Peer respond to your classmate post below:

"What are your thoughts about the Charlene Li video: " Giving Up Control"? What did you learn from this talk?

In her video "Giving Up Control," Charlene Li (2014) presents a powerful perspective on open communication. The Navy's example was impactful to me. As a former military member, I related her discussion on sharing knowledge. In the military, teamwork is essential for success. By having a group effort in collaboration, any problems are much easier to solve. There are people from all different types of backgrounds, which is great to get many different viewpoints. I have learned from this video that it is better to share the knowledge we know than to hoard it. By hoarding knowledge, we are not being supportive to those around us.

How can a Control leader/manager also empower and engage the team members?

A leader/manager can empower and engage the team members by making sure everyone is involved. An example of this would be to hold morning meetings, explain what their goals are for the day and try to ask the members for any input. Quinn et al. (2015), introduces preventative strategies which promote positive behavior by taking away the option to do a negative behavior.

Provide an example of when you used or witnessed a Control approach in your organization. What was the situation, and what was the outcome? How did the team respond to the use of Control in this situation?

An example of a control approach in my organization would be when the leader got the dates wrong for an outgoing shipment. This mistake had to move up our timeline by 3 weeks. Instead of being able to move at a regular pace, we had to now rush to get everything done in time. All the members had to be put on 12 hour shifts immediately, including weekends. The team did not respond well to this situation. Everyone was angry and upset, because the leader who made the mistake isn't the one working outside in the conditions. The members are reprimanded when there are even minor mistakes, yet this individual made a huge mistake and did not get reprimanded.

What paradox did you find in this quadrant?

One paradox that I found in this quadrant is the use of planning tools. Quinn et al. (2015) explains how doing a search for project management apps will reveal many situations. This could be overwhelming for new leaders. The reason for that is because by having to o many solutions, they will be unsure which one to choose. As well as not understanding if the certain solution pertains to what they are trying to plan.

References

Li, C. (2014, September). Efficient leadership in the Digital Era. Charlene Li: Efficient leadership in the digital era | TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/charlene_li_efficient_leadership_in_the_digital_era?subtitle=en

Quinn, R. E., Bright, D. S., McGrath, M. R., Thompson, M. P., & Faerman, S. R. (2015). Becoming a Master Manager a Competing Values Approach. Wiley."

- Jessica