Most organizations people belong to can be considered a group or a team.In Exploring Leadership by Susan Komives, Nance Lucas and Timothy McMahon, Chapter 7 explores the concepts of interacting in teams and groups and this blog will use a few examples from sports to solidify points made in this chapter.
The major point I would like to focus on from this chapter is summarized by a quote from page 235:
“We can no longer afford the luxury of even a few individualists working in isolation from the rest of the organization…Strength is not in the individuals, but in the team. Put a group of superstars together on any team, whether baseball, hockey football, or soccer, and they will still lose if they operate as individual superstars. But once they start operating as a team, they become unbeatable.”
Cohesion and unity are the essence of any great organization and all-star teams simply ignore this fact.The greatest example of this is from the movie Miracle based on the true events of the 1980 U.S Olympic hockey team.When interviewing for his job, Coach Herb Brooks, made this point about all-star teams and why they fail:
In the last few decades the United States has seen their so-called “dream teams” fail on several occasions.The first idea of the dream team arose in the 1992 Olympics with the U.S.A Basketball team made up of the greatest players in the world and dominating everyone in its path.
The world soon caught on and the United States fell behind in international basketball and in 2006 the U.S.A team, made up of N.B.A all-stars only returned with a bronze medal as Argentina went on to win a gold medal.
Recently the World Baseball Classic was established to give birth to international baseball similar to the World Cup in soccer.The inaugural WBC was held in 2006 and the U.S.A team, once again made of all-stars, was the heavy favorite, but failed miserably to international teams that played as a cohesive unit.This same story repeated in 2009, with the United States failing to win a championship.
Teams that are successful work together and allow the team to be greater than the individual.Everyone knows their role and sticks to it, allowing the team to be successful. This is easily noticed when learning about the 1980 U.S Olympic hockey team, which was made up of collegiate athletes who trained and lived together for about a year in order to work as a unified group.
Its not always all-star teams that have these issues, any team can have this problem if there is a lack of leadership, poor communication, and lack of respect between members.The Boston Red Sox went 86 years without winning a World Series and during that time there were some pretty bad teams Boston put on the field.The old saying was “25 players, 25 cabs, 25 directions.”This saying is a perfect example for the formula of failure.Without unity a team will fail.In 2004 the Red Sox finally won their first World Series in 86 years, but with a much different team.The team the Red Sox had in 2004 and until this day is a unified team, that works together, stays loose under pressure, and stands up for each other.
Sports give prime examples of all-star teams failing because of the missing unity, but this happens in business as well.This article gives a great example of a Fortune 500 Company and its board of all-stars failing. Also it kicks off with a great example of a movie not being successful with a cast of all-stars (Oceans 12).
If you take anything away from this blog, take this: When starting a new organization or working with one you have been in for years, team work is the backbone of success.No matter what the goals of the organization are, unity and cohesion of the team are necessary to gain the full potential of all the members and reach those goals.
When a person obtains a new job, they are immediately submersed in an environment that is full of people and values that have been refined and practiced for a long time. These traditions, methods, styles, and behaviors are known as an organization’s culture. At first, it may seem strange or jarring, or even cold or discomforting, but it is imperative that a new employee try their best to adapt and observe a business’s culture. Without a healthy respect or attempt to engage a culture, you will become alienated and gossiped about. (more…)
Have your organization(s) encountered any problems where you had to consider renewing it (them)?It is natural for organization to find itself in need of renewal.I am currently taking Educational Administration Development of Student Leadership course and we are using a book called Exploring Leadership by Susan R. Komives, Nance Lucas, and Timothy R. Mcmahon.Part of Chapter 10 on Renewing Groups, Organizations, and Communities caught my attention.It discusses how Relational Leadership Model can serve as a useful guide in renewing organization.Relational Leadership Model focuses on five primary components which are process, purpose, inclusive, empowering, and ethical.Fortunately, we were able to share some of the issues that our organizations are currently facing and the possible solutions to those problems.I would like to share some of them.
Process-Oriented
Poor vertical communication was the issue for one of the organizations.Supervisor does not provide information that is needed at times.The key element of the process-oriented community is a good internal communication.The solution for this issue can be having a meeting so that every member can be in the same page.That is the reason why my organization has meeting at least once in two weeks.
Purposeful
One of the issues were members weren’t motivated enough to participate.Purpose of the organization is important core that motivates members to participate.While renewing the purpose, members must reaffirm their common purpose.It is a key point that every member knowing why they are doing what they are doing.One of the possible solutions for this issue can be coming up with an event which members will want to participate.Another solution can be providing incentives to the members so that number of participants will increase.The organization that I belong provides incentives such as monetary rewards so that every member participates in fundraising event.
Inclusive
A leader favoring some members over others was one of the issues.Inclusion involves developing the talents and ideas of all members in the organization.It is important to develop the talents of members and use the energy that new members can bring with them.One of the solutions that we came up with was for leaders to be accepting.They must minimize the expectation of the member and try to find what they can offer to the organization.The sorority I belong to has been very successful because the leaders are inclusive.We get assigned on what we are good at.We also get trained by being assigned to something that is challenging so that we can strengthen and widen our talents.
Empowering
My group currently has an issue where younger members are isolating themselves from the older members.Since many seniors are graduating, leaders are very worried that younger members won’t be able to lead the organization.Culture of the organization must be shared with the younger members. The solution that we came up to this issue was to plan an event such as mixer where younger members and older members get paired up.Another solution can be setting a suggestion box so that the members who don’t speak up can write down their opinion.
Ethical
Members in the organization must work as a team and have trust in each other.A leader not getting involved in organization’s functions was an issue that came up in class.The organization that treats its membership well and holds its members to a high standard of ethical behavior will continue to grow and develop. This organization must renew their leader or have a meeting and figure out the solution.
It is unfortunate when the organization is in danger or dissolution.However, the key lies under the members.What they do relies on the organizational future.I was glad to find out that not only my organization but also the organizations that classmates belonged to had issues.We were able to share them and help each other how each organization can improve or overcome with them.I hope everyone in class can share the solutions with their organizations so that they will last.
Organizational Culture is often described as “the way we do things around here”. It is always important to remember that in any culture, diversity exists. The Human Resource Development firm, Mikander Consulting defines Organizational Culture as:
“the sum of how effectively all layers in an organization interact to reach business goals; “the way you do business”. It consists of internal processes, procedures and behaviours guided by underlying values and assumptions. Combined the layers make up the behaviour of organizations; affecting collaboration, productivity and the bottom-line.”
Some of the areas that Mikander Consulting addresses in relation to organizational culture include:
Organizational leadership and team cultures
Merging and integrating organizational cultures
Human resource development projects
Knowledge management and future competence audits
Although this consulting company has given us a glimpse into the life of organizational culture, few people consider consulting as a viable solution to organizational problems.
The most interesting part of the website that I’ve found is this little diagram:
In my experience, there has been a great deal of conflict in regards to organizational culture. The organizational culture at my current workplace is far from perfect. Over the past four years, I have seen a blurry line between friendship and professionalism. To make things even more interesting, after talking to a few of my peers, I see that I am not alone. Many organizations suffer in terms of profit due to the casualness of the organizational culture.
The root of this problem lies in having a manager who is laxed in terms of attendance policies, dress codes and work ethics. It’s no wonder why the organizational culture at many companies seem to clash with company goals of increasing sales and profits. The company is consistently striving to increase revenues while simultaneously providing quality products coupled with exceptional customer service.
Going back to the diagram on the Mikander Consulting website, we see that everything begins with an individual’s own work—hence the middle of all the circles. The team culture is the next level that affects an individual’s work. This includes comfort zones and commonalities amongst co-workers. One step further we can relate our work experience to the leadership culture.
The leadership culture is extremely important in terms of providing direction throughout the organization. When the saying, “do as I say and not as I do,” becomes a reoccurring theme in your day to day work life, then you know something is wrong. In my organization, my boss consistently comes to work late, leaves early, and throughout the work day takes anywhere from three to seven “smoke breaks” while the remaining employees who do not smoke don’t even merit a break.
When the leadership in any organization is weak, the lower echelons are the ones who suffer. A lack of good effective leadership contributes to an unsuccessful organization. Although leadership is not solely at fault for decreased efficiency, it most certainly is a huge contributing factor to the problem. I have also seen through my work experience that newly promoted lower level managers often find it hard serve as the liaison between employees and upper management. The culture, focus, and goals often change with each varying echelon.
It is the focus of management to see that the goals of the organization are carried out through even the littlest and lowest level employees. The management team more than often will set the tone in terms of organizational culture. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked for some really great companies, and at the same time have experienced those that weren’t so hot. In my experiences with the casual organizational culture, I have seen a number of flaws and areas of improvement that should be addressed. Being that other organizations and their employees often face the same problem (such as dealing with nepotism, favoritism, or just plain old bad management), we can come to an agreement that change needs to occur in order to set things straight. Only after the situation has been effectively assessed can we begin to fix the way things are.
If you are discouraged by the lack of professionalism and organizational culture, I urge you to consider an attempt to change the way things are done. Being caught in the middle of a bad organizational culture can lead to job dissatisfaction and ultimately negatively affects revenues. This may sound bad, but the situation can be remedied. As they say in organizational behavior studies, happy workers lead to increased job satisfaction. Increased job satisfaction leads to increased levels of productivity. Subsequently, increased productivity leads to increased revenues, which in turn leads back to happy workers. It is an ongoing cycle that leaves everyone happy.
Someone once said, “…Never let schooling interfere with your education.” I truly believe in this statement and this is true because going to college is more than just graduating with a degree. In fact, for most college students, it is the best time of their lives. In the last twenty years, the “college experience” has evolved from merely taking classes into an unforgettable experience. With this shift, student-based organizations have changed as well; many of them are breaking out of the shell of being just a “student-based organization” and becoming small communities. As a small community, they not only sustain relationships and connections, they maintain a sense of belonging within the community. I wholeheartedly believe in making a college community because I feel that being a part of the Business Executive Society of Tomorrow (BEST) has allowed me to have the college experience that everyone talks about. When writing my blog, I got inspired by Chapter 9 titled “Being in Communities” because I believe that BEST is one of the student-based organizations that has become a community.
As a new recruit in BEST, I feel so welcomed, which is one of the main characteristics of a community. And when I happen to come late to a meeting or can’t attend a social, one of the older members would text message me asking where I was. Rather than keeping tabs on me, they were just concerned about where I was and maintain that sense of belonging especially among new members.
Another great example of this organization becoming an organization is that there is good internal communication. We have meetings every two weeks and try to maintain communication through emails and phone calls. Although it may seem impersonal, it’s really effective when trying to relay a message to over forty individuals.
Back to the quote in the beginning of my blog, although I can learn a lot about the world of business through my classes and lectures, I’ve learned so much about myself as well as the business world by joining a club, rather a community like mine. Truly, these student-based organizations have changed so drastically within the past few years that they have teaching students in these communities just as much as a class does.
Often, when an organization experiences a somewhat internal dilemma that might pose a probable threat to its collapse, members of that organization sometimes make no efforts in attempting to discover the root cause of the problem as to help them brainstorm and form solutions to tackle the internal conflict faced by the organization. Any unsolved issues that persistently exist within the organization may be resulted from lacking of communication amongst members. Leaders may not communicate well with their subordinates or the other way around, participants may have no motivation to discuss any issue upon which they stumble with their leaders. This then scuppers the group from achieving their commonly established goals. If an organization is lacking of communication, then it will create a huge gab among the members and leaders. (more…)
Each of our lives make-up multitudes of diverse, multi-faceted communities. They’re great contributors to the development of who we become and what we aspire to be personally and relationally as well serve to establish systems of beliefs for which we stand by.
In this blog, I’d like to explicate on what I’ve learned in my leadership class about a chapter in our text. Chapter 9 was specifically titled “Being in Communities” because it clearly articulates and clarifies the characteristics in which a community functions.
In my life, personally, I belong to several kinds of communities. I belong to the college group within my church, my work team at my school’s telecommunications office, my family unit at home, and the student body of UH Warriors upon my college campus. Each particular group serve specific purposes and “not only share an identity and structured pattern of interaction, but also a common geographical territory” (Goodman, 1992, p. 48). As you can see, each of these groups report to different areas where they prove to be more functional and efficient to carrying out its’ purposes. My college group is rooted back to behind the church gates back in Kaneohe so it would be able to cater to the needs of Christians and non-Christians there, as well as my position as a student at the University of Hawaii places me upon the campus.
A community is a “connection and commitment that sustains relationships and purpose”
This quote is the basis for the type of community that I often seek to prolong in my life. One particular community I’d like to measure up against is my homeless ministry that I’ve started a few months back. It is a faith-based community that has increased in numbers since it began and it operates to serve our homeless community out in Waikiki by providing food for them, building relationships with them and sharing with them the faith that we aspire to model our lives to.
The name of this ministry is called Grain Faith. It began in early November on a cold night when I and a group of 3-4 friends went out to Waikiki to feed the homeless. I was compelled to initiate this after I had read a book called “Under the Overpass” by Mike Yankoski. It’s a book about 2 men in college who are Christians and decide to go homeless for 6 months spending each month in a different, severely impoverished city all over the mainland US. These 2 men decide to do this because they want to see if the faith they’ve embraced their entire lives is real. They are discouraged yet motivated at the realization that they’ve relied too much on the comforts of their wealth to satisfy their needs and that they didn’t fully know what it meant to “have faith” in the grace and provision of God if everything they’ve ever been provided for was completely by their own strength.
Anyways, reading this book and seeing how the role Christians played out in their interaction with the homeless really fired me up. There were so many instances that the author illustrated in which, though given the opportunity, Christians would be arrogant to serving those in need. When the author and his friend went to church, they’d be constantly approached by a warm welcoming committee willing to talk to them. Unfortunatley, talking is all they did. They’d be so stuck in their Christian bubble that when it came time for them to part and offer up help of anykind, the author and his friend would be left standing at the entryway with a mere “I’ll be praying for you…”, a phrase so familiar amongst faith-based jargon, I couldn’t believe how bad it was being abused. In the bible it says,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” — James 2:14-17
After finishing up this book, I became so convicted! I couldn’t believe that I was guilty myself for having overlooked those suffering through life without even the most basic of needs. Food is such a necessity, and something I could dedicate at least part of my life helping others attain it. I’m just a student, but how simple and affordable is it to dedicate a couple bucks a month to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a couple of plastic bags to hand them out in? 2 days out of the entire month, I’d be willing to spare. This would be the basis of the new ministry. This is the purpose of Grain Faith…a purpose that has compelled many of my Christian AND non-Christian friends to participate in.
Grain Faith meets twice each month on Saturday nights to hit the streets of Waikiki and clusters of families in Kapiolani Park. According to my leadership class’ textbook, a community practices an array of 8 specific elements. The first one involves “wholeness incorporating diversity”. That’s just what this particular community is made up of. Although mainly college-aged students, Grain Faith does not (as you would expect otherwise) discriminate against spiritual differences. Although we do claim to be a Christian organization, we are just as ready to accept desired participation from others as well. It is still such an amazing conviction alone for those who are just as passionate as we are to serve the homeless. Any willing and able pair of hands are welcome!
Elements #2-5 involve a sense of shared culture, good internal communication and caring/trust/teamwork. Each of these elements work hand-in-hand because they allow for a community to refine individually and work well as a whole. As far as shared culture, because Grain Faith is still a new community, it is always at constant work to gain new members. Participation by word-of-mouth and Facebook event-advertising has played such a huge role in publicizing street events. Because of the experiences being told from individuals who’ve actually participated in these events previously, more and more Christians are, most importantly, realizing the need for lending a hand out in the community and understanding how big a difference serving makes by such a small gesture. From a beginning team of 5, Grain Faith has grown, thus far, to a team of almost 20 regular members. Each of them are motivated not just by the rewarding feeling gained from the street events, but are similarly strengthened, empowered and encouraged by their members who they’ve become friends with. As far as internal communication, leadership is established and each individual member feel as if they are free to make suggestions for improvement and make things happen. As stated earlier, since Grain Faith is still in its early operation stages, members are free (as they will remain) to contribute ideas towards expansion and efficiency.
For Elements #6-8, shared leadership tasks and links with the outside world are pivotal with the way this community is run. Just as much as I aspire to gain more and more members on-fire for serving the homeless, I also aspire to make the leadership aspect of Grain Faith as little as possible. Most people know me as founder. I personally desire to see a multitude of leaders stepping up to continue its operation. Inclusiveness, to me, is a vital link to community success.
If I should leave this blog with anything, it’s this: to develop long-standing, tight-knit and purposeful communities that not only satisfy your passions, but also benefit the well-being of people groups in communities outside of yours.
Chapter 9 of Exploring Leadership (Second Edition; by Komives, Lucas and McMahon) explores the aspect of “Being in Communities”. A community is defined as a social group of any size, whose members reside in a specific origin/locality, sharing government, having a common cultural and historical heritage. We all; whether or not we know it, play essential roles in our own community. Roles vary depending on social group, whether it is with family, friends, school, or environment. Our roles in “Communities” highly affect our individual development in society. When consciously aware of our roles in communities, we become more aware of our “self identity.” Through experience and preference of surrounding, we learn how to determine our area of comfort and preferred “role in society.” This blog will emphasize “The Importance of Community” with reference to Chapter 9 of Exploring Leadership.
The organization that I take part of is the “Fellowship of Samoa”; which is an on campus Club for all students, especially those of Samoan descent. Being an active member of this community is very important to our organization because, we all share similarities in our culture and we all have a common purpose of attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa. A common activity that we have every semester is the “Clubs Kick Off.” It is here where we utilize the idea of “Introduction Process.” Members become acquainted with each other through basic introduction of names, area of origin, and intended major in college. An open discussion follows the informal introductions which addresses the topic of “What we individually and collaboratively intend on gaining from being an active member?”This simple “ice breaker” helped the initial formation of a community, by building on similar goals.Throughout the semester, activities are created to strengthen the bond between members, from beach potluck, to dance practices.A sense of belonging and acceptance is created through club gatherings.Creating a zone of comfort where all members’ ideas and opinions are highly valued is of upmost importance.
“Skill in the building and rebuilding of community is not just another of innumerable requirements of contemporary leadership.”With the foundation of good leadership, the excerpt found in Chapter 9 explains the importance of discipline created through strong leadership. Relational leadership here involves discipline which is an enforced concept through thorough practice, learning, and studying.These concepts are basic tools that are very essential in “academic discipline.”Discipline in a community derives from experience through interaction and understanding of people.Learning habits and personality boundaries create the concept of “discipline” within a community.Discipline in the community and its role varies.It is essential when dealing with diverse relationships, when referring to responsibilities and working to build overall morale within a community.For the betterment of the organization and intention of achieving goals as a “community,” the idea of “discipline” is necessary.
Being active in your community is very important. It is a requirement that most employers look into when considering your employment. It also helps you improve on your social skills for future networking purposes, opening an opportunistic doorway to a variety of careers. I strongly recommend actively participate in our community, and consciously “discipline” ourselves to learn about our surroundings and what is essential for the betterment of your “community” as a whole. Regardless of your role in your community, you play an essential part in your community whether or not you are consciously aware of your role.I challenge you to become more aware of your role in your community and learn from interacting with different people within your community.The more you interact with different people, the more aware you are of relational skills, and the better “disciplined” you shall be when you enter new environments/communities.
attached is a video of club performing at a scholarship fundraiser that we were invited to take part in. Enjoy!
Samuel Alton
When a person obtains a new job, they are immediately submersed in an environment that is full of people and values that have been refined and practiced for a long time. These traditions, methods, styles, and behaviors are known as an organization’s culture. At first, it may seem strange or jarring, or even cold or discomforting, but it is imperative that a new employee try their best to adapt and observe a business’s culture. Without a healthy respect or attempt to engage a culture, you will become alienated and gossiped about. 
leaning forward 