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Week 7, CPS session
In my opinion, one of the critical factors for successful CPS session is make sure that all members are knows that idea is not a solution, and what they must do here. By “know what they have to do here” I mean members must understand their roles and responsibilities on that roles. If you are facilitator you must only facilitate and assist your group in generating ideas but – NOT TO GENARATE IT by yourself, you are only supporter here, a guide, who helps a team if they are stuck on something and make sure that the team still thinking on a problem in boarders of set situation. Boarders of set situation means that team members have not simply generate, how they think “creative ideas” but generate ideas which stick directly to the problem what they are working on.
When I was in resource team, I was trying to follow all guidance of facilitator and be focused only on my part of job. I was trying to keep in my mind the problem statement all the time, so I could stay on track of main idea of CPS process which is – find an appropriate solution for … whatever it is. Think it is essential for a team to make a good CPS session to know the difference between core ideas and purpose of CPS and regular tools brainstorming.
Well, I was good to understand that even though I find myself very creative and out box thinker, working in a group would bring much more impact in reaching a proper solution if I was working only by myself. There are couple reasons for that:
1) I can not know everything in the world! So, others’ even small knowledge in a field which is not familiar to me may be additional and bring insight to problem resolving. In different words we have a bigger knowledge base what give us opportunity to look on problem from bigger angles.
2) Working in a group it is much quicker to end up with a proper solution.
During work in group CPS session, I also realized that I need to work on my trust to other and stop trying to do everything by myself only. Doing so, I will increase my future chance for success on a Project Manager position and, as I hope so, in future business. I really need to start learning how believe in others and stop thinking that they are going to fail and destroy everything what is matter…
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Week 6, Ideas, ideas, ideas
In general, if brainstorming session organized correct it would be a very powerful tool. It is true that sometimes, quantity can overwhelm quality. In my opinion, something same happens during brainstorming session. Just in five minutes you can come up with at least fifty absolutely different ideas. Is it possible to reach the same amount just by sitting with team at table and simply generating and discussing ideas one by one? Of course, no! You will stuck and drown in judgment swamp while during brainstorming session you throwing away your judgment part away and can suggest anything what came to your mind without any fear that it could be very crazy, very difficult, not relating to the topic, because Daniel or someone else does not like pancakes with berry (if topic about creating new option for breakfast dishes on your gas station). And this is another benefit of brainstorming session, it is freedom in expression yourself and your ideas. People does not need to worry about that they could say something wrong or stupid and that is how this tool destroy one of the “blocking walls of creativity” – fear! If that wall is broken, members of your team will be more relaxed, consequently, more creative and productive. Thus, your brainstorming session would be more efficient and meaningful for your work.
Personally I, after practicing brainstorming during class I realized that, if you want to reach maximum productivity from brainstorming sessions, you must know and realize that it must be right, and more important, prepared people to participate. Even one “wrong” session member may destroy or impact negatively on the result of that session or on other members during it. For example, just start assessing ideas before the session has ended.
The place, must be chosen correctly as well. The place must satisfy all members, and tend them to feel comfortable and relaxed, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to get in the flow.
As a future Project Manager, and knowing this rule of effective brainstorming sessions, I will prepare and manage meeting with my team more efficient, so we would have much bigger output. Good output always motivates people what will be beneficial of us in future – it is like a snowball.
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Week 4 Mindmapping
I found mind mapping ultimately useful tool for me. Comparing with any other data visualization tools, such as bucket list or charts, to-do-lists, mind map has a magnificent feature to catch all details “in one cup”. In other words, when you put all your ideas on mind map you will be able to see the whole picture whether it a situations, idea, problem or dream. Everything will be there. Furthermore, when all cards on the table you can create new and creative through building connection between branches. Sometimes the result can be unbelievable! You never can know what sick and crazy idea can occurs when you are matching together things which you thought couldn’t be connected before. Like tiers and flower smell.
I have been using mind mapping since professor Peter introduced it to us. I’m using it for making notes in my studies, I’m using it to empower my ideas and picture of my business ideas which I want to implement in future.
In education it helps you to catch everything on one page, and what is more important catch the core idea of topic and splitting from things which are not necessary. I prepared mind maps for every midterm exam this year what helped me to prepare myself for an exam in much shorten time and more efficiently.
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Week 3, Creative skills and attitudes
1. What are your three creative blocks?
Due to my personal inside feeling, I think it is:
1) Fear – it is true, that even though I know what I’m creative person, I feel fear – fear of failure, fear to start, fear “what other people will think?”. Yeah, that feelings are close friends of creativity killer.
2) Self-doubt and negative self-talk – the worst feeling ever. Very close to me. I usually think twice (in fact much more) “how it may look for others? Oh, they probably will not like it, I need to work on it more and more and more!” or “are you not good enough Roman to do this job great, you do not have enough knowledge / experience / expertise”.
3) Lack of motivation – the most often feeling for me, and because of I am too lazy, but opposite, people see that I can do a creative thing and do it really good, so they put it on me in future! If any problem occurs they just simply saying “Oh Roman is creative, so let him to fix it now” and they demand form me give them really good solution right here and rights now, as if it some kind of simple finger trick what u can do in one second and at any time. It is really demotivating for me, so even in 50% cases I’m trying to avoid showing my creative part.
2. In what ways did you determine that you could break through these blocks?
The best way, to break through your fears is simply face them. Firstly, accept it and understand that it is totally ok to be afraid, it is a common human sense. Secondary, just do the first step, do it no matter what. If it hard to do it anyway, the fear ties you so hard, that it seems like you can not even to move, then just jump into it, without any thinking!
3. For your one block selected what did you actually do to bust the block? Were you successful? If so why? If not, why not?
I decided to try to deal with problem number 2. During my work on ITP or during creativity sessions in class, I’ve tried to avoid any judgment of myself and come up with any crazy idea as I could. As a result, during one of creativity session, my team ended up with my idea (which is really dark) to run funeral ceremony for pets. That was awesome :D
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Creativity course. Week 1(2)
I believe that my creative inclination may be a lot of different things, however, according to my observation of myself the most triggering for me is a music. It happens pretty often when I’m listening music some good and unusual ideas come to my mind. In my case, it occurs neither just idea, like a sentence, but like a short videos or movies – I see it as pictures in action with some kind of plot, and that plot goes around my idea. At the begging it feels like 10 second video, then I keep adding some details, like changing the place of a scene, put some new characters in a process, making dialogs and so on. When the job is done, I have a look on it again. If I won’t like it, I would start it again, and every single time when I start it again, my movie becomes better and better, from my point of view of course. Despite that music can trigger left part on my brain for creations, there are two conditions which must be met. About first one I knew very long time, it is a music type, it’s tens and rhythm. As I said before, I see movies where the music what I currently listening is a sound track to it. That means I see what is suitable to the soundtrack. I can’t create an action picture while listening to a calm classic music, I mean, physically I can, but without getting in the “flow”, where it all comes from my imagination like a waterfall, the pictures won’t be so bright, so real, so natural. Second one I mentioned after this week after observation of myself in new conditions. For better effect I need to listen music with some monotones or routine actions, such as sitting in the bus where pictures outside changing while we ride.
Back to the new conditions what I mentioned above. Whole past week I was trying to bring something new through music, so I started experimenting, with a different styles and genres of music and things what I never or rarely done before. In the end, I combined music genres what I didn’t listen until now, and cooking (I’ve never been cooking before). In my opinion, looking from behind, the process was looking impressive. I simply turned random music or even combinations and start thinking what I can do with ingredients what I bought… In spite I didn’t know how to cook and to start from so I decided to act in the same way what we were doing during the previous class – I put everything on a pen and see what would be after. That’s how I made my first steps in cooking. I ended up with knowledge that it is not the best idea frying eggs with bread and baby spinach at the same time or it is better to fry mushrooms before onion when making sauce for pasta.
After that test I understand a couple of things:
First – I found that I like Hip-Hop Juzz combination! :D
Second – even though you can feel fear or be disoriented when trying to do absolutely new for try to keep in mind that there is nothing to be afraid off! Even if you would make a mistake or result may be less then you expect you always can try again but next time with a little bit more experience. And the most important, that process might be very funny and enjoyable time spending.
In the end I would like to add – If you afraid to make a first step then jump!!!
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Week 6
After first meeting and interview with Neil, I went much deep in believe how important to try to look on a situation as a whole. How important and useful it could be if I try to see the situation from different angles and perspective, and if to weed out things which is not important, how it might help to classify the core issue.
During our preparation for interview with Neil, I’ve learned that it is necessary to know strong points and what kind of skills have your team mates. For instance, in our case, we found out that Jess and Lynda has good interviewing skills – they can ask good additional questions during the process and it worked! We had a great interview and received a lot of information from Neil. It was a great experience for me.
Three things what I learned during this exercise what can improve team performing are but which weren’t implemented from the begging:
1. Cooperation
2. Communication skills
3. Patience
Probably, in group of future leaders, the last thing - patience will be the most important skill which I will definitely try to bring to a new group in next exercise as same as better cooperation and good communication skills to avoid previous mistakes.
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Week 5
Thinking about advantages and disadvantages using the template I came up with thought that advantages of template may be that working with the template and following its order, you can identify a situation what is going on more accurate. Collecting facts and then determine a leadership issue can give you clear picture of what happening and where the problem is. Consequently, you will be much more efficient in problem solving due the problem is fully specified. However, in my opinion, here also hiding its disadvantage. If you make mistakes or your facts and core leadership issue are incorrect, it is a high probability that you would be misled with wrong situation analysis and in a result, your solution won’t aim the problem and problem won’t be resolved or even make it worse.
I think that described previously disadvantage of the template is also its biggest challenge because it may grow a big confusion in user. For me, working with a template was so hard to overwhelm my doubt about case analysis “are my facts correct? Are my infers right? Am I going by right way with identifying issue?” and so on.
How helpful can be the template, you can see from it's advantages. However, the template can help you not only in clarifying core issues and see the whole picture but also give you opportunity to establish an action plan which would be the in particular situations and would target directly the problem.
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Week 4
In my opinion, “Vision and strategy” and “Creative Leadership” ideas suit me the most. But why I think so?
1. “Creative Leadership”. I have a gut feeling that I’m a very creative person, plus, it also was being proved by my group mates in two different project groups during our work on projects. I’ve mentioned that in situations when group staked on somethings I was able to suggest quickly some new and fresh ideas which in a result:
a) Was used in project in future;
b) These fresh and not typical suggestions were some kind of “push” for my mates. By push I mean, it was something encouraging, they caught up these ideas and started developing them or basing on that ideas they suggested their new ones. Sometimes it was like a new breath or look on a same thing but from different angle and it had a huge impact on a team and on a project progress.
2. “Vision and strategy”, according to Gallup’s test and my observations - this is my strength and I feel passion to it. I’m pragmatic and strategic person who always could imagine future in clear details, so I can give a form to a global vision and lead the way to our goals. I believe, that in future it helps me the most in managing my team in the best performance way.
At the same time “Virtual leadership”, this idea seems to me pretty confusing. For instance, on HR class we were thought that biggest problem of virtual teams is a lack of trust between members, while, one of the best tools to create group identity is to use the same working place for a whole team. Following this, I’m not really understand how I can manage and develop my team remotely.
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Week 3
When I was promoted to a Channel Sales Manager into Ukrainian ASUS Sales Department I got in team of five. At that time in the situation of small marketing budget and super aggressive competes and market in general, the team was showing impressive results for the past 3 years. Market share of ASUS Company on Ukrainian market increased from 16% to 25%. From my observation, it was possible only because of the trust between all team members and natural synergy where everyone truly loves their job. By trust, I mean that everyone knew that they can expect for a support from other members in any time in any situation. For instance, knowing that your mates will secure you if needed, give you opportunities to provide a highly optimistic forecast on year to year basis and shrinking time in making a decision during negotiations with partners through aggressive deals.
Unfortunately, I think I didn’t make a big contribution in team development because at that time the team was already solid, so I simply tried to become a part of the team by following rules and “the traditions” of the Department.
If I would have a chance to back in time and have an opportunity to change something it the team to improve their performance, I would change not team’s approach but work approach of their superiors (CPM). Sometimes, they just refuse to listen to sales manager’s arguments during making strategic decisions consequently it was leading to unsatisfied results in quarters.
In my opinion, that lack of communications is a core of the reason why company’s result started to fall down nowadays and I definitely won’t make the same mistake on a future position of Project Manager.
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Week 2
Today Peter showed to us one of life and working concept which I've never heard about. The main point of it is to focus only on our strength and just ignore, if it is possible, our weaknesses. And here where I was confused the most - by strength it means not what we can do the best but what we enjoy to do the most, what is driving us every time, when we do it even if the result of that work can be not successful, while, by weaknesses it means what we hate to do, what makes us downcast or makes feel burned. It was so fresh to me, I even would say surprising. All the time until now, I’ve heard opposite “Find what you are good in, then develop it and you will reach the top” people said. And I was believed in that. But now, Peter’s concept suggested to develop only strength and to not afraid my weaknesses, because I simply can always find someone who is better than me in things in which I’m bad and vice versa for him. In the end knowing and using our (mine and my team members) strong and weak sides we can build a great team, it is like puzzle. So, using that concept we started to find our strength in class and tried to compare it with our strength in Gallup test. As a result, my strength assessed in class creativity, competing, reputation, when in Gallup test I had competition, strategic, relator significance and futuristic, what is really close. We also created credo. I was so delighted with mine - “Having a passion for the win as a sword in my right hand and having creativity as a shield in my left hand I will break through all challenges. I am a masterpiece.”. I think that this credo absolutely describes me, my values and my believes. I decided to print it on a paper and put it on a wall in my room, so every morning when I get up I will see my credo and it will remind me what I want to achieve in this life.
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Week 1
I have a work experience as a Call Center Supervisor in ASUS Reprehensive Office in Ukraine, where I had 4 subordinates. My responsibilities were to control their work, split the workload between them when it needed and assist in complicated cases. I find that experience very useful for me, it gave me a basic knowledge of leadership, plus, it gave me the understanding of how crucial respectful and friendly relationships among team are. The position of CC Supervisor taught me two simple things. At first, there are a lot of different working environments, different teams and different people who work in that teams, consequently, if I want to reach successes in leadership working with lots of different teams, I must be flexible in my leadership and behavior strategies. Second, a leader must build good/perfect (if possible) relationships not only between him and his subordinates but between of all team members. In my opinion, it is critical to understand and accept the fact that even small fights between team members could put your project into a grave.
In my opinion, in the present moment my strength, as a leader, are good people analyzing skills. As I said before, I was a Supervisor CC, so these skills helped me to developed and implemented personal weekly and monthly KPI (Key Performance Indicators) metrics for each member of CC team. When new KPI passed trial period, the result of the whole CC department has increased to its max - 100 points.
In the future, I want to train and expanded in me high-level verbal skills which, I believe, will make me a leader who other people will want to be followed by.
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