Effective Team Learning

This course has been very beneficial to me and my professional life will improve greatly as a result.  One of the most important take-aways for me is the art of active listening.  I constantly find myself listening and self-correcting during conversations when I wander off in my thoughts.  If I think of something during the conversation, I let it go - this is a hard thing for me to do - but I do it - it does not matter if I remember what it was or not.  What matters most is that I listen.

However, now I am more aware of leaders who don’t learn or want to learn thinking they have nothing else to learn. This is very distracting to me.  Knowing I cannot change people’s leadership styles, I will keep my interactions with them as objective as possible and not criticize their weaknesses.  There is only one person that comes to mind in this regard but I am working through it.

Through the many case studies we evaluated (Costa Concordia, Xerox, GE, LL Bean), I have also learned that learning together as a team, double-loop learning, probe and learn and after action reviews are critical components to exploring what could be better for the future and how to plan, adjust my sails during the process, implement to the best of my (and team’s) knowledge, assess and institute change whenever needed.

This was one of the best courses during this degree program.

ORID 3

How to build an organization’s capacity for learning, according to Garvin, can be accomplished through executives shifting their focus from content to process.  “Leaders and manager must:

1. Create opportunities for learning by designing settings and events that prompt the necessary activities
2. Cultivate the proper tone, fostering desirable norms, behaviors and rules of engagement
3. Lead the process of discussion, framing the debate, posing questions, listening attentively and providing feedback (Garvin pg. 190).”

When a manager offers opportunities for employees to learn, it not only opens up a plethora of knowledge for them but also allows them to grow in their roles at the organization.  And when they provide the time for the employees to do this outside their daily workload, all the better.

Interestingly, in this week’s chapter, I learned about the two orientations employees tend to display.  This knowledge has helped me to understand why my assistant and I sometimes disagree.

MY ASSISTANT:  “focuses primarily on performance to gain favorable evaluations from supervisors and perform well to peers (Garvin pg. 192).”  She does not like risk and avoids learning opportunities.

ME:  “focuses primarily on learning - to increase competence and skills and develop increased mastery. Over time gain confidence and competence and improved results (Garvin pg. 192).”  I work smart to perform better.

Problem?  My assistant and I have differences of opinions on how work should get done.  Some might think this is insubordination on her part but I look at it as learning opportunities for both of us.

O R I D

Objective Questions:

What is the problem?

My assistant is very opinionated and difficult to manage at times due to her preconceived perceptions of what a work environment should be.  She came from a union environment (9-5 do as I want as long as I get my job done attitude).  I mean no disrespect to unions here.

What behaviors do I observe?

My assistant pushes back when extra work is given to her or if she is asked to work (or expected) to work beyond 9-5.  This was clearly expressed in her interview and written on her job description.  Providing me oxygen in times of need is the one thing that we keep coming back to as an issue with her performance.

Reflective Questions:

How do I feel during these exchanges?

At first I feel shock that anyone would tell their boss “no.” Then I move to anger and then I listen.  I keep my feelings to myself for the most part.  She knows she is a darn good worker (she is) and pushes back because she does not want to feel she is being taken advantage of.  On the other hand, I feel she is taking advantage of me by not being willing to take on more responsibility and/or work extra hours (paid) when needed.  She eventually gives in but it is not without hard work on my part.

What is hardest?

The hardest part for me is getting her to learn more skills, getting her to be more intuitive, and backing me up when needed.  She is not used to being in a support position and wants to just do her job and go home.  I am determined to make this work and have her grow.

Interpretive Questions:

What have I learned about me in the process?

I am a softy, a pushover but also tough as nails when it comes to details and hard work because that is my work ethic.  I expect the same from those who work for me. However, I have also learned to listen and become a better listener.  Some of what my assistant says during our exchanges is valuable feedback to me as her supervisor.

What things have I done to extinguish undesirable behaviors?

Not enough but still working on this. I immediately speak with my assistant when issues arise so we can talk about them, allowing me to speak to speak my position on things and explain why the request is important.  

Decisional Questions:

What will I do the same in the future?  What will I do differently?

I will continue to have open and frank conversations with my asssitant and will continue to figure out better ways to manage the behaviors while getting my needs met.

What skills do I want to develop?

I am not sure what skills I need to develop but attending a leadership workshop where I can role play would be beneficial to me.

ORID 2

The probe-and-learn process, according to Garvin, “can be used to generate knowledge in a variety of settings.  It’s advantages should be obvious:  immediacy, relevance, and the involvement of users under real-world conditions (pg. 149).”  This process enables organizations the ability to properly plan experiments in an ambiguous environment.  In addition, “the approach to exploration has four critical elements:  a starting point, one or more feedback loops, a process for rapid redesign, and a stopping rule (Garvin pg. 147).”

O R I D

Objective Questions:

What happened?

I was blamed for something regarding commencement and it was never discussed.  It was assumed that I was totally at fault.  Others were equally responsible but I took the hit.  This is one problem with learning environments when you work with teams and not one single person oversees an operation.  When something goes wrong, someone takes a hit - not the group.

What do I remember most?

How I felt after being approached by my boss telling me I did something wrong but not spelling out exactly what I did and that the VP was very unhappy.

Reflective Questions:

What was surprising to me?

What was surprising to was that the VP did not come to me initially.  That I was given may more credit for the errors than were my actual fault and that my boss did not have an open and frank discussion with me; he just immediately walked over to my office and chewed me out after meeting with the VP.

How do I feel about it?

5 months later - I still feel very hurt.  I am a big girl, don’t get me wrong, but when my character is attacked, I take it personal.  I met with the VP shortly thereafter to try and mend fences, but she would not have it - she built a wall and it is still there to this day.  The fact that this behavior is allowed is astonishing to me.  I know she was extremely embarrassed and I take responsibility for my piece of this puzzle but there were so many more pieces that contributed to this that were not my fault.  This is the largest “take it on the chin” situation I have ever experienced.

Interpretive Questions:

What did I learn from the experience?

Unfortunately and fortunately, I learned to be more guarded, to slow down, to fulfill promises and to not take on so much extra responsibility.

What could I have done at beginning, middle, end?

The problem here is that everyone thinks they are in charge of their pieces of the puzzle but also everyone else’s.  Due to someone NOT being the lead and guiding everyone, processes were broken and cohesion was lacking.  Commencement was very disorganized and I was blamed for it.  I have a very small piece of this puzzle like line up and stage seating.  Everyone wants to be in charge and quite frankly, it is a circus act.

What does this mean for the future?

I will not work on commencement again nor work with this individual unless I absolutely have to; she feels the same way - it is quite obvious.  I have never had a working relationship like this in my entire professional career.  She is a bulldozer pushing people out of the way.

Decisional Questions:

What will I do differently next time?

I will try and remember to apply probe-and-learn processes to large scale experiments/projects that need to be carried out by:

1. Creating representative, inexpensive prototypes (plans and processes that are clearly organized and mapped out)
2. Collect feedback directly from the market (seek input from stakeholders)
3. Expect to revise repeatedly (once input is received, immediately put in place changes)
4. Employee a comprehensive measurement package (agree on objectives before implementation)
5. Know when to stop (establish guidelines in advance)

Personally, I will pay more attention to promises I make like promising to get the program to the VP in time to work on her script.  She was new last year and the prior VP kept everything a secret so we guessed at what should be done in certain circumstances.

What resources/support is needed to carry this out?

When I am put in charge of a project, I will not act like the captain of the Costa Concordia and work as a “one-in-charge” leader.  I will take lessons learned from the failures made by Costa Concordia and apply them in some way to how I conduct projects.

References

Garvin, D.A. (2000). Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work.  Boston: MA. Harvard Business School Press. Chapter 1, pg. 5.

Process to Overcome Barriers

Some barriers to learning that currently take place in parts of my institution include:

1. Managers may not be willing to provide learning opportunities in a learning environment in order to allow employees the opportunities to learn and innovate. 
2. Managers may just focus on getting the work done and not allow for exploration and experimentation. 
3. Employees may not be working in an environment that allows for great ideas to get to the top. 
4. Employees may not be working in a psychologically safe environment. 
5. If it ain't broke, don't fix it - laissez faire attitude of managers. 

This is not to say that the senior leaders of the College are all engaged in these barriers. But some are and this is not a reflection of the president's view of learning. He works very hard to provide a psychologically safe environment for all of the employees at the College. The challenge is getting everyone (management) on board. The president models an inclusive and innovative environment but some of his senior leaders struggle with this concept as they feel they need to keep their area secured by lines (silos).

Learning must occur at all levels for the learning environment to succeed. Our industry is constantly changing and we need to be able to reflect, review, renew and grow in order to remain competitive. In a learning environment, managers and leaders can work hand in hand to enable employees the opportunity to "expand their capacity," nurture their thinking, and learn together. This opens up doors for new ways to approach outdated processes and systems in a collaborative environment. 

Garvin's litmus test should be applied to most organizations in search of providing or creating a learning environment.  This process will help provide the answers to questions they may have but also introduces ways to implement them. Gathering intelligence, search, inquiry and observation are ways in which organizations can develop a shared vision. 

References

Garvin, D.A. (2000). Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work.  Boston: MA. Harvard Business School Press. Chapter 1, pg. 5.

Replicating a Result

After Action Reviews (AARs), I have learned, are extremely important exercises to carry out after an event, meeting or situation of significance takes place.  This review is an expanded “post-mortem” which I am accustomed to having after large scale events or meetings.  However, this course has taught me how to answer the following questions and I have included an AAR that I would like to emulate:

What did we set out to do?
The Molloy 2020 Listening Tour set out to define what the College wanted to focus on in order to become more known in the region.

What actually happened?
The Tour took approximately 500 volunteers and their opinions to heart in answering the following questions:

1. Who is Molloy College?
2. What do we want to keep?
3. What do we want to change?

Why did it happen?
Molloy College was in need of a new version of its strategic plan and needed to expand on the good things we were already doing.

What will we do next time?
The process went very smoothly but there are two things I would do differently next time:

1. Now that we have a fully functioning planning office, I would delegate this task to that office.  At the time of this tour, I was given the responsibility of managing the entire process.  I did not have sufficient resources to ensure communication occurred in a timely fashion and that everyone remained in the loop while managing the chairs of the 23 task forces who were in need of guidance at times.
2. I would put in place a follow up/imlementation plan as a proactive step vs. a reactive step we are taking now.

I welcome a similar challenge and will keep the lessons learned from this experience and AAR in my back pocket.  Perhaps I should apply it to the writing of the communications plan I am currently working on.