10:00am to 12:00pm
Waverley
Attendees:
- Apologies & Minutes (DH)
- Ice-breaker (MCM)
- Feedback on Previous Workshop (All)
- Team Leader/Manager Experiences (All)
- Discussions on assignment (All)
- AOB (All)
- Next Meeting (All)
Monday, November 24, 2008
CTL10 Learning Set Meeting
10:00am to 12:00pm
Waverley
Attendees:
Friday, November 7, 2008
Day 3 Managing yourself
Firstly: hurray, I managed to pick up the books I've been waiting for! I called at Slaithwaite sorting office to collect Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, and Everything is Miscellaneous - The power of the new digital disorder by David Weinberger, before setting off for Cliffe House. A very pleasant autumnal morning drive this morning.
Tom started off by identifying some points for guidance:
1. Specific – Objectives should specify what they want to achieve.
2. Measurable – You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objectives or not.
3. Achievable - Are the objectives you set achievable and attainable?
4. Realistic – Can you realistically achieve the objectives with the resources you have?
5. Timely – When do you want to achieve the set objectives?
We discussed the question "How can we make this a better tree?" which demonstrated that we needed to define the terms (eg what is meant by 'better') to clarify the objective. After this we thought about our individual roles and how we could apply SMART objectives to them.
Note: On large projects, build in milestones - each milestone is an objective.
Time Wasters
We discussed issues that may affect productivity such as process issues (are they engineered to be efficient?) and personal time wasters (including tiredness, lack of focus, fatigue). Developing self awareness can guide to the development of a personal strategy to aid efficiency and job satisfaction.
Moving on to the difference between urgent and important, Tom introduced us to a chart on which to plot tasks; I remembered this from when I did the Time & Priority Management course with Martin. (I turned up late to the first day of this course, and had to postpone the second day!).
Tom started off by identifying some points for guidance:
- What am I supposed to do?
- How do I plan it?
- How well am I doing it?
- What do I do if things change?
- Have SMART objectives
- Time & Priority management
- Monitoring
- Flexibility
1. Specific – Objectives should specify what they want to achieve.
2. Measurable – You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objectives or not.
3. Achievable - Are the objectives you set achievable and attainable?
4. Realistic – Can you realistically achieve the objectives with the resources you have?
5. Timely – When do you want to achieve the set objectives?
We discussed the question "How can we make this a better tree?" which demonstrated that we needed to define the terms (eg what is meant by 'better') to clarify the objective. After this we thought about our individual roles and how we could apply SMART objectives to them.
Note: On large projects, build in milestones - each milestone is an objective.
Time Wasters
We discussed issues that may affect productivity such as process issues (are they engineered to be efficient?) and personal time wasters (including tiredness, lack of focus, fatigue). Developing self awareness can guide to the development of a personal strategy to aid efficiency and job satisfaction.
Moving on to the difference between urgent and important, Tom introduced us to a chart on which to plot tasks; I remembered this from when I did the Time & Priority Management course with Martin. (I turned up late to the first day of this course, and had to postpone the second day!).
organised, motivated, enthusiastic, decisive, supportive, approachable, communicative, consistent, understanding and able to get equal input from all members of staff (e.g. in team meetings). We were told to bear in mind that some people were naturally quiet and do not have a lot to say.
We moved on to do an interesting practical excercise in the analysis of a problem from a member of staff. This involved listening to an actual problem and separating the facts from emotion and discovering what the intentions of the person making the complaint were likely to be. A tricky process which will require some practice, I think.
Broke for lunch, had a stroll around the grounds and a read of Clay Shirky.
The afternoon was all about stress and its effects on the individual and some techniques for dealing with stress. I'm not going to write much more that this about it here as I'm trying to keep this short. An important thing to bear in mind when dealing with a member of staff who has 'lost it' is to remember that you will not always be in possession of all the facts that have lead up to the incident. This was demonstrated through the story of Candida's unfortunate run of accidents resulting in her 'exploding' at a paramedic.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Day 2 Developing yourself as a team leader and Leading your work team
A less stressful journey this morning as I had petrol in the car.
Started the day with what Martin called an FOE exercise (focus, openness, energy). This brought our attention to our current state of mind and behaviour and whether we needed to change them in order to get the most out of the day.
Is it important to know the outcomes in advance of a task?
Forming Shapes
We were split into 3 groups and instructed to form various shapes of increasing complexity. As the shapes got more complex more communication and leadership was required. It was interesting to note that in each case the person with a vision of the shape lead the rest of the group into forming the shape. We discussed what people's perception of the exercise was, and what emotional responses they felt during the exercise; these ranged from enjoyment to anxiety. Would we do the task differently if we had to do it again?
This was a nice lead-in to The Kolb Learning Circle.
The Kolb Learning Circle demonstrates the learning process using a 4 step cycle: Doing (experience); Review (reflection); Theorise; and Plan (how to use this knowledge in future situations). Following this cycle/spiral maximises the learning to be gained from a situation.
For me, the highlight of the day was the Hollow Square exercise. We were split into 2 groups of staff and two groups of supervisors. The staff were sent to other rooms to await instructions from their supervisors. The supervisors were given a complex jigsaw which - when put together correctly - formed a square with a small square hole in the middle. The supervisors had to verbalise the construction of the shape to their staff who had to replicate it with their jigsaw pieces.
The first mistake we made was to leave our staff sitting alone in a room with no idea what was going on. This lead to them feeling alienated and frustrated that nobody was looking after their welfare, and it also wasted time. We should have had a supervisor with them explaining in advance what the task was going to be and forming them into teams.
We also failed to identify and divide the tasks up amongst the supervisors (though we did remember to keep track of the time). By the time we went to the room containing our alienated and aggrieved staff they were probably not in a co-operative mood.
Our plan to commit the solution to the puzzle to memory soon began to fail. I began to feel frustrated and anxious and was at a complete loss at what to do to help. After a fairly agonising start I realised that our tactic only utilised 1 member of staff and 1 supervisor. Everybody else was standing around watching in frustration. The light went on and I suggested to the team of supervisors that we split the task up and each take a section each. We could then convey our 'product' to separate groups of staff then bring the parts together to form the whole. Straight away, everybody in both teams had a job to do and attitudes changed instantly. There was now a buzz of excitement about the task and people became more engaged and co-operative. The task was completed successfully within the time limit to a great sense of achievement.
What did we do wrong? We failed to organise either group and, forgetting John Adair's plate spinner (task, group, individual) - which we were introduced to only yesterday - we focused entirely on the task.
I don't think I'll ever forget this exercise. It was a powerful demonstration of the complexities and difficulties in organising and leading a team. I feel the utmost sympathy for anybody that has ever had to manage me.
Trust...
Nudged a fantastic drop of fish down for my lunch before conducting a tour of the Web Development Memorial Fence.
After lunch we learnt about the Leadership Spectrum and applying appropriate leadership styles in different situations.
Giving and recieving feedback
Reflective review to be submitted by 3.00pm 5th January 2009 (don't forget your draft)
Late, headache, already written more than I intended; hopefully add the rest later.
Started the day with what Martin called an FOE exercise (focus, openness, energy). This brought our attention to our current state of mind and behaviour and whether we needed to change them in order to get the most out of the day.
Is it important to know the outcomes in advance of a task?
Forming Shapes
We were split into 3 groups and instructed to form various shapes of increasing complexity. As the shapes got more complex more communication and leadership was required. It was interesting to note that in each case the person with a vision of the shape lead the rest of the group into forming the shape. We discussed what people's perception of the exercise was, and what emotional responses they felt during the exercise; these ranged from enjoyment to anxiety. Would we do the task differently if we had to do it again?
This was a nice lead-in to The Kolb Learning Circle.
The Kolb Learning Circle demonstrates the learning process using a 4 step cycle: Doing (experience); Review (reflection); Theorise; and Plan (how to use this knowledge in future situations). Following this cycle/spiral maximises the learning to be gained from a situation.
For me, the highlight of the day was the Hollow Square exercise. We were split into 2 groups of staff and two groups of supervisors. The staff were sent to other rooms to await instructions from their supervisors. The supervisors were given a complex jigsaw which - when put together correctly - formed a square with a small square hole in the middle. The supervisors had to verbalise the construction of the shape to their staff who had to replicate it with their jigsaw pieces.
The first mistake we made was to leave our staff sitting alone in a room with no idea what was going on. This lead to them feeling alienated and frustrated that nobody was looking after their welfare, and it also wasted time. We should have had a supervisor with them explaining in advance what the task was going to be and forming them into teams.
We also failed to identify and divide the tasks up amongst the supervisors (though we did remember to keep track of the time). By the time we went to the room containing our alienated and aggrieved staff they were probably not in a co-operative mood.
Our plan to commit the solution to the puzzle to memory soon began to fail. I began to feel frustrated and anxious and was at a complete loss at what to do to help. After a fairly agonising start I realised that our tactic only utilised 1 member of staff and 1 supervisor. Everybody else was standing around watching in frustration. The light went on and I suggested to the team of supervisors that we split the task up and each take a section each. We could then convey our 'product' to separate groups of staff then bring the parts together to form the whole. Straight away, everybody in both teams had a job to do and attitudes changed instantly. There was now a buzz of excitement about the task and people became more engaged and co-operative. The task was completed successfully within the time limit to a great sense of achievement.
What did we do wrong? We failed to organise either group and, forgetting John Adair's plate spinner (task, group, individual) - which we were introduced to only yesterday - we focused entirely on the task.
I don't think I'll ever forget this exercise. It was a powerful demonstration of the complexities and difficulties in organising and leading a team. I feel the utmost sympathy for anybody that has ever had to manage me.
Trust...
Nudged a fantastic drop of fish down for my lunch before conducting a tour of the Web Development Memorial Fence.
After lunch we learnt about the Leadership Spectrum and applying appropriate leadership styles in different situations.
Giving and recieving feedback
Reflective review to be submitted by 3.00pm 5th January 2009 (don't forget your draft)
Late, headache, already written more than I intended; hopefully add the rest later.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Induction day
The day started off with a few ice breakers and the usual round of introductions. There was a general feeling of excitement and curiosity in the room. I don't think any of us quite knew what to expect.
In teams we launched into a quiz designed to familiarise us with the outline of the course. The last part of the quiz required us to write a brief summary of the course objectives. After much Pop Idols style deliberation by the training team our answer:
"To equip people with the skills to effectively manage teams in the fullfilment of efficient and effective service delivery."
was chosen and just about nudged us into the lead.
The point of the quiz, of course, was not to see who could score the most points but to demonstrate the need for leadership and predictably we all fell into the traps. Nobody monitored the time being taken (we were given 10 minutes - it actually took 16) and we failed to take a review of the task and share the work between team members for efficiency eg divide the questions up or appoint a scribe. This lead to over running the time limit and the production of too many answer sheets. This proved to be a very effective demonstration.
Communication and collaboration are to be assisted by the use of shared folders in Groupwise; one for the whole group and one for each of the learning sets which we were going to be put into.
We were advised to always submit a draft of any written assignments by 12.00 on the Thursday before the deadline. All assignments need to be in electonic format and submitted to the given email address.
We broke for the usual high quality Cliffe House lunch.
After lunch we were put into to learning sets. Each learning set consists of 8 people and acts as a support and collaboration network. We agreed the agenda, venue and date of first meeting with difficulty as people with digital diaries could not access them.
An excercise to discover the qualities of good leadership led me to think about Joel Leach, a lecturer of mine whilst studying music at Northridge University in Los Angeles. What I remember most about Joel is that his inspiration, drive and enthusiasm always left you feeling empowered, motivated and valued. Must look Joel up on t'interweb.
Limits of Authority
Introduced to John Adair and his book Action Centred Leadership in which he describes a supervisor/manager role through a 3 part model: task needs, group needs and individual needs. The analogy used was that of a circus plate spinner.
In our groups we discussed various scenarios which required some leadership. Our group discussed Staff Interruptions. This lead us to a discussion about what factors would limit the free reign of a team leader:
In teams we launched into a quiz designed to familiarise us with the outline of the course. The last part of the quiz required us to write a brief summary of the course objectives. After much Pop Idols style deliberation by the training team our answer:
"To equip people with the skills to effectively manage teams in the fullfilment of efficient and effective service delivery."
was chosen and just about nudged us into the lead.
The point of the quiz, of course, was not to see who could score the most points but to demonstrate the need for leadership and predictably we all fell into the traps. Nobody monitored the time being taken (we were given 10 minutes - it actually took 16) and we failed to take a review of the task and share the work between team members for efficiency eg divide the questions up or appoint a scribe. This lead to over running the time limit and the production of too many answer sheets. This proved to be a very effective demonstration.
Communication and collaboration are to be assisted by the use of shared folders in Groupwise; one for the whole group and one for each of the learning sets which we were going to be put into.
We were advised to always submit a draft of any written assignments by 12.00 on the Thursday before the deadline. All assignments need to be in electonic format and submitted to the given email address.
We broke for the usual high quality Cliffe House lunch.
After lunch we were put into to learning sets. Each learning set consists of 8 people and acts as a support and collaboration network. We agreed the agenda, venue and date of first meeting with difficulty as people with digital diaries could not access them.
An excercise to discover the qualities of good leadership led me to think about Joel Leach, a lecturer of mine whilst studying music at Northridge University in Los Angeles. What I remember most about Joel is that his inspiration, drive and enthusiasm always left you feeling empowered, motivated and valued. Must look Joel up on t'interweb.
Limits of Authority
Introduced to John Adair and his book Action Centred Leadership in which he describes a supervisor/manager role through a 3 part model: task needs, group needs and individual needs. The analogy used was that of a circus plate spinner.
In our groups we discussed various scenarios which required some leadership. Our group discussed Staff Interruptions. This lead us to a discussion about what factors would limit the free reign of a team leader:
- Union agreement
- Policies and procedures
- Expenditure
- Procurement
- HR
- Emas
- Difficulty of the work, grievance/disciplinary
- Child protection
- Legislation
- Data protection
- FOI
- DDA
We also discussed the limitations of specific projects.
- Use of equipment
- Resources
- Time scales
- Capacity
- Professional standards
We ended the day with a video called The Boss. This followed Brian and Lee - one the boss of a traditional manufacturing company and the other of a modern media company - as they swapped positions and ran each other's companies for 2 weeks. The two of them had very different managerial styles and it soon became clear that the one with the greatest involvement with the needs of customer, company and staff was going to be the most successful. Must look out for this on YouTube.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Preparation
Embarking on a training in a whole new area - ILM Level 2 Certificate in Team Leading - this should be fun. Started off by looking for ILM website. Found it and sure enough it there's a link to study resources.
Had to fill in a mind numbingly lengthy registration form for some reason and now waiting for activation email.....
which has given me an esoteric user name to remember. It may be that I have been misled. The web site now seems not to offer any study advice for my course and is recomending a course that is suitable for my level of experience based on the information I entered in the mind numbingly lengthy registration process. Funnily enough the course the web site is recomending is the same one that I entered in the mind numbingly lenghty.....!
Found it now. Brilliant! chock full of resources. It looks like I'm going to enjoy this. May have to back off on the soc med research slightly to accomodate the reading list but must be careful not to lose the current momentum.
Had to fill in a mind numbingly lengthy registration form for some reason and now waiting for activation email.....
which has given me an esoteric user name to remember. It may be that I have been misled. The web site now seems not to offer any study advice for my course and is recomending a course that is suitable for my level of experience based on the information I entered in the mind numbingly lengthy registration process. Funnily enough the course the web site is recomending is the same one that I entered in the mind numbingly lenghty.....!
Found it now. Brilliant! chock full of resources. It looks like I'm going to enjoy this. May have to back off on the soc med research slightly to accomodate the reading list but must be careful not to lose the current momentum.
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