It's time to reflect

Dearest reader, we are at the end of yet another class!  This one was exhausting.  I worked much harder in this class than any other with the exception of Quantitative Analysis.  I enjoyed this one much better than QA.  I enjoy going to the dentist more than QA.

Let's reflect on some things that I learned that weren't about project management:

1. I learned I really should have kept the same blog all the way through the program.  #minorfail
2. I learned that I was so excited to post something in this blog for week 4 that I kind of missed the reflecting part. #biggerfail
3. I learned that I can handle about as much stress as I have in the last couple weeks, but probably not any more than that and probably not any longer.  But hey, I made it.

In some ways, I feel like this should be the first class you take after the Business Communications writing class.  This one teaches you how to deal with change, help it happen, and prepare for the aftermath.  Every single class I've had has had different flows, different grading, and different work requirements.  It left me incredibly confused for the first two weeks of every class cycle.  I feel like I've finally got a handle on it just in time to be done.

Now for some actual scholarly educational analysis...

I think the biggest takeaway from the class was how important communication is.  Every chapter we worked through had some emphasis on communication. PMI (cited by Standing Partnership, 2015) referenced their study which found that 50% of project failures are related to ineffective communication.  I can totally understand that.  Without good communication, you really have nothing.  Sure, you have a plan, but who will execute it?  How will they execute it?  By when will it be executed?  If you can't communicate, then nobody knows what to do and nobody can do their job effectively.

My favorite concepts were probably the organizational change models attributed to Lewin and Kotter. I particularly love the simplicity of Lewin's three-step model of Unfreeze, Move, and Refreeze (Cameron & Green, 2015, p. 106).  It's incredibly clean and maybe even elegant in it's simplicity.  Kotter's idea of the eight-step plan fits so nicely as an internal framework for Lewin's idea that it almost feels like they work together.  I think you can apply Lewin's idea to any change and explain it to people so they understand what part they are playing.  If you're in the Unfreeze step, then you know you can start making suggestions about how to improve things.  If you're in Move, then it's time to be changing, maybe via adaptive project management to keep things agile.  When you're all done, you're in Refreeze where you are solidifying the new things you're doing.  It's a beautiful framework for guiding organizations.

Let's examine my first post. 

1. One of the things I was adamant about was getting an A in this class.  I'm pretty sure I've gotten there.  I've set myself up for it with hard work up to this point.  I'm pretty sure my project plan is solid (although my anxiety is telling me it's garbage). I'm terrified it won't happen. I truly am. I can't see any reason why it won't, but there's always possibilities.

2. The postings were a lot of work.  When I asked Dr. Plantamura about it, I was concerned.  No teacher had made me post that much.  I made it a point to post more words for every post and more posts than necessary.  I used more sources than I normally would, especially in secondary responses.  I'm a bit shocked that not once did I receive full credit.  I think the highest I got was a 2.48.  I find that to be completely unreasonable.  However, I feel that my overall performance on those was really strong.  I can't help but wonder what grades other people got because I'm positive not everyone was bringing it like I was.

3. I was excited about the application of change models activity.  I probably should have written that about where I worked instead of a place I used to work.  It accomplished its goal either way because I finished that paper with a much stronger idea of how to work through Kotter's framework.  While I didn't quote it in my project plan, I certainly thought about it as I went through the steps of crafting the steps to execute.

4.  I was excited by this class going in.  I'm excited about it now.  I feel like this was one of the most important classes I could have taken in my curriculum because this is preparation for a job higher up the ladder.  My long-term goal is to be a CFO or a CEO.  I know I have the skills to do that.  I just didn't know how to apply many of them.  This Master's program has taught me so much of that.  Change management may have honestly been the biggest piece.  I feel like I can effect bigger changes now because I'm not afraid of how I'm going to work through them.  I'll keep this Cameron and Green book for a good long time because it's a fantastic resource.

Finally, thanks to Dr. Plantamura.  While the workload may have been on the "oh my God, I'll never be able to do this" end of the spectrum, it was a challenge and I rose up to that challenge.  You never know how good you can be until you face something you've never had to do.  Well, I faced it.  And I'm pretty sure I accomplished what I set out to do.  Winners win, it's just that simple.

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the

models, tools & techniques of organizational change (4th ed.). London, UK: Kogan Page.

 

Standing Partnership. (2015, March 3). The important role of strategic communications in change
            management. Retrieved from https://standingpartnership.com/the-important-role-of-strategic-
            communications-in-change-management/

Change management in action!

My wife and I recently attended GenCon, the best gaming convention in the world.  We've gone 3 of the last 4 years to help run a booth at which we sell and demo boardgames for a friend's company.  This year was a bit different because the company was sold to a bigger company and we were now part of that collective.

The gentleman who manages the big company introduced himself to us right away and made us feel completely welcome.  He even told me he had heard about my sales success the year before and gave me carte blanche to do whatever I wanted.  He instilled trust right away by trusting me.

We had a bit of a difficult situation because the convention manager was really not gelling with the rest of the team.  Apparently, there were already issues there because on Sunday morning, the last day of the convention, he was fired.  The boss talked to all the team leads who told the rest of us.  We worked through the change because he was transparent.  Later when we were loading the truck, the boss was there with us helping because he knew we were short a person.

It was really inspiring to see a leader like this in action, especially when I see almost nothing like this in my daily job.  I watched this man do all the things we've talked about in this Leadership program and do them to the utmost effectivity.  I found it really empowering and will carry that as an example of what a leader can do with some simple honesty and hard work.

Week 4 - Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome

I am a big professional wrestling fan.  Stone Cold Steve Austin always says that when things go wrong, you have to improvise, adapt, and overcome.  Things go wrong all the time in a wrestling match.  While the outcome is scripted, sometimes things just happen in a match or interview and you have to adjust on the fly.  Steve's words make a ton of sense in that context, but I think you can apply them to real life as well.

The motto "Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome" is actually the slogan of the Marines that allows them to deal with physical, mental, and emotional hardship (Cox, 2018).  Wrestlers certainly don't have the same stresses that Marines do, and neither do I.  However, Cox provided a couple ways to implement this philosophy. My personal favorite is to "Train Your Brain" (Cox, 2018).  Cox (2018) suggested that the best way to fight negative thoughts is to immediately think of something positive when a negative thought creeps in.  That way, you build your brain into habitually thinking positive when things start to go wrong. I've always wondered how people deal with negative thoughts.  I seem to get stuck to them.  This may be the answer I've been looking for.

I had a quick trip to New Jersey this weekend.  In order to make it work, I had to alter my schoolwork schedule tremendously.  I even needed to take my laptop with me to do work, something I've never done on a vacation.  However, the trip was worth it to me so I found a way to improvise, adapt, and overcome.  I enjoyed my trip tremendously and found out that I could make a change to my habits by just preparing.  This seems like the kind of attitude I can carry into every change I face going forward.


Cox, J. (2018, January 26). Improvise, adapt, and overcome: Life lessons we can learn from the Marines. Retrieved from https://www.jessicacox.com/improvise-adapt-and-overcome-life-lessons-we-can-learn-from-the-marines/

Week 2 - Is this a test?

I've had this feeling in a couple of classes now, but I think this one is the proof:  This entire program is a test.  This class is called Change Management.  The way the professor grades and conducts the class is so unlike every other class I've had thus far.  It's a massive change and I swear it's a test.  It's a test to see if you can adapt and how you will handle the new expectations.  I'll admit that my first reaction was a mix of anger and sadness.  Once I faced the fear that drove those emotions, I was good and ready to go.  I just needed to know what was actually expected of me.  Once I had that, I was off. 

Here's the biggest difference between this change and some of the ones I've dealt with professionally: This one was communicated.  If you asked a question, you were given the answer you needed.  If you asked for help, you got it.  The teacher is a subject matter expert and is prone to giving good advice.  Better yet, she asks questions to get you to think.  While the grading is much tougher, I love it.  You can't reach excellence without finding out how far you can push yourself.

I'm sure some of my fellow students are not happy with this class.  That's fine.  You can't be a lion if your leader is a sheep. (I did not make this up, but I can't find a direct attribution to quote.) This class is like a whetstone for the skills I've learned thus far.  My blade is being honed and is ready for battle.  Like I said in week 1, "I WILL get an A."  I'm just working much harder for it than I've had to.

Honestly, this class is a prime example of what's wrong with the company I work for.  When you let people skate by, nobody becomes better.  You have to challenge people in order to find out who your stars are.  More importantly, you can't tolerate people who aren't keeping up.

Once again, this entire program has proven to be an eye-opener for me.  While I will be incredibly relieved when it's done, I will certainly miss the challenges I faced every week.

Week 1 - An Introduction

The syllabus says we're supposed to continue our Leadership class blog.  I have felt like it's been better to do a new blog every time.  If you'd like to reference my previous blogs, here's a couple links:

Leadership - https://steveoleadership.blogspot.com/2018/08/in-beginning.html
Conflict Resolution - https://resolvingthoseconflicts.blogspot.com/2019/03/week-1-time-to-get-resolving.html

I actually really enjoy writing these because it gives you a chance for introspection and the setting of expectations for yourself.  I wish this was a requirement for every class because it's a really powerful learning tool.

As far as expectations for the class go, I only have one:  I will get an A.  When I started this MBA program, I wasn't worried about grades.  As I went, I kept getting As.  When I got an A in Quantitative Analysis, I knew there was a chance I could finish this with a 4.0.  That's what I intend to do.

The way the posting requirements are written makes it seem like a lot more work than other classes.  It's not, it's just spread out more.  I do appreciate the DQs so I don't mind.  When they are done well, I learn a ton from those posts.  I think it's really about the feedback you get from your peers.

I'm particularly excited about the Application of Change Models activity.  The place I work is incredibly resistant to change so I doubt I'll ever get to use it there.  What I will get to do is lay out how I think things could go which will be a great application of the skills I will learn in this class. Newell (2018) said "The first major step toward successful change management is having a clear understanding of the approach you are looking to employ within your organization."  My company's approach is no approach.  Nothing is ever communicated clearly.  Things leak out in whispers and hushed tones.  Nothing formal is ever said.  It's all treated like something bad.  Even if it is something bad, you still have to approach it in a way that helps everyone adjust to the new norm.  I think one of our major problems in that area is that our HR department is lackluster at best.  Newell (2018) believed that the HR department was integral to the change management process, saying "Ensuring that your HR team has the right tools and innovative approach for managing change is an important step in change management."  I know we don't have those skills in place.

I'm actually really excited to learn in this class.  I feel like this is the type of thing managers need to know, but few actually do. Having a solid understanding of the ideas that make up this topic will provide many benefits to my current job and anywhere I go afterwards.

References

Newell, C. (2018, July 20). Change As An Opportunity: A Strategic Approach To Change
          Management. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil
          /2018/07/20/change-as-an-opportunity-a-strategic-approach-to-change-management
          /#49fdfbe32241