When reflecting back on my efforts in creating my PDP, I came to the realization that I will need to do a lot more to prepare myself for life after school than to simply attend classes for 17 months. This assignment is a great tool that I plan to use throughout my entire MBA journey, and without laying out my goals the way I did, I doubt all of my tasks would simply get completed. I also learned that I am not marketing myself enough in order to land that perfect job after school. My PDP discusses this point in great detail, and explains that I need to slow down my day and spend more quality time with people. Not only would this improve my social capital, but it is simply the right thing to do. Time management was another lesson learned from this assignment. The PDP was not a difficult subject matter because it was simply me on paper, but the thought processes and detail was very time-consuming. I have never been the type of student to work on a project a little bit at a time, but with the size of this project and the fact I am a full time working professional this is necessary to complete a project of this size.
Our team research brought about a lot of research that we needed to incorporate into a single paper, which was challenging at first. However, once we learned each others writing styles and meshed them together, we were able to find a happy median. What I found interesting on our external environmental research was in regards to the AIDS research. It was surprising that when plotting out the AIDS cases on a local, national, and global level that it was somewhat difficult to find emerging patterns at the local level. One would think that the biggest cities would have a large percentage of HIV cases, but this was not always the case. Also, there is no distinct local pattern of improvement with the actual cases of AIDS. The result of this point is just as random as the demographics of the cases themselves.
At my job, I plan to challenge myself by looking at projects and tasks on a more wholistic approach. I scored low on the C and D quadrant's, so now I have some guidance on what I need to work on at my place of work. I also learned that I am weaker in the areas of brainstorming and some of the project manager characteristics that I strive to be better at. My current career does not challenge me enough in these parts of whole-brain thinking, but having said that I will not be in my current position forever. While completing this PDP, I realized that even though I am not being challenged currently with tasks and projects that require this line of thinking that I am eventually going to need to apply these traits down the road in my career.
Wisdom is not defined as how much one can learn, but rather the experience one can gain. A person can read all of the books in the world and be knowledgeable in many aspects of life, but until that persons actually applies what they have learned and seeks to learn from each situation than true wisdom won't be achieved.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
GRAD 702- Reflections on Module 4 Concepts
While preparing and working on the team's metaphor, I was reminded that a learning experience can also be fun at the same time. My group and I had a great time preparing for this assignment, and it made us loosen up a bit and get to know each other even more. I believe that friendships were built as well, and ideas began to flow a bit more easily than in times past. I also learned that by using a metaphor, it is sometimes easier for the audience to understand concepts by using this form of communication rather than simply standing in front of a group and discussing the concept in a more dry sense. Audience interaction and attention is obviously key to get one's point across, and I feel that our team was able to accomplish that by simply having a little fun while learning something at the same time.
At this stage in my career, I feel that I am stuck at a manger level by telling people how to do things and when to do them. I believe much of this stems from the fact that I work for "Corporate America" where I have very little discretion on how to "mix things up". They expect everything to run and operate a certain way, and diverting from the regimen is sometimes unacceptable. However, my strive to be a true leader of my organization is not halted because I am already pursuing some of the action items in my PDP by training with my national sales manager to think outside of the box and prepare my career for the next level.
I felt that my first meeting with my coach last week went VERY well. My coach is also my branch manager, and she was an easy choice to ask to be my coach since she was so quick to earn my respect at the office. She was able to take the rough draft of my PDP and help me to expand my viewpoints that were somewhat narrow at first. I was struggling by simply looking at the next six months versus the full 17-month picture, and she gave me a lot of great pointers to look at more of a long term approach. Also, we were able to lay more of a structured game plan of what we expect out of each other in the next 16 months and how this relationship will be beneficial for the both of us. (it's not all about me!)
I felt that week four's assignments brought the class at a point where our hard work is being applied and that our last three weeks of preparation is being used at many different levels. The last of the assessments in 702 (LPI and Project Manager Card Sort) further proved to me that there are strong definite trends to my line of thinking and my overall personality, and this helped me to formulate some of my summaries in the PDP. These assignments helped my flow in the paper, and helped me to manage all of these tests to discover trends that I didn't see before. In particular, the LPI sparked my curiosity on how other people perceive my leadership. Since I scored lower than I would have hoped for, I plan to talk with my coach (AKA manager) on how she feels about these results, and what I can do to improve my leadership qualities.
At this stage in my career, I feel that I am stuck at a manger level by telling people how to do things and when to do them. I believe much of this stems from the fact that I work for "Corporate America" where I have very little discretion on how to "mix things up". They expect everything to run and operate a certain way, and diverting from the regimen is sometimes unacceptable. However, my strive to be a true leader of my organization is not halted because I am already pursuing some of the action items in my PDP by training with my national sales manager to think outside of the box and prepare my career for the next level.
I felt that my first meeting with my coach last week went VERY well. My coach is also my branch manager, and she was an easy choice to ask to be my coach since she was so quick to earn my respect at the office. She was able to take the rough draft of my PDP and help me to expand my viewpoints that were somewhat narrow at first. I was struggling by simply looking at the next six months versus the full 17-month picture, and she gave me a lot of great pointers to look at more of a long term approach. Also, we were able to lay more of a structured game plan of what we expect out of each other in the next 16 months and how this relationship will be beneficial for the both of us. (it's not all about me!)
I felt that week four's assignments brought the class at a point where our hard work is being applied and that our last three weeks of preparation is being used at many different levels. The last of the assessments in 702 (LPI and Project Manager Card Sort) further proved to me that there are strong definite trends to my line of thinking and my overall personality, and this helped me to formulate some of my summaries in the PDP. These assignments helped my flow in the paper, and helped me to manage all of these tests to discover trends that I didn't see before. In particular, the LPI sparked my curiosity on how other people perceive my leadership. Since I scored lower than I would have hoped for, I plan to talk with my coach (AKA manager) on how she feels about these results, and what I can do to improve my leadership qualities.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Label this section of your blog: GRAD 702 – Reflections on Module 3 Concepts
With all of the exposure and study in Grad 702 in regards to the four lens perspective, the most comfortable by far is the Collaborative lens. I look at organizations as more than just numbers, and try to relate a personal outlook to my goals and objectives each and every day. The cornerstone of any organization is the people within that organization, and the cornerstone of my present and future work ethic will center around this point. The area where I need to improve on is the system lens. A combination of the technological aspect and analyzing vast amounts of data to come to a solution or answer has always been a weakness at all levels in my professional career, and additional training and exposure will be necessary in order for me to keep up with the ever-changing global markets.
My personal competency sorts appears to relate very closely to my strengths and weaknesses in the four lens model. I have found that the conceptuals are the same, but the actual tasks that need improvement are displayed in the card sorts. Simply put, this exercise drew a specific picture on what I need to improve on versus the 4 lens model that gives me a broad realization of what I need to improve on.
One firm example of when I used Emotional Intellegence was during a short speech I gave to all of the loan officers in the Ohio Market for Chase. Out of 300 people, there was a combination of loan officers, management, and key decision makers for the company. The topic was "incentive plan changes" and the majority of the crowd was discontent with the decisions the company made, but I still had to use Emotional Intellegence to relate to the entire crowd. I had to speak in such a way to make it appear I was not giving the "Corporate Answer" and take managements side, but yet not speak too negatively to relate to some of the crowd and offend others. After given feedback after the speech, I was told I remained very "politically correct" and was able to relate to everyone in the crowd in regards to the recent company changes. This speech was a good use of Emotional Intellegence, and is how I attempt to relate to others in many aspects of life.
I really enjoyed the readings this week, and took a lot of information out of the text that relates to me at many levels. In the office and at home, I attempt to always think outside of the box, and my actions reflect this. I always attempt to put an interesting twist on daily or major tasks, and the readings described my line of thinking perfectly and gave me a better understanding about myself than I had before. Also, the readings was more specific on the creativity aspect of a persons personality, and I took a lot from the authors reflective thought as well.
The concept of the third Alternative is a theory that many people should practice more so than they do. So many tasks or projects have been halted or eliminated in my professional career just because nobody could look outside of their opinion or solution to find a mutual, if not better solution. One situation in particular that stands out was about 3 years ago between a client and a mutual business partner of mine. Simply put, we lost the client because we could not agree on a solution to his financial strain. The client just lost his job 3 years before he was set for retirement, and his current portfolio needed to be adjusted to compensate for his job loss. This client used to be one of my most prestigious clients, but because he could see the internal struggles that I was having with the other gentleman that was managing his portfolio, he pulled his business and went to a competitor firm. The lesson learned here was a painful one, and it taught me that my way is not always the best or only way.
My personal competency sorts appears to relate very closely to my strengths and weaknesses in the four lens model. I have found that the conceptuals are the same, but the actual tasks that need improvement are displayed in the card sorts. Simply put, this exercise drew a specific picture on what I need to improve on versus the 4 lens model that gives me a broad realization of what I need to improve on.
One firm example of when I used Emotional Intellegence was during a short speech I gave to all of the loan officers in the Ohio Market for Chase. Out of 300 people, there was a combination of loan officers, management, and key decision makers for the company. The topic was "incentive plan changes" and the majority of the crowd was discontent with the decisions the company made, but I still had to use Emotional Intellegence to relate to the entire crowd. I had to speak in such a way to make it appear I was not giving the "Corporate Answer" and take managements side, but yet not speak too negatively to relate to some of the crowd and offend others. After given feedback after the speech, I was told I remained very "politically correct" and was able to relate to everyone in the crowd in regards to the recent company changes. This speech was a good use of Emotional Intellegence, and is how I attempt to relate to others in many aspects of life.
I really enjoyed the readings this week, and took a lot of information out of the text that relates to me at many levels. In the office and at home, I attempt to always think outside of the box, and my actions reflect this. I always attempt to put an interesting twist on daily or major tasks, and the readings described my line of thinking perfectly and gave me a better understanding about myself than I had before. Also, the readings was more specific on the creativity aspect of a persons personality, and I took a lot from the authors reflective thought as well.
The concept of the third Alternative is a theory that many people should practice more so than they do. So many tasks or projects have been halted or eliminated in my professional career just because nobody could look outside of their opinion or solution to find a mutual, if not better solution. One situation in particular that stands out was about 3 years ago between a client and a mutual business partner of mine. Simply put, we lost the client because we could not agree on a solution to his financial strain. The client just lost his job 3 years before he was set for retirement, and his current portfolio needed to be adjusted to compensate for his job loss. This client used to be one of my most prestigious clients, but because he could see the internal struggles that I was having with the other gentleman that was managing his portfolio, he pulled his business and went to a competitor firm. The lesson learned here was a painful one, and it taught me that my way is not always the best or only way.
GRAD 702 – Reflections on Module 2 Concepts
When given my HBDI results, I was expecting a strong "A" score, but was very surprised to see that I was actually a "B". Organization has always been in a part of my life, but I didn't feel it was a dominant trait to my overall personality. However, Quadrant A did rank second on the list, but nevertheless was surprised.
When the knowledge of being a "B" quadrant, I will try to take on more of the organizational aspect of my group assignments and determine if this is where my true strength lies. Our group is constantly learning more about each others strengths and weaknesses with every meeting, and this HBDI test allows for an outside technological source to aid the group process.
When it comes to the lasting legacy that I want to leave to my family, I want them to look at me with the same level of respect that they looked at my grandfather when he was alive. His leadership even in our family circle was inspirational to me as a child and throughout my adolescence, and I aspire to give my family as much guidance and love that he gave to all of us. When it comes to more of a countrywide or global perspective, I want as many people as possible to learn from my financial teachings. Much of the country and the world don't pay enough attention to their finances and live a rougher life than they should be if they simply would have done some simple preparation during their professional life. I want to teach people a few basic steps that will allow them to lead happier lives both during their careers and during those Golden retirement years.
The most creative thing I have been a part of is developing the training plan for over 7000 Personal Bankers for Chase. I was one of the leading factors and decision makers on how Chase bankers will be trained to sell and solicit Chase products and services. I have been a part of training videos and literature that guide bankers all over the country on how to service their customers and grow their own personal wealth at the same time. This gives me constant gratification and self fulfillment at work, and allows me to shine within this large organization.
When it comes to conflict, nobody deals with it perfectly every time. for the most part, my method of patience seems to be effective and it allows the problem to work itself out versus feeling that I always have to get the last word in. Groups in all forms have individuals that act and think differently, and once I came to terms with this, the amount of conflict seemed to decrease around me.
Week two's assignments gave me a firm understanding of what to expect from the PDP and allowed me to work on certain sections that will be incorporated into this paper. At first, the assignment seemed overwhelming, but now that I am realizing that as the weeks progress, I am constantly coming one step closer to completion, I feel much better about this task.
Covey's readings helped me to gain an even better understanding of how to win the respect of both your peers and management to the point where the company will look to you for advice, and that natural leaders can essentially manage the managers. This also gave me an understanding of how I personally operate in the office by using the "Modeling" approach to train and guide colleagues to accomplish a central goal.
When the knowledge of being a "B" quadrant, I will try to take on more of the organizational aspect of my group assignments and determine if this is where my true strength lies. Our group is constantly learning more about each others strengths and weaknesses with every meeting, and this HBDI test allows for an outside technological source to aid the group process.
When it comes to the lasting legacy that I want to leave to my family, I want them to look at me with the same level of respect that they looked at my grandfather when he was alive. His leadership even in our family circle was inspirational to me as a child and throughout my adolescence, and I aspire to give my family as much guidance and love that he gave to all of us. When it comes to more of a countrywide or global perspective, I want as many people as possible to learn from my financial teachings. Much of the country and the world don't pay enough attention to their finances and live a rougher life than they should be if they simply would have done some simple preparation during their professional life. I want to teach people a few basic steps that will allow them to lead happier lives both during their careers and during those Golden retirement years.
The most creative thing I have been a part of is developing the training plan for over 7000 Personal Bankers for Chase. I was one of the leading factors and decision makers on how Chase bankers will be trained to sell and solicit Chase products and services. I have been a part of training videos and literature that guide bankers all over the country on how to service their customers and grow their own personal wealth at the same time. This gives me constant gratification and self fulfillment at work, and allows me to shine within this large organization.
When it comes to conflict, nobody deals with it perfectly every time. for the most part, my method of patience seems to be effective and it allows the problem to work itself out versus feeling that I always have to get the last word in. Groups in all forms have individuals that act and think differently, and once I came to terms with this, the amount of conflict seemed to decrease around me.
Week two's assignments gave me a firm understanding of what to expect from the PDP and allowed me to work on certain sections that will be incorporated into this paper. At first, the assignment seemed overwhelming, but now that I am realizing that as the weeks progress, I am constantly coming one step closer to completion, I feel much better about this task.
Covey's readings helped me to gain an even better understanding of how to win the respect of both your peers and management to the point where the company will look to you for advice, and that natural leaders can essentially manage the managers. This also gave me an understanding of how I personally operate in the office by using the "Modeling" approach to train and guide colleagues to accomplish a central goal.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Blog- complete URL for your blog
When looking at my professional rate of effectiveness today, I would rank it high. My career at JP Morgan Chase has allowed me to shine at many levels, and I have been fortunate enough to not only produce great results by company standards, but to also act as a role model and mentor for many other bankers in Central Ohio. This has given me the exposure that is needed to be a respected leader in my organization, and this will hopefully trickle to the Franklin MBA program as well. My intent is not to sound arrogant by ranking my effectiveness high, but I do take my job responsibilities very seriously. However, I am at a stage in my career where I believe I have proven myself as much as possible, and now I strive for something even better by going back to school.
The assignments provided me with a much better understanding of the Herrmann Model than I had before. Prior to this week, I had a basic grasp of the 4 quadrants, but now feel that I can use this information learned to have an even better understanding of human preferences based on their individual personalities. Eveyone is obviously differerent in many ways, but after studying the assigned readings, my effectiveness as a communicator will probably improve. Looking at all points of view, and taking into account all possible personalities in the audience is what many effective communicators are able to successfully accomplish, and this reading provided additional training in that area.
Through the team assignment, our group was able to establish solid roles and responsibilities, and individual expectations were addressed. At the last meeting, we were able to lay the foundation of what we expect from one another, and I feel the group left much more comfortable than before. Since we are now one group member short, the team was able to re-establish roles and responsibilities, and this increased overall comfort level with future group assignments.
When analyzing my leadership style, "aligning" is the model that I find the most effective. If tasks become diverted or off-course, many times I am able to effectively steer individuals in the right direction. If colleagues are seeking advice or guidance, than I am able to effectively derive what they are doing correctly and incorrectly and give constructive criticism on how to reach the desired outcome. One of my potential career aspirations is to become a corporate trainer or teacher, and this leadership trait is necessary to be effective in this role.
The assignments provided me with a much better understanding of the Herrmann Model than I had before. Prior to this week, I had a basic grasp of the 4 quadrants, but now feel that I can use this information learned to have an even better understanding of human preferences based on their individual personalities. Eveyone is obviously differerent in many ways, but after studying the assigned readings, my effectiveness as a communicator will probably improve. Looking at all points of view, and taking into account all possible personalities in the audience is what many effective communicators are able to successfully accomplish, and this reading provided additional training in that area.
Through the team assignment, our group was able to establish solid roles and responsibilities, and individual expectations were addressed. At the last meeting, we were able to lay the foundation of what we expect from one another, and I feel the group left much more comfortable than before. Since we are now one group member short, the team was able to re-establish roles and responsibilities, and this increased overall comfort level with future group assignments.
When analyzing my leadership style, "aligning" is the model that I find the most effective. If tasks become diverted or off-course, many times I am able to effectively steer individuals in the right direction. If colleagues are seeking advice or guidance, than I am able to effectively derive what they are doing correctly and incorrectly and give constructive criticism on how to reach the desired outcome. One of my potential career aspirations is to become a corporate trainer or teacher, and this leadership trait is necessary to be effective in this role.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
waves of change
To be a fully effective leader, one must be able to adapt to all of the waves. (Gray, 2006) Out of the four waves, I am most comfortable with the industrial wave, but also feel my shift is progressing to the knowledge wave. I am most comfortable at the industrial wave, because this wave relates to my life more so than any other in the sense that I feel I am physical in both my career and my personal life to accomplish many of my goals. At work, my mind is constantly challenged on a daily basis, but I don't believe this justifies plotting my activities into the knowledge sector just yet. My job at the bank is very hands-on, and given that along with the massive numbers of products and services that Chase has me distribute on a daily basis, the industrial wave is the most appropriate at this time.
However, the knowledge wave graces my daily activities more and more these days. The higher up in the company I reach, and the more decision making responsilities that are given to me, the closer I am coming to that next wave of change.
Even though my organization is predominatley in the industirial phase, my MBA workgroup has already achieved the knowledge phase. The natural flow of interactions both inside and out of the class are painless, and considering our massive use of technology to achieve a common goal, this point along with other characteristice qualifies us for the knowledge wave. (Gray, 2006)
Gray, A. (2006) The conflicted leader and vantage leadership. Franklin University Press, 45-49.
However, the knowledge wave graces my daily activities more and more these days. The higher up in the company I reach, and the more decision making responsilities that are given to me, the closer I am coming to that next wave of change.
Even though my organization is predominatley in the industirial phase, my MBA workgroup has already achieved the knowledge phase. The natural flow of interactions both inside and out of the class are painless, and considering our massive use of technology to achieve a common goal, this point along with other characteristice qualifies us for the knowledge wave. (Gray, 2006)
Gray, A. (2006) The conflicted leader and vantage leadership. Franklin University Press, 45-49.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Grad 701 Assignment 2-4
In order to be successful in today's world, individuals must know how to network and expand social capital. If not, one would become complacent and have a narrow view of society, and not receive the knowledge and exposure needed to stay ahead. However, nobody is perfect at networking and staying in contact with all relationships built over the years.
The readings from "Achieving Success through Social Capital" made me think long and hard about the multiple interactions that I have day after day. The book referenced my line of business a couple of times, and made me think about how often I see customers come and go from my branch day-in and day-out. This made me realize that many times I make little or no attempt to built rapport or talk to them unless they talk to me first. Even if we have a conversation, many times we never stay in contact or talk again, and the interaction is disregarded for eternity. After the assigned readings, I am going to make a conscious effort to change this and improve relationship building with others that I interact with. Bank customers come in all shapes and sizes, and finding people that are quite different from me should not be a problem. I just need to make a conscious effort to build relationships with these people in order to expand my social network. In doing so, it will allow me to see other viewpoints other than my own, and to expand my mind to different human-channels that I have never explored in the past. The saying "you can never have too many friends" has never made more sense than it does after this weeks assignments.
Not only did the assignments open my eyes to social capital, but it also forced me to reflect on my overall life as a whole in the Lifecycle Plot diagram assignment. I found that over the last half-decade, my life is at a stage of constant improvement. My roughest times were the adolescent and teenage years when life never seemed to go my way. While studying my graph, I began to see a pattern emerge: The more that education played a high role on my priority list, the more positive my overall patterns became.
As for my learning styles, I didn't always take on a visual approach that I do now. Back in my elementary, junior high, and high school years, I maintained decent grades by listening in class and taking average notes. Not until college when I started to use flash-cards and highlight the majority of my readings did I become a studious student. Audio learning stimulants give me little to no benefit, and usually requires me to listen to it multiple times to have the same impact of reading the material once. Also, reading what I write out-loud usually improves my work as well.
As for the legacy I plan to leave on this planet, it is to bestow my knowledge to others in the form of teaching, public speaking, and being a good father and husband. I plan to take my career to the public someday in the form of politics and would like to be remembered as an "honest politician" (many find humor in this statement). To get to this level, I am constantly exposed to public speaking and interaction in my job, and hope to receive more exposure in my graduate program. As for the family aspect, I have great parents that I admire and look up to, and I aspire to be as good as them when I have my own family. Not to sound cliche, but my central reason to wanting this life for myself is so I can leave it better-off than before I got here. The world needs more people to make positive changes, and I believe I can do just that.
The readings from "Achieving Success through Social Capital" made me think long and hard about the multiple interactions that I have day after day. The book referenced my line of business a couple of times, and made me think about how often I see customers come and go from my branch day-in and day-out. This made me realize that many times I make little or no attempt to built rapport or talk to them unless they talk to me first. Even if we have a conversation, many times we never stay in contact or talk again, and the interaction is disregarded for eternity. After the assigned readings, I am going to make a conscious effort to change this and improve relationship building with others that I interact with. Bank customers come in all shapes and sizes, and finding people that are quite different from me should not be a problem. I just need to make a conscious effort to build relationships with these people in order to expand my social network. In doing so, it will allow me to see other viewpoints other than my own, and to expand my mind to different human-channels that I have never explored in the past. The saying "you can never have too many friends" has never made more sense than it does after this weeks assignments.
Not only did the assignments open my eyes to social capital, but it also forced me to reflect on my overall life as a whole in the Lifecycle Plot diagram assignment. I found that over the last half-decade, my life is at a stage of constant improvement. My roughest times were the adolescent and teenage years when life never seemed to go my way. While studying my graph, I began to see a pattern emerge: The more that education played a high role on my priority list, the more positive my overall patterns became.
As for my learning styles, I didn't always take on a visual approach that I do now. Back in my elementary, junior high, and high school years, I maintained decent grades by listening in class and taking average notes. Not until college when I started to use flash-cards and highlight the majority of my readings did I become a studious student. Audio learning stimulants give me little to no benefit, and usually requires me to listen to it multiple times to have the same impact of reading the material once. Also, reading what I write out-loud usually improves my work as well.
As for the legacy I plan to leave on this planet, it is to bestow my knowledge to others in the form of teaching, public speaking, and being a good father and husband. I plan to take my career to the public someday in the form of politics and would like to be remembered as an "honest politician" (many find humor in this statement). To get to this level, I am constantly exposed to public speaking and interaction in my job, and hope to receive more exposure in my graduate program. As for the family aspect, I have great parents that I admire and look up to, and I aspire to be as good as them when I have my own family. Not to sound cliche, but my central reason to wanting this life for myself is so I can leave it better-off than before I got here. The world needs more people to make positive changes, and I believe I can do just that.
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