A520.8.2.RB_PolyarchicPrinciples_LouBeldotti

A520.8.2.RB - Polyarchic Principles

Polyarchy can work well when eight principles are in place:

Implicit Purpose                                vs.                  Explicit Objectives

Freedom to act                                   vs.                  Boundaries

Ambiguity and uncertainty                vs.                  Unambiguous feedback

People's skill and will                        vs.                  A few simple rules

Examples of each principle abound, and there is a strong overlap with principles of success identified by earlier studies such as Built to Last and Good to Great.

These principles are inter-related and support each other. It is the dynamic which exists between these principles that is important, and enables each organization to find its own unique way of applying them.

            I enjoy comparison using “versus”.  It is a lot like pros and cons.  These eight principles apply well to my military experiences.  In the Army, it was less like versus but more like “and/or”.  There was always an implicit purpose and at times, an explicit objective needed to be achieved.  There was autonomy in the Army to a point but there were always boundaries established by regulations and the Commander’s orders.  Sometimes orders were unclear and required assumptions while other times they were clear as glass but more often somewhere in between.  As mentioned earlier, autonomy sometimes existed in the Army, especially the higher rank a Soldier held.  It was that individuals skills and will to accomplish a mission.  However, rules always came into play in the form of regulations.

            Applying these principles to my current position to work more effectively seems a bit challenging but not improbable.

            In secondary educations, purpose and objectives are essentially interchangeable.  The purpose and objective is to graduate students.  Same same.  Sadly, the freedom to act is constrained by political correctness.  Fortunately for me, I am able to enjoy some form of freedom because of the uniqueness of the JROTC class.  However, public education does place boundaries regardless of what I teach.  Ok, bad example.  In secondary education, sometimes things are as clear as mud.  Encouraging clear feedback is very important in my current role.  Teachers must have clear feedback from students, administrators and parents. 

            I would like to close with not all jobs allow for these recipes for improvement.  As a public school teacher, my hands are tied more often than not. 

Reference

Obolenski, N. (2010). Complex Adaptive Leadership: Getting Chaos and Complexity to work. [Chapter 7].

A520.7.3.RB_ImportanceOfHavingACoachandMentor_LouBeldotti

A520.7.3.RB - Importance of Having a Coach and Mentor

                My work experiences go back about 40 years.  My first paying job was when I was about twelve or thirteen and I was commissioned to paint a sign for a boardwalk skating company.  Although I did not have a coach or mentor on this job, I drew on my past coaching experiences when in junior high school art class. 

                My next job was at a boardwalk pizza place and I worked there each summer from age fifteen to age eighteen.  My boss, John, was a great coach.  I learned most of my pizza dough and pizza making skills from him.  I chuckle about this often because John is Greek.  John taught me how to work the back of the house, pizza making and boardwalk window.  John was definitely a coach to me and all of my fellow teen aged employees.  John is still in business today but his ability to coach is very limited due to MS.  What is really special about his business now is that almost all of his employees are his children and grandchildren.

                In 1983 I enlisted in the U.S. Army.  My first coach was more commonly referred to as “Drill Sergeant”.  While in training the idea of Drill Sergeant Gaylord being a coach was far fetched.  As I look back at that experience, DS Gaylord was definitely a coach.  I would not have been the Soldier that I became without the coaching of Walter Gaylord.

                Throughout the course of a 27-year Army career, I had many coaches and mentors.  As a young Soldier, most training received in these early years was in a group.  As I developed as a Soldier and leader, coaching became less and less and mentoring became more and more.  When I think back on my military career – I have been retired six years – a few heroes, real and fictional, come to mind.  One such fictitious mentor was Sergeant Morales.  According to Sergeant Daniel Nichols, the SGT Morales story goes like this, “Sergeant Morales is a fictional noncommissioned officer who is intended to represent the ideal Army NCO.  Here is his story, from the Web site of the U.S. Army Europe Sergeant Morales Club: Sergeant Morales was a squad leader for three years in an engineer battalion of a U.S. Army division.  He was the proverbial “98-pound weakling” and had not completed high school -- only the GED program.  Of Puerto Rican descent, he had only a limited command of English.  Despite his physical limitations, lack of formal education, and minority group status, he strove for and achieved the highest caliber of leadership.  Sergeant Morales began his day by coming from his home to the barracks as his squad was awakening. They participated together in PT and work details as well as unit training. Sergeant Morales pitched right in with the disliked drudgery-type details. He led by example, particularly when it meant getting his hands dirty. In his pre-Army life, Sergeant Morales had some experience as a barber. At the end of the month, when money was scarce in his squad, he arranged for his Soldiers’ hair to be cut. He kept a pocket notebook with one page for each member of his squad devoted to personal data: background, education, family, MOS, problems, and so on.  At least once a month, everyone in the squad and their spouses got together, socialized, and discussed problems at his quarters.  During his three-year tenure, no one in his squad went AWOL, which he attributed to knowing his Soldiers, keeping them informed, and watching out for their interests.  His squad consistently placed first in company Army training tests.  All of Sergeant Morales’s accomplishments were achieved despite the fact that his squad received misfits from other units for rehabilitation.  While in the division, Sergeant Morales completed high school and the equivalent of two years of college. Sergeant Morales had a lot in his favor but no special advantages.  He just worked at his job to the best of his ability.  Sergeant Morales was an exemplary leader in whom his Soldiers believed.” (Source: http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/FactFiles/FactFile_7Army_SGT MoralesStory 2007-09.pdf)

                As a Soldier in Europe, I strove to epitomize SGT Morales.  I believed just the notion of SGT Morales would make me a better leader.  Since SGT Morales was fictitious, I took the liberty of adding to his story as I coached and mentored my subordinates.  I told them tales of how SGT Morales would take his Soldiers uniforms home and wash and mend them.  He would sew on missing buttons and mend rips.  When he returned the mended and cleaned uniforms, he would teach his Soldiers to do it themselves.

                I would not be the person I am today without the mentoring and coaching of my teachers, John Koutroubis, Walter Gaylord, all of the leaders who I came in contact with over the course of my career and yes, even SGT Morales.

Reference

Nichols, D. (2009, February 27). 1st Armored Division Soldiers in Iraq compete to become members of prestigious U.S. Army Europe Sergeant Morales Club: Who is Sergeant Morales?  Retrieved on May 7, 2016 from http://www.eur.army.mil/news/2009/2009-02-27-01_Sgt_Morales.pdf

A520.6.4.RB_TeamRoles_LouBeldotti

A520.6.4.RB – Team Roles

            Depending on my occupation, my team role has varied over the years.  As a Soldier, my role also depended on my rank and position.  The greater the rank, the more involved.  When I retired and went to work for Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC), my role was different again.  Now, as a teacher, my role has morphed yet again.

            As a Master Sergeant in the Army, my role often depended on the mission.  When I was a Command Career Counselor at U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM), I was often the supervisor of a team.  I did most of the facilitating of meetings and was in-charge.  In lesser positions and rank, I was generally just a team manager.  I related well in either case and generally helped keep things on track.  I always use the common sense approach and try to be the voice of reason. 

            As a Talent Acquisition Manager at (NGC), I also facilitated meetings and managed teams.  However, there were times that I was just a team member and subject matter expert depending on the contract.  Regardless, I would always be an interactive team member.

            As a school teacher I have been relegated to just being a participant.  On the receiving end of information with very little input with the exception of the Professional Development (PD) survey that is generated to all participants.

            In a team leader position, I constantly engage my team members to accomplish the mission.  I have always expressed that there is no room for failure.  Every member has an active part.  There are no wall flowers. 

            Teamwork is paramount.  I insist that every team I have managed be cohesive and constantly communicate.  A good example of this is when I facilitated the 2009 World Wide Retention Training Seminar in Orlando, Florida.  Without a cohesive and collaborating team, it would have never happened.  I had a team of twelve individuals who performed their required functions and reported their progress at our monthly meeting in Orlando.  We would also communicate regularly via telephone and email.  Using an open line of communication was key.

Reference

Personal experiences

A520.5.3.RB_ForrestersEmpowerment_LouBeldotti

Forrester’s Empowerment

                Empowerment.  According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of empower[ment] is to give power to (someone) or to give official authority or legal power to (someone).  (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

                According to Russ Forrester, “Empowerment is a tantalizing notion that seems to offer organizations the promise of more focused, energetic, and creative work for employees.” (Forrester, 2000)

                My personal experiences with empowerment are mixed.  While in the Army, I had to dole out empowerment gingerly.  While employed with Northrop Grumman, I had to empower each and every one of my subordinates and as a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Instructor, I must be very selective of who I empower.  With this said, I believe that empowerment is very situational. 

                I was very amused with Forrester’s comment that “Empowerment is the stepchild of a grand heritage.  Its most venerable ancestor is Kurt Lewin’s notion of action research, which departed from the earlier practices by involving the subjects of change efforts in understanding and making decisions about hope-for changes.  The idea that workers might contribute to governing their own situations gained popularity with McGregor’s specification of Theory X and Theory Y beliefs about human nature and their impact on how work needs to get done.” (Forrester, 2000)

                Comparatively speaking, empowerment can either cause disaster or success.  I have been on both sides.  Empowering a young Soldier resulted in disaster and empowering seasoned Soldiers resulted in success.  I believe that maturity plays a big part in empowerment.

                Empowerment does not necessarily create leaders.  We should be very careful when we empower our employees.

References

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Empowerment. Retrieved on April 23, 2016 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empower

Forrester, R. (2000). Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea. [Academy of Management Executive]. Retrieved on April 23, 2016 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4165660?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

A520.4.2.RB_MotivationBeyondMoney_LouBeldotti

Motivation Beyond Money

            In the Skillsoft video, “The Three Things We Work For (Money Isn’t One of Them)”, Andy Mulholland discusses three things that employees [engineers] work for. 

1.      Interesting work.

2.      Expansion of skill sets.

3.      Recognition

(Mulholland, 2011)

            From my perspective, having interesting work is very important.  Boring and mundane work would drive me to find new employment.  According to David Whetten and Kim Cameron, “Work design is the process of matching job characteristics to workers’ skills and interests”.  (Whetten and Cameron, 2016)

            Skill training and sustainment training are essential for all employees.  I need training to perform my job effectively.  Without it, my skills would stagnate and eventually I would become bored.  I am of the opinion that most employees desire to expand their skill sets beyond initial job training.  They want to advance and without appropriate training, they cannot advance.

            Recognition is probably the most important to me.  I work even harder when I am recognized for my achievements and accomplishments.  The U.S. Army is very good at recognizing not only its Soldiers but also its civilian employees. 

            When these three motivational tools are combined, it makes for a great motivational trifecta. 

            These are great motivators but there are other that are important to me.  The following are my top three when I was in the Army:

1.      Free global travel

2.      Required physical fitness (Gyms are free in the military)

3.      Free room and board when I was a single Soldier

            The military allows its members to fly aboard their cargo and personnel aircraft if there is space available for free.  Also, all official travel is paid for by the US Government along with Per Diem, ME&I and lodging costs.  In 2009, I travelled to Europe twice, Hawaii twice and multiple states in the US on official business.  What is even more motivating is that I was able to accumulate and keep all of the frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty points.

            Physical fitness is a requirement in the military.  High performance is incentivized by tying it to recognition and promotion.  The military gives their members a physical fitness test, twice per year and failure brings discipline and negative performance reports.  To ensure that its members stay physically fit, the military does organized physical fitness five days per week and has world class gyms on their installations which is free to the Service Members and their families.

            Single members of the military are provided free accommodations and free meals three times a day, seven days a week.  I only lived as a single Soldier for a very short time but it was a good experience.  This, in itself, saves single Service Members thousands of dollars per year.

References

Mulholland, A. (2011). Skillsoft Ireland Limited: The three things we work for (money isn’t one of them). [Video]. Retrieved on April 13, 2016 from http://library.books24x7.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=43753

Whetten, D. A. and Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing Management Skills. (9^th Ed). Boston: Pearson

           

            

A520.3.4.RB_SupportiveCommunication_LouBeldotti

Supportive Communication

Below is an excerpt from the CEO of Cerner to his managers:

“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.”

            I probably would have taken issue to the above email if I had have received it.  It does seem like the “blame game” is being played.  However, there is an old saying in the Army, “Leaders are responsible for everything that happens or fails to happen in their organization”.  This holds true in industry also.  On more than one occasion, I have seen CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, COOs, Company Presidents and more fall to blame when the company did poorly or there was scandal involved.  More often than not, the leader resigns.

            I arrived at United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) located in San Antonio, Texas in Early February 2007.  On February 18, 2007, The Washington Post broke the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) neglect scandal.  WRAMC Commander, Major General (MG) George W. Weightman, was relieved under orders of the Secretary of Defense, by Secretary of the Army, Fran Harvey, after only being in command for six months.  Consequently, Secretary Harvey resigned less than a month later due to pressure that he had not taken action quick enough.  After MG Weightman was relieved, Lieutenant General (LTG) Kevin Kiley was named interim Commander.  Unfortunately, it was discovered that LTG Kiley had been aware of the poor care and living conditions of patients at WRAMC dating back to 2004 and he retired on March 12, 2007 less than one month after being named interim commander.  These leaders fell because they were in charge.  Mind you, other leaders much lower on the food chain were also relieved or resigned in the wake of the “scandal”.  Although I had no involvement in this, I was involved in a different capacity.  I was the Command Career Counselor of the Warrior Transition units under MEDCOM’s Command and had to travel to WRAMC to deal with the Soldiers affected.  The tension at WRAMC was so thick that you could almost cut it with a knife.  I witness absolutely no supportive communication.     

  

            Of course this situation was extremely severe and affected Wounded Warriors.  It brought about outrage from the President of the United States on down. 

            If supportive communication had have been used in the WRAMC situation, I can only speculate what could have happened.  The same outcome probably would have occurred but less feeling would have been hurt.

            In the email situation, I believe that supportive communication could be effective.  This CEO made many assumptions in his email.  Was he actually on site in Kansas City and witnessed the empty parking lot.  Although he takes ownership of the situation by stating that he allowed this to happen, he does not indicate that he plans on resigning but states that if the manager’s do not fix it, they will be replaced.  I believe this message conveyed incongruence instead of congruence.  Again, the CEO takes ownership but there is no honesty in his ownership.  He uses evaluative commentary labeling the manager’s as non-caring.  He does state the problem but definitely makes it person-oriented.  He invalidates these managers and I am sure they immediately went on the defense upon receiving the email.  His message was non-useful.  He actually did not identify the problem and offered no advice on how to fix it…just threats.  I can only assume that the CEO’s message came from out of left field and had not addressed it early making it disjunctive communication.  He did own some of the message but most of his message was disowned.  Finally, his message did not allow for supportive listening and the entire message was one-way.

Reference

Whetten, D. A. and Cameron, K.S. (2016). Developing Management Skills. (9^th ed.). Boston: Pearson

A520.3.1.RB_DecisionMakingStyles_LouBeldotti

Decision Making Styles

            Which way do I go?  How do I get there from here?  I am sure that we all have asked ourselves these questions.  It is easy and almost instantaneous to routine decisions but the complex decisions always offer a challenge.  When I was a child, I received a Magic 8 Ball one Christmas.  I would ask it questions such as, “Does Betty like me?”, “Will mom let me go skating?”, “Will I be a doctor when I grow up?”.  This took away the decision making process for me. 

            According to Wikipedia, the Magic 8-Ball has a twenty-sided die that provides twenty possible answers to the question asked.  The twenty answers are:  It is certain; It is decidedly so; Without a doubt, yes; Definitely; You may rely on it; As I see it, yes; Most likely; Outlook good; Yes; Signs point to yes; Reply hazy try again; Ask again later; Better not tell you now; Cannot predict now; Concentrate and ask again; Don’t count on it; My reply is no; My sources say no; Outlook not so good; Very doubtful. (Wikipedia, 2016)

            Well, I never dated Betty, I did get to go skating but I never became a doctor.  So much for the Magic 8-Ball.

            In the blog, I will answer the following questions:

1.      What are a few words that describe your decision-making style?

2.      What are the opposites of the words you chose?

3.      Could you see any benefits to making decision using an approach that is based on either the opposites or somewhere in-between and what outcomes would you expect to see?

            Now that I am a grown man, my decision making style has changed from trusting the Magic 8-Ball to more concise and thoughtful.  I don’t use chicken bones or tea leaves.  I do ponder on the more complex decisions.  I often use tools like brain storming, pros and cons and mind mapping. 

            The opposite words would be lengthy, vacant and ignore.

            In some situations I could see the opposite word, lengthy as beneficial.  Long pondering is sometimes required to make the correct decision.  I cannot not see the opposite words, vacant and ignore as a viable part of the decision making process.

References

Haddock, R. (2004). Routine and complex decision-making. [Infobase: Films on demand]. Retrieved on April 7, 2016 from http://fod.infobase.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/p_ViewPlaylist.aspx?AssignmentID=7A2UTV

Wikipedia. (February 22, 2016).  Magic 8-Ball. Retrieved on April 7, 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8-Ball