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A521.6.3.RB – High Performance Teams

            There are many elements associated with high-performance teams.  Denning (2011) highlights six bullet points:

·      Carrying out their work with a passion.

·      Hastily adjusting their performance to the shifting needs of the organization.

·      Actively shaping the expectations of those who use their output-and then exceed the resulting expectations.

·      Interpersonal commitments that allow them to become nobler and more powerful.

·      Mutual concern for each other’s personal growth, which enables teams to develop interchangeable skills and greater flexibility.

·      Growing steadily stronger, eventually coming to know one another’s strengths and weaknesses, which enables them to anticipate each other’s next moves, and initiating appropriate responses as those moves are occurring.

            Teams focus on time constraints, predefined operational objectives, and subsequently are expected to have a product. The task requires a linkage between members who are pursuing a common goal. The team may be more formalized in its origin. The team focuses more on a transactional approach, necessitating goal clarity, effective leadership and followership, in addition to resources and needed support. Denning (2011) believes that these high performance teams impact the end users of their product by molding the potential expectations. He believes that high performing teams must be spontaneous, and flexible, since they must represent critical thinking. Monitoring output can result in adjustments along the way. Cohesiveness is what can make the team more successful. It is about learning more about the human resources that go into the thinking process. It is about encouraging self-reflective thinking that can be ultimately used to produce a more effective, and efficient, product.

            As the team functions together, Denning (2011) believes that the members grow in knowledge and strength. The process is then impacted, as the team and its members develop. In order for the team to function at the high performing level, there needs to be a sense of ownership in the outcome. When the members have a vested interest in the attaining the results, they have a reason to make it better. There is a sense of pride in what is being produced, and therefore, how it is being produced. A sense of commitment often results in a shared responsibility, and accountability, for an outcome. This focus can build a sense of trust in one another. The commitment that is used to be successful, also builds a sense of trust and pride in the accomplishments.

            When I was younger, I used to work for a pediatrician’s office. I used to work as a front office medical receptionist. My team consisted of a large group of individuals, about ten. We used to divide the work into equal parts and we never failed to each other. We trusted each other’s ethics to finish what we were responsible for. Every day, I was happy to go to work knowing that my team would be there and ready to accomplish anything. “Working together with other is necessary to achieve increased speed to market, faster product development, better customer service, lower costs, and the opening of new markets. Collaboration has become critical competency for achieving and sustaining high performance” (Denning, 2011, p. 160). This was for me the most positive experience I had while working with teams. 

            On the other hand, a negative experience I had was a couple of years ago, while working in my last year of my bachelor’s degree. The professor assigned a final into groups to precisely work together. We got together one afternoon and divided the work so that each participant, five of us, would work on their part and that way present our final with everything covered. Needless to say, that was the last time I saw three of them. For the next meetings it was only one classmate and I. We never got any work from the other team members and we ended up doing the entire work ourselves. While working in groups entails working toward the same subject, “each person has a defined responsibility, and each reports to a common supervisor” (Denning, 2011, p. 151). Sometimes, as Denning mentioned, collaboration is a matter of values, internal values. “When we’re in this sort of situation, we see that the other members of the group have different values, and this leaves us with the feeling that future collaboration would be horrible to contemplate” (Denning, 2011, p. 159).

References:

Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

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A521.9.4.RB – Reflections on Leadership

            In this chapter, Stephen Denning opens up about the different dimensions to leadership and how they work with some people and how they really do not work for others. The important question is, what makes them true leaders? “True leaders do not lead because they are expecting something in return. They lead because they have something to give. They may get something back, but this is a contingent event, not the goal. They give with a spirit of generosity. They are relatively ego free” (Denning, 2011, p. 281). What does he mean by “ego free”? Ego free is the individual who is not concern with his or her personal gain, on the contrary, he or she is concern about the organization’s well being and working as a team. He goes on into explaining the leadership that presents feeling. In other words, the kind of leader that demonstrate passion for what he does or what he believes on. Having passion for what you do changes everything, specially the way my leading skills would be in the near future. If I take this dimension into use for future leadership positions, I will enforce and ensure my followers feel what I feel. That is the power of influence and passion. If your audience can feel the passion, they know what they follow is truthful and genuine. They can trust me.

            Moreover, I can say I am guilty of trying to pursue order in my work place. Denning explains that the “Apollonian culture emerged as a result of the forces of bigness and consistency. In fact, the control mode sets out with the best intentions—that of establishing order out of the potential chaos into which large organizations would otherwise tumble” (2011, p. 286). Needless to say, extremes of this case can never be good. Pulling extreme remedies for order can very much weaken the very first priority, achieving harmony. Therefore, this does have a tremendous impact in my future leading skills. I will try to find a happy common ground, where order is important but maintaining harmony is the priority of the company.

            Additionally, another way to be “a different kind of leader,” is by learning about leadership as situational. This dimension does manifest in my own application of leadership since I am well aware that not everyone works the same way. “The basic premise of this approach is that different situations demand different kinds of leadership. To be effective, a leader needs to adapt to the demands of the situation” (Denning, 2011, p. 292). At this moment, I am training an individual that has background with been a Medical Assistant. When it comes to training, it is harder to teach someone who has already developed habits, whether they are good or bad. Sarah Pavey explains why are bad habits hard to break and she suggests, “the main reason that bad habits are hard to break is down to what researchers call our “cognitive script”—these are the unconscious, automatic thoughts that we have when we encounter a situation. These unconscious thoughts are based on previous experiences. So, if the situation is one that we’re encounter many times before, we engage in ingrained behaviors without thinking about what we’re doing” (2015, para. 7). Therefore, I try to adjust my training habit to their knowledge and seem to be working.

            Another good example of how Denning’s dimensions manifest in my daily application of leadership is by storytelling. When I go to work and I see some of my coworkers frustrated, I tried to tell them a similar story to reflect a positive outcome and that way avoid them reflecting their frustrations with patients. “The use of narrative opens up leadership capabilities that are not available to someone operating solely in the traditional management mode of command, control, regulation, and optimization” (Denning, 2011, p. 269). Lastly, using the leadership that fits the modern need is another dimension that I currently use. While it is hard to let go of what you already know, I welcome everyone’s ideas to supplement or implement into the work environment.

References

Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Pavey, S. (2015). Breaking bad habits: Overcoming negative behaviors. Mind Tools, Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/bad-habits.htm

            

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A521.8.4.RB – Making Contact

            While growing up, my mother was very timid but my father was very friendly and easy to get to know. In that same regard, my sister came out to be just like my father and me, more like my mother. I remember making friends in school was not easy for me but I always thought I rather have a full hand of true friends that too many who are not as good. I was raised with rules and knowing when to speak. I believe my rules apply to the nineteenth-century as Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning (2009) suggested. “Nineteenth-century rules mandated that strangers must be introduced by a third party before initiating conversation” (McKay et. al., 2009, p. 205). Sometimes, my extroversion came from not know what exactly say to the other person. I felt that if I did not have information to provide about the subject matter they were talking about, I would make myself a fool for interfering the conversation. The authors McKay et. al., (2009, p. 207) believe that:

Your fear of rejection is largely a product of how you conceptualize, or fame, your meeting with an interesting stranger. Here are some negative frames that will inhibit you when meeting people:

·      “They’ll think I want something from them.”

·      “He probably wouldn’t be attracted to me.”

·      “They’re nice but wouldn’t want to be friends with me.”

·      “She’s gorgeous. What would she see in me?”

            Nevertheless, as I reached my late teenage years, I changed my personality a lot. I went from being antisocial to somehow extroverted. I learned that talking to strangers is not as bad as I thought. It gave me the opportunity to learn from someone else to whom I had no feelings attached or no responsibility over them. Today, I can say, I am one hundred percent comfortable establishing a conversation with a stranger or someone new. Needless to say, there are thing or habits that never change; therefore, although I have no problem talking to new people, I still have some reservations as far as my private life goes. I like to believe, I still offer an honest amicable presentation of myself when introducing my persona to someone else. But it takes a lot of time for me to trust someone with important information, especially if it comes from me. Hence, I am more prone to talk or relate to strangers when they are older than me, or know a lot about a subject matter I find interesting.

            The lessons I can take from chapter 14 to improve my ability to connect with others are many. One good point is the idea to expect to be rejected by at least three people during a one-week period. By doing so, I give myself the opportunity to learn and experience rejection. McKay et. al., believe there are two basic rules to make successful contacts. To begin with, “you have to give what you would like to receive, which means that the attention, interest, respect, and liking that you want must also be something you offer to others” (McKay et. al., 2009, p. 209). Additionally, making use of body language could be very beneficiary to turn an awkward public presentation into something splendid. Body language encompasses eye contact, having facial expressions, and physically connecting with others.  A good example is leaning forward; “leaning back against the seat communicates fatigue or disinterest, while leaning forward indicates that you are engaged and ready for contact” (McKay et. al., 2009, p. 210). 

            Moreover, I believe I can make good use of icebreakers. For example, I find that sometimes when getting to know other people, I get slightly nervous. Therefore, using my accent as an icebreaker could ultimately lead to a more relaxed conversation. Telling the stranger or strangers that my accent is thick and to people advice me if at any time they do not understand, with a smile on my face, can actually create a more suitable environment for everyone. Or, another way to improve my ability to connect with others is by become an active listener. A few times, I have found myself concentrating in what to say next and loosing track on what the other person is talking about. “The second hallmark of a good conversationalist is the ability to listen in such a way that others feel heard” (McKay et. at., 2009, p. 214). It is very important that when you are having a conversation with someone else, to be able to rephrase what the other person said before.

            In conclusion, “conversation is the art of combining questions, active listening, and self-disclosure in such a way that people keep talking and enjoy it” (McKay et. al., 2009, p. 217).

References

McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages to communication skills book (3^rd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

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A521.7.4.RB – Knowledge Sharing Story

            Stephen Denning suggests, “the phenomenon of sharing knowledge through stories is astonishingly pervasive and mundane” (2011, p. 182). While individually we tell our story to someone or people in general, there is an exchange of knowledge. Additionally, the author Stephen Denning believes that sharing knowledge in a narrative manner is another way of learning. When we constantly repeat information or knowledge that we already know, we are teaching ourselves.

            As I embarked the challenge of learning to become a medical assistant, I had a lot of information to take in. One of the most challenging parts of being a medical assistant was to learn about radiology. Whenever a patient arrives to their visit, they have a complaint of some sort and according to where the pain is mainly located, an x-ray is needed it. Each pain location consists of different views, mainly three views for every problem. You can have pain on the lateral aspect of the right foot proximal to the ankle reflecting on the dorsal metatarsal bones of the foot. You may ask yourself, what is she talking about? And that is exactly how I felt at first. It took me a good two months to understand the real concept of x-rays and becoming certified. Nevertheless, understanding all of this new information did not come that easily.

            I remember, when they used to explain to me how to take the so-called “pictures” of the body part, the location of the plate or film was very important. There are so many different positions and ways of doing it, that I would get very confused between one and the other. I started to think how I could make myself learn all of it to perfection. And as a lighting bolt, it hit me; I started to draw each of the positions and write their respective names next to it. Little did I know I was later going to be using my own notes and drawings. Six months later, a new girl started to work at the office. She was so overwhelmed with the amount of information that she was getting in such short time. I could see she was struggling getting, especially when it came to the x-rays.

            Therefore, I decided to share my knowledge by telling her my story. I explained to her in detail how I too, struggled with the radiology part of the job. Explained to her that in a matter of months, she was going to look back and be surprise at how much she had learnt if she followed my advice. Thankfully, she was very opened minded and ready to learn. In the next few months, I made copies of my drawings and notes and shared those with her. Progressively, she got better and learned to do x-rays. Today, she does it all in her own and does excellent. In the process of sharing my story and knowledge with her, I reinforced my knowledge by repeating all the information I already knew and it only made be better. Not that I cannot learn more. “It is frequently said that people learn more from failures than from successes. It’s also true that people do learn from stories with a positive tone” (Denning, 2011, p. 186). With that been said, even if you share your knowledge, if you do not have a “positive tone” or willingness, the other person will perceive a negative learning experience. And that also works for the knowledge receiver, if she or he is not willing to learn, then it will not matter how good the information sharer is.

References

Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

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A521.4.3.RB – Subtleties of Communication & Hidden Messages

            When communicating with others, our verbal communications do not always match our body expressions, and understanding where this body language comes from is essential. In addition to body gestures, there are also paralanguage, metamessages, and hidden agendas. Albert Mehrabian (1981) suggests, “the total impact of a message breaks down into: 7 percent verbal, 38 percent vocal, and 55 percent body movements” (McKay et. al., 2011, p. 59). If we think about it, most of our communications come from body expressions. Max S. Kirch (1979) from the University of Delaware believes the American non-verbal communications are very different from those in other cultures, specially West European cultures. He believes the transfer of phonological habits from one’s own language to another creates what we call a “foreign accent.”

            In addition, Max S. Kirch anticipates that whoever the speaker might be, he or she is free to choose the message but not the code of the message. “This is strictly imposed by the language, and it is proper that much time and effort be expended in the efficient learning and teaching of this code. The speaker is, however, free to color his message in certain ways, and these ways are predominantly paralinguistic and kinesic” (1979, p. 416). In the same manner, McKay et. al., describes social kinesics as a type of communication that can be learned. He explains how we receive those gestures from one generation to the other without any specific preparation.

            Subsequently, referring back to my own communication abilities makes me think, I have not always demonstrated sincerity or congruence. For the most part, I am a very patient person and usually I have a hard time expressing my feelings or talking about them. Nevertheless, when I do not like something, my facial expressions are too noticeable. McKay et. al., believes “the face is the most expressive part of the body,” (2009, p. 62) and I agree with his statement. In many instances, for example with my husband, if there were something boring me, I would let it built up on me. In other words, it would usually take days before I would talk about it and my husband would ask if I am all right? With my insincerity, I would tell him I am fine, when deep inside of me, I knew, I was not. Back then, I wish I could had spoken sooner and save him and myself time.

            Another good example is the fact that I am Hispanic. Although I was born in America, I was not fully raised here and English is my second language. Hence, when I am trying to communicate a verbal message, I tend to use my hands a lot and sometimes my articulation is affected by my nervousness. I believe hand’s gestures are part of my Hispanic culture and background. “To experience how much you rely on body movements to communicate, try telling a story without using gestures” (McKay et. al., 2009, p. 63). As the authors challenge people to try a simple task, I have tried it and have miserably failed. I cannot talk without using hand-motions; they are part of who I am. Then, when trying to enunciate the words, they come out wrong a people have a hard time understanding me. It is as if you were to read an article with on commas or grammar punctuation in English with a Hispanic accent. The tempo of my speech is lost.

            In order to fix these and future situations, I have to start by learning my facial expressions. I believe I can hide how I feel, but reality is, I am the only one who believes that. Being aware of it would make me more honest to my husband and others and hopefully less afraid to speak up when I am in disagreement. Additionally, making use of hidden agendas as suggested by the authors, could essentially help me realize, I do not need to be “good” all the time. “Hidden agendas are excellent defensive maneuvers if you don’t fell very good about yourself” (McKay et. al., 2009, p. 80). Furthermore, another way of changing my paralanguage deficiencies would be practicing on how to express. A good suggestion mentioned on the book (Messages, The Communication Skills Book), is recording myself while talking to observe how the pitch, volume, rhythm, articulation and tempo really sound. And lastly, practicing the articulation and tempo exercise could potentially help me get rib of unnecessary misunderstandings at work.

References

Kirch, M. (1979). Non-Verbal Communication across Cultures. Modern Language Journal. Vol. 63, No. 8. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/326027?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages to communication skills book (3^rd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.