A520.3.5.RB - Supportive Communication

Supportive communication is effective when trying to communicate with others.  It can help to establish a feeling of trust and caring for the other individuals.  As discussed in several class discussion postings this week, supportive communication requires listening and having a two-way communication established. 

There are several suggested guidelines highlighted in Developing Management Skills.  One that I believe is important is to demonstrate supportive listening.  This can be more difficult than initially anticipated.  I know I find it difficult at times when I am trying to listen and show the speaker that I am listening, and then I end up not paying attention because I am too focused on trying to listen.  There is definitely a balance to listening, as you don’t want to focus too much on how much you look like you are listening.  While it’s important to communicate to the person communicating that you care and are paying attention, being able to ask questions in return or establish active conversation about the topic can be more beneficial and interactive.  Doing this will show that not only are you listening, but you are thinking about it and applying it to different situations.  In a sense, you are taking the speaker seriously.

I also think it is important to use specific statements, rather than broad global statements.  Using statements that are global can make the other person feel inadequate because they are unable to make a change because it is out of their hands.  Making statements that directly affects them can be a positive tool for supportive communication.   I know there were times in my workplace where we were given advice or suggestions that were out of our capabilities to change.  We were unable to adapt because the statements were not specific to our workplace and abilities.  Providing feedback that is relevant can create a more streamline communication tool that can effectively produce changes in a positive manner. 

Using validating statements that acknowledge the other person’s importance is also an important guideline for supportive communication.  It’s difficult to feel like your work is appreciated sometimes, but when you are acknowledge, or even just recognized for doing something, can really lift up the other individuals.  At my previous work, there was a lot of self-doubt amongst the employees because they never heard anything positive, only negative responses to how the company was doing.  Sometimes taking some time out of your day to point out something great that someone did can really benefit that individual. 

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

A520.3.1.RB - Decision Making

I believe that my decision-making style leans more toward of collective-participative style.  In general, I like to create a group effort.  I think people feel more involved when they feel that they have a say in decision or that their thoughts are heard.  I know it can sometimes be difficult to get people to open up about their feelings, so I think taking some of the approaches that we discussed in our brainstorming class discussion this week could be beneficial in a collective-participative decision making style.

I believe that incorporating some of the ideas discussed would allow people to feel more open to expressing their ideas, while also building off of others ideas.  I mentioned 100mph thinking in my discussion as a successful tool I have used in the past when brainstorming.  I think this would be beneficial because it is essentially freedom from being judged on your ideas.  I know there are a lot of times when I wont suggest something for fear that I will sound stupid or not as knowledgeable as others.  This fear should not be a handicap for anyone, as everyone has ideas worth sharing.  I really believe that no idea is a bad idea because it could help someone else connects dots in their own mind coming up with another idea.  It’s an ongoing process that I think benefits from collective participation. 

The opposites of some of the words I wrote down would be conservative, unsure, lacking motivation, detached, sedentary, and outspoken.  The words that I did write down were very action oriented words.  I like to be involved, but also be a listener.  I wrote down quiet because I think there’s a lot to be learned from listening to others, so while I feel that I take initiative and am self-motivated, I generally like to hear the ideas and concerns of others before I get going.   Writing down the words that were opposite of what I wrote down was an interesting task that is similar to the ideas discussed in the discussion question.  It gets your mind thinking in a new, fresh perspective and also helps you to see other patterns that you may have missed.  For instances, I didn’t realize just how much of an outlier being quiet was next to the other words I wrote down until after I wrote down the opposite.  The work outspoken just doesn’t seem to fit in with someone who is detached, or any of the other opposite words I wrote down.  This got me thinking about my initial words and helped me realize why it was that I picked the words I picked.  It’s a fun task that can definitely be beneficial in a variety of ways.

A520.2.6.RB - Time Management

Time management is an area that I have always needed to address better.  When I am looking to do well on something, I tend to put it off for several reasons.  The first being, I like to think things through and saturate on the ideas a little bit and I also enjoy feeling the pressure to finish up an assignment or to-do item.

 I first started noticing my lack of time management in college when I was given assignment that required a lot of creative thinking.  I tend to overthink a lot of ideas, so it takes me a while to come to a final conclusion on what it is exactly that I will be working on.  Because I had so many projects set up like this, I waited as long as I knew I could to think about the assignment before I actually got started on it.  In some ways, this was beneficial for me because I was able to think things through thoroughly, but on the other hand, I took away my room for error if something suddenly came up.  While I never missed an assignment and felt I put my best work forward during those years, I still wonder if that was successful time management for me, or if I was making my poor time management work the best way I could. 

I usually don’t feel stressed when I know I have something coming up that I have put off, but I do recognized a more positive feeling when I do the things I do not want to do first, instead of putting them off to the end.  Recognizing that some things need to be prioritized first allows me to cut back on what I end up leaving for the last minute.  I also began to recognize that when I do take away my margin for error, I should plan on doing the urgent things first, instead of the trivial things.  Getting one serious task complete does take off stress that normally I would not have recognized. 

The Leadership program has helped me develop more efficient time management skills by incorporating The Brain.  The Brain has helped me develop a better note taking system when I am reading, which has allowed me to more easily distinguish important aspects of the reading that I may need to revisit later, while also allowing me to branch out in a way that makes sense to me and the way my thoughts process.

Finally, one of the last time management skills that have helped me increase my locus of control is the ability to understanding my energy levels and when the best time is for me to tackle a big project versus a little.  Recognizing these attributes has allowed me to better prioritize projects based on my energy and overall mood. 

Areas that need improvement for me would be reaching closure on one thing everyday.  I tend to fluctuate on how much work I do on one day versus another.  A lot of that comes from having an open-ended schedule, never knowing what my day is going to look like.   Working on one thing and staying focused on the one thing would be beneficial for me because when I procrastinate, I realize that I get slightly overwhelmed and while I’m working on one project, I am thinking about another that I need to do.  Tackling one item a day would help me to focus myself and not feel rushed, but still add pressure to myself by knowing I need to complete one item a day. 

Another area that could use improvement is to not worry about things on a continual basis.  A lot of this derives from my procrastination, so by tackling one item a day, I will avoid that overwhelming worries of completing projects. 

Finally, the last area that needs improvement is dividing up large projects.  I have tried to do this in the past, but a lot of my problems come from not knowing exactly what my plan is right off the bat.  As I stated earlier, I like to think about things for a while and really contemplate all the ideas and methods I could use before I make a decision on a plan.  Sometimes, I don’t even use a plan for a project, I just go and whatever comes to me I run with.  This can be an issue sometimes because I overwhelm myself with little details instead of looking at the big picture.  My mind goes off on tangents while I work, always thinking of new ideas, which is why I struggle so much with developing plans to follow.  I worry if I begin with a plan, then I will miss potential opportunities that I may not have thought of before.  The risk vs. reward here is slim sometimes, so developing a plan to allow me to adequately divide my time in a large project would be beneficial to know.

The best start for an action plan to develop better time management would first be to establish what is urgent and what is important.  Do the urgent things first, that way they’re out of the way, and save the important things for last.  Another step would be to spend 30 minutes a day working on an item I normally would put off for later.  30 minutes is not enough to take away from any personal time, and can add up to a lot of extra time I would normally spend finishing up to-do items.  Finally, setting weekly goals can help me stay on track with my plan.  Having a goal will put the “mental” pressure that gets me motivated and going, but still keep the chaos in order by having a loose plan of my tasks throughout the week. 

A520.2.3.RB - Conflict Resolution

At my previous job, right before I joined the team I was on, there was a big shakeup in the company.  My whole team was relocated to another building that was incomplete, and placed in a warehouse.  The initial conflict that came up was that the members on my team did not want to leave their original workspace.  It was close to the people they worked with, had adequate lighting for color matching, and provided a pleasant environment overall.  There was a a lot of initial conflict over this because the reasoning did not make sense as to why we were needing to move 5 miles away, in another building, away from the people we actually worked with. 

My role was a smaller role, and really didn’t make an impact until I merged with this new team.  As a new employee, I had not experienced life over at their previous area, therefore, I did not share the same initial desire to move back – I was overall, indifferent to the situation.  The longer I remained there; however, the more I realized how difficult the move actually was for us all.  It made doing our jobs a lot more difficult.  We knew that moving back was out of the question, so as a team, we went together to speak with out VP of the creative dept. and expressed our initial opinions and reasons why we didn’t approve of the move. 

Instead of laying out anger toward him, we tried to negotiate a plan that would allow us to utilize the new space better for the work that we do.  It’s no good for our company if we are unable to do our jobs because of lack of resources.  Because of that, we decided to take the negotiation approach and see if we could make the best out of a bad situation.  Once we expressed our reasoning for our negative reaction toward the move, we laid out what we would like to see as a substitute for our previous space.  The VP made our allocated budget work for the new improvements and allowed us to use our own judgment to make the space feel more creative and personal.  While we are still not closer to the people we work with located 5 miles away in another building, we now have more space for building boards, printing large pieces of artwork, and other daily routine tasks that we previously lacked resources for.  In a lot of ways, it reflects what SAS was achieving at that company.  If and when bad news occurs, being able to meet the needs of your employees can help to alleviate any negative reactions to a change. 

While all of this was going on, we did also have role incompatibility affecting the outcome of our efforts as well.  With the new team merged, we had new members who all brought diversity and different backgrounds to the group.  Unfortunately, not all of the personalities got along together.  While the main negotiation with our VP was going on, we also had internal conflict in our team between two individual who disagreed on practically every solution the other person brought up.  This took a lot of patience and creating win-win situations for both of them, so that neither of them felt the other members of the team were taking sides between the two.  

MSLD520.1.6.-Self Awareness, part 2

My level of self-awareness has been changing significantly within the past few years.  I feel that I have gone through several moments in life where you learn and grow from the experiences.  One of these experiences being college and the life that comes before, during, and after it.  I had experiences that altered the way I approach areas in my life.  I went from being self-conscious, unsure, and shy to capable, curious, and motivated.  I’ve learned that sometimes you have to just jump and see what happens in order to grow. 

            The MSLD program has changed my level of self-awareness in a variety of ways since I began this program.  I had started back in January, where I was living in a different state with my first ever corporate job, doing work that was relevant to my degree.  I felt unsatisfied though.  I did not want that to be the rest of my life, so I decided to take the Leadership program.  Going in to the program, I was unsure what to expect.  I had no background in management or business related fields, and worried about my abilities.  I’ve noticed that each class has helped me grow a little bit more into the individual I feel I can be. 

Focusing on the 5 core aspects of self-awareness, I feel one of the biggest improvements for me since taking this program has been my growth in emotional intelligence.  This was an area that I feel like I had been on the cusp of understanding for a long time, but not recognizing my abilities until the Leadership program.  Whetton and Cameron noted that often times, people who enjoy ambiguity tend to sometimes get bogged down and overwhelmed with information.  (Whetton & Cameron, 2011)  This is definitely the case with me; however, the improvement with emotional intelligence has helped me grasp my understanding of my emotional awareness and helped me control my understanding of situations better.  This has really helped me analyze and interpret information in a more meaningful way because I understand better how I process this information. 

I am also more aware of my attitude toward change, and am able to accept and learn from information I have received from my professor’s so far.  I have really appreciated the feedback I have been given on my process of understanding and interpreting these concepts.  At times, I feel that I am analyzing them as I am writing, so to get the feedback has really helped me grow and learn from these conversations. 

Cognitive style has really benefited from this program.  Prior to taking these classes, I felt an inability to understand and learn information that wasn’t related to my artistic interests.  I felt discouraged with my abilities and myself when it came to liberal arts or business related subjects because I hadn’t been around these topics much in college.  The leadership program has helped me figure out and develop the learning style and leadership style that naturally suites me.  I’ve discovered that it’s not about what you know or don’t know, but more how you perceive and use the information you do learn. 

Given all of these aspects of emotional intelligence, I feel that my core self-evaluation has improved the most so far.  The program has helped me view myself and write about my thoughts and motives in an introspective manner that has allowed me to not only reflect, but also understand the underlying reason for why I am thinking a certain way.  This has been huge for me, as I get overwhelmed very easily with focusing on understanding concepts and ideas.  Being able to think and write introspectively has really helped me understand my self-awareness.

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011).Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.