MSLD 641 Module 5 - Intentional Change Theory at the Team Level

Intentional Change Theory (ICT) at the Team Level

            Group development and transformation take place based on multi-fractal interaction; intentionality; and positive emotion, as follow (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006):

1. Intentionality and shared ideals are the drivers of change and group transformation.
2. Positive emotion becomes critical for intentional group development, alternating activation of positive and negative emotional attractors (PEA and NEA), with PEA being the emotional anchor and NEA seen as functional to change.
3. Iterations must be grounded in positive emotion, enhancing the group’s conscious awareness, or mindfulness, the salience, as well as the coherence of its ideal.

To analyze the content of ICT in teams, Olympic US Women’s Soccer team and United States’ men’s basketball will be used as illustration.

            The US women’s soccer team has been an international force since the FIFA Women’s World Cup began in 1991 (The Washington Post, 2019). According to Klenke (2011), contact sport is not, socially speaking, a women’s strength. Women, to get to show their value in soccer and a to get chance to be in the spotlight, needed to strongly fight for it. This is the first reason, I believe, women soccer in the US succeeded in the past years. They had a positive vision of their shared ideal self, as a group, which was a driver for change and transformation. Their desire for equality in the field is a driver to this day (Spiggle, 2020). However, the team was aware of the reality and the challenges up ahead. They did not neglect the NEA. Negativity had its functionality purpose on the team, pushing them to their ideal, which was still grounded in the PEA. (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). Moran (2015) and Burke (2019) highlight the team’s perseverance, resilience, tuned to opportunity, humbleness, and hope as leadership lessons from US Women’s Soccer team, which goes in liaise wit Akrivou, Boyatzis and McLeod (2006) components of ICT in a team level.

            Another point important to make is that transformation at the group level can be catalyzed and facilitated by (1) formal or informal positive emotional leadership in the group, and (2) interaction on other fractions of the complex systems (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). This team has been influenced by former players, active players, coaches, as stated by Lisi (2010), apart from communities with the same beliefs and ideals, brands linked with the public tendencies, media, government support, so forth. All these factors contributed to the US Women’s soccer team performance along all these years, being considered a quite young group (independent of individualities), comparing with the US Men’s Basketball team.

            The latter has created high hopes, due to its media attention and previous performances. For the purpose of this paper, let me just consider the Olympics. Until the year 2000, the US Men’s Basketball team has won 11 Olympics, out of 14 (USAB, 2016). Chang (2016) lists the US point differential to show the team’s performance independent of winning. In 2000 the team won a gold medal, but its differential was in decline. 2004 was the worst year for the team, taking home a bronze medal (low profile for the “Dream Team”) and with the worst point differential in history. Grounding the analysis in ICT, the main reasons I believe the US Men’s Basketball Team did poorly in 2000 and 2004 were (Maisonet, 2017):

1. The disconnect/ dissonance between leaders and players and leaders with leaders.
2. The lack of union (shared ideal self) of the entire team.
3. The gap between the experiences between coaches and players.
4. The large gap between reality (real self) and vision (ideal self).
5. The lack of a learning agenda with time to experiment, as players were not used to playing together.
6. The negative tone/ approach from leaders to get results by threatening “motivators”

             Desired, sustainable change within the team occurs through the cyclical iteration of the group (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). While the US Women Soccer team intentionally self-developed, based on sustainability aiming the long run and having a higher purpose than just scores, the Us Men’s Basketball team was like boiling frogs, not seeing the warning signs, comfortable in their past and their illusion of the future, maintaining its status lacking awareness in the present. While all five components of ICT and prescription of group development, listed by the authors, were present in the former team, the same components were absent in the latter. 

References

Akrivou, K., Boyatzis, R. E., & McLeod, P. L. (2006). The evolving group: towards a prescriptive theory of intentional group development. Journal of Management Development 25(7), 689-706. doi: 10.1108/02621710610678490

Burke, K. (2019). 5 Lessons on leadership from the U.S. women's soccer team's second world cup Win. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/katie-burke/5-lessons-on-leadership-from-us-womens-soccer-teams-second-world-cup-win.html

Chang, A. (2016). One simple reason the USA men's basketball team is struggling. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/rio-olympics-explainers/2016/8/19/12524532/team-usa-basketball-struggle

Klenke, K. (2011). Women in leadership: Contextual dynamics and boundaries. Midlothian, VA: Emerald Publishing

Lisi, C. (2010). The U.S. Women’s Soccer team an American success story. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press.

Maisonet, E. (2017). The Miseducation of the 2004 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2731575-the-miseducation-of-the-2004-us-mens-olympic-basketball-team

Moran, G. (2015). 6 leadership lessons from the U.S. women’s soccer team. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3048231/6-leadership-lessons-from-the-us-womens-soccer-team

Spiggle. T. (2020). U.S. women’s soccer suffers setback in fight for equal pay.

Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomspiggle/2020/05/12/us-womens-soccer-suffers-setback-in-fight-for-equal-pay/#25d4cdc06107

USAB (2016). Men's Olympic games all-time results & standings. Retrieved from https://www.usab.com/history/national-team-mens/mens-olympic-games-all-time-results-standings.aspx

The Washington Post. (2019). The USWNT’s World Cup history: Eight tournaments, four titles. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/sports/soccer/usa-women-world-cup-history/

MSLD 641 Module 4 - Tipping Points of Emotional Intelligence

Tipping Points of Emotional Intelligence

           How emotions impact one's professional life is often underestimated. Emotional intelligence (EI) accounts for 85 to 90 percent of the difference between outstanding and average leaders (Boyatzis & McKee, 2005). Cognitive intelligence might be crucial in the workforce, specifically those related to specialized areas in which expertise is the foundation of the business. What if often neglected in how emotional intelligence impacts people in leadership positions. 

           To have a deeper understanding of EI in leadership it is necessary to look at it through the lens of competencies. Emotional intelligently speaking, competencies are the underlying characteristics of the person that led to or caused effective or superior performance (Boyatzis, 1982). It is defined as different sets of behavior organized around an underlying construct called the intent (Boyatzis, 2009). Cognitive and emotional intelligence competencies influence performance, however, 93% of the competencies predicting performance are from the emotional intelligence clusters (Boyatzis, 2006).

           Competencies have been shown to differentiate outstanding managers and leaders from their not so effective counterparts. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify which competencies are necessary for outstanding performance and to analyze the tipping point of these competencies, which is to examine how much of the competency is sufficient for outstanding performance (Boyatzis, 2006). Boyatzis (2011), in research about tipping point and its influence on leadership performance, listed the following EI competencies for analysis: initiative, planning, achievement orientation, self-confidence, taking a risky stand, self-control, adaptability, conscientiousness, values learning, oral presentations, networking, leadership, coaching, empathy, influence, facilitates learning, and distinguishes the firm’s reputation and resources. 

           There are instances where I have experienced a tipping point at my current organization. Using Boyatzis's (2011) list as a reference, follow below the competencies in my examples, which are among the competencies which have shown a significant impact in the financial performance, based in the mentioned research. For the purpose of this reflection, I will mention how positive or negative emotional attractors (PEA and NEA) played a role in them.

Valuing Learning 

           There was not one specific situation, but a continuous process of learning. It is not common in my department for employees, at any rank, to voluntarily look for self-development and learning, as it does not have a direct impact on promotions. Despite this tendency, I registered for my master’s degree, attended all the workshops available for my department, all webinars related to leadership (which involves my rank), and registered for e-learnings (including LinkedIn learning, which has a partnership with my organization).

           The result of that is my close relationship with my manager to discuss the topics I learn, our exchange of knowledge, and what I believe was one point of influence on her recommending me for a promotion opened a few months ago, which had a tight competition. In the current situation of expected lay-offs, my manager contacted me and informed me if performance criteria would be taken place for the layoffs, I should not concern, as apart of duty performance, my off duty competencies would count in my favor. 

           In regards to the PEA, I believe that my social skills and my relationship with my manager as an outcome of my ongoing learning, and my engagement with her in a positive way, focused on a positive outcome of the future, is what influenced me to experience a tipping point on valuing learning. There is nothing I would have done differently, apart from developing a journal of all my learning outcomes and sharing regularly with my manager.

Influencing and Distinguishing the Firm’s Reputation and Resources 

           A few months ago, I experience a suspect theft on board, where a customer crossed to a different cabin and took the premium perfumes from the business class cabin, which on that day, I was in charge. My onboard manager was the first one to notice and delegated me to solve the issue, although I was not in charge of the customer’s cabin. After a long process of decision making between me and the manager, security procedures to follow, and challenging communication I had with the customer, the theft was confirmed, and the perfumes returned.

           Then it was time to decide what to do with that information. I asked for a meeting in the cockpit, with the pilots, the manager, and the other supervisor, so we could, in collaboration, find the best outcome. We called the network control officer, who gave three alternatives. Thinking about the company’s reputation and resources, I influenced my peers to decide on calling security on arrivals, to meet the airplane and deal with the customers (thief and complier). My thinking was in the long term, and the consequences of letting the situation go with no further actions towards the customers. With this action, I believe I passed a message to those customers (and perhaps to their counterparts) that taking items from different cabins, designated to remain onboard is not acceptable.

In regard to the company reputation, I believe with this decision a message was passed of how my organization takes security measures seriously, independent of the explicit consequences, the monetary value involved, and the short-term negative impact of strict decisions. In the influence competency, I involved all parts, listened to opinions, discussed possible impacts of the decision, and using this collaboration as a resource, I critically though and together, me and the onboard leadership team, reached a decision, which was ultimately passed to me to decide, as I was the one directly involved with the incident.

           Regarding the attractors, I believe NEA played a role when communicating with customers. I believe a created a defensive posture by imposing assumptions based on the information I had at hand (which was not known for the customers yet). I tried to be open and give the chance to resolve it with no further consequences, but after I noticed resistance and lies, I pushed perhaps harder than I should get the confirmation of the theft. It took a toll on the communication flow, as it turned from solving a simple situation, into a threat of accusation, to finally, get the outcome I wanted. Because of this defensiveness, the entire process took three hours. On the other hand, with my peers, I believe the PEA played a role, through engagement and genuine care about other’s opinion.

           Learning about competencies increases my awareness of EI. As it is a broad subject, it becomes hard to accurately measure and understand it, but studying it through the competency lens, it becomes clearer why EI has such a significant impact on leadership. Through this reflection and the materials studied, I hope to enhance my self-awareness, sharpen my self-management and social skills, and improve my relationship, now based on a deeper understanding of the topic.

References

Boyatzis, R.E. (1982). The competent manager: a model for effective performance. New York: John Wiley and Sons

Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

Boyatzis, R.E. (2006). Using tipping points of emotional intelligence and cognitive competencies to predict financial performance of leaders. Psicothema, 18, 124-131.

Boyatzis, R. E. (2009). Competencies as a behavioral approach to emotional intelligence. Journal of Management Development, 28(9), 749-770

Boyatzis, R.E. (2011). Neuroscience and leadership: the promise of insights. Ivey Business Journal. Retrieved from https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/neuroscience-and-leadership-the-promise-of-insights/

MSLD 641 Module 3 - Emotional Intelligence: Getting Results!

Emotional Intelligence: Getting Results!

           Psychologist David McClelland found that leaders with strengths in emotional intelligence (EI) competencies are more effective than those who lack them. Unlikely cognitive intelligence, it can be learned at any age, over time, with practice, and with a good dose of self-awareness and reframed behaviors. Emotional intelligence covers four domains/dimensions (Boyatzis & McKee, 2005; Big Think, 2017; Daniel Goleman, 2000). Below follow how they apply to me as a human and social being, along with which ones represent my strengths and the ones I need to develop, also including their impact on my performance.

1. Self-awareness

I started practicing self-awareness in 2016 when I registered to major my master’s degree. As I have weekly self-reflection activities as part of my studies, it pushed me to internally analyze myself, reflect upon it, link with real experiences I have had, therefore increasing my awareness about the source of my behaviors. During regular performance reviews in my company, one of the competencies discussed with my manager, based on work experiences, is self-awareness, especially with accurate self-assessment and self-confidence. It is also a competency analyzed for promotion in my current organization, as I have been through in February. I have been taken self-awareness tests to understand traits of my personality, and how I perceive myself, which have been helping me and all my relationships immensely.

I believe self-awareness to be a dimension I strongly need development. I am often self-aware of my emotions, but I often fail at the speed of self-assessment. It impacts me daily, as I supervise teams of up to eight employees, and I work in the front line with customer service. Dealing, engaging, and interacting with people along all my working days requires me to be aware of my motivations and the resources of my attitudes, as it directly influences the effectiveness of my decision-making process, especially in times of intense emotion. 

By increasing self-awareness, I can possibly neutralize my emotional state to make rational and impartial decisions, in emergency onboard situations, for instance. When serious safety, security, or medical situations arises, suppressing emotions becomes crucial. This is not to say that suppressing emotions is something positive, however, there are situations, usually professional ones (especially in aviation), that subduing them is the key to the success of the outcome.

2. Self-management

This is my weakest EI dimension. As mentioned before, I lack speed on self-assessment, and this leads me to fail when controlling my emotions before acting. In emergency situations, when I am at the leading role (especially on incidents with little time to think), for some reason I can shut my emotions, as it does not exist. However, if I do not have control over the situation, then emotion kicks in. I feel like it is a survival mode I am in because based on my background (both regional and family) I am very affectionate, and I am usually driven by emotion. It changed a lot after working for complex organizations and taking leadership roles on all of them, but it is a journey I am in. My goal is to be able to recognize emotions fast enough to control its influence on my reactions in any type of situation.

Self-management itself has a high impact on an adults’ life. I believe this dimension sharpness is what mainly differentiates a person with emotional maturity or not. I recall a time I have been operating a flight, at 37.000 ft altitude, and the pressurization system failed, to eventually losing all artificial pressure from the cabin. To avoid a catastrophe, the pilots needed to perform a rapid descent to 8000 within what felt a minute. From the beginning of the incident to touching down, it took 90 minutes. Throughout this time, several things happened which turned into an emotional roller coaster for me. As initially, I did not know what was happening, simply being asked to sit down immediately, I felt uncertainty. 

When I realized the plane was diving like a bird, I was afraid, as I still did not know what was happening, so I froze. After reaching 8000ft the pilots briefed the crew members about the incident. Gaining knowledge and seeing my team breaking down in fear, I ignored all my emotions. Instruction from the cockpit went on and on, changing constantly until the decision was made to burn fuel and return to origin. This was my highest point because I am good at shutting emotions in stressful environments. 

I delegated tasks, coordinated with other leaders onboard, attended medical cases, reassured panicking passengers, confirmed the cabin was secured, and after landing, completed all tasks on the ground as per SOPs as more time was available and I wanted to minimize the workload for the teams taking over that plane. I dealt with more medical cases upon landing, wrote several reports, stayed in the office assisting my online manager on general reports, all without giving any attention to my “emotional roller coaster”.

Although it does not look like to me after reading this post, my self-management is my weakest point, as its strength is just present in very specific situations. Overall, I try to suppress my emotions or to consider them maturely, but usually, I fail. This is a good example of my inconsistency. During the rapid descent, when it crossed my mind we could be crashing nose down in the ocean, my heart rate was high and I was dizzy (to this day I am not sure if due to hypoxia or intense fear), and after reaching home I could not see the company’s name, pick up the phone to attend the office’s call, neither I could brush off the idea that I could die in a blink of an eye.

3. Social awareness (involving empathy)

Upon reading the capabilities that social awareness covers, I believed it to be my second strongest dimension in EI, although I do not master it (Boyatzis & McKee, 2005). Regarding organizational and service awareness, I mainly on top of my game. I read the current decisions, try to understand, or consider the politics at the organizational level, and I often juggle well with organizational, followers, and clients' needs. 

When it comes to empathy I can sense (feel) when someone is disinterested, aloof, and unsympathetic, but I often fail on breaking the emotional barrier and get to know more, as if I am invading their emotional privacy. With this freezing reaction, I fail to understand perspectives and unfortunately, I show a lack of active interest, although I feel exactly the opposite. The times I decide to break this barrier I am genuinely interested in people’s concern and to understand where their behaviors come from.

At work, because of my “problem-solving” mind, sometimes I interrelate empathy with sympathy, which is another point I fall short. I remember a specific time when I had a four sectors journey, and my team was excellent, apart from one new employee which was completely lost and slow, to a level I have never witnessed before in new staff. I have noticed the team mocking her on her back, and some of the members annoyed with the impact in the workload to those more experienced. I needed to gather my team, when the new staff was not present, and guide them on empathy, asking them to think in all possible reasons that could explain why she was behaving that way. I also committed my self to have a thorough conversation with her, and work by her side, along with the team, so the workload would be shared more evenly and I could guide her in more details and hold her accountable. Having empathy for both sides of the “game” was a challenge for me, but it is a great example that reflects my strength when I decide to truly embrace it and show it.

4. Relationship management (involving social skills)

This is, in my perspective, my strongest dimension in EI. In my daily meetings with my team, I link the plans for the day with the organization values, trying to inspire my team in personal customer service, by placing their names on their seat as I change teams every working day. I leave a sweet treat for them to remind how small touches make impacts on customers' emotions, therefore their long-term memory about their experience. Every briefing I start by talking about leadership, and how, in the deep sense of the word, is a choice my team members can make in every situation, and not simply a hierarchical rank in the company. I also develop new team members, by walking with them around the plane, showing details is not seen in training and common shortfalls in the crew community. 

Relationship management is something that impacts me every single and determines the success of my work. For the past six years as a leader in this company, I have never been called in the office to explain something happened in my flight which I was not aware of. Apart from documenting everything happening onboard, through words and actions, I communicate to my followers they have a safe platform to share with me issues and any ad hoc situation. With a communication flow not being interrupted, it is just a matter of consistency, transparency, and team building. 

My organization is constantly changing service and safety procedures. Every time a major change is implemented I carry a folder with me with printed and laminated copies for quick access for the team, and when I need to implement a change, I gather all members together, ask for opinions a suggestion (if possible), define and present the change and support my team as much as possible on its implementation. I foster collaboration by putting people with more experience close by new joiners in the company, I take over my team member if necessary, and I constantly switch role with my employees so they experience my tasks, while I remind myself how it is being in their position.

Conflict management is my weakest capability, not on the management itself, but in the initiative. As I am a conflict avoider, I let it go so many conflicts to allow the emotions to cool down. This applies to the conflict of my followers towards me and among themselves. Although it is working positively on results so far, I do not believe the meaning to end have been always being fair. I can recall a few situations I let it go too long, then team spirit was broken, or one of the members finished the duty drained by the emotional toll it took. 

An important trait in EI is compassion. Although it logically applies to the social domains, compassion, when present in every dimension, enhances its results. While being critical but compassionate with oneself, his or her awareness, and management strengths. Compassion used to understand the people around and to relate to them is key to boost relationships (Goleman, 2007; Halifax, 2010).

References

Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

Big Think. (2017). Daniel Goleman introduces emotional intelligence. Retrieved from Daniel Goleman Introduces Emotional Intelligence | Big Think

Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78-90.

Goleman, D. (2007). Why aren’t we more compassionate? Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_goleman_why_aren_t_we_more_compassionate

Halifax, J. (2010). Compassion and the true meaning of empathy. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/joan_halifax_compassion_and_the_true_meaning_of_empathy

MSLD 641 Module 2 - Am I a Resonant Leader?

Am I a Resonant Leader?

            Most people understand what it takes to be a great leader, technically speaking, but few people understand how to mobilize energy, inspire, motivate and empower other, and to build a resonant culture. Most of what it takes to excel in leadership has to do with vision and relationship with oneself, with others, and for others. Emotional and social intelligence makes the difference and distinguishes a good from a great leader, along with practices of renewal to dribble the sacrifice and power stress (McKee, Boyatzis & Johnston, 2008).

                The biggest surprise I discovered about myself while trying to figure out if I am a resonant leader, is the consistency of each resonance dimension. For instance, I find myself inspirational but not always, and the techniques I use sometimes fall short, as people feel inspired through different channels and tools. When it comes to positive emotional tone, I am overall positive and hear that quite often from my followers and leaders, but I fail sometimes when venting about something I faced as if I need to talk to process and then have a closure in my mind. This approach creates negativity, and although I do it unaware or well-intentioned, I can create a negative tone to my teams.

                I am often connected with others, but rarely I cross the line to really get to know in-depth what is in others’ hearts or minds. I consider my observation skills and situational awareness sharp, but I lack skills to break the barrier and have a more tuned relationship with others in my professional environment, which is not an issue in my personal life. I believe I demonstrate compassion by listening to people (when I decide to cross the line I am not comfortable with) and trying to do whatever is in my control to relieve their pain, but sometimes, with my “problem-solving” mind, I turn into a sympathetic leader instead of an empathetic one (see the difference simplified by RSA, 2013, with an explanation from Brene Brown). The dimension I think I am more consistent with is the tune. Except in stressful one-on-one conversations, in which I struggle with self- awareness, and management, I am quite often tuned with myself, others, and the environment.

            One example I can cite, which I feel I fell short on being inspirational and setting a positive note, happened few months ago, when I was in a room, waiting a new team to arrive for a meeting, and decided to set up the room with motivational quotes, sweet treats, putting people’s name on their seats, standing to receive people and walking around welcoming them. I made small conversations about their country, or greeted them in their native language, when I realized that some people in the room didn’t like it, or ignored. It could be for lack of interest in the job, for some careless attitude commonly present in the workforce in my company, but it made me think that people are driven by different "forces", also that people are skeptical when a leader is too positive, especially in my role. My inconsistency is related to not doing that in every meeting, and just picking random days, as it is a trial initiative.

            Another situation I feel I fell short on not being connected with a follower's heart and mind, happened last year. I could feel something was wrong by his body posture, lack of facial expression and lack of active listening, but instead of sitting down and having a proper conversation to try to understand the source, I just started small conversations to break the ice and to lift the person up. I failed on my goals, since at the end of the day, I was not connected, not tuned, neither compassionate by the follower’s feelings, and my well-intentioned approach did not achieve anything apart for making me a poor skilled leader, afraid of creating a discomfort.

            My examples are mainly related to the relationship management domain of Emotional Intelligence, as shown  by Boyatzis & McKee (2005, p.29). Resonant leaders need to know what inhibits effective individual and team performance, and how to address issues (McKee, Boyatzis & Johnston, 2008). My goal, for the next couple of months, is to develop skills to enhance my ability to lead resonantly.

References

           

Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

RSA. (2013). Brene Brown on empathy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

McKee, A., Boyatzis, R., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.