is not making this promise to every other ranger, but they are also being promised by every other ranger. There is power in that much comradery and pledge.

My favorite antidote from McChrystal’s (2011) speech was about a failed drill he once ran. He explained that his men were captured immediately as if the other team knew exactly what he was going to do. He recalled the emotions that made him feel like a failure. He was called in by his superior officer and told what a great job he did. It was at that point he realized, “Leaders can let you fail and not allow you to be a failure” (McChrystal, 2011, n.d). Brown (2011) defined support as the degree of backing provided by leaders. I do not see how his commanding officer could have lifted him up in support any better than he did.

From the information I gathered from this video, I would also say that the implementations made after 9/11 created a strong Army culture. I ascertain that a strong member commitment to values and a high number of members sharing values exists.  I also believe that the army was able to manage the change. The need for strategic change was high as no one could have predicted the unfortunate events of September 11, 2001. The compatibility for change with existing cultures was also high.

References

Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.

Gallery Furniture: Case Study. (n.d.). Vital Smarts. Retrieved  from http://www.vitalsmarts.com/casestudies/gallery-furniture/

McChrystal, S. (2011). Listen, learn ... then lead [TED Global] from http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal.htm