A520.4.2RB_LeeDarrell - Motivation Beyond Money

When it comes to your profession, what motivates you? That has been our focus this week – employee motivation. “A satisfied and motivated team is the bedrock of a successful [IT] department” (Anonymous, 2005). Though this quote is from a submission to Computer Weekly and is discussing workers in technology, the idea is the same regardless of the field. Happy and motivated employees are more productive. But what truly motivates people professionally? Though we all understand that monetary compensation is important, it turns out that money may not actually be the thing that motivates people. Let’s consider a real world example of that. If you know anybody that happens to be in the mission field such as clergy, counselors, religious literature writers, or missionaries, you probably are aware that the financial compensation for the work is quite low. Growing up, my father was actually a full time Baptist minister. I was in Dallas this week visiting my sister and she and I were just reminiscing about how we thought that it was so neat to have pancakes for dinner twice a week and how going out to eat for a “fancy” dinner was going to the Mexican buffet. What we didn’t realize at the time is that my family didn’t have enough money for anything else. My father’s salary was pretty average, I would say, for someone in that field. So why would someone go through all of that trouble for such low pay? Obviously there are other motivators besides money. Some might say, though, that this is a bad example because it deals with a spiritual calling. Let’s consider another example, then. What about those that spend countless hours doing volunteer work? Even devout atheists that have no spiritual motivation still garner a great deal of “job” satisfaction from their volunteer work. So what is motivating them? It clearly isn’t money.

To assist in our learning this week, we were provided with a video to watch by Andy Mulholland. I tried to do a little research on him – I value the credentials of those imparting their wisdom upon us – and found that he has quite an impressive background in information technology, business, and business consulting (Mulholland, n.d.). I am not sure if you will be able to access the video that we were given to view as it requires a login but I believe that most of the subscribers/viewers of this blog are either classmates, colleagues, or fellow academics that have access to Books 24x7. The link is provided in the references below. Mr. Mulholland discusses that he was offered jobs from competitors – one that would nearly triple his pay – but he evaluated what truly motivated him and decided to not just go with the best financial offer. He outlines three major motivators for [engineering] employees and states that “the balance between the three things varies with the individual” but the same motivators exist across the board (Mulholland, 2011). They are:

·         Assign interesting work

·         Expand the skillset of your employees

·         Recognize achievements

I am going to describe how each of these fit into my current profession to keep me motivated as a Center Leader for my Army recruiting career. First, the work assigned to me is interesting because I believe it to be truly important. It is surely not a physically demanding job. It isn’t even that difficult. However, I know it is a critical role. When it comes to the military, we have backup plans for just about everything. As a Paratrooper, I had a reserve parachute. As a communications provider, I had backup radios and satellite equipment. When I was a gunner on a gun truck, I had multiple machine guns in case of a malfunction. When it comes to recruiting, though, if we don’t meet our mission, there is no backup plan. We truly have a “no-fail” mission. However, as a salesman – and that is what recruiters are – it is easy to sell the product because I believe in it. Completing my mission excites me to no end. No two days are ever the same, either. I meet people from every background and every walk of life. Next, my work does provide the opportunity to expand my skillset. The Army provides opportunities for career enhancement at every level. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, some of our opportunities have diminished a little and it has become more competitive to receive training slots but I have never felts as if I didn’t have the opportunity to attend a school if I wanted to compete for it. Even as a recruiter, I have multiple opportunities to attend training. Due to my physical condition now, though – a crusty old paratrooper with arthritis – I tend to gravitate toward conference attendances over the more physical courses. Even earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to attend a two day leadership seminar here in NYC where I was able to focus on e-mail writing techniques for leaders. (It is difficult to convey tone in e-mail but the training allowed us to learn how to express different levels of urgency or satisfaction.) The last factor that Mulholland mentioned was the recognition of success to keep employees motivated. This is truly one area where the Army shines. We go to great lengths to recognize success. Even the smallest award – just the little “pat on the back” from upper echelons – can truly motivate us. About four months ago, we had some network issues that our civilian contractors were unable to fix. I was able to hack into our router, identify the problem, and correct the issue. It took only about 20 minutes but my commander wrote and approved an Army Achievement Medal for me that is now in my permanent record. I had no idea that he was doing that so it was truly an unexpected surprised when he presented it to me. Recognition is important.

Though Mr. Mulholland only mentioned three points, I want to share three more motivators that work for me. Please note that these are my own personal motivators so there is no reference for them. I am sure that everybody has their own motivators and some will share mine but these are the three main motivators for me professionally. First, I am inspired by a culturally diverse environment. In my recruiting center, we have a Soldier from Puerto Rico, one from China, some from affluent background, some from poor. Diversity is inspirational to me. I don’t want to work in a place where everybody is the same as me. I want every race, religion, creed – I want us to all come together and acknowledge our differences and learn from one another. I don’t think we need to ignore our differences. We need to embrace them understand that the synergy that we create is unstoppable. Second, I live the opportunity to get out of the office. I am not talking about time off but rather about the opportunity to take my work out of the office. I am motivated by the fact that my job allows me to go to high schools, conventions, sporting events, etc. I still get to work toward to mission while experiencing an environment other than my own. I suppose that goes hand-in-hand with cultural diversity. It is experiencing someone other than what I am accustomed to experiencing and learning something new. Third, I am motivated by time off of work. I absolutely hate wasting time. If I am only going to live to be about 80 years old, I don’t want to waste time sitting in the office being unproductive. I would rather be rewarded with time off for achieving goals than a financial bonus.

Though this list is far from all-encompassing, it is evident that there is much more to professional motivation that just money. As Mulholland noted, “if you overpay someone to stay, it won’t work” (2011).  

Andy Mulholland, Author at CIO of the Future. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2016, from http://cioofthefuture.com/author/andy/

Anonymous. (2005). Happy, motivated employees provide the bedrock of success. Computer Weekly, 34.

Mulholland, A. (2011). The Three Things We Work For (Money Isn't One of Them). Retrieved June 24, 2016, from http://library.books24x7.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/VideoViewer.aspx?bkid=43753

A520.3.4.RB_LeeDarrell - Supportive Communication

In every organization, there will be conflicts. Every manager will have obstacles to overcome and problems to solve. When we speak with others in our organization about these issues, how will we communicate with them? Supportive communication is the ideal form of communication. “Supportive communication seeks to preserve or enhance a positive relationship between you and another person while still addressing a problem, giving negative feedback, or tacking a difficult issue” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016,p. 193).

This week, we have been studying and discussing communication and conflict resolution within our organizations. In order to solve problems, we must communicate with our teams. Though we, as managers, are ultimately responsible for decision making, we need to both properly gather and disseminate information through supportive communication so as to not alienate our peers and subordinates. Whetton and Cameron (2016) outline the eight attributes of supportive communication. They are:

1.      Congruent, not incongruent

2.      Descriptive, not evaluative

3.      Problem-oriented, not person-oriented

4.      Validating, not invalidating

5.      Specific, not global

6.      Conjunctive, not disconjunctive

7.      Owned, not disowned

8.      Supportive listening, not one-way listening.

As an example, we were asked to read the following excerpt from an e-mail sent by a CEO to 400 company managers at a high-technology company called Cerner and reflect on the eight attributes of supportive communication. Let’s take a look.

“We are getting less than 40 hours of work from a large number of our K.C.-based EMPLOYEES. The parking lot is sparsely used at 8:00 A.M.; likewise at 5 P.M. As managers – you either do not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing; or you do not CARE. You have created expectations on the work effort that allowed this to happen inside Cerner, creating a very unhealthy environment. In either case, you have a problem and you will fix it or I will replace you. NEVER in my career have I allowed a team that worked for me to think they had a 40-hour job. I have allowed YOU to create a culture that is permitting this. NO LONGER.”

The idea of this exercise is to identify how one might apply the attributes of supportive communication over the next 30 days in your job to avoid some of the problems associated with this communication. I believe the spirit of the exercise is not to evaluate what the CEO said but rather how to convey that same message to my team in a supportive way.

The first attribute is to be congruent. In face to face communications, this means to have everything from tone and body language and verbiage to agree. Often, however, we are left with electronic means of disseminating information. Have you ever received an e-mail or perhaps a text from your partner or significant other and you can tell that something is not right? You can just tell that something is a little off and you get the “It’s fine” text back or something like that. That incongruence. We, as managers, but be honest and consistent in our communication. If there is an issue, we need to ensure that our words are clear that there is an issue that must be resolved.

The second is to be descriptive and not evaluative. Evaluative communication makes a judgement (such as “you failed”) whereas descriptive communication will describe an observation and detail what behavior needs to be modified. As an example, instead of saying something like “You obviously have no control over your team because the office is a total wreck”, you may something like “I noticed that the office is in disarray. In an environment such as this, you can ensure a professional appearance by ensuring that everybody organizes their desk.”

The third attribute is to be problem-oriented and not people-oriented. This means that the focus remains on the actual problem instead of placing blame. By doing this, it becomes a collectively owned problem and ensures that it isn’t a personal attack. Even when the problem is a trait that an individual has, it is still important to remain focused on the problem and not the individual as a person.

The fourth attribute is to be validating. This means to be respectful and inclusive of those with which you are communicating. What you are trying to achieve here is a positive two-way communication channel that allows the subordinate (or subject of communication even if not subordinate) to feel as if their input matters. What we want to avoid here especially is rigid communication. This isn’t to say that there isn’t a time or a place for one-way communication. I have been in the military for 18 years now and I can say with great confidence that there are times when communication must be rigid and succinct. However, the overall idea is to build a solid team within the organization so those times are the exception and not the rule.

Fifth, the communication must be specific and not global. This means to avoid generalizations. I personally am often guilty of this. I have a young Sergeant in my section that is late on average twice a month at least. A few weeks ago, he called and said that traffic was bad on the Brooklyn Bridge and he was going to be about 20 minutes late. I reacted incorrectly and said something along the lines of “That isn’t surprising because you are always late”.  The truth is that he isn’t always late. The problem was that he was late for the second time in two weeks.

Sixth, supportive communication is conjunctive. This means that the communication builds on what has been previously said and flows. It doesn’t jump randomly from point to point. Fortunately, in electronic communication, it is a little easier to stay on topic and allow the communication to flow. However, it can become disjunctive in that it doesn’t allow equal opportunity for a response. Even so, it is important to stay on topic.

The seventh attribute is by owning the communication. This doesn’t mean to be dominate in communication. It means to state your action role. For example, back to my young Sergeant who has been late on several occasions, I cannot make my role seem passive to him. For example, I need to say, “I am documenting your lateness on a counseling form to be placed in your record” vs. “There may be negative consequences”.

The final attribute of supportive communication is supportive listening. This may be the hardest to apply without face to face communication but it is critical to convey that we are open to what our subordinates have to say.

It is fairly easy to see how communication can be applied in a face to face (or even video conference) setting which would be idea. However, I believe that one of the challenges that we will continue to face more and more in the future is communicating through emails. Therefore, my communication to my team through email using the eight attributes of communication would look similar to the below message.

“Team,

Good morning. There are a noticeable number of employees that are violating our work hour policy. Over the last several weeks, it has been observed that the parking lot is far from full by 8am and begins to empty well before the 5pm established standard. This is very concerning as the strength of our company falters when our employees are not productive for the 40 hours per week for which they are salaried to work.

What do you think is causing this issue? Are employees having a difficult time with traffic? If so, I have a few ideas that may help. What if we were to adjust the working hours either one hour left to avoid rush hour traffic? What suggestions do you have that we could perhaps implement to solve this issue and restore optimal productivity to the branch?

Let’s have a brief conference call about this on Wednesday at 10am. That will give us all time to evaluate the problem a little more and will give you an opportunity to determine/observe what you think may be the root of the problem. If you are unable to be on the call, please let me know by Tuesday afternoon and I will call you individually after the conference call on Wednesday afternoon to get your input.

I am excited to work with you on this particular issue. I am confident that we will be able to resolve it as a team.”

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9th ed.). Pearson.

A520.3.1RB_LeeDarrell - Decision Making Styles

It is understood that no two people are exactly the same. How could we be? We all developed differently. We have different home lives, different educators, different genes, etc. Therefore, the way that we think is different. No two people have been influenced exactly the same so it is no surprise that my approach to decision making may differ from others. An example of that from this class, even, happened just this week. For our group discussion, we were given a choice between two topics – either discussing creative problem solving or supportive communication. (I chose to discuss creative problem solving because it was easier to find quantitative research on the subject and also because it seemed that most of my classmates were posting about supportive communication and I wanted to bring a fresh topic to the group to break the monotony.)  

For this blog today, I was given a video to watch titled Decision-making strategies (2004). In the video, we were given a small set of words from which to choose that best described us. The words that describe my approach to making decisions is as follows:

·         Cautious (vs risk taking)

·         Logical (vs intuitive)

·         Influenced by others (vs self-motivated)

·         Rational (vs feeling or emotional)

·         Active (vs passive)

·         Assertive (vs quiet)

My approach to decision making has most certainly changed over the course of my career. For example, as I have grown professionally, I feel that I have learned to allow myself to be influenced by others a little more. That isn’t to say that I am not self-motivated to an extent. I have, however, accepted that the collective wisdom of the team typically is greater than my own wisdom.

I will openly admit one shortcoming that I have with decision making (and productivity in general). I am a procrastinator. I used to joke around as say that I procrastinated because if you wait until the last minute to get something done then it only takes you a minute to do it. The truth is that I tend to procrastinate because I sometimes am afraid of making the wrong decision. Due to my rational, cautious, and logical nature – all traits that I believe that I inherited from my mother as she is exactly the same – I often delay action to the point to where it often seems rushed and reactive.

I was recently encouraged to learn a common trait shared by original thinkers. Adam Grant a professor of management and psychology at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I met him about a year and a half ago when he was speaking at a school recruiting expo here in Manhattan. After meeting him, I started following him on his social media sites and, of course, I searched his TED Talks. Grant (2004) points explains that one unique quality shared by “original” thinkers – those that seem to come up with the most revolutionary ideas – is that they procrastinate just a little. He brings up some very interesting points. In industry, “first movers”, Grant points out, have a failure rate of 47%. “Improvers”, on the other hand – us procrastinators who would rather observe what is happening and just expand on an idea – have a failure rate of only 8%. (Unfortunately, I do now know exactly where he obtained that data but I do trust it to be accurate due to his credibility.) There are some very prevalent names in various industries today that actually prove this point. Think of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg waited for a great idea to come along and then enhanced it. Think of hybrid cars. The first hybrid car was actually developed in 1976 by Toyota (HybridCars.com, 2011). However, it took Honda until 1999 to release the Insight to the market which is probably the first hybrid car that we all remember. All of this isn’t to say that we can justify procrastination. It is, rather to say, that it is okay to be a cautious decision maker. It is okay for me to collect data and process it and take more calculated risks rather than to act impulsively. It is okay for me to make decisions the way that I do.

One final point before I close, though. It is also okay to fail. Professor Grant also explains how great orchestral works are discovered. He states that “even the three icons of classical music – Back, Beethoven, Mozart – had to generate hundreds and hundreds of compositions to come up with a much smaller number masterpieces” (Grant, 2004). It is okay to come up with ideas that fail to find the ones that don’t. This, unfortunately, is an area where my cautiousness may hold me back. I need to learn to be more accepting of failure. That will be my goal this week – to be courageous with my ideas and to be okay with failing.

Decision-making strategies [Video file]. (2004). In Films On Demand. Retrieved June 18, 2016, from fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=-1&xtid=34513

Grant, A. (2016, Feb). Adam Grant: The surprising habits of original thinkers [Video file].            Retrieved from    http://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_of_original_thinkers

History of Hybrid Vehicles - HybridCars.com. (2011). Retrieved June 18, 2016, from             http://www.hybridcars.com/history-of-hybrid-vehicles/

A520.2.3 RB_LeeDarrell - Conflict Resolution

The title of the module this week is “Managing Personal Stress and Conflict”. Through our discussion posts, we examined the strategies to incorporating a life balance in the work place as well as encouraging diversity and an open dialogue within the organization. The purpose of the blog this week is to discuss conflict resolution which actually goes hand-in-hand with encouraging diversity and an open dialogue.

For this post, we first watched two videos addressing conflict resolution within an organization (the second merely being continuation of the first in the form of a role-playing scenario). For your convenience, I have included links to the videos in the references below. The first video discusses some of the techniques to approaching conflict from a managerial perspective. Some of the most critical points are to not approach tasks as an autocrat but rather to persuade your subordinates to accept the task willingly through empathy and to create a win-win outcome that will allow both you as the manager and the subordinates to find an acceptable situation (J., 2008). It is essential to establish realistic goals and timetables. In the scenario provided, a development firm has plans already approved to develop a subdivision when a new technique is discovered that will save 10% on construction costs. The plans will have to be reworked to incorporate the new technology/technique which will delay another project on a factory. The head manager discusses possibilities with the head of the architecture department. In this scenario, we are shown what I would consider to actually be the ideal way to handle the situation. The manager approaches the head of the architecture department with an open mind. She is empathetic and is looking for realistic feedback. She ensured that she understood what he was saying before she inserted her own opinions and they were able to come to a win-win conclusion.

(Since this is my own blog, after all, allow me to break from formality for a moment encourage you to watch Part 2 of the video. You will see a “textbook” approach to conflict resolution. Though the actors may still be a few years off from their Broadway debuts, they actually do an excellent job at showing the ideal approach resolving a conflict with a win-win outcome.)

As I watched this scenario, a real life example that I have seen came to mind. Several years ago, I attended a work retreat sponsored by Strong Bonds. (Strong Bonds is known for their education curriculum dealing with interpersonal communications and is often used for marriage counseling, management retreats, anger management seminars, etc. This particular retreat that I attended was geared toward communications in personal relationships.)  Something that I learned that I still remember and incorporate is the use of a speaking stick. Do you remember reading Lord of the Flies?  I had to read that in high school and I remember the speaking stick being like the conch that they used (Golding, 1962). However, with the speaking stick, the difference is that not does the speaker get to speak but he (or she) then must hand the stick to the listener and the listener must repeat back to the speaker how they interpret what they heard. The original speaker then either must clarify what was said or agree that the listener fully understands the point. Then the process is repeated in reverse. As silly as it may look, this particular method works wonders in conflict resolution.

Being in the Army, I work in an environment where rank, experience, and tradition often seem to trump open dialogue. However, as a recruiter, I now work in an environment where there are no junior enlisted members. Everybody has experience and has been vetted. Though I don’t have a physical stick that I use, this is still a technique that I attempt to incorporate in my work center. A couple of weeks ago, there was a situation that arose where I was able to use this. I will leave names out as many of my coworkers are kind enough to read this blog and provide feedback but we had a situation that one of my coworkers felt was unfair. We receive individual credit for our applicants that we help contract into the Army. There was an applicant that was under another recruiter’s name that was on leave. When this applicant came to the office, though, other than a small note saying that a recruiter had contacted this applicant through another lead source, no work had been done. The applicant didn’t know anybody in the office so I walked him through the process. I spent about 15 hours in total building his packet and helping him to process so, since I did the work, I transferred him to my name. My coworker thought that this was very unfair. The tension of the conversation was escalating. It was clear that the conversation was turning to an argument. As the “boss”, just as in the scenario that we watched, I was able to dictate the outcome. However, though my coworker is subordinate and would comply with my decision, I wanted to ensure that we met a reasonable resolution. I used the talking stick approach (only without a stick, of course). I let him be the first speaker. I actively listened to his concerns. Then we swapped roles. He listened to what I said and, though he initially didn’t understand, I was able to clarify until we both understood one another. Instead of being at odds with one another, we came up with a win-win situation. I kept the applicant under my name and received credit for the work. In return, another new applicant was transferred to the recruiter that had been on leave to ensure that he would have a foundation for the next month.

In her article in the International Journal of Peace Studies, Naomi Head addresses the role of empathy in conflict resolution (2012). She notes that empathy does not guarantee a solid resolution but at least promotes mutual respect and trust. Though conflict may still persist, it is important that we seek first to understand and then to be understood.

Golding, W. (1962). Lord of the flies. New York: Coward-McCann.

Head, N. (2012). Transforming conflict: Trust, empathy, and dialogue. International Journal of Peace Studies, 17(2), 33-55.

J. (2008). Conflict Resolution - Part 1. Retrieved June 13, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2GWmDUKF3o#t=12

J. (2008). Conflict Resolution - Part 2. Retrieved June 13, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vga7bhGd5dI

A520.1.4RB_LeeDarrell - Self Awareness

            I graduated from Embry-Riddle with by B.S. in Technical Management in early 2008. The best way that I can describe the program is a business management degree with a focus on technology and aviation businesses. However, overall, it is still a general business degree. Though I took a few random electives and received credit for my military training, most of my classes focused on managing organizations. When I began graduate school, I began with work toward my Master in Aeronautical Science. I had a lot invested in the program when I eventually came to terms with the practicality of my degree. Eventually, I would like to work for an aeronautical company but I don’t feel a strong desire to work with the technical side of the industry. I feel more comfortable with the thought of working on the business side such as with airport management or airline human resources. That is why I chose to begin again with a business focused course of study. I debated between a Master of Business Administration program and the Master of Science in Leadership. I spent a few weeks researching the differences in the programs and current market conditions. I ultimately chose the M.S. in Leadership program for two main reasons. First, the market is flooded with MBAs. Second, I feel that I am a “people person”. I define a manager as one that optimizes the use of available resources to maximize production and a leader as one that inspires others to grow. Leadership just feels like a better fit for me.

            Since I already have an academic background in business and I am still fairly new to the MSLD program, I would have to say that I haven’t had the opportunity to greatly alter my thinking or to achieve significant growth in my level of self-awareness. However, that doesn’t mean that I have not grown at all. There are five main aspects of self-awareness (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48-49).They are: emotional intelligence, personal values, cognitive style, attitude toward change, and core self-evaluation.

            Emotional intelligence is defined as “the ability to correctly diagnose and manage one’s own emotions and relationships with others” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48). This is the area where I hope to always achieve significant growth. Through their research, Shrestha and Baniya (2016, p. 17) made a significant case for showing that a high level of emotional intelligence directly affects job satisfaction. To me, emotional intelligence also means an emotional maturity. Salovey and Mayer introduced the concept of emotional intelligence and define it as “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (1990, p. 189). Since I have learned that there is a direct correlation between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction, I at least have recognized that it is an area where I want to grow. I believe that I have always tried to look inward and control my own emotions but I have been trying to read how others in my organization are feeling and to let that guide my management actions. Just as one must engage in active listening, emotional intelligence is an active process. It does require effort, I have found, but is a skill that can be developed. Before my enrollment in the MSLD program, I had actually not yet heard of emotional intelligence so I at least now have a working knowledge of the concept.

            The next aspect of self-awareness is the set of personal values that I hold. Personal values “help define our morality and our own conceptions of what is ‘good’” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 51). Through my study of leadership, I can’t say that I have experienced much change at all so far. Though I am fairly new to the program, I am already well established in life. I am a mere two years from retirement from the military. As a senior non-commissioned officer, I have developed my own personal values by adopting the values of my organization (the U.S. Army). However, I have been starting to consider how those same values will translate to another organization once I retire in two years. Some of the values that we have are not as relevant in the business world. For example, I consider loyalty. Other than for financial gain, what is the incentive for loyalty to an organization? Though one cannot quit their job Army, as a civilian, it is common for people to constantly be hunting for the next better opportunity. Though loyalty is a value that I treasure, I will have to adapt to others not holding the same values.

            Though my values have changed very little, one of the areas where I have seen the most growth with my self-awareness is with my cognitive style. This is “the manner in which you gather and process information” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48). This is broken into three main subsets: knowing, planning, and creating. The reason that I say that I have experienced the most growth here is because there is a very different approach to leadership than there is to management. There are three main differences between managers and leaders. The first is that leaders innovate and managers administer. In other words, the leader is responsible for coming up with the ideas and the manager is responsible for implementing them. Second, leaders are able to inspire trust whereas a manager relies on control. This isn't to say that control is a bad thing. It is simply a tool. The third distinction is that leaders ask "what" and "why" whereas managers ask "how" and "when" (Giang, 2012). Since my undergraduate degree focused on management, I am having to reset how I actually think about my role within the organization. I can’t just process everything from a management viewpoint. I have to think differently now.

            Next is an attitude toward change. This is how we cope with a changing environment. “In order to capitalize fully on the strengths of your own cognitive style, you also should be aware of your orientation toward change” (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 61). I feel that I have always be a highly adaptable person. When I was growing up, my father was a Baptist minister. I am not sure what a real average number of assignments would be for a military family but I can safely say that we exceeded that average when I was growing up. People ask all the time where I am from and I have learned to just answer “everywhere”. As soon as I graduated from high school, I was off to Basic Training. My nomadic ways never changed. In fact, even today, my drivers license is from Texas but has my New York City address on it. I’m always ready for the next move. I love change because it always gives a fresh start. Even negative change can be an exciting opportunity for a fresh start.  In his talk on the TED state, Patrick Awuah (2007) discusses a major change that he had in his own life and the change that he is trying to affect on others. Patrick left his job at Mircrosoft to head back to his homeland of Ghana to start a liberal arts college. He speaks of the opportunities that come along with change. We all have passions and hopes and dreams. We have to learn to be willing to accept change and accept risk if we hope to have gains.

            The final element of self-awareness is core self-evaluation. By analyzing yourself, you will learn how our personality traits are associated with motivation, creativity, problem solving, satisfaction, job performance, etc. (Whetton & Cameron, 2016, p. 48). Through the MSLD program, I have heard about a concept called “The Big Five” in every class that I have taken thus far. They are neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness. I am fairly certain that I have even written on this exact subject in a previous blog on this page. Through my studies in the MSLD program, I have come to understand that this is a continual process. We must constantly evaluate ourselves so that we can correct our behaviors as they occur.

Awuah, P. (2007, Jun). Patrick Awuah: How to educate leaders? Liberal arts [Video file].

            Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/patrick_awuah_on_educating_leaders

Giang, V. (2012). 3 things that separate leaders from managers. Open Forum. Retrieved from             https://goo.gl/uKV0ER

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and     Personality, 9(3), 185–211.

Shrestha, A. K., & Baniya, R. (2016). Emotional intelligence and employee outcomes:       Moderating role of organizational politics. Business Perspectives and Research, 4(1), 15-          26. doi:10.1177/2278533715605426

Whetten, D., & Cameron, K. (2016). Developing Management Skills (9th Edition ed.). Upper       Saddle River, New Jersey:  Prentice Hall.