Mitten Shaped Flights

  Having watched the video by Insead (2008), it is clear to me that I’ve evolved from a traditional top-down leader and more so into one that is flexible, forgiving and allows high-performers to do their jobs. Previously, I had been more of a tactical leader with my nose to the ground so that I didn’t miss anything and could report back with all the information. But watching this video and learning more about operating outside of my comfort zone, I believe I can conduct myself in a way that promotes others to own their own destiny and deliver in an efficient way. With self-managed teams (SMT), it is less about me telling others what to do, but rather us doing it together. Management by objectives (MBO) may be defined as a system of management set up to help in planning, organizing problem solving, motivating and other important managerial activities (Brown, 2011, p. 324). This approach sets the stage for allowing the communication to flow freely, as everyone in the group is on the ...

  I recently watched a video about team development and how activities built around teamwork adds value to an organization. The EcoSeagate video (Chao, 2008) outlines the vision of CEO Bill Watkins of how he sees teamwork, comradery, and collaboration both in and out of the workplace. EcoSeagate culminates in a 4-kilometer adventure race through a course consisting of liking, climbing, traversing canyons on cables, and running (Brown, 2011, p. 274). The application of the race and its impact on employees cannot be understated. I feel that there is value in the EcoSeagate team mainly because I have participated in outdoor experimental laboratory training activities like this and understand how it applies to greater organizational output and cohesiveness among employees. The learning provides participants with insights into their leadership and interpersonal styles (Brown, 2011, p. 274). In my experience, I found that these outdoor laboratories work as long as they are focused in c...

  In Steve Jobs’ video (Jobs Official, 2017), we see how the Apple Corporation came together to create one of the most influential technology companies in history. Jobs was an idealist, which as funny as it may seem, is how I also see myself. I like to think of it as the world being open to individual interpretation where people can continue to build on the functions which already exist but are malleable and can be influenced. I recently participated in a management assessment that analyzed certain personal characteristics and how they would apply to the workplace. The assessment pegged me as dynamic in a large company setting that is: ·        highly self-confident ·        assertive ·        ambitious ·        aggressive ·        wants to be challenged ·        highly motivated to be succe...

  I’ve watched the Tom Wujec video (TedX, 2010) before and found it interesting in how the exercise of building a tower takes teamwork and each person has a very important role to play. Called the Marshmallow Challenge, teams use marshmallows and other objects to make the best tower in a neat and fun competition. Each team uses their own methods for addressing the problem and Wujec evaluates each on their performance. Wujec attempts to make a connection with the audience in that successful business minded people perform worse at this exercise than kindergarteners. Wujec says this type of collaborative effort is the essence of the iterative process (2:00). Merriam-Webster defines iterative as utilizing the repetition of a sequence of operations or procedures ( Merriam-Webster, 2021). I agree with Wujec’ analysis that kindergartners perform better on the Marshmallow Challenge than MBA students for two reasons. The first is because children at that age think in such simpler and unb...