the four-leaf clover

Week One:

            My second session of summer school started this week and I’ll be in class again, twice a week, 4 hours a night, for 5 weeks. I must say I was not looking forward to it, however now that this first full week is over, I’m intrigued. I told the class, as they’ve heard in courses before, that I’m a sponge. Currently I work in the VCU School of Dentistry in the research department. I serve as a lab manager and administrative assistant for numerous labs, and also for those who work in them. I’ve also explained that this is not my ultimate goal as far as a career, but a stepping stone. I hope to use the HRD skills I’ve learned and still are learning, and continue to apply them in the university setting, but possibly in student services, program development or student admissions/counseling.

            This week we were given the opportunity to take self-assessment and personality tests. I’ve taken the Meyers-Briggs test before, but it’s been something I’ve taken and not really thought about or applied afterwards. This time was different. Not only did we take the test, but we really used it as a great take-away experience. I learned that using the MB type indicator and acknowledging the different types within people, can help relationships in the workplace. This started the wheels turning. I began thinking about all the different individuals and personality types I face on a day to day basis. How are my relationships with these individuals? Could they be better? How can I strengthen these relationships? Lastly, what is their type?

            The person who stuck out in my mind most was my supervisor. It was pretty apparent from the first interview that our personalities were different – in some cases extreme. I’m an ENFJ: extrovert, intuition, feeling and judging. My boss, I believe, is an INTJ. He is definitely a blatant I – introvert, and he’s a very deep, analytical thinker. It then clicked that most of the people I’m surrounded with are introverts, but this also makes sense – they are researchers. Most of their days are spent reading and gathering data, either by experiments, reading articles or journals, and writing grants. The thought of this however, for me, sounds terrible. However, our relationships work, as far as I can tell. Being aware and knowing his style can only help build on that relationship.

            It was also very rewarding and inspiring to hear Dr. Damico say that I’ll fit perfectly into my career goal with the qualities, styles and traits that make me who I am. I think throughout this course, the advice, class discussions, take-aways, and constant feedback will allow for a very productive course. It’s a great feeling to be able to relate to classmates and feed off each others unique knowledge. I look forward to the next 4 weeks!

Theory X: In this theory, which many managers practice, management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can.

Theory Y: In this theory, management assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated and exercise self-control.

            In my workplace, which right now I’m focusing on my department, I have my supervisor, the department chair, as well as 4 faculty members who run their own labs. Technically, I work for all of them and they function as lab managers, but I only specifically answer to my supervisor. Okay, back to relating my managers to the theories. I would argue that my supervisor very much so has a Theory Y approach towards myself and his staff. He is not the best leader when it comes to running a department, but let’s us do what we need to do and doesn’t question our decisions.

            I sometimes think he demonstrates too much of a Theory Y approach. He trusts that everyone is self-directed enough to meet their work objectives and are also committed to these objectives; however, when he knows one person isn’t, instead of confronting them, he doesn’t change his behavior. He basically ignores the issue. I also think that instead of the staff seeking responsibility, as the theory states, they take advantage of it.

            My work environment is very separated, because having numerous labs, they all function as their own unit. I have one Personal Investigator with a lab of 18 masters’ students, post-doctorate students and research scholars who is so much of a Theory X person it’s not even funny. I actually had her lab technician come to me today in tears – I’m working on my mentoring/active listening skills at work. By demonstrating a Theory X approach with her lab people, she’s ultimately going to force them away. She thinks that her people don’t like being in the lab and are “goofing off” most of the time. She also doesn’t care about the overall goal of the department and functions alone. Whenever there is an issue, everyone knows who was at the start of it.

            I think these theories of X and Y are very interesting and I can also see how people may exude qualities of both. Theory X is the negative and Theory Y is the positive. I think managers/staff/employees/students/administrative assistants can all show qualities of both. I also think it’s natural for some employees to get in a mode where they really are just showing up to work for a paycheck. I also think this is an opportunity to look for ways to make your job duties or objectives more exciting, or possibly to look for another job option.

            What I enjoyed about this week was learning about some history and theories about HRD. I’m no expert, that’s for sure, but I’m ready to learn all that I can and take it with me as much as possible now and in my future career.

Week Three:

            “You start to do the job before you get the job.” This phrase stuck in my head this week, and I found myself contemplating how I could accomplish this. As I’ve said before, I would like to continue working in the University setting, specifically in student services, admissions, program development or career counseling. So I started thinking, what can I do now before I get a job like this?

            Well, I currently am in a position where I can have a lot of influence and interaction with faculty and students. Working in the research department in the School of Dentistry is actually quite eye opening. Almost every semester we get new students, either coming through a lab to do their PhD’s, masters, or just simply to get lab experience. It’s easy to form relationships with these students and I’ve noticed more recently that they will come to me for advice about the department, our department chair, or just the School of Dentistry in general. It makes me feel appreciated and it’s my passion.

            Doing the job before I get the job also reminds me of experiences I had during my undergraduate time here at VCU. I was asked to be a student advisor in The School of Mass Communications, which gave me great knowledge and the love of working with students. I not only gave them advice on courses to take, but also provided some examples of other classes to take to fill in electives, or what professors I had taken classes from that worked well for me. I tried to give the students all that I could – in essence, I was doing the job before I got the job.

            This week Dr. Damico gave us another great take-away, the TCL model. TCL stands for Trainer/Coach/Leader. This model is all about gaining commitment and working with employers/employees to be the best that they can in the workplace. The key strategies of encouraging, mentoring, confronting and conducting difficult conversations are all roles we will have to play at some point in our careers. As of right now in my current position, I think I play the role of encouraging and mentoring most. I’ve realized that being an administrative assistant, plus managing labs, I hear everything. Since the department doesn’t have a strong leader in place, I guess it means that I’m the next best person in line. I have to encourage the students and staff to be patient with day to day activities because changes are going to happen with the changes in leadership. I’ve had to mentor one of the lab technicians on numerous occasions because she’s not happy with her work environment but doesn’t want to confront her supervisor. As I said, I hear it all.

            What I find difficult and need to work on is offering up solutions too quickly. For example, when the lab tech. came to me and I was consoling and mentoring her, I wanted to give her solutions. I wanted to tell her what she should do and how I would handle her situation, but didn’t. It’s not easy though, but making them figure out their own solutions and ways of handling things makes it better for the individual.

            The last concept we learned that sticks out for me was active listening. Active listening builds trust. I’ve always thought of myself as a good listener, and I guess I was proven right after volunteering this past class to demonstrate my skills.

Week 4:

            It’s hard to believe that our fourth week of class has come and gone. I’m in the process of finishing up my paper and final project, constantly contemplating Theory X and Y and what we’ve learned about HRD. This week also provided great take-aways. For one, we were able to look at an actual case study of Dr. Damico’s. It described basic information on the person he was mentoring/consulting, and also the issues this person was having within the organization. After hearing the final result, how this person eventually was fired, it was clear that no matter how hard we try to work with a person, sometimes we fail.

            This can be very frustrating. I personally feel responsible when someone I’m mentoring or simply given advice to ends up unsuccessful. However, in this case, this individual never really accepted the fact that he had something to work on. You can’t change something you refuse to acknowledge, because the issue will remain a wall that just won’t break down.

            I started thinking about the mentoring situation I have a work currently. One of my lab technicians is having many issues with her supervisor, one of my Personal Investigators, and her fellow lab partners. Since the PI isn’t at work much and when she is, she doesn’t communicate well, this lab tech. is basically left to run the lab, which consists of 18 people. All my other labs have 5-8 people total… this gives some idea of how out of control this lab actually is. Basically, I have mentored her over the past few months and it started with a few venting session which have now turned into some tears. After, hopefully, giving her some good active listening skills, she has told me some solutions she would like to take to change her situation. I agree with everything she knows she needs to do, however, she isn’t following through with her own suggestions. It’s very frustrating because the venting still goes on and the tears still fall and with new people arriving in the lab the issues get bigger and bigger. How do I continue to coach or mentor a person in a situation like this? I want to help, but have to be aware of my situation and crossing lines. This is still a work in progress, so we’ll see how it eventually pans out.

            Another great take away this week was the interviews with Dick Leatherman, Marvin Weisbord and, of course, my father. All three of these individuals were very inspirational and it’s comforting to see how successful they all are in this field. Each one of them was different, and clearly takes a different approach regarding human resource development, organizational development, and teaching/facilitation.

            I started thinking after class on Thursday how it must have been being a student in Dr. Leatherman’s class. He was, for lack of better words, intense. I appreciated his enthusiasm and love for his job and that alone would make a class like his intriguing. Weisbord is another individual who clearly shows passion in the world of organizational development. He is the creator of Future Search, an effective organizational change strategy. In Change Strategies last semester, we used his concept of Future Search and were really able to see how one of these conferences came together. What I find so beneficial about Future Search is someone can use it in a conference of 20-200 plus people. Ultimately, it can be used in any organization or department worldwide.

            Lastly, it was a great take-away to interview my father, who has been in the human resources field for almost 30 years. It was not only easy to talk to him about what he does, but it’s amazing that he’s been doing this for so long. It wasn’t until I started this program, and realized my passion, did I take interest in what his career was. Since he’s been in the field for this amount of time, he’s really been able to utilize many aspects of human resource development, including training and consulting. An inspirational quote I took from my father was, “It’s important to create passion in the work environment and empower associates to drive change; and always have fun at what you do, or why would you come to work.” I have a great mentor, and am lucky I’ll have him guiding me throughout my HRD career.

Week 5:

            It’s amazing these five weeks are coming to an end. This HRD overview course truly provided information and take aways that have given me a good grasp on what it’s all about. I’m going to wrap up my reflection on the course before the final presentations; however, I must say that one of the best aspects to these 5 weeks was learning from my classmates. It’s remarkable how much I learn from them all. I know some of us in the program, myself included, are still not 100% sure what we want to do when we finish our coursework. I know the general area of interest, but many aspects of working in a university appeal to me.  

          I feel confident that my active listening skills have strengthened after this course, that my coaching, mentoring and leadership abilities are stronger, and that my overall knowledge of HRD has grown. It’s pretty fascinating how much a person can learn in only 5 weeks, but I think I can speak for everyone in this course when I say that we’re taking away a lot more now than we thought we would. Through this last week of class, I hope to learn even more about HRD through the interviews we all conducted. I know Dr. Damico will share more personal insight and advice that I will remember when I’m finally out in the HRD world.

         There may be a little more reflection to come these last few days of 620, but if not, I’d just like to say again that this course has been extremely helpful, insightful and rewarding. I’m already looking for ways to use these tools I’ve learned and hopefully share them with others!

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