Week 2 (Part II): June 13th

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 12:17:35 GMT

1. When leading, what are situations that put you on alert that something could go wrong either with your project, program, etc. or around your project, program, etc.? What previous experiences led you to develop that awareness?

2. What are your blind spots when leading and what actions have you taken to reduce your blind spots?

3. Reflect back on times you received feedback that you needed to improve from either a supervisee or supervisor...

What was an example of useful feedback you received that made a positive impact on you?
What was an example of feedback you received that was a negative experience and essentially did no good for you as a leader?

4. In your current role, how do you ensure proper follow-up with staff members?

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 16:08:49 GMT

3. When thinking about feedback that was unhelpful to me as a leader, I go back to when previous supervisors would use a "compliment sandwich" or not be direct with me if I did something incorrect. The "compliment sandwich" is when a person has critical feedback to give, they start with a compliment about something that person has done, delivers the criticism, and then ends with another compliment. To me, the compliments seem forced or unnatural and doesn't set up a good tone from learning from the criticism received. What could be a learning experience is tainted by this desire to be seen as nice instead of honest with feedback.

The other incident that wasn't helpful for me as a leader was when my supervisor wasn't direct with me when I did an administrative task incorrectly. Instead of address the issue first, my supervisor asked me what I thought of the process that I had completed, even though they knew I had done it incorrectly. Since it was my first time doing the process, I did not realize I hadn't done it correctly. I proceeded to tell my supervisor what I thought of the process, thinking that all was well. When I completed my feedback with my supervisor about what I thought of the process, my supervisor then told me everything I did wrong. I felt everything I had just told my supervisor was a waste of my time, as they already knew what the outcome of this meeting would be. The result of this meeting left me wary of my supervisor when they asked for my opinions in the future because I didn't know if they actually wanted honest feedback on a process or if it was their way of leading into something I had done incorrectly. While this was a negative experience for me, it did give me insight to how I would like to lead in the future, which is being upfront and honest about errors right at the beginning of a conversation so each person is on the same page.

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 20:10:20 GMT

2 - Blindspots for me are not adequately delegating tasks out and getting into a mindset that I'll just do it myself; not trusting that others can do how it should be done. Also while I am an advocate for changing the process, that is another blindspot that I can fall into if I'm not careful - since I've done things one way for several years, I have to be aware of my own mindset and be open to changing my own processes.

4 - Ensuring proper follow-up should be easy; however sometimes you want to trust that the person knows what they are doing and you let them run with the project. On a similar side, the person may give you false pretense that they are confident and able to do the task at hand, but inwardly have troubles. This is where good communication comes into play. Luckily, our office setting is pretty open and folks are always seeking advice, but sometimes you as the supervisor or adviser needs to be purposeful in seeking out the individual to provide feedback.

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 21:32:59 GMT

I find that in Residence Life we are always changing something, particularly as we welcome new professional staff in that want to do things they way they learned it at a past institution and worked for them. We do not take the time to learn where we are at and why that organization functions as it does before making decisions. For subordinate staff in particular, this is where I have seen the most conflict and the most push back. Taking time to determine who is best to present the message (particularly the "why" for the change) as well as who is trusted to put out the new process is key.

I am well aware that I am a strong J on the Myers-Briggs. As such, I can quickly think of a solution, but it may not be the best way to do something. Building time in for brainstorming (utilizing the others, particularly the perceivers in the group) and forcing myself to pause before making decisions has been important.

I share Lauren's sentiments about how much a compliment sandwich truly derails possible progress and rapport.

I have appreciated when supervisors have started by telling me what I did was contrary to expectations/directions but have asked why I did what I did as proposed in the book. It has proven to be a greater learning process for both of us.

When I supervise staff, I add a note in my calendar/to do list with what day I should follow-up to not lose sight of something. I am working to improve using 1:1 times for that (and everything else) and finding an appropriate time to have a 10 minute check-in - whether in person, after a meeting, over the phone, or in passing.

Fri, 29 Jun 2018 00:50:47 GMT

4. Perhaps there are only two things that I would agree with President Ronald Reagan on are:
1.) "Trust, but verify"
and not relevant to this discussion, 2.) "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Trust, but verify seems very fitting in follow up. I am responsible for the building services staff to have rooms set up for events the next day. I trust them to get the work done but I will check each room and verify that everything is ready. If something is not set up right, I will not say that someone did not finish something or a staff member forgot to do something. Instead, I will ask, where is the ___ in room __ because I do not see it.

1. I do not think I would like the compliment sandwich described by Lauren. I like things direct and to the point.

Tue, 3 Jul 2018 04:28:05 GMT

4. This has definitely been a challenge for me this year as I transition from supervising RAs to fill time professionals. I dont give feedback as often as I should and my folks have mentioned this to me. Its now evaluation time and I find that if I had provided the feedback more frequently then I wouldnt have a difficult time trying to remember all of the good, bad, and improvement that happened during the year. I am seeing that this helps them but also me too as I can provide more guidance with ways to improve throughout instead of just during evaluation/performance review time. Feedback is my opportunity to assist them in their development year round not just certain times during the year.

Per Lauren: I have a staff member now who has the compliment sandwich. So I remembered that when I was giving a piece of feedback. When I did not use the compliment sandwich, they only focused on what I didn't say they did well. I was so perplexed as to why this was contradictory to what was asked of me because the direct approach they wanted, was not well received when they got it.