All entries for March 2016

Leadership & Excellence PMA

A learning outcome for this PMA was the fact that there is no single definition of leadership. Hours of trauling through books, journals and watching various videos have resulted in the conclusion that leadership is defined by the situation. Its this thought process that will be highly useful for life. Personally, when going into situations where leadership is critical, I will ask myself what is the situation? what is the enviroment, what needs to be done and based on this, what form of leadership should be done.

There are many different approaches that can be combined to have an overall style that is adaptable to any given situation. It is the adaptability that will prove most valuable. A really critical point that has come out of this PMA, was that leadership is not just about leading in an organisation. Every style or styles can be used in any situation both in working life and personal life. The approaches researched during the PMA showed that the ability to relate to people, their individual differences, their motivation and how to create a collective rather than a group of individuals are all key in the on-going development for a true leader to be effective.

Some focus areas that I need to ensure that I focus on moving foreward with continious feedback from others include :

• 'Boss Complex' - Leadership involves trusting others. I feel that I need to trust peoples ability more, they share the same desires to succeed. It has always been difficult to do this, mainly because I feel uncomfortable leaving my own destiny in others. However, although it may be difficult at first, over time I can becoe comfortable with leaving it to others. The end goal is to eventually become an observer, operate in a servant-leader orientation.
• Listening - The research from the PMA showed that a leader cannot appreciate the position of followers without appreciating their current position. Many new ideas often come from the quiestest in a group, how can a leader truely harness this if a leader is operating in autocratic fashion? Therefore I know for certain that moving ahead, I will endevour to listen more.
• 360 Feedback - The PMA raised the fact that within leadership there is the skills theory. An approach which involves continious learning on becoming a more effective leader. This involves learning and learning should be continious. Feedback is essential for development so moving foreward, in any situation that I am to use leadership, I will ensure that I recieve feedback from all those involved in order to better myself.

The three points above are just some of the areas in which I will improve, no doubt that many more areas will come into play in the coming months and years. It is my responsibility to improve, I will use the learning from the PMA to become more effective.

: 27 Mar 2016 21:17 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

RDM – Week 2

Completing the second week was somewhat of an exhausting experience, there were momemts of frustation, conflicts, agreements and revelations. Early morning starts and late evening finishes really did represent what life after WMG will hold. The experience of "learning by doing" however, was far superior than that of simply being given a lecture on decision tools each day. A key learning outcome here was the requirement of being highly precise, we only had one hour slots to speak with "the boss" for feedback and suggestions, this one hour was allocated for all groups. The aspect of precision has not been so apparent until now.

The ability to work as a cohesive group raised its own challenges, having strong characters in the group caused progress to be slowed. However as the time progressed, the cohesiveness improved, decision tools were decided upon. It was apparent that we could spend significant time attempting to reach a decision, at what point do we stop? Therefore based on this, we placed a boundary. Using a maximum of three tools for both location and the marketing strategy in our eyes would be more than enough. I also found that previous learning really did help on this module, during the discussion of what criteron to use or the weightings given, there were signs of the "boss complex" coming into motion. As a result, I ensured that everyone understood the strength of listening.

It is so very clear to me, that this education I am recieving is working. Engaging in this group work, there has been the use of previous learnings. This is a positive sign for great things to come in the future.

: 13 Mar 2016 14:50 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Robust Decision Making – Week One Review

Having completed the first week of Robust Decision Making, it is apparent that there are aspects which I can personally take foreward. The first day of the week was the most difficut to handle from a personal perspective as I find it difficult to accept personal change. It was clearly apparent that my system of thinking was based on what Daniel Kahneman refers to as "System 1". This is the basis that my decision making is essentially more automated rather than being more of an analytical approach. Having had some time to reflect on this, I personally think this is due to the fact that my life is constantly in motion with many events occuring at once. As a result, it is difficult to implement "System 2 thinking" as its more time consuming. As the week went on, it became clearer that their are many tools which I can personally utilise, at first it was difficult to appreciate the tools as they were somewhat difficult to grasp.

However, understanding the tools finally came through having examples both displayed but also had as an excersise. Some of the tools which I feel which can add value to my own life will include such ones as SMART and the Analytical Heirachy Process.

Life after WMG, I do not know what it will hold but I am sure that their will be risks to be considered on a daily basis. As a result, this first week has provided significant grounding on being able to deal with these risks.

: 06 Mar 2016 15:29 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem