MSLD 635 Module 3- 50 Reasons Not to Change/The Tribes We Lead

Adapting to changes is critical to our everyday lives. Whether the change revolves around climate to a new government policy, we must adapt to change in order for us to “survive”. From the business standpoint, adapting to change often times brings positive benefits: leading to resolutions or improvements in the workplace (Brown, 2011). Despite its benefits however, every change comes with a set of obstacles.

Adapting to change can sometimes be a time consuming and difficult process. While there are many reasons to why people resist to change, most of them do so because of the loss of control, amount of uncertainty, and lack of confidence in adapting to change (Kanter, 2012). To avoid going through stress, people therefore often make excuses. After reviewing Daryl Watkins’ 50 Reasons Not to Change I was able to find a few that I’ve used before. An example of change I recall with my workplace was when they set new instructions and other standards on student degree mapping (course recommendations). Just a few weeks before the announcement, I established my own degree map template. The template took several days to make and included special computer coding that sped up the process in making the maps. The moment I heard the announcement, I felt very frustrated due to the amount of time and effort placed in making my own template. In addition, the university set new timelines on when maps must be completed.

Just as Seth Godin mentioned in his talk The Tribes We Lead, I was able to adapt these changes with the help of “tribes”. In summary, Godin believes that tribes, or small groups with shared ideas and values is what drives people to lead and make changes (Godin, 2009). In this case, my tribe consisted of my fellow co-workers. As everyone was adapting to the new policies, each of us started to see the benefits about the new policies. What really drove me into accepting the change however were the ideas and shortcuts we came across when making the degree maps. For instance, an advisor from my neighboring campus established and distributed an electronic spreadsheet that automatically wrote the full course title with just the course number. This saved us a lot of time: where before we had to type everything manually. In addition, I wouldn’t have been able to use this file with my previous template, as the file is not compatible with my template. Since saving time was convenient, this idea motivated me to stick with the new template my university required us to use.

Seth Godin’s video was very informative and reminded me of some tips to consider when advising students. While it’s a small fraction of students, a challenge I constantly face is to have students accept and take online classes. Like most universities, my school is becoming more specialized in online courses. In addition to most students ranging ages 40 and older, they are often times used to traditional on-campus courses. Overwhelmed in adapting to the online style of learning, I try to overcome this by listing the benefits of taking online courses. The key to overcome resistance to change is through motivation (Brown, 2011). Just as Godin mentioned, I often times like to share personal experiences as a student to inform students (Godin, 2009). To boost their confidence, I also provide walkthrough sessions in-person and by email for all students. By the end of the session, students are not only informed, but they often times feel more confident and are aware that they have advisors that could help them throughout their degree program.

References:

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

Godin, S. (2009). Seth Godin: The tribes we lead [Video File]. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead

Kanter, R. (2012). Ten Reasons People Resist Change. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2012/09/ten-reasons-people-resist-chang

MSLD 635 Module 2- How Companies Can Make Better Decisions

For this week’s module, Harvard Business Review’s How Companies Can Make Better Decisions, Faster reminded me how there’s more than just management that yields effective organizational decision-making. As a former business student, I was constantly reminded how strong management skills yields positive outcomes for organizations. While my previous program mentioned little of the social aspects (such as rewards systems and communication), it wasn’t until I started the leadership program where I realized that employee relationship and engagement can be just as important.

When Marcia Blenko of the Bain & Company's Global Organization Practice argued that decision effectiveness correlates positively with organizational performance and employee engagement, I believe that she was referring to strong management skills and relationships with employees. Organizations are like any complex machinery. Each part has their own specific function, and when a single department falls out of place, the whole organization will eventually be affected. To ensure that decisions are effective and include the four main elements: quality, speed, yield and effort, Blenko suggests leaders to stay proactive and follow five steps in making effective decisions.

Blenko’s first step is to have organizations check to see if their overall organization is doing well. In addition to identifying any possible challenges, this helps the organization pinpoint any areas that needs to be fixed. Once the research has been done, organizations then identify the critical decisions. The key here is to identify which decisions matters most and which ones will yield the most positive results. Once the decisions have been identified, the next step Blenko suggest is to take the critical decisions and use the tools available to set those decisions. In addition, it is also important to ensure that the decisions support and are embedded within the organization (Blenko, 2010).

While informing employees about the change is important, motivating them to accept the decision can be just as important. According to Parkash Singh, behavior is what people actually do. In other words, what’s going on inside one’s head affects how people act and perform (Singh, 2014). Since behaviors are often influenced by the way another person acts, it is important for leaders to approach employees in the way you want them to make them feel. If decisions will cause stress in the work environment for example, the best way to announce the change is to approach in a caring manner. By being honest and bringing positive messages to the workplace, they will likely understand the reason for the changes and understand your care. The key here is to make employees feel that they are part of the organization: making them feel empowered and more motivated to accept the change (Somogyi, Buchko, & Buchko, 2013).

References:

Blenko, M. (2010). How Companies Can Make Better Decisions, Faster [Video file]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=pbxpg6D4Hk8

Singh, P. (2014). Employees' use of empathy to improve their job behavior. The International Business & Economics Research Journal (Online). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1525361493/abstract/2F2815C3B74C411EPQ/1?accountid=27203

Somogyi, R., Buchko, A., & Buchko, K. (2013). Managing with empathy: Can you feel what I feel? Journal of Organizational Psychology. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1470425153/fulltextPDF/CE275E3C16174E05PQ/1?accountid=27203

MSLD 635 Module 1- 21st Century Enlightenment

History is one of many topics I’ve always been fascinated about, and watching Matthew Taylor’s 21st Century Enlightenment video was indeed a pleasurable one. In this video, Taylor discussed how today’s world is not the same as it was in the 18th century. When thinking about this, it’s truly amazing to see the endless amounts of changes that has occurred within the last few centuries.
The video brings up the importance and the need for ones to adapt and think proactively. This idea immediately reminded me of Daryl Conner’s metaphor on “the burning platform”. In the summer of 1988, an oil rig exploded off the coast of Scotland, which tragically killed over 160 workers. Andy Mochan, a survivor from the accident chose to jump fifteen stories into water to avoid the blaze, quoting “it was either jump of fry” (Conner, 2012). The key here is that if he stayed on the burning platform, he could have died. By accepting a change or a current event (for this case, a fire), ones can “pay less” damage and possibly experience different outcomes (Galoppin, 2011). As leaders, it is important to keep in mind that change is constant. To ensure quality outcomes in our decision-making, it is important to understand and adapt to what’s happening around us: otherwise we’ll fall behind and face a domino-effect of problems.

Understanding what’s happening around us not only includes events, but it also includes the views of other people (Obolensky, 2014). When Taylor argued that individuals needed “to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange", he simply meant that there are no right or wrongs: as each and every one of us have different thoughts and opinions (RSA, 2010). Information from others can be just as important as our own. In some instances, this can be used as a learning opportunity: allowing ones to extend and enhance their own decision-making. Considering information from others plays a crucial role as an academic advisor. While I may have the information and recommendations for my students, I am helping them with their plan: meaning that I must make decisions revolving around them. To do this, I must listen and gather as much information from them as possible. When doing so, I sometimes pick up new information that I never knew or even thought of. This not only informed me, but it will also help me with future advisement.

While it is encouraged for leaders to consider others’ point-of-views, it is always important to take time and look through them before relying on them. Taylor later argued in his video that leaders should avoid elements of pop culture. While a friend recommends you getting an iPhone for example, he might have recommended them because many people have them. Accepting this information without any research can be very risky: as there may be a lack of though put into making that decision.

References:

Conner, D. (2012). The Real Story of the Burning Platform. Retrieved from http://www.connerpartners.com/frameworks-and-processes/the-real-story-of-the-burning-platform

Galoppin, L. (2011). The Giant Misunderstanding on Burning Platforms. Retrieved from http://www.reply-mc.com/2011/01/17/the-giant-misunderstanding-on-burning-platforms/

Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty (2nd ed.). UK: Gower Publishing.

RSA. (2010). RSA ANIMATE: 21st Century Enlightenment [Video file]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7ANGMy0yo