Video Debrief of Team MA
Researches
on effective organizations shows that the team approaching to management is
increasing each day, because of the importance of teams/groups. Therefore, companies
nowadays are concerned about the way they manage their employees. An effective process
that has shown to be powerful in the corporative world is empowerment. Empowerment,
covering decision making, accountability, responsibility and ownership (Brown,
2011) have been valued lately and it is seen as a watershed in the world of
businesses that are built to last to last (Collins & Porras, 1994).
An
illustration of empowerment, also of interpersonal interventions is shown in a
video that presents the beginning of NeXT startup (Jobs Official, 2017). All employees
involved at the first steps of the company could give their opinion, which was
listened, debated, analyzed and discussed until a final decision was made. And
the cycle restarted again with every input. There are several characteristics
of Organization Development illustrated in this video, and although the company
was not going through a process of change, it was starting from scratch, which
made a huge part of the process easier, but also carried other challenges already
overcame in existent organizations.
According
to my Management Assessment Profile, in consideration with the environment witnessed
in the video, I believe some of my
characteristics would have fit with the makeup and culture of the NeXT startup
team, in different ways. The assessment has shown that I am a diplomatic leader,
comfortable in complex situations, who can add skills in mediation and enjoy influencing others
and can help keep an organization running smoothly by focusing on motivating
and inspiring people to achieve visionary goals. An interesting aspect is observed
by looking at graphic, which although shows I possess diplomatic traits, proves
that I am located barely in the middle of the graphic, which means I can deal
with all different type of people without getting into conflict. On the meetings
for the makeup of NeXT this leadership style would have contributed with the
nature of the team (diverse in leadership styles and empowered).
When
it comes to the independence characteristic of the assessment, it shows that I
have a balanced desire for structure and for being independent, which means I
like working with structure but appreciate some flow on work and a certain
level of autonomy. This could contribute with the startup as the rules, deadline
and purpose were pre-established, but flexibility for change and value for
employee inputs was also present. The assessment has shown that I am highly
driven by challenges and by going beyond the boundaries for improvement, if I
observe a gap for it. These traits fit well, in my opinion, with the startup
and the CEO, as it appears to be the mantra of the project.
When
it comes to take risks, I present a balanced business risk desire which could
play in favor of the startup, as it showed acceptance for risks, as soon as the
risk is critically thought through and cautions were taken. In terms of innovation,
although I am people oriented and not product, service or process oriented, I
have a high desire for problem solving, which according to the debriefing with
a specialist, it plays an important role on organization as I contribute by
focusing on the solution and not the problem. The caution in this term is
dealing with people that keep touching base on problems and details and cannot
see beyond the problems’ boundaries. In this case I would need to use my diplomatic
skills to overcome this possible weakness while working in a high-level team
and NeXT’s.
As
a person not driven by financial metrics (professionally neither personally), this
trait would play in my favor as the financial risks carried while creating a
new organization, and also the risks of leaving a stable job, could affect my
performance otherwise. Although the money invested was from the CEO personal
budget and it was intended to cover 18 months of the organization development,
from what I could observe it was not the driven force of the project neither
the concern brought up frequently. The engine of the startup and the entire
team was the purpose of the project, and the promising success as being pioneering
in the field. The financial factor was focused to the outcome of the project,
instead of the makeup of the organization, an aspect that is aligned with my
low financial driven trait.
Taking
part on the assessment makes a huge difference on my performance in my current
organization, and in my upcoming career. Although the assessment has just proven
points I knew about myself, it gave me a better picture on what I need to be
aware of when going through challenging situations, apart from reinforcing my
awareness of strengths I possess and eventually neglect. It helps me building
confidence, by enabling me to work in my proven weaknesses (in advance or during
a situation) and allowing my positive traits to flourish without uncertainty.
References
Brown, D.R. (2011). An
experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Collins, J. C., Porras, J. I. (1994). Built to last:
Successful habits of visionary companies. New York, NY:
Harper Business.
Jobs Official (2017, November
24). Steve Jobs brainstorms with
the NeXT team 1985. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udi0rk3jZYM&t=637s
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