Weekend Update

This weekend I’ve spent most of my time reading and finding articles on a strengths-based philosophy and team effectiveness. I read a couple of dissertation literature reviews on strengths (one was Louis, 2008 ( so very thankful she was THOROUGH)) and have a long list of books I need to get from the library as well as making a rather substantial order from Amazon. I anticipate spending time writing about the strengths-based philosophy definition and the two schools of thought then go into the StrengthsFinder tool itself. It seems there is a good bit of information in the technical report itself so I need to get that document as well.

Team effectiveness looms a bit larger for me. I am really starting as a blank slate on this topic so I’ve been looking at both some dissertation literature reviews and then beginning to get articles that seem to appear over and over in the reviews. My worry though is that I’ll miss some huge work that is out there. But I guess the worst thing that can happen is that I miss it, I find out I’ve missed it and then I go back and get it. Problem solved! I have found a good number of articles to get me started this week and we’ll see where I land by week’s end. So far I have a definition of team and work group and am beginning to work on effectiveness. Although I have about 16 articles waiting on me as I avoid them now by working on this blog entry!

The area I haven’t tackled yet is trust. I have a stack of articles that is waiting on me but I’m thinking I’ll just really cover one construct at a time.

Heading Towards Dissertation

I have now finished all of my coursework!!

Laying ahead are: 2 comprehensive exams (one in October and one in April) unless I can get exempted from the comps due to being published (hopefully I can work on the article I began last Fall) and the dissertation.

Luckily the dissertation is broken into pieces: the proposal (Chapters 1-3) then data gathering and the remaining chapters.

What a whirlwind this has been. It seems that just such a short time ago I was wondering what it was going to be like to be in a doctoral program and the big question: what the writing was going to be like.

Now here I am three years later completing coursework-done with the program and just needing to take care of some details! I'm going to miss coming out to California and being immersed in learning and discourse. I'm going to miss the cohort members and the fun we have. It feels odd as we all go our separate ways-promising to keep in touch and to encourage each other along the solitary path of dissertation.

As I turn towards dissertation I had a great conversation with both Alex and Eileen this week. As I worked through the "aim" of my dissertation some things came into focus regarding what I really am wanting to know and what my study should be.

Alex gave me the advice that I should be able to summarize my dissertation in one sentence. When I left his office I couldn't do that but I feel like I've been working on refining things and am better at it now.

I'm going to call Alex this coming week to begin working through my thoughts and hopefully I'll be able to begin searching for resources for my lit review. Before I can identify my problem statement and purpose of the study I need some more literature for sure.

I will continue to write my ruminations about the Ph.D. journey on this blog as I now begin the path to dissertation.

Great Quote

Something to think about:

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Mary Anne Radmacher

Another Great Leadership Post by Wally

Responsibility and Leadership

http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2010/07/02/responsibility-and-leadership.aspx


On June 6, 1944, 156,000 American, British, and Canadian troops landed in Normandy to establish a foothold in France and begin the drive to Berlin and victory in Europe in World War II. It's easy to remember the victory and to praise the leaders and stand in awe of their competence and confidence.


But there were plenty of uncertainties at the time. Nothing this large or complex had ever been attempted. The great mass of US troops were still untested in battle.
The excellent German army was just across the Channel in well-prepared fortifications. They were led by one of Germany's legendary military leaders, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
Even the weather was a factor. Eisenhower had already postponed the invasion because of some of the worst storms in memory. When he gave the order to launch the operation on June 6, he had only the most rudimentary weather information to go on.


Since we know how things came out, it's easy to underestimate the uncertainty. But, for Ike there were huge gaps in information, complex operations that could break down, and a determined foe whose actions would influence the outcome of the day.


He faced the very real possibility that the invasion would fail and that thousands of Allied men would die without achieving victory. As he thought about that, he wrote out the message he would release if things went badly. Here it is.


"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops.
My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone."


That kind of willingness to take responsibility is rare today. Today our leaders often deny any part in decisions that turned out wrong. They practice the art of spin.


How about if, just for the Fourth of July, we talk less about leadership and think more about responsibility?


Boss's Bottom Line
No one wants to work with a coward or a liar. Be assured that your people will know if you act like either one. Great leaders give praise and take responsibility.

Another Presentation Submitted

I've submitted a program proposal to a conference!

I'm hoping it will get accepted!!! I would be presenting a fun program on courage and followership!

Please, please let me get accepted. It sure would make things go more smoothly and timely!

Calling and Timing

I was just revisiting a passage in Courage & Calling by Gordon T. Smith (1999) and found this paragraph:

Once again I must stress: vocation and career are not the same. They may coincide, but for many people that will not be the case. At each phase of our life we need to ask the question: Who am I and what fundamentally, am I called to be and do? What is my purpose, my reason for being? And then we must ask what we are being called to do now, in the immediate: What is the current duty, responsibility or job that God is placing before me? How can I fulfill this current responsibility in light of who I am? The current responsibility or job may seem quite mundane—caring for children, getting a job to pay the rent or studying. But it is God’s call for the moment, for the time being. And we accept this as from the hand of God and see it in light of the complete picture of who we are and who we are called to be.

What a great passage. This really puts things in perspective anytime a person feels that their work is not “what they want” or what they “are supposed to be doing right now.” Everything happens for a reason and this is such a great reminder that God has a plan.

New Blog-Insightful

I found this blog today and thought it was insightful. I'll visit it again for sure.

http://blog.threestarleadership.com/


Here is one entry from Wally's blog:

One thing that's becoming clear is that there were more problems with the Deepwater Horizon than just mastering the technology of drilling in ultra-deep water. Sunday, the NY Times ran an excellent story headlined: "In Gulf, It Was Unclear Who Was in Charge of Oil Rig."
Deep in the story, you'll find this. It's a quote from Tad W. Patzek. He's chairman of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at the University of Texas.
"It’s a very complex operation in which the human element has not been aligned with the complexity of the system."


The technology was complex, all right. But the project management was complicated, but straightforward.


There's a difference between "complex" and "complicated." It's the difference between raising a child (complex) and building an office building (complicated).


When something is complicated you start with the idea that anything can go wrong. You set up tracking, communication, and decision systems to deal with that when it happens. Then you put someone in charge and give them the power to enforce the rules.


The big problems on Deepwater Horizon didn't happen because the technology challenge was new and complex. They happened because the project was poorly run, with no clear chain of authority. Here's an exchange from the Times article.


Curt R. Kuchta, the rig’s captain, responding to an investigator's question of who was in charge: "It’s pretty well understood amongst the crew who’s in charge."


Coast Guard investigator: "How do they know that?"


Captain Kuchta: "I guess, I don’t know, but it's pretty well - everyone knows."


So no one was in charge. And when that happens any manager can assume that someone else is responsible and paying attention. Things might have been different if there was someone in charge.


Maybe the person in charge would have noticed as exception piled upon exception. Maybe the person in charge would have said, "I don't care if the feds don't require a response plan for a blowout, we need to have one." Maybe the person in charge would have said "We're not going any farther until we have a containment dome on site." Or maybe the person in charge would have drawn the line when BP (no person is named) violated some of its own standards.


But there wasn't anyone in charge. Instead BP and the regulatory agencies and Halliburton and Transocean exchanged emails.

Instead eleven crew from the rig are dead. Instead the apocryphal oil slick is spreading more and more every day.