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A641.5.3.RB - ICT at the Team Level

            The concept if ICT in a group dynamic is very similar to that of the individual with some variations. There are five discoveries (steps) in the group dynamics just as with the individual, emergence of shared ideal, vision, or dream, exploration or norms, paradoxes, challenges, and gaps, the groups learning agenda, group experimentation and practice, and resonant relationships (Akrivou et. al., 2006). I find it noteworthy to mention that while reading this, I thought of the four stages of team development and how this correlates with the discoveries in group intentional change. The Whetten and Cameron text states that “despite the variety in composition, purpose, and longevity of [a team]… the stages of group and team development [has] been strikingly similar” (2011, p. 498). There have been four specific stages identified: the forming stage; the norming stage; the storming stage; and the performing stage.

            Under these stages there is a particular set of behaviors exhibited by team members. The forming stage is when the team or group members first come together. They are not yet a cohesive unit; each member is inquisitive about who the others are, what will be expected of them, who will be emerging as a leader, and what will happen. “Once team members have become oriented, achieved clarity about the team’s goals, and accepted their place in the team” (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 499) the norming stage begins. The focus of the group shifts from uncertainty to developing norms of a unified group. As roles and expectations are being ascertained during the norming stage, it can give way to friction and dissention. Should this occur, it is referred to as the storming stage; the “differentiation of team members’ roles invariably leads the team into a stage of potential conflict and counter -dependence” (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 501).

            The final stage represents “highly effective and efficient team functioning” (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 503). The performing stage has overcome many issues and has been able to develop a clear vision, commitment, foster loyalty, and high morale. The members of the group are then concerned with helping one another thrive, how to foster continuous improvement and creativity, building competence, and maintain high energy levels (Whetten & Cameron, 2011). As the team explores each stage of development and each discovery, the positive and negative emotional attractors (PEA) and (NEA) will be the driving force behind the development of the team’s philosophy, values, goals, and resonance. An equal balance of these attractors is essential for discovery and instilling a shared team identity. All of these come together to form that "dream team". 

            Though not all deemed dream teams are so successful. As mentioned in the prompt, the 2000 and 2004 Olympic US Women’s soccer team was very successful whereas the men’s basketball team was not. One standout reason for me of why that might be is that the soccer team had been in the performing stage of development far longer than the men’s basketball team. These ladies had played together in many arenas beyond the Olympics and had already formed those resonant relationships with one another. On the other hand, the men’s basketball team, many of the players were accustomed to being opponents during their regular NBA season. They were not teammates; but instead, they were rivals. In addition, the team from 2004 lost nine of its elected twelve players when they declined the invitation to Athens. I would also wager a guess that egos may have also played into why the team was not able to perform as well. They all wanted to be stars, just a thought!

References

Arikvou, K., Boyatzis, R. E., & McLeod, P. L. (2006). The Evolving Group: Towards a Prescriptive Theory of Intentional Group Development. The Journal of Management Development. (25)7, 689-706

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall/Pearson.

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A642.7.3.RB – Leading Through Disruptive Times

            The book, The Innovator’s Manifesto, suggested that, “all disruptive innovations stem from technological or business model advantages that can scale as disruptive businesses move upmarket in search of more-demanding customers. These advantages are what enable the extendable core; they differentiate disruption from mere price competition” (Wessel & Christensen, 2012). The company that is not looking for the disrupter is already behind. In today’s markets with the Internet and advancing technology, a small independent company can quickly take away a significant amount of market share even from their biggest competitors if they are not watchful and leading innovation from within. If they are connected to innovation, then, they are probably very aware of any newcomers and/or new technology that could affect their industry. This is another reason to be a leader in innovation in your industry. Continuing to innovate also requires each company to look inwards and re-evaluate processes and the core of the company on a regular basis. This analysis could potentially help keep the disrupters at bay, or at least give the company an early chance to re-direct core thinking in order to prepare for a major change in order to continue to thrive.

            The company’s number one priority should always be focused being a leader industry when it comes to innovation. If innovation is not a priority focus then your business is stagnant, and careful attention needs to be placed because someone will catch up to the organization and disrupt the innovation process. “If you can determine how effective or ineffective the disrupter is likely to be at doing the jobs you currently do, you can identify the most vulnerable segments of your core business—and your most sustainable advantages” (Wessel & Christensen, 2012). Innovation is the key to maintaining the industry edge and complacency is never recommended. When a company starts to feel comfortable, it should be a clear warning that something is not right. Addressing the attitude, ego, or maybe fatigue, should be immediately changed. Unfortunately, organizations tend to notice these warnings a little too late, and is when their competition emerges.

            Innovation and disruptor innovation are less likely to occur together, unless your innovation becomes the disruptor. Disruptor innovation is more likely to occur when an industry’s innovation guard is down. However, if the disruptor’s innovation is revolutionary enough to completely change the outlook of the industry; is mostly expected that competitors will not be able to disrupt the organization’s current innovation. “When a disruptive business offers a significant advantage and no disadvantages in doing the same job you do, disruption will be swift and complete” (Wessel & Christensen, 2012). In conclusion, organizations should be focusing in the internal and external innovations.

References

Canfield, J., & Smith, G. (2009). Imagine. Ideation Skills for Improvement and Innovations Today. Black Lake Press of Holland MI. Black Lake Studio, LLC.

Christensen, C. M., Wang, D., Van Bever, D. (2013). Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption. The industry that has long helped others sidestep strategic threats is itself being upended. Harvard Business Review.

 McKeown, M. (2015). The innovation book. How to manage ideas and execution for outstanding results. Pearson Publishing.

Wessel, M., & Christensen, C. M. (2012). Surviving Disruption. It’s not enough to know a threat is coming. You need to know whether it is coming right for you.

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A642.4.3.RB – The End of Innovation

            After listening to Robert Gordon (TedTalk, 2013), I was left with an uneasy feeling. He had not presented us with any new information, but also did not give us any hope for future innovation. While he is right about our “lack” of innovation as of late, what he does not take into account is truly where we came from and where we are now. Sure development of the car, plane, and electricity is astounding, leaving us leaps and bounds from where we were a century ago, but we are still innovating today just on a much smaller scale.

            Robert Gordon (TedTalk, 2013) made me realize he really told us nothing new. Yes, we have made all of these great advances in the last century. There have been some slip-ups, which caused some regression, but that does not mean we are not still working to make advances. Robert Gordon essentially told us things we already knew without offering any new ideas or hope. This causes audience members, or myself, to be left with a sense of despair.

            Growing up in the 90’s it seemed like some new advance was being made every single day, but if you bought into what Robert Gordon was saying you would assume no advances have been made as of late. While our daily advances may not be as monumental as the previous century, they are still advances. Each daily innovation is a step in the right direction. Every single day innovators are building, thinking, and creating steps to reach a bigger goal in the future.

            Therefore, Robert Gordon’s (TedTalk, 2013) presentation was full of fallacies and half-truths. While he may have been right in some instances, he was simply making generalizations of our innovation or lack thereof. As seen in Fallacies (2014), these generalizations do nothing but mislead the audience. While the audience may be led to Gordon’s desired outcome, he does nothing to leave the audience with a sense of hope. In fact, his approach is rather regressive than innovative.

            With that in mind, I do believe the end of innovation is not upon us. As I have mentioned, we are still approaching the beginning of our life here on earth and our technological revolution is only a small fraction of what it could be, especially when talking about the revolution of medicine. New technological aids are been created to help doctors into reestablishing their patients’ health. For instance, a breakthrough, two university students have created a pair of electronic gloves that translates sign language into an robotic voice, and many other things. As we continue to grow, and our thoughts begin to shift from concept to concept, I believe innovation will continue. My generation may be the ones to do this or it could be a few generations down the line, but that does not mean we should stop believing in the power of innovation. However if we are to look to the uncertainty of the future with positivity, the opportunities for innovation are endless.

            In the end, all it takes is one thought to spark a revolution. This idea may lay dormant for years or be in the head of someone who does not have the means to turn their dream into a reality. It happens everyday in the world of medicine and so many other organizations. There will always be someone thinking of the next great innovation.  

References

Fallacies. (2014). Retrieved from http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/fallacies/

Ted Talk. (2013). The death of innovation, the end of growth. Retrieved April 17, 2016, from http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_gordon_the_death_of_innovation_the_end_of_growth

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A642.3.3.RB – Lessons Learned

            No doubt that leadership is an endless learning process in a positive way. Not only do we have much to learn from individuals we come in contact with on a daily basis, but we also can learn lessons from history. Doing so will allow us to ensure history does not repeat itself, though some believe history is doomed to repeat itself regardless of the actions we take, but I digress. However, I did not always believe this; I could easily blame it on being young. Although, I am rather young at twenty-seven, it took time to open my eyes to the fact that I can learn from someone regardless of how long they have been in my life. Through these lessons, I have been able to develop my own approach to life and leadership. This module has once again given me new insight into things I have previously learned.

            While some of the ideas we learned in this program are relatively new to me, there are a few, which I have been using for years. By no means this mean I know everything; instead, it is complementary to receive affirmation about the effectiveness of some of my concepts and how to better develop them. The first of these ideas is to keep your eye on the big picture. Too often, we get caught up on minute details, which cause us to become nitpicky when in reality that detail does not matter in reference to the big picture. As a leader, you need to be able to not only deliver the big picture, but also allow those around you to be able to zoom in and out of the process. When zooming in, they can focus on the smaller details of the task. But when they zoom out they can see the bigger picture. While having a bigger overall plan is great, a leader must also be able to adjust with the times. In some instances, while working on the smaller tasks, you will see some adjustments need to be made in order to reach that bigger picture. As long as this does not affect your overall mission, there should be no problem.

            The next lesson, I was able to learn from Robert Safian (2014). One of the most important elements of this lesson teaches individuals that remaining true to the mission is everything. As mentioned in Find Your Mission (2014), Chipotle is an organization that remains true to its mission while also doing business with purpose. This purpose is to better affect the greater good of society. By remaining true to their mission, Chipotle does not make a decision without its impact in mind. This is a great ideal to live by. In a world where profit is more important than the customer, it is nice to see an organization that completely strives to help the customer. Everyone within that organization understands the underlying mission and purpose. That is to deliver a wholesome product to the customer. While there have been some problems lately, I believe Chipotle will eventually recover and continue to deliver that quality product to the masses.

            As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, understanding the power of purpose is also extremely important. Purpose is everything. If you do not have a purpose or do not understand the purpose, your efforts will be wasted. Leadership needs to focus on how to effectively communicate the big picture, mission, and purpose in one clear, concise message. By effectively communicating these ideas, you will be able to ensure all resources are used and time is not wasted focusing on unnecessary tasks.

            It is said that each day counts, and for me that has always been my motto. I truly believe that everything you do needs to have a purpose, while keeping yourself happy. I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice on 2013; and who would of thought I would be changing majors a year later. Everything I ever did was to get into Law School. Every class and every step I made reflected my commitment to becoming a lawyer. However, thankfully, I was exposed to the medical world by pure destiny and that is when I fell in love it. Now seeing the bigger picture is this change, I have to accept that I have to start from the beginning in order to reach my goal. Everyday, although I come from work tired, I take two online classes to speed my way into Medical School. Additionally, I do my own research about different universities and their requirements. I watch and follow YouTube bloggers that talk about their experiences and their recommendations. And I also study the body’s anatomy on a white board and memorize as much as I can to keep myself current. Everyday, I get to incorporate my learning process to my work and that makes me feel accomplish. It is a one-step at a time process, but one that I am excited to do.

            While I have not figured out a way to develop a system like this in my organization, I can see its merits and downfalls. Through this week’s readings I have found more information lending weight to my approach, but I need to find a way to develop this for a professional organization. This course has helped me see that most of my innovative ideas come from my desire of learning. I can take ideas I have learned through my years of studying and adapted it to fit into a workplace.

            At this point, I am still in a learning curve, but that does not mean I cannot make a positive impact in my organization. I find myself trying to innovate old fashioned believes into newer ones. These ideas, whether good or bad, seem to help with our innovativeness. Another way I can make a great contribution by listening to others. I love to listen to other people’s stories on how innovation changed the phase of organizations. As I mentioned in the beginning, we all have something to learn from one another. By listening I do not only gain valuable life information, but I am also fostering trust, which will pay off down the road.

            The last contribution I can make is the research I have made in order to factually present my innovative ideas. Completing the MSLD program, has allowed me to present new ideas about organizational innovation, present facts through research, and hear feedback from my coworkers. In the end, the contributions my team or I can make are only going to make our process better. Most important of all, this program will prepare in becoming a better leader in the medicine field, which is very well need it.

References

Favaro, K., Meer, D., & Sharma, S. (2012). Creating an Organic Growth Machine. Harvard Business Review, 90(5), 96-106.

Safian, R. (2014). Find your mission. (cover story). Fast Company, (190), 66-110.