Dyadic exercise - you should now call
your partner
Use your skills of mindful empathic listening, attending from the perspective of
your compassionate self-identity. Please take turns answering questions, per the
instructions, elaborate on your responses, and allow time for further discussion.
If you do not feel comfortable sharing specific details about yourself or any
conversation topic, that is very much OK, in such case, just respond to the
questions in more general terms.
1. Describe- What was it like to engage in discussion last week? What
stood out in particular? How has it influenced your week?
Engaging in conversation n last week was engaging as usual. I can see a
shift in my partners perspective, possibly growth from utilizing
mindfulness skills. It reminded me to be mindful whilst interacting with
others.
2. What was it like for you to share your insights and perspectives with
someone else over the past week? What was it like for them to
receive your wisdom?
It’s always a learning experience to give and receive insight.
Please switch roles, repeat process, then move on to the question below
3. Overcoming a differentiation storm - Sharing a success story: Share
about a group at work or at your personal life (e.g. a work team, a
sports team, or class, or any other group), a group you belong/ed to,
or that you had observed for a while, which dealt with some
complexity around differentiation of members, with difficult
storming, but ultimately became productive through positive linkage
and integration, resulting in good performance (ideally you’d share a
personal experience, but if none comes to mind, you may share an
example related to the world around you).
I was involved in a group where one particular member would constantly
overstep and complete tasks without consulting the entire group. This
drew the ire of another group member as she felt it was disrespectful that
she did not consult with each member of the group, she also felt that this
particular team member would do the easiest parts and leave the
remainder of the group with the hard work.
Eventually my disgruntled teammate approached me in regard to her
issue. I suggested that we hold a group meeting in order to voice our
concerns being that a group member felt slighted.
We engaged in conversation and provided context as to why we’d all like
to be involved in every group decision and we’d like to have the work
distributed in a fair manner.
This conversation allowed members to not only air their grievances, but
also come to understandings and terms as to how we were going to
proceed in the future.
- What were some of the group’s difficulty with members expressing their
differentiated positions? Was there friction in the early stages? What did
the storming look like?
Initially the member with the grievance did not want to speak up after a few
private conversations and encouragement that speaking her mind would be
conducive to the development of the group. The above noted friction.
The storming went well. Once we delved into all of the questions and concerns
we were able to move forward as a group.
- How did that initial friction impact individual group members, and the
group as a whole?
Only one person in the group was irritated by the situation. However, we had to
handle it prior to it getting out of hand.
- What do you believe were the top 3 reasons (or more) for the group’s
initial difficulty with the process of differentiating members’ voices and
positions?
Lack of communication, fear of disturbing the peace, complacency.
- Did this group have a distinct leader, or several people in leadership
roles? How did they help or interfere in the process of the group sorting its
difficulties with healthy differentiation and storming?
Everyone held a certain level of expertise and leadership skills. Based upon our
common goals, difficulties were easy to sort out.
- How did the group ultimately resolve its difficulties? Where did the group
get the strength and wisdom to do so? What were some of the outcomes of
the group’s ability to productively link and integrate towards better
performance?
Via conducive mature conversation. I was asked my advice as to how to handle
the situation. We were able to complete the task at hand and successfully
complete the project.
- If you consider this group’s process from the position of a
transformational leader, who is rooted in their compassionate-self identity
(e.g. strong, grounded, wise, motivated for care), what advice would you
offer the group as a whole in its early stages? If you were the group’s leader,
how would you handle this situation, so that the group would link better
(or faster), to arrive at an even higher (or quicker) level of overall system
integration and performance?
I advised the disgruntled group member that we should set up a group meeting
and have a conducive conversation in order to correct the issue that arose.
Please switch roles, repeat process, then move on to the question below
4. What makes a team “tick” – You are invited to share your impressions
on what elements or dimensions in particular you consider helpful
and meaningful to a group’s capacity for integrated high performance
teamwork outcomes. Share your insights from the perspective of
your transformation oriented compassionate leader identity.
They communicate openly with each other, sharing their thoughts,
opinions and ideas with members of their team; as well as taking into
consideration what others have to say. Communication is essential for
keeping track of progress and working together efficiently on tasks. Poor
communication can lead to crossed wires, that can mean work is left
incomplete/incorrect or conflicts can arise.
They focus on goals and results. They agree on and set team goals based
on outcomes and results, rather than just on the amount of work being done.
Each member of the team contributes their fair share of the workload and fully
understand what their responsibilities are and where they fit in.
Everyone is unique and will be able to offer their own experiences and knowledge that
others may not possess. Diversity is needed so that all of the required skills are covered
by somebody in the team and each individual can be assigned a particular role on the
basis of their strengths and skills.
A strong leader
Good organization.
- What are the qualities you imagine needed from individual group
members in order to support their work team at performing at high levels?
Good organization, supportive, communication, goal and result oriented.
- How would these qualities influence the group’s individual members, and
the team as a whole?
If every member of the group holds these values or some facsimile of these
values, then the group will be able to function as a whole.
- How could the group support its members in cultivating the qualities you
described above?
Via communication and holding their own amongst the group.
- If/when a particular team member encounters a challenging life situation,
which creates suffering for them, what do you think the role of the group
should be in this situation?
The group should offer support and pick up the slack for that group member
until they are able to balance again.
- In reflecting on the role of the team leader, what are the core skills and
qualities that you imagine this leader demonstrating in order to best serve
the group in achieving high levels of integrated performance?
Honesty and integrity, inspire others, commitment and passion, good communicator, decision-making
capabilities, accountability, delegation and empowerment, creativity and Innovation.
- In reflecting on the norming process, and group norms, do you believe
there are norms and group rules that would be particularly important to
put in place? What might those be? Should they be initiated and enforced
by the leader alone, by the group, or a little bit of both?
Communication, Goal setting, honesty and integrity. They should be initiated by
the group leader and reinforced via the group members as social norms.
Please switch roles, repeat process, then move on to the question below
5. Group Flow- A specific case of integrated, high performance teamwork was
described in this module as “group flow”. This can be understood as a
process of elite teamwork functioning, where members are absorbed in
seamless alliance, feel like they are “in the zone”, and operate together
almost as if their minds are synchronously connected in the process of
collaborating on a particular task, towards the (seemingly) effortless
production of extremely high-level outcomes.
6.
- Building on all that has been discussed here you are invited to add a few
more thoughts about how you believe group flow might be obtained. Have
you experienced it yourself at any point? If you were to help others arrive
there through transformational leadership and compassion, how would
you do so? There are no bad answers here, just try to offer some new
creative ideas and reflections, that can enrich this discussion further.
Group flow is obtained via positive communication, goal setting and focusing on
attaining those goals and results.
Please switch roles, repeat process, then move on to the question below
6. How has this week's module influenced your opinions about the practice of
leadership, and concretely, how would this module influence the ways in
which you will handle possible conflict, collaborate with your team, and
lead others or yourself over this coming week? You may relate your
response to your personal or professional life, or both. Share specific
examples, and prepare to further reflect and share on your progress on
these domains next week.
By focusing on collaborative problem-solving and decision-making teams can flow
in a more organized manner. Opposed to being stuck in your own ways, the leader
should be able to let go of their old ideas and allow the group collectively decide
what to do. This allows the group to consider the problem, decide what to do, and
count on the leader to help them direct their effort.
Please switch roles, repeat process, then move on to the question below