A521.9.4.RB_DiazBrian

What does it mean to be a leader?  Reflecting back on my youth I perceived leaders to be people that gave orders and those orders were to be followed.  I could never have imagine the intricacies of what it truly meant to be a leader.  But as a youth you really don’t know these things.  That is until you turn 18 and realize that there isn’t much you do not know.  In my neighborhood growing up I always felt that I was the leader of our “gang”.  By gang I mean the six childhood friends that I have to this day.  I always wanted to be the one to decide what we did, when we did it, and where.  Truthfully I was kind of a dictatorial kid, kind of bossy.  I remember one day I was trying to tell everyone what we were going to do that day and my friend Johnny flat out said no.  He said “You know you are always trying to tell us what to do and I’m sick of it.  I don’t want to do that!”  He was right.  I felt bad because I was always the one that made our plans but never gave thought to the group.  I never considered what they wanted or how they felt.  I was not a leader.  I realize now I didn’t have the slightest idea what leadership truly meant.  It learned a good lesson about the needs of others.  I never considered that leadership could be interactive and that it has several dimensions to it. 

Denning (2011) notes that “The interactive leader works with the world rather than against it.” (p. 270).  In other words what Denning has said is that in order to an effective leader we should not try to impose our will on others.  If you impose limitations, disincentives, or do not communicate effectively within your organization, you will be unsuccessful as an interactive leader.  This is a great philosophy and one I am proud to say is evident in my organization.  I think it is important for us to learn from the actions of others.  I consider myself to be an observer.  I watch how my co-workers interact with others and how they treat them.  I get a good sense of how genuine someone is by the way they treat others.  At Embry Riddle my leadership team gives us a considerable amount of autonomy.  As individuals we are responsible for our own productivity.  I have seen firsthand how working with others as opposed to working against them is beneficial in producing a harmonious organization.  As I grow into a leadership role in the future one of my goals will be to create and foster an environment that celebrates the accomplishments of others as opposed to focusing on their weaknesses.  For instance I can hold meetings on a bi-weekly basis and celebrate the achievements of my team members.  One way to positively reward one of my staff would be by giving them a free half-day.  They can choose to either come in at noon and work or arrive in the morning and leave at lunch time.  I believe this approach would be appreciated and keep my team motivated to work hard.

Denning (2011) also writes that “Interactive leadership both adds and subtracts elements from the leadership palette.” (p. 270).  Affective leadership should always strive to be honest, genuine, and caring.  What it should not be is manipulative, spiteful, or uncompassionate.  Being the observer that I take into account how staff members in my organization perceive our leadership team and then evaluate for myself whether or not their perceptions equate to my experiences with those individuals.  Are their positions based on a negative experience?  Do they feel that way because maybe they feel they have been overlooked?  I plan to take some qualities from all of the members of my leadership team as I grow in the future.  I also plan on making further observations of unpopular decisions and the reactions my teammates may have and determine whether or not I feel there could have been an alternative solution.  Basically I would try to “put the shoe on the other foot” and see if there is a lesson there to be learned.  I can apply those lessons in my own interactions as a future leader.
Denning (2011) states “Interactive leadership builds on personal integrity and authenticity.”  This dimension I feel I could relate to best.  Because of my personal beliefs and values I feel it is imperative to treat others with respect, dignity, and honesty.  These beliefs are firmly embedded into the core of who I am.  People know when you are being fake.  They can sense insincerity.  A leadership position should always be mindful of the responsibility you have as a person, a team leader, and as an example that reflects the values of an organization.  Trust to me is very important.  It is important in my marriage, my relationships, and as a future leader.  I want those who I manage to know that they can come to me with any issue whether it be work related or not.  I love to help others.  I feel that it gives us purpose.  As I reach for my goals as a future leader you can expect to see something like this in my office. 




Denning also states that “Interactive leadership doesn’t depend on the possession of hierarchical authority.” (p. 271).  I feel it is important to treat others as you would like to be treated.  I am certain that I will be forced at some point or another to make difficult decisions.  Decisions that most likely will not be popular.  However I do not feel that in order to make these positions it is necessary for me to defend those decisions by reminding others of my position.  I want others to feel that they are my equal and would never want to try to personify a facade of superiority.  I have worked for others who felt that because they had more education than me that I was not on “their level” and I can tell you I would never want anyone to feel like I did.

Lastly Denning (2011) writes “Interactive leadership benefits from an understanding of the different narrative patterns that can be used to get things done in the world.” (p.271).  By sharing narratives from different experiences I feel we can grow as leaders.  Utilizing the stories of others and how they have solved or approached issues can lead to new learning experiences.  We should always be open to the ideas and thoughts of others.  I for one will never be that kid again that tries to tell everyone to do what I want them to do.  As a real leader I will listen to the voices of others and proactively solicit their insight.  A much more different stance from when I was a kid!

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

A521.8.4.RB_DiazBrian

I am the type of person that has no problem talking to complete strangers.  For me it is not so much a question of whether I am comfortable but whether or not I am interested enough to get to know someone.  Recently one of my wife’s friends was married.  At the wedding there were a lot of people I did not know and since I was never going to see them again, I honestly was not interested in getting to know them.  I did however have no qualms about engaging the guests that were seated at our table for the reception.  At this point in my life I am married and have been fortunate enough to have had the same friends for over 20 years.  I really am not looking to expand my “inner circle” but that wasn’t always the case.

When I moved away from “home” (Orange City) to Orlando I left all of my childhood friends behind and was also single.  It was literally like starting all over again in terms of friendships so everyone I met was a stranger.  Because I grew up playing sports I feel like I learned confidence at an early age.  I am very outgoing and I like to think that I am a confident person.  Working as a server in the hospitality industry for almost 15 years also helped me to communicate with others because almost every table I ever touched, were total strangers.  My job gave me the opportunity on a daily basis to interact with people I normally would not.  But when it came to dating that was sometimes a different story. 

At the time, I worked in one of the most popular restaurants in an area of downtown Orlando called Thornton Park.  An affluent neighborhood that catered to some of Orlando’s most prominent business leaders.  We had a wine rep that was in the restaurant quite often.  He was a bit eccentric to say the least.  He exhibited a kind of air about himself that I did not find endearing.  One weekend he came in with this beautiful girl.  Through the “grapevine” I found out that they had only recently started dating.  He actually introduced her to me and I spoke with her briefly and we exchanged pleasantries.  Our meeting was based on ritual questions but I really wanted it to lead to informational questions.  McKay, Davis & Fanning (2009) wrote “Ritual questions focus on learning a person’s name where he or she is from, and what he or she does.  Ritual questions are often used as the opening gambits of a conversation, but these soon give way to informational questions.  These are more specific and are designed to elicit important facts about the other person’s beliefs and feelings.” (p. 213).  Fast forward to a few weeks later.  I was a party with some of my co-workers and our wine rep was there with his girlfriend.  I just couldn’t understand what she saw in the guy.  I thought he was pompous and pretentious.  Why would such a nice girl go for a guy like that I thought?  I noticed after a while that he was too busy mixing with everyone else at the party except for her.  After some “liquid courage” I decided to talk to her again.  We had really great conversation!  We happened to share a lot of the same qualities.  We asked each other questions, actively listened to one another, and even exchanged some self-disclosure.  We must have been talking to one another for about an hour in the kitchen until her boyfriend noticed and “came to her rescue”.  I kicked myself in the pants though for not letting her know I thought she was beautiful, amazing, and with the wrong guy.  That may have been too much to share at the time but I should have at least told her the first two things!  I failed to express myself fully and missed the opportunity to further get to know this girl.  I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

I learned from McKay, Davis & Fanning (2009) that “There are only two basic rules for successfully making contact: First, you have to give what you would like to receive, which means attention, interest , respect, and liking that you want must also be something you offer others.  Second, you have to have an outward rather than inward focus.” (p.209).  The use of body language is very important.  How you stand, how your arms are positioned, your eye contact.  Icebreakers are a great way to start a conversation.  I think the key is putting all of this week’s lesson together.  Combine questions, actively listen, and the use of self-disclosure to effectively communicate with a stranger.  The end goal is to make new acquaintances and have a better understanding of how we can use successful communication to interact with those we normally would not. 

Davis, M., Fanning, P. & McKay, M. (2009). Messages: The Communication Skills Book. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

A521.7.4.RB_DiazBrian

We currently live in a pretty amazing technological era.  Technology is at the forefront of education, communication, and innovation.  As we advance in this modern technological era we have had to adapt to the daily changing world in which we live in.  When was the last time you actually bought a newspaper or a hardcover book?  How many people do you know that still have a landline in their home?  When was the last time you actually saw a record player?  Cell phones, tablets, netbooks, email, video conferencing, music sharing, and group document sharing/editing are all examples of how we use technology in our modern lives. 


Like millions of others I have fallen in love with Apple and the products that they make.  The one single device I cannot live without is my iPhone.  It am so connected to my phone that I use it for everything.  It’s sleek meticulous design, size (although I wished it were just a bit bigger), and overall performance reminds me of a beautifully built Lamborghini.  Without it I feel naked.  I feel like I am disconnected to the world.  Not that I think that is particularly a good thing.
In 2010 I bought my first iPhone, the iPhone 4.  I could surf the web, “FaceTime” with my family, share photos, and text with my friends 24-7.  But in 2012 the iPhone 5 came out it and it had a faster processor, larger screen size, and better display.  Naturally I had to have it.  I was eligible for an upgrade so I ordered my new iPhone 5.

I ordered the phone online and picked it up at the Apple store.  My current phone had hundreds of pictures, videos and apps on it.  All of which were backed up to my iCloud account (or so I thought).  I used a buyback program so when I went to get my new phone my old one’s memory was wiped out.  The tech at the Apple store asked me “Is everything you have on this phone backed up?”  before resetting my old phone to factory settings.  I said yes and he reset the old phone and activated my new one.  My new phone began backing up from the cloud and I was on my may.  I had the new iPhone 5 and I was on “cloud 9”.  I left the Apple store and headed home but I realized something was wrong.  I was missing all of my apps, almost all of my contacts, and my photos were gone.  What went wrong?  Why wasn’t my phone backing up from the “cloud”?  I was freaking out.  The last thing I wanted to do was go back to the Apple store because if you’ve ever been to the Apple store you know that if you need help you are going to need to wait… for quite a while.  This was my anomaly.  Denning (2011) wrote “Most of the anomalies that we notice are potential bad news of one kind or another.” (p. 185).  Boy, was he ever right.  I got home and headed to my desktop to try to figure out what went wrong.  I first went to the Apple website to troubleshoot what could be wrong.  I combed through Apple’s iCloud backup information http://support.apple.com/kb/TI73 I still could not figure out where I went wrong.  Next stop on the internet was YouTube.  I spent 2 hours watching YouTube videos without much success.  Then it hit me.  I had backed up my old phone to my iTunes account a few weeks earlier.  Surely that would be the answer.  I went to http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4946 to make sure I knew exactly what I had to do.  Luckily for me I was able to get all of my data on my new phone.  I was relieved (and so was my wife because she had to deal with me in my panic) that I had finally figured out how to get my new phone up to speed.  I lost very little once the sync was completed.  I now make it a habit to regularly back up my, devices to my iTunes account so that I never have to experience this kind of issue ever again.

Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

A521.6.3.RB_DiazBrian

What makes a high-performance team?  I think the most important element of a high-performance team would have to be passion.  Passion is what drives us all to excel.  All members of a high-performance team need to have shared passion in order to carry out their work.  Denning wrote “Fueled by interpersonal commitments, the purposes of high-performance team become nobler, team performance goals more urgent, and team approach more powerful.” (p. 156).  High-performance teams exceed expectations.  Collectively team members are able to adjust their performances to the needs of the organization.  High-performance teams are capable of innovation.  With time a high-performance team will grow stronger.  This is due to the team learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  They grow to anticipate one another’s next moves and can respond accordingly.  You can think of a high performance team as a “well oiled-machine”. 



There are four patterns of working together: in work groups, teams, communities, and networks.  Work groups are subunits within an organization. 

Members of a work group work on the subject matter with each person having a defined responsibilities.  They report to a common supervisor.  “The workgroup is the most common form of arrangement, and it exists wherever you find organizations.” (Denning, 2011, p. 151).  This is true of my job as an Academic Advisor.  We are made up of seven team members.  We all work in the same area on our floor and report to our Director of Advising.  We work independently of one another to assist the students of the university.

Teams are “organizational groupings of people who are interdependent, share common goals, coordinate activities to accomplish these goals, and share responsibility for the performance of the collectivity.”  (Denning, 2011, pp. 151-152).  Teams have a specific objective and they disband once the objective is met.  Their objectives (and membership) are decided by someone in a position of authority.

Communities are groups of people that don’t live or work in the same area.  They share common interests, practices, and values.  Their goals are decided by the members and the community will disband once the members feel that there is no longer value in continuing their existence.  They share information, knowledge, and/or activities.  Examples of communities can be scientists working together to cure illness, economist working together to develop and apply theories, or psychologists sharing information regarding mental health.

Networks are “collections of people who maintain contact with each other because of a mutually perceived benefit of staying in touch for purposes that may or may not be explicit.” (Denning, 2011, p. 152).  As a Paralegal I was a member of the NALA, a network of paralegals.  The network would hold meetings, mixers, and opportunities to make connections within the discipline.  It was a great opportunity as a student out of college to meet others who had been practicing in the field for years and learn more about the benefits of being a Paralegal.  I stopped being a member when it was no longer a benefit to me. 

In my undergraduate degree I took a course on how trials are conducted.  Our final was a team assignment and my instructor paired me with a classmate.  We would face off against another team (one side as the defense, the other as the prosecution).  We were given a specific case and facts.  My team acted as the defense.  The instructor would be the judge and the rest of the class would comprise the jury.  At the end of the trial a verdict would be read.  We were graded on how well we prepared, our strategies, and our presentation (courtroom presence).  My team member and I were on the same page from the beginning.  We met numerous times during the semester in the law section of the library building our case.  We rehearsed our questioning and outlined our strategy.  The day of the “trial” came and we met once again to practice for our shining moment.  But there was one small detail I seemed to have overlooked.  There was one question I should have asked my partner… “Are you comfortable with speaking in front of an audience?”  I never did asked him and what followed in our presentation was a train wreck!  I rose first to address the court on my defendant’s behalf and my classmate followed to present the second half of opening arguments.  He was crippled with anxiety!  He could barely form a sentence.  His voice cracked as he reached for his water.  I thought he might faint!  I slumped in my chair and sort of melted in it.  I caught a glimpse of my teacher’s eyes as if to say “Oh boy, this poor kid.”  It was all downhill from there.  All our rehearsing went out the window.  He forgot his line of questioning and relied on note cards to complete the assignment.  The jury found our defendant guilty.  We began with a specific objective (to present our case and win the trial).  This was our only team assignment and we did not work together after this as teams disband once their objective is met.  We shared a common goal and were committed to winning.  Fortunately for me my grade was based on my individual performance.  I learned that you should not make assumptions when working in a team.  Had I known that high performance teams “come to know one another’s strengths and weaknesses, anticipating each other’s next moves” (Denning, 2011, p. 156), this exercise could have been executed differently.  We would have practiced in front of friends or family beforehand.  

When I graduated college I found it very difficult to find work as a paralegal.  All of the jobs I applied to wanted minimum experience.  I researched the top Orlando law firms and applied for openings without success.  I went back to UCF to talk to a career counselor.  She offered some great advice.  She suggested I join a community for paralegals.  This gave me the opportunity to make some great contacts and ask for advice from practicing paralegals.  We all shared the same common interests in the field of law.  I attended lunches and mixers with members of the paralegal community and received a great deal of information that helped me to eventually land a job with a law firm.  I was able to keep in contact with the other members via emails, newsletters, and occasional social gatherings.  The goal for me was to find people who could help me in the field.  I was able to focus on what area of law I was interested in by communicating with these members.  Had I known the benefits of being a part of a community, I would have joined one before I graduated college.  I could have saved myself two months of job hunting.
 
Denning, S. (2011). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.