This is a reflection of lessons learnt during the Middle management and Leadership course at MIT. Middle management and leadership reflective journal. – Bjorn van Eunen Taught by Kate Slattery \ 21 March 2012 I missed the actual class but caught up with the readings after discussing with 2 fellow class amtes about what happened. So I was told that the first lesson started the students on thinking about what a good leader is and what qualities make a good leader. The readings were about differing styles of leadership/ the different people that employed such techniques and partly reasons or the ideas behind that choise of technique. 4 April 2012 The question– Can you be a good leader if no one follows? My answer to that was YES, it is possible to be a good leader if no one follows. The reasoning behind this answer was if the desired outcome was achieved you would therefore be an effective leader. However the problem with that is it would all depend on which side of the coin you were looking at it from. As a management perspective yes, if you were however looking at it through the eyes of the worker/employee/student/contractor/outsider the answer could just as easily be a resounding “NO”. Which brought me back to thinking about my earlier readings about styles of leadership and where I see myself now as a leader and where I see myself going in the future. I adopt a lead by example technique a lot of the time. I also try to inspire confidence in my students so that they become increasingly independant and willing to make decisions on their own 2 feet. As I see this as a major part in the profession that they are traing for. As well as purposefully making minor mistakes in order to fix them( demonstrate processes), I allow my students to make mistakes as I feel that is a very important learning and educational tool in the building industry. When you make a mistake it is your responsibility to fix the mistake. We also spoke about Pedagogy and androgogy and the meanings. Effective learning and teaching techniques. A quote from Kate Slattery – “Be part of the solution.” \ 21 March 2012 I missed the actual class but caught up with the readings after discussing with 2 fellow class amtes about what happened. So I was told that the first lesson started the students on thinking about what a good leader is and what qualities make a good leader. The readings were about differing styles of leadership/ the different people that employed such techniques and partly reasons or the ideas behind that choise of technique. 4 April 2012 The question– Can you be a good leader if no one follows? My answer to that was YES, it is possible to be a good leader if no one follows. The reasoning behind this answer was if the desired outcome was achieved you would therefore be an effective leader. However the problem with that is it would all depend on which side of the coin you were looking at it from. As a management perspective yes, if you were however looking at it through the eyes of the worker/employee/student/contractor/outsider the answer could just as easily be a resounding “NO”. Which brought me back to thinking about my earlier readings about styles of leadership and where I see myself now as a leader and where I see myself going in the future. I adopt a lead by example technique a lot of the time. I also try to inspire confidence in my students so that they become increasingly independant and willing to make decisions on their own 2 feet. As I see this as a major part in the profession that they are traing for. As well as purposefully making minor mistakes in order to fix them( demonstrate processes), I allow my students to make mistakes as I feel that is a very important learning and educational tool in the building industry. When you make a mistake it is your responsibility to fix the mistake. We also spoke about Pedagogy and androgogy and the meanings. Effective learning and teaching techniques. A quote from Kate Slattery – “Be part of the solution.” 2 May 2012 Speaker - Lee Taituha “People come first.” Lee is a very young manager here at MIT which opens him up to an interesting set of problems with staff. Also, Lee has entered the institution here while it is in a state of change that is affecting everybody no matter what the age or position. His previous experiences and jobs have led Lee to have what I think is a rather unique management style and techniques in dealing with his staff and leading them through conflict that arrises. “Manage people not processes” The methods used to resolve conflicts between coworkers should leave each person still with teir individual dignity intact as that allows them to feel like they have been listned to and that their opinions and values have been heard and understood therefore allowing them to continue with their work feeling valued and part of a team. Which is important in order to move on and grow as a team and an individual. Many people are after acknowledgement of their feelings – much conflict is due to emotion not fact. If you have problems with the way in which things/ areas are being managed then an option is to take the bull by the horn (so to speak) and step up to the management plate yourself. In this way you can personally attempt to implement changes that you think may be valuable to your department or area. It seems that Lee likened his leadership style to those of a soldier leading his battalion into battle – lead from the front showing courage and drive and you will be followd and respected. 16 May 2012 Speakers – Peter Quigg and Jaqui Downey During this session we were looking at finances and business cases. We were introduced to some acronyms to do with finances. 30 May 2012 Speaker - Stewart Middleton During this session we were introduced to Stewart Middleton. Stewart has been influential in many aspects relating to education development and research over a number of decades. He has been well published in a number of publications including now his own weekly EdtalkNZ. Some discussion that we had revolved around the education or lack there of for a growing number of students that we are getting through our gates. Part of the discussion revolved around having better trained teachers from primary school forward in order to better educate. Also a lack of resources leading in part to this issue. My personal beliefs here is that if the government took time and resources to better educate parents at the time of birth or the conception of their child that education starts at home and is vitally important in getting children to enjoy learning and not waiting till the child enters the school system. Start a pathway to learning that should continue. Part of the issue I see is that many family “mentors” or “role models” for children are 2nd or 3rd generation “Dole bludgers”(for want of a better phrase). Thus informing children at an early age that sitting around at home on a minimum income provided by the government is an acceptable way to live life with little or no effort required. I have reflected on this thought and use it in my teaching practise in order to “lead by example”. I do not think that you can expect someone to do something if you yourself are not willing to undertake the task. During this session Stewart also showed us the planned setout for the new Pacifica centre to be built here at MIT. He believed that this centre would help by getting the community entering our doors early on so as to make MIT more acssesible to a greter number of people in our community. 25 July 2012 Speaker - Tim Wilson Director Service Operations The session with Tim was quite interesting and inspiring. Part of the discussion was with how Tim implemented his plan to turn the Marine School around to a viable course to run for MIT at a satellite campus and how to start setting out and implementing a strategic plan. He informed us that there is funding available for growth and in order to secure this strategic plans should include how your plan will work and add value to the community at large. All of which I found interesting. > Strategic thinking = long term. Also required are “action plans” which detail the steps to achieve goals set. “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”. “Strrategy without and idea is just a DREAM”. We discussed - the development of the new technology park and how this will help or influence the changing aspirations of our community. - How to change the quality of life through generational/ community involvement - Bring a new cultural perception 15 August 2012 Speaker – Pip Ball Director People and culture/ HR Is there a difference between managers and leaders? -Leaders make people want to achieve - Managers are progress chasers. How to get people to contribute to ….. - Become involved/ stakeholders - Engagement - Give opportunities to – contribute/ innaovate/ master skills Pip asked us to think about what was more important in the relationship between speed and quality. I personally have thought about this question for much of my adult development and believe that one without the other would lead to issues and problems. In order to achieve the best results a balance between the two should be reached so to produce in a timely manner without compromising the quality of the final product whatever that may be. When setting goals they should be S.M.A.R.T - Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Realistic - Timely In order to get HIGH PERFORMANCE - Hire for the right fit - Create clarity between roles and objectives - Help managers create constructive feedback - Provide on-the-job learning opportunities - Remove barriers to effectiveness and impact. 29 August 2012 Speaker – Steven Hunt Steven gave the group a brief run down on the numerous jobs/ tasks he has been involved with recently including work on the amalgamation for “Auckland Super City”. So we were discussing methods of planning and implementing ideas in order to reach goals and outcomes within a given set of parameters such as time constraints or finances. Three things affected the outcomes of projects – Cost(resources, materials, plant etc..), Time( left to complte), and also Quality. In order to change one of these three something else has got to give. Within project management there are various roles - SPONSOR – Will authorise the project - Responsible manager - Project Manager – Runs project on a daily basis - Project team leader - Subject matter experts – they Know - Stakeholders. 19 September 2012 Deans panel discussion. Rewards and difficulties of leadership. - Achieving goals - Seeing outputs/success - Exploring new ideas - Outside acknowledgement of success - Opportunities for students Change Management - Change plan – structure/rolls/ work aspects - Communication - Hard stuff – staff values/ negative staff/ finance - Performance management - Roll confusion - Budget - Stress – discussion/ staff help/ trust colleagues SPEAK IF YOU CAN IMPROVE ON THE SILENCE. Leaders – Honesty/ loyal/ willing to try/ work as a team/ trust/ passion/ creativity/ visionaries/ role models. Nurturing Leadership – Safe environment/ create autonomy,opportunities and resources/ encourage outside roles. Just because you are in a leadership role does not automatically make you a leader. Don’t make promises you can not keep. Have a life outside of work.