A632.9.3.RB_DiazBrian

At the age of 7 I kicked a soccer ball for the first time.  I remember how excited I was that first day.  I didn't quite understand what I was doing when I started but I knew how it made me feel.  It made me feel alive!  As I grew older I continued to play soccer.  It was my passion, it was my love.  I played organized soccer and became a really good player.  I was one of the fastest, if not the fastest on most of the teams I played for.  I had a gift of knowing how others would react to me and what I was going to do before I did it.  It was like magic.  I remember my first hat trick (which is when you score three goals in a game).  It came in a championship game (I was in sixth grade at the time) and I felt like the best soccer player in the world!  I practiced constantly.  After school I would come home and practice on the side of my house, kicking the ball against the wall.  My talent did not go unnoticed.  I was invited to play club soccer at a young age.  I made many great relationships, some which last to this day.  I evolved and continued to grow as a soccer player.  As soccer really started to take off in the late 80's, early 90's I found that I was no longer the star player on the teams I played for.  I was still very good and effective but not necessarily the best player on the team.  Players were becoming bigger, stronger, more athletic and competition was really high.

In my freshman year of high school I decided to try out for the varsity soccer team.  It was a lofty goal but I felt that I was good enough to compete at that level.  By the time I reached high school, soccer was not necessarily the biggest thing in my life anymore.  I had discovered girls and my attention was drawn away from soccer.  I met a beautiful girl my freshman year and we wound up dating all four years of high school.  Even though soccer was not my main focus anymore, I was certain I was going to make the varsity soccer team.  Hoch & Kunreuther (2001) wrote “There is now a growing body of evidence that affect and emotions play an important role in people's decision processes for choices when there are uncertain outcomes" (p. 269).  I was so full of confidence going into try outs.  What happened was a disaster.  I had probably one of the worst practices in my life.  I struggled through most of the drills and just wasn't myself.  I was embarrassed by my performance.  In retrospect, I was not prepared.  I was super nervous, anxious, and a little intimidated by the varsity players.  I failed to make the team.  I was devastated.  Edmondson (2011) wrote "Failure and fault are virtually inseparable in most households, organizations, and cultures. Every child learns at some point that admitting failure means taking the blame. That is why so few organizations have shifted to a culture of psychological safety in which the rewards of learning from failure can be fully realized" (para. 3).  I did however learn from my failure.  The most important thing I took away from this experience was that it wasn't the end for me.  The JV coaches were at the varsity tryouts and even though I didn't make the varsity roster I was asked to join the JV team.  I ended up being the team co-captain and went on to have one of my most memorable high school years.  It's like the saying goes, "When one door closes, another one opens".  Initially I was devastated by not making the varsity team.  Then I was elated to still play as part of the JV team.  I felt validated by the experience because I was still able to do what I loved and at a high level.  I really feel that if I would have had the same passion for soccer when I reached high school as I did when I first started, I could have had a professional career.  To this day I love the sport and have passed that love to my son.  I hope that if it's is his path, it will bring him as much joy.

When I joined ERAU I was hired on as an online advisor.  Helping others has always been important to me and this role fit me perfectly.  My team was great and I could not have asked for better people to work with.  For a little over two years I worked in this position but over time the unreasonable demands that were placed on us took its toll on me and my team.  I decide to apply for another position within the university.  It was not an easy decision to come to.  I felt like I was abandoning my team.  I also felt like I would be letting them down if I left.  I felt a lot of emotions.  One of them was uncertainty.  I didn't know if I would even get an interview.  After considerable soul searching, speaking with my wife, and my mentor, I decided to apply.  Once I applied I asked to meet with my director.  She was stunned to hear that I was considering leaving.  I explained to her that I felt this new position would benefit not only me personally but my family  as well.  I wasn't completely honest with her about my intentions because I was uncertain about what would happen (with the potential position) but I felt she deserved to know where I stood.  She understood and respected the fact that I approached her to let her know what was going on. 

I didn't have any experience in instructional design but then again I didn't have any experience in academic advising either.  Or as a paralegal before I began working for ERAU.  What did I have to lose?  I had no clue whether or not I would be asked to interview.  It seemed like forever before I heard back about my application.  Still uncertain I would get the job, I did what I do best.  I researched, practiced interviewing, and presented myself the best way I could.  I focused on being me and it worked.  I was offered the position in which I am in currently.  I have never been afraid to take risks.  Sometimes I haven't made the wisest decisions but we all learn from our experiences and mistakes.  Zeilinger (2013) wrote "We tend to view risk-taking negatively, often regarding it as dangerous and even unwise. But while some risks certainly don't pay off, it's important to remember that some do" (para. 4).  I felt a gambit of emotions going into this experience.  Nervousness, doubt, guilt, excitement.  I was fortunate enough to get some really good advice from one of the team members I confided in.  She said "Everyone here has the same opportunity.  You are the only one willing to take it.  Don't feel bad about doing something that could benefit you and your family".  It was nice to hear and helped me get to where I am today.  Decisions are not always easy to make but are also unavoidable.  How we choose to make those and how we reach our conclusions determine how successful we can be.  Failure is not always the end.  Sometimes it is just the beginning. 


Edmondson, A. (2011). Strategies for Learning from Failure. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/04/strategies-for-learning-from-failure   

Hoch, S. J., & Kunreuther, H. C. (2005). Wharton on making decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Zeilinger, J. (2013). 7 Reasons Why Risk-Taking Leads To Success. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/seven-reasons-why-risk-taking-leads-to-success_n_3749425.html 

A632.8.3.RB_DiazBrian

Cynefin’s Framework gives us a visual representation of the contextual characteristics of simple, complicate, complex, and chaotic issues we can expect to face as leaders.  These identified characteristics can be used to formulate informed decisions.  Snowden and Boone (2007) wrote “Using the Cynefin framework can help executives sense which context they are in so that they can not only make better decisions but also avoid the problems that arise when their preferred management style causes them to make mistakes” (para. 6).  As leaders we will all make mistakes.  This framework can be utilized to mitigate the consequences of bad choices.

Two examples of simple context situations that were easily solved occurred when I worked as an academic advisor.  In the first example, one of my student’s contacted me and said she couldn’t identify which textbooks she needed for her upcoming course.  Easy enough.  ERAU has a search engine that lets students know exactly what materials are required for each course.  Since we just overhauled our university website, students were having a hard time finding the master textbook list.  I emailed her back with a link that would take her straight to the search engine.  She was able to order her materials and prepare for her class.  It turned out she wasn’t the only student that could not find her books.  To minimize the number of requests I was receiving from my students regarding this concern, I sent out a mass email letting my students know where they could find the textbook list on the new website.  My second example of a simple context situation involved a student that requested to drop his class.  He sent his request in writing as required however I never received it.  We spoke over the phone and I explained I understood his situation and I would be happy to help him.  I asked him to resend his email (it was not in my spam folder).  I received his email and verified he in fact sent his request by the deadline.  I was able to process his request and grant him his refund.  Technology sometimes fails us.  I was able to be flexible as well as sympathetic to his needs.  I used best practices to problem solve and remedy his issue efficiently.  

Complicated issues require more analytical thinking.  Generally a complicate matter is diagnosed after investigating several options.  I love techy gadgets.  I am a big fan of Apple products.  My son is three years old but he is able to operate my iPhone with almost no direction.  For example, I keep my phone locked.  He has my passcode memorized, can unlock it, scroll through to find his favorite apps, FaceTime my mom, and play his videos.  All on his own.  One of his favorite things to do is to use Airplay which will cast whatever is on the phone onto the TV.  To do this he needs a little more assistance from us.  He recently asked my wife to help him but she could not figure it out (which made her mad).  I stepped in and diagnosed the problem.  The Apple TV was on, the iPhone was playing his video but it wasn’t mirroring what he was watching.  I checked the settings on the phone and it was paired to the Apple TV.  However, my wife had not turned on the “mirroring” function.  After a few clicks Caiden was up and running.  My wife really dislikes technology sometimes.  The same can be said for the new LED Bluetooth enabled light bulbs I recently bought.  They play music through the light bulbs and can be controlled with any smart device. How cool is that!  What is not so cool is the learning curve associated with the app (for my wife that is).  The lights have a “master bulb” which communicates with the other light bulbs.  My wife was not having success with the app and she became frustrated.  After troubleshooting some scenarios I determined that the Bluetooth was enabled on the iPad however, it was not paired to the lights.  After just a few moments it was up and running.  Using troubleshooting methods enabled me to determine what steps I had to take to fix my devices.  I let this process influence my decision making.  Taking a step back and thinking about how things work, are supposed to work, and why they might not be working really helps to inform decision making.  The same can be applied to leadership.

Complex situations don’t have immediate answers, they have to be further investigated and a decision has to be made that best fits the situation.  In most instances we can create experiments to test our ideas.  If they fail, we can go back to the drawing board and attempt a new course of action.  I can relate sports to complex situations.  When I played soccer we would play the same team at least twice in a season.  I remember playing one team in particular that outplayed us top to bottom.  It was very frustrating.  Our coach tried making substitutions and changing our offensive line up to counteract what the opposing team was doing but we continued to fail.  We were easily defeated.  Reflecting on the loss we talked about what it was they did so right and what it was we did so wrong.  We based our new strategy on that experience and when we met again we were prepared.  The game was a draw which for us was a victory considering the beating they gave us initially.  We overcame our shortcomings, analyzed what didn’t work out in the first game, and made our adjustments accordingly.  The result was a completely different game.  The same concept can be applied to any sport.  For example in basketball, teams will play a certain type of defense based on the opposing team’s offense.  A coach might employ a one on one strategy then switch to a zone defense to counter an opposing team’s efforts.  Experimenting with line ups gives teams the most favorable matchups.  It’s like a game of chess.  You make moves and counter moves based on what your opponent or the external environment dictates.  Sports are a great opportunity for us to learn how to be part of a team.  Working together, communicating, and striving for a common goal help us to be better problem solvers.  Leaders can learn many great lessons by being active in sports or even by being fans.

Chaotic events challenge our decision making skills by placing us in scenarios we would generally not contend with.  It is necessary for leaders to act, sense, and respond in these situations.  More and more companies are preparing themselves for situations they may face in light of events in the last decade or so.  For example, at ERAU there is a plan in place if there is ever an active shooter situation on campus.  It’s mind-boggling just how common place this has become.  We just witnessed this senseless action again this week in Oregon.  Saslow, Kaplan & Hoyt (2015) wrote “Thursday’s rampage was the latest in a series of mass shootings that have produced national revulsion, even as they have left Republicans and Democrats divided over whether such violence should lead to stricter gun laws” (para. 19).  Whether or not this launches debate on a larger scale remains to be seen.  However having a plan in place for such a chaotic event is important in an effort to save lives.  ERAU also has a plan in place for hurricanes.  We have various mechanisms in place to prepare us in case of such an event.  The effect of hurricanes can be disastrous but can they can be mitigated by being prepared.  In the past, we didn’t have the advanced technology we have today to warn us of these events.  It was up to community leaders and emergency services to determine how to respond.  Being proactive, especially for a leader is paramount.  There is so much uncertainty in the world but if we consider events that we might be face in the future, we can put processes in place in the present in order to be prepared.  

Here are five ways Cynefin’s Framework can improve decision making:

• Can be applied to many different life experiences.
• Provides contextual problem solving guidelines.
• Can be applied to policy making
• Establishes the connection between decisions and observational patterns which may influence outcomes.
• Allows leaders to be consider the complexity of decision making and the process of working through problems. 

Saslow, E., Kaplan, S., & Hoyt, J. (2015). Oregon shooter said to have singled out Christians for killing in ‘horrific act of cowardice’. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/10/02/oregon-shooter-said-to-have-singled-out-christians-for-killing-in-horrific-act-of-cowardice/  

 Snowden, D., & Boone, M. (2007). A Leader's Framework for Decision Making. Harvard Business Review, 66-76.