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