MSLD 520 Module 4- Supportive Communication

                Whetten and Cameron defined supportive communication as the way to preserve or enhance positive relationships while addressing a problem, providing negative feedback, or while going through difficult situations. In addition to maintaining relationships, supportive communication is also used to deliver messages accurately (Whetten & Cameron, 2016). This is important in many organizations: as work environments, relationships, and employee health are all linked to the organization’s outcomes. In other words, treating employees poorly leads to low productivity and efficiency in an organization (Seppala & Cameron, 2015).

                The Cerner CEO email is one of many bad examples of communication, which can potentially lead to a domino effect of problems. To avoid these problems, leaders must follow the eight attributes of supportive communication (Whetten & Cameron):

1.   Congruent, Not Incongruent

Despite the possibility of dissatisfied people, it is always important to deliver honest messages with matching feelings. A real-life example is how the Johnson & Johnson company handled the 1982 Tylenol Crisis (Chicago Murders). They did not deny that the situation occurred at their business, and they expressed their concerns on the safety of their consumers. To regain consumer trust, the company announced and developed new packaging and design of their products to reduce tampering from occurring (Markel, 2014).

The Cerner CEO email shows the feelings of disappointment and anger towards the managers, however the message on the problem-solving process is unclear. With the lack of information, people can easily be misinformed, and can potentially hurt relationships (Nosich, 2012).

2.   Descriptive, Not Evaluative

The Cerner email is purely evaluative, as it does not provide any information about the problem-solving process. Although the CEO see multiple problems occurring in the organization, it is likely from his or her own perspectives.  Many organizations consist of many different departments, each having different roles and way of thinking. For effective problem-solving, it is important to pinpoint the problem by breaking down the problem all together and examine the details. This is also known as Systems of Thinking (Nosich, 2012).

3.   Problem-Oriented, Not Person-Oriented

The email used the word “you” repetitively, which clearly shows that the CEO is addressing the situation by person rather by problem. This is very risky, as this can easily misinform employees. Again, every department has their own way of doing and thinking things. If the managers of the company were working as described, this can easily create a negative and confusing work environment. To overcome this situation, the CEO must fully evaluate the situation and include details about the problem(s).

4.   Validating, Not Invalidating

The CEO’s email did not have any form of validating whatsoever. It is clear that the communication is one-way: as it demands the managers to fix the problem, or they will be replaced. Again, for effective decision making, it is important to have as much information, feedback, etc. from all departments relevant to the problem. They all have different views and tasks.

5.   Specific, Not Global

Again, with the lack of information provided, the CEO failed to provide specific information. For instance, the CEO provided a list of problems he or she sees without any reasonable explanation, and demands the managers to resolve the situation. This can only lead to managers going in all different directions, which can create further issues.

6.   Conjunctive, Not Disjunctive

The email provided some very rough ideas about what’s occurring in the organization, but fails to add on further information. Because of this, the email was more like a “for your information” rather than bringing up important points to the situation. 

7.   Owned, Not Disowned

As previously mentioned, the CEO uses the word “you” repetitively in the email: fulling putting the blame on the employees with no valid explanation. While each department has their own tasks, they need someone to point them to the right direction. For this case, the CEO failed to do so, which can cause misconceptions.

8.   Supportive Listening, Not One-Way Listening

Organizations are like a working machine: every department in an organization has a role and must work together to accomplish things effectively. For this example, the CEO is likely not gathering information from other departments and solely making decisions based on his or her own perspectives. Although organizations all follow the same main goal, every department have different tasks and views, and may not always align with people from other departments.

                For effective supportive communication, it is important to ensure that we are honest, clear, and provide as much information while maintaining positive relationships. As an academic advisor, maintaining relationships is critical, as I need my students’ full cooperation to make effective advisement. While it’s rare to come across difficult problems and unhappy students, I intend to place myself in my “students’ shoes” when appropriate. This allows me to not only gather additional information to my advisement, but it also help me “translate” my advisement to the students. By explaining situations as a student, this allows my messages to be delivered easier, and could potentially reduce any stress the student is currently in. As a past and current student, I’m also able to make personal connections with their situation, and can express my feelings towards the situation. By expressing appropriate emotions, tone, and body language, the student can also realize that I truly care about them, and is always available to help (McDonald & Messinger, n.d.).

References:

Markel, H. (2014). How the Tylenol murders of 1982 changed the way we consume medication. PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/tylenol-murders-1982/

McDonald, N., & Messinger, D., (n.d.), The Development of Empathy: How, When, and Why. Retrieved from http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/McDonald-Messinger_Empathy%20Development.pdf

Nosich, G.D. (2012). Learning To Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum. Boston: Pearson Education.

Seppala, E., & Cameron, K. (2015). Proof That Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills. Boston: Pearson Education.

MSLD 520 Module 3- Constraints on Creative Problem Solving

Prior to working as a student advisor, I worked at a summer camp that mainly consisted of middle and high school students. I had the responsibility to monitor and ensure the camper's safety. Working at a summer camp was my first and most scary job: mainly because I had a very strict boss. My boss always want things to go “his way”, and failing to comply could often times lead you a trip to his office. Scared and wanting to avoid trouble, I made sure that I never bring things (negatives) up, and strictly follow his policies and procedures.

The challenge began when a small group of campers asked me where the restrooms were during lunch time. Since the restrooms were visible and only a few feet away from where I was, I pointed out the direction and let them go. Immediately after directing the campers, I noticed that my boss was right behind me the entire time: which was rare since he was usually up in his office. He then yelled at the group, telling them to wait and have me escort them. After doing so, my boss told me that I always need to stay close with the campers: as in side-by-side.

I almost immediately disliked this idea. I wasn’t that much different from the campers. Most were in their last year or two of high school: ages 16-18. They were highly responsible unlike those at a much younger age. In addition, I found standing and waiting close to the campers to be a bit creepy, I worried that this could potentially hurt the relationship between the staff and campers. However since I made a promise to myself, I did exactly as told.

As my boss started to get in the habit of telling all the employees the same thing he told me, I started to see some behavioral changes from the campers. Many of them started talking back at us more: saying that they’re not in elementary school. The usual free-time in the evening also got quieter since most of the campers rather avoid us by staying in their dorm rooms. When the first program ended, we received a number of negative reviews from the campers, which resulted a rather scary meeting with my boss. In the end, my boss assumed that the campers were “treated like little kids” because of the way we spoke and acted towards them. Despite the multiple training sessions, we still received negative reviews throughout the summer.

After a careful analysis of my past experience, it was obvious that everyone including myself were working in fear. When someone is in fear, it promotes silence, uncertainty, as well as stress (Tucker, n.d.). Fear also creates a domino effect of problems, which could eventually hurt the entire organization. For this example, my boss was likely not informed, and continued to make decisions based on what he knew. Due to the lack of information, the camp still received negative reviews. If I were to go back and fix this problem, I should have disregarded my fear and communicate with my boss more. Supervisor-employee communication is critical to any organization: as they allow the flow of information, and promote stronger relationships (Lloyd, 2015). As long as I avoid sounding too direct and negative, my boss could view things from the employee’s perspectives and implement our comments and ideas to establish effective decision-making. In addition, communicating with my boss may have provided me some opportunities to know him better, which could help reduce the fear all together.
References: 

Lloyd, K. J., Boer, D., Keller, J. W., & Voelpel, S. (2015). Is my boss really listening to me? the impact of perceived supervisor listening on emotional exhaustion, turnover intention, and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(3), 509-524. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.1007/s10551-014-2242-4

Tucker, K. (n.d.). The Effects of Fear in a Job Environment. Chron. Retrieved from http://work.chron.com/effects-fear-job-environment-7989.html

MSLD 520 Module 2- 10 Minutes a Day

                Andy Puddicombe’s TED talk All It Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes talked about the importance of focusing on our own minds. By spending 10 minutes a day doing nothing (no distractions), it allows ones to experience a greater sense of focus, in addition to establishing a calmer, clearer mind. Puddicombe mentioned during the talk that “things aren’t always as they appear” (2012). The key to this technique is to allow ones to think deeply, and see things we may have not been aware about in the first place.

                 Last Sunday, I witnessed a stabbing incident at a large public mall. Seeing the violence, in addition to running for safety created great stress, as well as a deeper fear of public places. Despite being safe, I constantly thought about this experience: which slightly affected my job performance, studies, and everyday activities. After using Puddicombe’s 10-minute technique, I was able to overcome most of the fear by looking at the situation from other angles.

                Prior to the exercise, I solely focused on the negatives. “I could have been hurt”, “I feel like this is going to happen again”, “this could have been my last day”: these were some things I constantly thought about, and it really brought my mood down. By spending 10 minutes focusing on my own thoughts, I branched out and examined the situation in other ways: such as positive things. The first thing that came in mind was that I managed to get away unharmed. Although it was not a pleasurable situation to be in, I also saw it as a rare opportunity to learn and experience a real crisis. I am now more informed and aware of what to do if a similar event happens again.

Puddicombe’s thinking technique is a useful tool for leaders as they help establish clarity. Personally, I believe that the exercise is an example of systems of thinking. The key is to break down a main thought, mission, or idea into smaller components, and examine these areas to gather new information or details for better understanding (Nosich, 2012). Before the exercise, I only focused on the past: the “negative branch” of the event. Since the goal of the 10-minute exercise is to focus on the present, I was able to reduce stress by thinking about the positives: that I’m alive and more prepared for potential crises. Thinking up-to-date is also critical to leaders. If we stick with an old habit or information, there will be higher risk of damage. Instead, leaders must be proactive: stay up-to-date and always be prepared for potential changes (Galoppin, 2011).

References:

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/

Noisch, G. D. (2012). Learning To Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum. Boston: Peason Education.

Puddicombe, A. (2012). Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes [Video file]. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes

MSLD 520 Module 1- Self-Awareness Blog

            While I’m only in my fourth course, the Leadership Program (MSLD) has been able to change me in multiple ways. Most of the improvements applies to my job as a student advisor at a university, while some improvements can also be noticed through everyday conversations. At this point, the two big things that shaped me is the importance of critical thinking and the importance of building and maintaining relationships.
            Prior to my enrollment to the MSLD Program, I’ve always considered myself as someone who overthinks. After completing the first class: which heavily revolved around critical thinking, I learned that critical thinking involves more than thinking about ourselves. For more effective leadership, leaders must also be aware of their surroundings: which include other people, environment, etc. (Nosich, 2012). The big thing I was able to draw and apply to my advisement is the ability to emphasize with my students. Rather than making decisions solely on university policies, I “spice” up advisement by implementing my own experiences as a student. For example, a degree map is a list of course recommendations. Rather than jotting down a list of random courses, I try to implement my own experiences when appropriate, and consider the student’s course delivery preferences, as well as personal schedule: resulting a more personalized degree map.
            In addition to critical thinking, I’ve also improved my communication skills- which lead me to stronger relationships with my students. While a part of the reason may be my natural acts of kindness, many of my students provided me feedback and other positive comments about linking personal experiences. In addition to more information, another important thing that can be drawn from sharing experiences is that it helps breaks the “barrier” between a leader and their people. In the past, I’ve always felt a little too reserved when speaking with higher authorities. Assuming that some of my students feel the same way, I disregard my status and instead blend in with the students as much as possible. It is important to keep in mind that I’m currently a student- one of them. With something in common, this help could help me engage in conversations (Groysberg & Slind, 2012). When students are comfortable enough, they may share me information that I never knew about- which could help my future advisement.
            The MSLD program helped me sharpen all Five Core Aspects of Self-Awareness. Perhaps the most important thing the program has taught me is the importance of critical thinking. With critical thinking, we’re not only thinking about ourselves, but everything around us. For my case, thinking about my students from their (and my own) perspectives has allowed me to improve their advisement. Not only do I get information about a particular class, conflict, etc., I’m also gathering information about how the students feel physically and mentally. Considering all this, I can then implement this information to future advisement.

References:

Groysberg, B., Slind, M. (2012). Leadership is A Conversation. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://www.harvardbusiness.org/sites/default/files/HBR_Leadership_Is_a_Conversation.pdf

Nosich, G.D. (2012). Learning To Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum. Boston: Peason Education.

MSLD 521 Module 9- A Different Kind of Leader

Gina Folk stated that effective leadership occurs when the leader puts themselves on other people's shoes (2015). While I’m not entirely sure if the academic field is my long-term career path, I know that I’d like to bring up the importance of understanding people wherever I end up. Many times throughout my life, I’ve came across customer service representatives that were feeling agitated, and often rushed to get the job done. After receiving their usually awful service, I often wonder how they thought their way of doing was acceptable, and whether they ever think about their customers. Prakash Singh stated that simply having the ability to perform tasks is never enough, and that it is critical for leaders to be aware of their surroundings (2014).

As leaders, it is important to keep in mind that people is what makes leadership possible. Relationships, along with communication are like parts of a machine- without it, things won’t run smoothly. Because of this, it is important to meet the people’s needs and wants as much as possible. As Stephen Denning mentioned, an interactive leader works with the world rather than against it (2011). This is perhaps one of the most important dimension Denning stated. While a leader has the role to lead, it is important to avoid being too manipulative since this can stress people out. For example, when I make degree maps I really want many of my students to follow the patter I’ve suggested. Rather than being direct, I explain to them the importance and reasons behind the list of classes, as well as make it clear that these are only my recommendations. With explanations, I’m sounding less commanding, but could have the students follow.

Building personal integrity and authenticity, and disregarding hierarchical authority are two other dimensions that I constantly consider daily as an academic adviser (Denning, 2011). Although I have some higher authorities than a student, I always disregard my status and instead blend in with the students as much as possible. By engaging in conversations with the student, I can gain further information outside of advisement. For instance, as staff, I’m only told that you need to take all the math and English courses before taking a research course. When engaging in conversations with my students, they can talk about their experiences and tell you that business statistics heavily revolved around the research course. This was something I haven’t been told initially, and in the future, I could use that information for future advisement. In addition, I’m also a current student. I’m one of them. By sharing my personal experiences, my students and I are going back and forth- gaining new information, and at the same time develop stronger relationships due to our common interests.

Long story short, the key to effective leadership is to blend in with your people as much as possible. By blending in, leaders and followers can relate to one another- establishing stronger relationships. In addition, putting oneself in others shoes allows additional information to be absorbed: which can enhance the overall leadership.

  

References:

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.

Folk, G. (2015). Put Yourself In Other People’s Shoes. People Leadership. Retrieved from http://peopleleadership.com/put-yourself-in-other-peoples-shoes/

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

MSLD 521 Module 8- Cornerstones of Speaking

For a very long time, I’ve experienced many good and bad presentations. Despite the many experiences, most were unfortunately bad ones. I’ve had many cases where teachers were speaking in monotone voices or were simply repeating what’s shown on their visuals. Because of this, I often times got distracted: drawing pictures, playing with my phone, or in worse cases- falling asleep in class. Whenever I encountered these bad presentations, I often wondered if the rest of my classmates were even learning anything, and whether the presenter was aware of how bad the presentation is. All of these things are what I always consider when I’m the one presenting. I don’t want my audience to not learn, or find my presentations boring. To prevent this from occurring, I usually adjust my voice, verbal delivery, as well as visuals.

Just as Julian Treasure mentioned in his video, the presenter’s voice has an impact on the outcome of the presentation (Treasure, 2014). In the many examples shown on the Charisma on Command video, Kevin Hart often spoke very loudly, but he also adjusted his voice to actually be funny (Charisma on Command, 2016). One thing that can be drawn from the two videos is the importance of adjusting voices. The outcome of a presentation is good when people are able to absorb something from it. To do this, the audience needs to be motivated and or entertained.

Before I start entertaining and motivating people, I need to know who my audiences are. At a university setting for example, my audience usually consist of students and a teacher. The teacher will likely be the most motivated of the group since the students were literally “forced” to listen to my presentation. To balance out and capture as much attention as possible, I usually try to have more of a “conversation-feel” rather than actually presenting. George Bradt pointed out in his short article that people engage easier in conversations rather than presenting (2014). Every time I come across presenters literally “reading”, I often ask, “Who normally talks like that?” To bring in a little more life to my presentations, I try to be expressive (adjust my voice) and avoid the reading style- just as if I’m having a regular face-to-face conversation. For the future story project specifically, I also need to be expressive to help my audience understand its importance to me.

Although adjusting tone and the talking style is important, presentations can be more effective when visuals are present. Visual aids have many benefits: including maintaining interest to illustrating your points (Leigh, n.d.). In past experiences, I’ve often implemented not only relevant materials, but videos and photos to help deliver the mood I’m hoping to achieve. Referring back to the university example, I’m aware that the students are the ones that’ll be harder to capture since they’ve been forced into my presentation. Since many of them are young like myself, we all probably have very similar interests. In one business presentation, I used a short scene from The Big Bang Theory to not only entertain the audience, but to prove a point in the audience. After a short moment of laughter, I’ve capture most of their attention, and can continue on with the presentation. The important thing to keep in mind however is to ensure that the materials won’t led your presentation to go off-topic, or is too distracting for the audience.

In summary, I plan to consider the audience’s point-of-views into my Future Story presentation. Since my presentation is heavily based on myself, it is important to be expressive. To do this, I plan to avoid sounding too monotone and to “talk” rather than present. Since audio alone for my presentation can be a little bland, I intend to also include interesting and relevant visuals to help maintain engagement. Although my presentation isn’t like a business or research and fact intensive, I can also rely on visuals to help the audience illustrate my points.  

References:

Bradt, G. (2014). Big Presentation? Don’t Do It—Have a Conversation Instead. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2014/09/10/big-presentation-dont-do-it-have-a-conversation-instead/#8e2d384295b7

“Charisma on Command”. (2016). Kevin Hart’s 3 Secrets to Hilarious Storytelling [Video file]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn_L4OPU_rg

Leigh, R. (n.d.). The Importance of Creating Effective Visual Aids in the Workplace. Chron. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-creating-effective-visual-aids-workplace-17432.html

Treasure, J. (2014). How to speak so that people want to listen: Julian Treasure (TED Talk Summary) [Video file].  YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEkEAFaV818

MSLD 521 Module 7- Secret Structure

While pursuing a degree in business administration, I made and came across a lot of presentations. Whether it was to examine a management tactic or a real-life business scenario, the pattern was overall repetitive. We provide a summary of the main topic, analyze it, and support our reasoning with internal and external data. Since the point of most of these presentation is to prove something, the most important thing for these presentations is data. According to Nosich, you can’t explain without information. While information include numbers and charts, different views and other relevant information from different people or environments also serves as data (Nosich, 2012).

During my undergraduate days, I’ve always relied on research for my presentations. In the leadership program however, I’m starting to realize that research alone doesn’t always add up to our presentations. As leaders, the key is to inspire and motivate people to support an idea (Prive, 2012). Nancy Duarte mentioned during her TED talk The Secret Structure of Great Talks that presentations are completely flat-lines, whereas a story allows ones to establish physical reactions (2011). She examined the different “shapes” of how stories and presentations are made, and concluded that successful ones are done in the following shape:

Duarte's whole point was that a good communication is done by going back and forth on "what is" and "what could be", and ending it with "the new bliss". Rather than having one climax of the speech, you can have multiple to help engage the audience. Personally, I find this pattern to be made more for someone who clearly knows their vision: where they can provide numerous examples to support their vision. As much as I would like to fully adapt this style to my future presentation, I will likely only implement a small portion.

As of today, I personally do not have a large lifetime goal or interest since I'm currently in the stage of life of figuring this out. Since I do not have a clear, large vision, using Durate's will be tricky. To avoid my presentation being too much of a presentation as Durate mentioned, I might adapt part of her "what is" "what could be" portions of the chart. For my case, I might be considering doing a presentation about overcoming my thoughts on my hearing disability. At the beginning of the presentation, I'll talk about how well I'm currently doing with my job, and provide some examples of them. Durate's portion can be implemented at the body of the presentation: where I provide examples on how overcoming my fears of my hearing disability could change today's advisement. The ending of the presentation might not add up to Durate's example, but I might consider a short summary and sum up the overall importance of my personal goal. To avoid the presentation being too much of a presentation, I also consider to implement some short story telling to my presentation. 

References:

Duarte, N. (2011). Nancy Duarte: The secret structure of great talks [Video file]. TED. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks

Noisch, G. D. (2012). Learning To Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum. Boston: Peason Education.

Prive, T. (2012). Top Qualities That Make A Great Leader. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/12/19/top-10-qualities-that-make-a-great-leader/#3dc71c923564