Sunday, May 7, 2017
End of the Semester Reflection
The semester is coming to a close, and it's time to reflect back on the past few months. I really enjoyed being a part of this course this semester. I appreciated the chance to switch up the normal structure of most classes for a bit of a more non-traditional structure. The opportunity to decide the curriculum a bit ourselves as the students was challenging but fun. The beginning of the class started off a bit rough, with a lot of uncertainty in how to structure the class ourselves, but we definitely got into the groove of things and covered so much in organizational behavior. As we work on wrapping up the primer today, I am super proud of the work we have all accomplished together. The topics of personality and emotional intelligence are what stuck with me most. The theme I kept getting over and over again throughout the duration of the course was the importance of understanding people. And I feel that after this class I am better prepared to understand and manage people as a hospital administrator in the future. On top of all of the information I learned from the various presentations and blogs throughout the semester, I feel I became a better participator, writer, and presenter.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Zappos CEO (Tony Hiseh) Interview
Professor Bonica shared this podcast interview of Zappos CEO, Tony Hiseh with us because Zappos has been brought up as an example a variety of times throughout the semester. I'm intrigued by the company from what I have learned from discussion in class, so I gave the podcast a listen (link below). Tony Hiseh is a very knowledgable and inspiring guy. Tony is an experienced entrepreneur, and co-founded two different companies, LinkExchange and Venture Frogs, before becoming CEO of Zappos. He has a passion for creating, and has built Zappos up to be a very successful company.
The interview has a theme of passion, drive, and following your dreams. Hiseh emphasizes again and again the importance of loving what you do. The worst case scenario for most listeners, he explains, is that you suck up your pride and crash with a friend for the time being if a career leap goes foul. Deciding what to do for work and following your dreams is not a life or death risk. He goes on to describe how if you are doing something you are passionate about, it won't feel like work. One interesting fact he shared is that based on studies, money does not buy incremental happiness once you hit an annual income of roughly 75K. Many people get stuck in unrewarding jobs, because society is accustomed to finding unrewarding work to feed the family, but nowadays there are so many opportunities to link what you do all day with something that you are passionate about. In conclusion, Hiseh preaches to follow your passion and not to focus too much on the what ifs.
Another major topic of discussion in the interview is the culture of Zappos. This is what we spent a good amount of time in class discussing. Hiseh believes that culture drives the brand, and once you get the culture right, everything else will fall into place. Zappos is known for their great culture and work hard to keep it that way. Hiseh shared that after training for new employees, Zappos offers to pay for their training plus a bonus of a few thousand dollars to quit. This is to ensure that employees want to be there for more than just the paycheck and that they believe in Zappos' long term vision. And only about 2% of people take the offer. Hiseh's number one piece of advice to entrepreneurs is to think about if money were not an issue what you would ideally like to do, and then make adjustments to reality. Follow the link below for the full interview clip!
The interview has a theme of passion, drive, and following your dreams. Hiseh emphasizes again and again the importance of loving what you do. The worst case scenario for most listeners, he explains, is that you suck up your pride and crash with a friend for the time being if a career leap goes foul. Deciding what to do for work and following your dreams is not a life or death risk. He goes on to describe how if you are doing something you are passionate about, it won't feel like work. One interesting fact he shared is that based on studies, money does not buy incremental happiness once you hit an annual income of roughly 75K. Many people get stuck in unrewarding jobs, because society is accustomed to finding unrewarding work to feed the family, but nowadays there are so many opportunities to link what you do all day with something that you are passionate about. In conclusion, Hiseh preaches to follow your passion and not to focus too much on the what ifs.
Another major topic of discussion in the interview is the culture of Zappos. This is what we spent a good amount of time in class discussing. Hiseh believes that culture drives the brand, and once you get the culture right, everything else will fall into place. Zappos is known for their great culture and work hard to keep it that way. Hiseh shared that after training for new employees, Zappos offers to pay for their training plus a bonus of a few thousand dollars to quit. This is to ensure that employees want to be there for more than just the paycheck and that they believe in Zappos' long term vision. And only about 2% of people take the offer. Hiseh's number one piece of advice to entrepreneurs is to think about if money were not an issue what you would ideally like to do, and then make adjustments to reality. Follow the link below for the full interview clip!
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Dan Ariely: "What makes us feel good about our work?"
I came across this TedTalk yesterday and found its key points to be very interesting and inspiring. In his TedTalk, "What makes us feel good about our work?," Dan Ariely discusses the many components to motivation. Many people believe that money is the key component of motivation. However what Ariely finds through his research is that there are many different components including meaning, creation, challenge, ownership, identity, pride, etc. Airely goes into many different examples about how these other factors impact motivation. One example was about a student who worked really hard on a powerpoint presentation for a merger within his organization for weeks and was happy during the time he worked on it. However, when the merger was cancelled, he became depressed knowing that no one would ever watch it. This is an example of the strong role meaning plays in motivation and happiness. It is important for people to find connection in the tasks they are working on. Watch the video below for more great insights from Dan Airely's research.
Monday, May 1, 2017
"How to keep your team motivated"
In class today, Shayna and Logan presented on teams. Within their presentation they played a video called "How to keep your team motivated," presented by the Kellogg School of Management (link below). The video had some great points and tips, so I went back to re-watch it for a better analysis and review.
The video is led by professor Leigh Thompson. She explains how to get your team back on track when they've been slacking or some team members haven't been pulling their weight. She explains an analogy of pulling rope, where when another individual is added to the pull, each individual will exert less effort. This refers to the concept of "social loafing," which is that people are prone to exerting less effort on a task if they are in a group of people as opposed to when they are working alone. I have felt this way before when working on group projects, but never knew there was an actual concept for it.
Professor Thompson then went on to explain a four pronged intervention plan that she created while working with the senior VP of a transport company in working to re-motivate his slacking safety team. First, they made a team contract that explained the teams' mission statement, focusing on goals, responsibilities, and norms. Second, they switched to short, frequent meetings as opposed to long, drawn out meetings. It has been found that the longer the meeting, the more a team drifts off track. The team also revisited the team contract at each meeting. Third, Professor Thompson suggests that team members stand and deliver. This means members literally stand up each week to report accomplishments. She claims that this is significant because teams that stand up are 34% more productive than teams that sit down. Lastly, Professor Thompson suggests to create a line of sight, showing how the team members will impact the end goal. This allows for team members to be more engaged with their task. I thought that this video was really comprehensive and had some great advice for getting team members on task. These intervention strategies are not only helpful in the workplace, but some steps could be used for group projects as well. Thanks for introducing the video, Shayna and Logan!
The video is led by professor Leigh Thompson. She explains how to get your team back on track when they've been slacking or some team members haven't been pulling their weight. She explains an analogy of pulling rope, where when another individual is added to the pull, each individual will exert less effort. This refers to the concept of "social loafing," which is that people are prone to exerting less effort on a task if they are in a group of people as opposed to when they are working alone. I have felt this way before when working on group projects, but never knew there was an actual concept for it.
Professor Thompson then went on to explain a four pronged intervention plan that she created while working with the senior VP of a transport company in working to re-motivate his slacking safety team. First, they made a team contract that explained the teams' mission statement, focusing on goals, responsibilities, and norms. Second, they switched to short, frequent meetings as opposed to long, drawn out meetings. It has been found that the longer the meeting, the more a team drifts off track. The team also revisited the team contract at each meeting. Third, Professor Thompson suggests that team members stand and deliver. This means members literally stand up each week to report accomplishments. She claims that this is significant because teams that stand up are 34% more productive than teams that sit down. Lastly, Professor Thompson suggests to create a line of sight, showing how the team members will impact the end goal. This allows for team members to be more engaged with their task. I thought that this video was really comprehensive and had some great advice for getting team members on task. These intervention strategies are not only helpful in the workplace, but some steps could be used for group projects as well. Thanks for introducing the video, Shayna and Logan!
Leading a Meeting
Last Wednesday in class we talked about meetings. The class focused primarily on how to properly and efficiently lead a meeting. First, we talked about why to have a meeting in the first place. Often times it seems like meetings are useless and that the information could have been sent out in an email. However, there is something to be said about face to face interaction. While emails can be beneficial, they also can be easily ignored and/or forgotten. I personally enjoy meetings, and feel that they are not only beneficial but also are a good way to break up the work day. As an intern this past winter, I really looked forward to meetings, because that was often where I learned the most and it was a way to break up the time I spent sitting at my desk.
In class we discussed the types of meetings as well as the common participant roles within meetings. Meeting types include problem-solving, decision-making, planning, etc. Participant roles include facilitator, recorder, time-keeper, and basic participant. What we learned later though is that there are also some known, unassigned personalities within meetings including the latecomer, the early leaver, the repeater, and the doubter. Below I have listed some of the highlights I took away for how to lead better meetings:
Each of the above bullets are methods we discussed in leading better meetings. I find creating an agenda to be particularly important. In my experience, meetings where there is a specific agenda about what needs to be done and what needs to be gone over are the most efficient and productive. Each of our SOHL meetings always have agendas and I plan to continuing providing agendas next year. One statistic that really stood out to me in the presentation was about retention of information. Strictly oral presentations of information result in 10% retention, strictly visual presentations of information result in 35% retention, and a combination of both results in 65% retention. It is important to recognize this in delivering information in meetings. I really enjoyed this class topic and felt that is was very relative to the workplace.
In class we discussed the types of meetings as well as the common participant roles within meetings. Meeting types include problem-solving, decision-making, planning, etc. Participant roles include facilitator, recorder, time-keeper, and basic participant. What we learned later though is that there are also some known, unassigned personalities within meetings including the latecomer, the early leaver, the repeater, and the doubter. Below I have listed some of the highlights I took away for how to lead better meetings:
- Establish meeting ground rules
- Create an agenda
- Start and end on time
- Prep for the meeting
- Have smaller meetings before the meeting
- Evaluate and follow up on the meeting
Each of the above bullets are methods we discussed in leading better meetings. I find creating an agenda to be particularly important. In my experience, meetings where there is a specific agenda about what needs to be done and what needs to be gone over are the most efficient and productive. Each of our SOHL meetings always have agendas and I plan to continuing providing agendas next year. One statistic that really stood out to me in the presentation was about retention of information. Strictly oral presentations of information result in 10% retention, strictly visual presentations of information result in 35% retention, and a combination of both results in 65% retention. It is important to recognize this in delivering information in meetings. I really enjoyed this class topic and felt that is was very relative to the workplace.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Crisis Leadership
Today in class, David and Colleen presented on crisis leadership. Crisis is defined as both "a time of intense difficultly, trouble, or danger" and "a time when a difficult or important decision must be made." Three types of crises were highlighted within their presentation including business/professional, PR, and personal. These three types of crises can overlap as well. David and Colleen outlined seven good leadership characteristics in times of crisis:
1. Don't allow emotions to get in the way
2. Don't take things personally
3. Keep a positive mental attitude
4. Keep composure
5. Respond decisively
6. Take accountability
7. Be communicative
Each of these characteristics really highlight how best to go about a crisis as a leader. Common mistakes that are made when leaders do not exemplify these leadership characteristics in a crisis include waiting to act, taking things personally, etc. We looked at some real world examples of these mistakes with President George Bush during 9/11 in waiting to act, and CEO Tony Hayward during the BP oil spill in taking things personally. We then did a few crisis leadership exercises to practice responding to crises in leadership positions. During the activity I got to role play both being CEO and being on the board in two different situations. I found the activity to be beneficial and enlightening. It really brought what David and Colleen taught about crisis leadership into practice. Leaders are often defined by their actions in times of crisis, which is why knowing how to act in a time of crisis and preparing for such events is so important.
1. Don't allow emotions to get in the way
2. Don't take things personally
3. Keep a positive mental attitude
4. Keep composure
5. Respond decisively
6. Take accountability
7. Be communicative
Each of these characteristics really highlight how best to go about a crisis as a leader. Common mistakes that are made when leaders do not exemplify these leadership characteristics in a crisis include waiting to act, taking things personally, etc. We looked at some real world examples of these mistakes with President George Bush during 9/11 in waiting to act, and CEO Tony Hayward during the BP oil spill in taking things personally. We then did a few crisis leadership exercises to practice responding to crises in leadership positions. During the activity I got to role play both being CEO and being on the board in two different situations. I found the activity to be beneficial and enlightening. It really brought what David and Colleen taught about crisis leadership into practice. Leaders are often defined by their actions in times of crisis, which is why knowing how to act in a time of crisis and preparing for such events is so important.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Holacracy
Yesterday's in class presentation was on Holacracy. I had not heard of this concept prior to Jason and Erin's introduction of it for their presentation. Holacracy is a self-management theory that involves a non-traditional style of management. A term used to describe the concept is flat management. This means that employees of an organization are on a more equal playing field than in the traditional work setting where hierarchies are determined by position. In a holacracy, roles are defined around work rather than people, and are always changing. This means there is no set assignments of authority, and no set managers. Rather, authority varies and is distributed depending on the task. The core idea of holacracy is based around self-organization. Similarly, rules are transparent, and everyone follows the same rules regardless of position.
Initially, this management style seems to be lacking structure entirely. But there are ways in which holacracy implements structure within the organization. Firstly, while there are "no managers," there are assigned leaders. Administrators in any organization have two major functions: resource distribution/guidance and professional development. In holacracy, these two functions are split into two different leadership "positions": the "lead link" and the "people people". The "lead link" is in charge of delegation and ensuring people know what they need to do and how to do it, while the "people people" assist in professional development. Additionally, the typical pyramidal hierarchy is replaced by circles. The circles consist of an anchor circle, general company circle, and sub-circles. This is allows for a better definition of where people are stationed. Lastly, three different types of meetings held on a pre-determined basis. Tactical meetings are held weekly and allow for circle members to ensure they're on the same page and address any problems. Governance meetings are held monthly and refine circle operating structure. Strategy meetings are held every six months and review circles' overall progress and make long term goals. These small pieces of structure allow for the organization to function properly.
Zappos is a company that practices holacracy, and is often used as an example of how holacracy can be successful. We spent a lot of class talking about the way in which Zappos is run, particularly the Las Vegas office. We read an article written by an ex-employee about working at Zappos. Zappos actually has a contract in place that must be signed by each employee to agree to the terms of holacracy. Most of the article highlighted the fun and easy-going environment at Zappos created by holacracy. The office is fun and people even decorate the office in crazy ways, however they want (pictured below). It definitely seems like a positive work environment. However, several negatives/concerns were brought up both in the article and in our discussion in class. Some of these concerns include unclear definitions of what is appropriate, blurred lines between friends and co-workers, and discomfort in lack of authority. This led us to discuss a bit about how holacracy would play out in a healthcare environment. We came to a pretty clear conclusion that the success of holacracy is situational depending upon the industry. We felt that in healthcare holacracy wouldn't work well, because people's livelihoods are being dealt with, and in such serious and/or personal situations people find comfort in authority, which is unclear to nonexistent in holacracy. It is an interesting concept, and I am curious to see how it may develop over the coming years in other organizations.
Initially, this management style seems to be lacking structure entirely. But there are ways in which holacracy implements structure within the organization. Firstly, while there are "no managers," there are assigned leaders. Administrators in any organization have two major functions: resource distribution/guidance and professional development. In holacracy, these two functions are split into two different leadership "positions": the "lead link" and the "people people". The "lead link" is in charge of delegation and ensuring people know what they need to do and how to do it, while the "people people" assist in professional development. Additionally, the typical pyramidal hierarchy is replaced by circles. The circles consist of an anchor circle, general company circle, and sub-circles. This is allows for a better definition of where people are stationed. Lastly, three different types of meetings held on a pre-determined basis. Tactical meetings are held weekly and allow for circle members to ensure they're on the same page and address any problems. Governance meetings are held monthly and refine circle operating structure. Strategy meetings are held every six months and review circles' overall progress and make long term goals. These small pieces of structure allow for the organization to function properly.
Zappos is a company that practices holacracy, and is often used as an example of how holacracy can be successful. We spent a lot of class talking about the way in which Zappos is run, particularly the Las Vegas office. We read an article written by an ex-employee about working at Zappos. Zappos actually has a contract in place that must be signed by each employee to agree to the terms of holacracy. Most of the article highlighted the fun and easy-going environment at Zappos created by holacracy. The office is fun and people even decorate the office in crazy ways, however they want (pictured below). It definitely seems like a positive work environment. However, several negatives/concerns were brought up both in the article and in our discussion in class. Some of these concerns include unclear definitions of what is appropriate, blurred lines between friends and co-workers, and discomfort in lack of authority. This led us to discuss a bit about how holacracy would play out in a healthcare environment. We came to a pretty clear conclusion that the success of holacracy is situational depending upon the industry. We felt that in healthcare holacracy wouldn't work well, because people's livelihoods are being dealt with, and in such serious and/or personal situations people find comfort in authority, which is unclear to nonexistent in holacracy. It is an interesting concept, and I am curious to see how it may develop over the coming years in other organizations.
(Pictured above: cubicles within the Zappos Las Vegas office).
Find out more at http://www.holacracy.org
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