A630.9.3.RB - Hiring and Recruiting

A630.9.3.RB _Manglona, Matthew-Napu _ Hiring and Recruiting

The description of Google from the Google culture from Schmidt’s discussion does make sense to me. Google’s culture is very unique in its own way which explains their successes since they have been in existence. Brown (2011) discusses about Transactional Analysis which is the emphasis of open authentic communications and relationships. (p. 232) There is an open trust among workers from both managers all the way down to newest employee who just started. There is also an expectation that once you join the team you are expected to simply bring everything to the table and the reasons why they hired them.

It is a reasonable way to view the work that people do in my workplace. However, this is not the case, there needs to be an established baby sitter because the people I work with are simply lazy and ungrateful they have a job in my organization. They don’t have or possess a willingness to work with others let alone conduct their job in a professional manner. They lack what Brown (2011) discussed as having a Career Life Planning Program. (p. 233) they don’t know where they are going, what they want to do in the organization, and let alone developing a plan to achieve more success.

As a leader it does take courage to implement this point of view because at the end of the day we as leaders will be held accountable for the lack of performance traits an individual we hire does or does not do. So yes in a case by case basis this plan can back fire. I practice this view in my workplace and I usually have a tug and pull approach with those under me. I give them so much slack to free roam, however, if they start to slip I simply just bring them back under my wing and retrain or discuss the improvement areas.

What I can take from this exercise is that we as leaders don’t have to serve as micromanagers and actually trust our subordinates into doing the right thing. In my experience giving your subordinate free roam not only makes them grow as a better worker but a better person as a whole. I practice this approach to a certain extent, but I would like to try and implement this on a much bigger scale and get people involved who are my peers to try this approach and see where it takes us. 

 References:

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (8th ed.). Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

 

A630.8.3.RB - Build a Tower, Build a Team

 A630.8.3.RB_Manglona, Matthew-Napu_Build a Tower, Build a Team

Tom Wujec’s analysis of why kindergartners perform better is spot on. I actually did this exercise not too long ago in a team building event for work and the same results from the MBA students were produced from the “TA DA” moment to the “UH OH!” moment. The reason was you had a bunch of adults in a team who all wanted to be the leader and give direction without actually taking a step back and analyzing and working as a cohesive unit. Brown (2011) describes Individual Functions that satisfy the needs of individuals to the group’s task and maintenance. In my experience towards this exercise we all needed to fulfill what we thought was the right way to build the structure with the marshmallow at the top.  

Kids will be able to perform better because as a kid you are not worried about the end state of the project. You are out there to have fun and keeping it competitive at the same time. Kids bring a certain kind of attitude when it comes to tasks or objectives. I remember putting kids through an exercise which required them to carry a bowl of marbles in a bucket and spill that bucket (only using a bungee cord) into a jar. When the adults tried it prior to the kids, with the same rules applying, the kids came out on top. They (the kids) all agreed to accomplishing one task, whereas the adults kept arguing on whose idea was better. The kids possessed what Brown (2011) described as having a group task function. Which is each member of the group contributing and agreeing on how to me the end task that was given. (p. 201)

In my view CEOs are better functioning with an assistant compared to a group of CEOs is because they are used to the recommendation and advisement from their assistants rather than the orders being barked by the CEOs. Take myself for example, if I had a subordinate with me in a team and he recommended something to me I’ll take it into consideration and apply it taking into consideration the knowledge, experience, and expertise. Whereas if another person who is in with the same rank who I know either has less experience but with more attitude and a demanding approach I would give that person the cold shoulder and tasks will never be accomplished. Decuyper, Dochy, & Van den Bossche, (2010 ) described what is called “ “Co-construction” which is the mutual process of developing shared knowledge and building shared meaning by refining, building on, or modifying an original offer in some way.” (p. 125)

If I was to host a work shop and relate this video to process intervention skills I would come up with other activities and see how the teams function in these specific team building exercises. I would emphasize the concept of team work amongst the individuals. Brown (2011) discusses about group task functions, maintenance, and to include individual roles in order to establish a team based event. (p. 202) I would also discuss and share the stories of what Wujec discussed about the comparison of Kindergartners and Adults and explain the reasons why the come out on top compared to most adults. Better yet I would introduce the kids to the participants and have the kids compete to show and establish a common ground as to why things folded out the way they do.

What I can take and immediately use in my career is the concept of communication and team work. Without these two key qualities things in an organization, the organization would not flourish. Sometimes we as leaders really just need to take a step back and analyze what we are up against. If you are the one who is in charge take a consensus of what is being recommended, and conduct further analysis and communicate amongst your team to let them know your final decision. This is what ill take with me in my young career and hope to establish some sort of common ground amongst my peers all aiming to meet the organization’s vision and goals.

References:

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (8th ed.). Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Decuyper, S., Dochy, F., & Van den Bossche, P. (2010). Grasping the dynamic complexity of team learning: An integrative model for effective team learning in organisations. Educational Research Review, 5(2), 111-133. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2010.02.002