Assignment Assignment Assignment

Assignment due date is just around the corner and here I am not started anythoing yet!!! Scarry!!!

Have I really learnt anything from these training? I certainly have!!! Have I used some of the technic on my work, I think so.

What is that one thing that is going to stay? I think it is the awareness and ability to realise that who I am what I stand for and the constant internal battle that I will have to tell myself to shut up and listen and to realise the danger of group thinking.

What the training has successfully planted in me is the ability to keep asking myself if I have been open minded with wll argument presented and have I created an open space for the differing view. It is not the same as saying I can do all these things now but what I feel that I have definitely understood is the importance of asking these questions until one day, all these acts become a habit of mine.

Lets hope that day will come soon.

How does one coach a 5 year old kid?

Just come back from holiday, really not ready to face the real working adult world!!

Can you coach a 5 year old like how you would coach an adult? How do you make him realise his mistake and shortcoming without resorting to scolding or cold bench?? Are they capable of doing that?

Could I use the same thing of encouragement, compliement and boost of confidence on a 5 year old like what I have done on an adult??

Last entry before I go for my holiday!!! Yes finally a long awaited and well deserved holiday or so I said!!!!

Coaching is a big responsibility. It is not a process where the coachee make the commitment and the coach has nothing to do. Rather the contrary, the coach has to constantly monitor, encourage or guide to steer the coachee to the right direction.

The hardest thing I found was to find the good point of someone. It is always easy to pinpoint a shortcoming as it is most glaring!!! It is however defficult to pinpoint if someone has done something well and it does take a bid of effort to sort out who has done the right thing when things go well. I believe encouragement is a lot more possitve than criticism when someone done something wrong so I am trying to encourage and give due recognition when someone done something right. This is more difficult than I think. I thought how hard could it be to give compliment but in actual fact it is not that easy to give an accurate compliment at the right time and act as a boost for the recipent!!

Well this is an art that I have to learn to master!!!

Do we really want to move?

A brand new office, brand new furniture. Exciting!! Yes and no.

We went to the new office, the parking is very far. constrcution workers are still sleeping on our floor, we are to use the lift together with construction worker when they carry their tools. The construction works are still going on at full speed. Construction workers are at the lobby carrying out work. Carpark lift is still not working and our office is dusty. Do we really want to move in now? Can we not do it? Does it amount to insubordination?

It feels great that we have actually made the appeal and delay the move until things are more settled down. True enough there could be repercussion but what is at stake is much higher, our safety and well being. It is amazing how everyone in the department develop the sense of belonging and camaraderie when there is a common goal to fight for. The best way to unite is probably finding a common enamy to fight against with.

You don't know what you dont know
You also don't know that you are mistaken
You thought you know but actually you really dont know

How and what make people realise the above? How do we reduce the chances of falling into the above situation? How do we make an early come back after falling into it? Humble? Patient? Open mindedness? How do we jump out of the boxes that we have built for ourselves which has served us well all this while? How do we concurred the fear that we will be living without guideline and principles if we are to be open about any argument? Are we really living without guideline and principle if we were to be open minded about what people said?

Are we playing with our heads and making life difficult for ourselves? Are we supposed to ask these questions? Can we not go where people are and just hide behind them? Is that what I would want? Could I live with myself if I do that?

He said yes!!

My potential coachee finally said yes. For the past few days my stomach has been having this butterfly. I am not sure if he would say yes and I also do not want to act too anxious about the whole thing. It is a great relief when he said yes to be my coachee.

Now the next thing is what to say in the coaching session. Remember to shut up, shut up and shut up. Listen, listen and more listening!!!

IT's a HIM then!!!

Ultimately, I chose M as I think the experience would probably be more rewarding if this turns out well. Further, I think it would be a good opportunity for me to get inside his head and find out how he perceives life and what would motivate him and how should I deal with him. Am I suffocating him? Does he want more guidance? What would be the ideal environment for him to perform most efficiently?

Of course, the fear is still that I might just screw up and not do a good job but well I have to start somewhere and if I don't face it, I know i will just procrastinate and probably never do anything about it.

Now what I need is a plan, a plan that would allow him to talk freely and still get to the conclusion that I want?? No, I should be open to receive responses that may not lead to where I want. (Oh, this is so hard!!) I should not set up a trail so that he drop into my trap??? Less lawyerly like Beth said!!!

Ah, this is a lot easier said than done!!

To Orchestra a coaching experience

What do you need to prepare for a coaching session? The thought of it is daunting enough let alone planning for it. The first logical question is probably who is the coachee.

When I was told to choose a coachee, I have an internal battle. I have two options, one is a female subordinate (“F”) who has great potential and I think merely need some guidance here and there. The other is a male subordinate (“M”) who has presented some great work but have some disciplinary issues. If I choose F, it would probably be an easier task and it would not be unpleasant as it is no a correction mission. Whereas if I choose M, it could be more challenging. Do I avoid the tough one or should I confront it now or wait til I have more practice in coaching?

What’s the worst case? M hates me more? Ya, that would be the consequence that I could not face. Ah decision!! Decision!!

change finale

Last blog on the topic of change. To be honest, I think the key to change is really not about these theories but rather if you want to implement a change just do the following:-

(i) have a solid ground for change
(ii) what is the change
(iii) communicate this change
(iv) Put an end to the people who refuse to change

Simple and make sense?!

Communicate, Communicate & more Communicate

Ah! yet another week with another blog requirement. Really need to start on my assignment. I have borrowed a book from ULC. It’s called Making change happen one person at a time: assessing change capacity within your organisation by Bishop Charles, Jr but have not even have time to start reading it. Really need to make time for it.

Change is inevitable. After a long battle for a period that feels like century I thought I am going to give myself a break. No more change for a while. Well, one can plan and god will decide. Today is like any other day apart from the fact that I was running really late and need to drop off my children at the nanny’s place. Every morning, they would want me to go round a park before arriving at the nanny’s house but this morning I really don’t have the time to do that and all the previous experiences told me that my children will put up a good fight against my decision. Armed with this knowledge, I decided to explain to each of them separately the reason why I cant do the routine (the need for a change). As I took my time to explain to them and in fact even asked them if it is ok for me not to use the normal route. After tough negotiation, we agreed that they will agree for me to take the shortcut and I agree to let them have ice-cream in the evening.

Guess what it was great. No tantrum no fight and everyone hit the road happily. The lesson learnt, communicate, communicate and communicate!!

Perseverance!

How do you deal with someone who agrees to implement the change together with you on the surface but did the opposite in reality?

Remember one of the technique learnt is that to involve all your stakeholders early and try to include those that have strongest resistance. After all the reasoning, heated discussion and continue coaching and just when you think you have succeeded in getting through the hardest resistance of all, you found out that you are actually just kidding yourself. What do you do?

Persevere, persevere and persevere is the only way out!!!! Just like a Chinese saying “a drop of water can break a rock”, where there is a will, there is a way. Go! Go! Go!!!

After two consecutive weeks of feeling depressed about losing the battle of change, there is finally some light that came along this week. We have some interns from university, they are currently doing industrial training in my department. They maybe immature inexperience but they are at least young fresh and breathe new air in the way we see things.

Remember we are talking about paradigm shift? They are the new breed of "y" generation that will join the workforce soon and when they come, stay back sit tight cause you have no other choice but to launch into paradigm shift!! They challenge the way you view life, they challenge the way you work, they even challenge the reason why certain work needs to be done. They no longer abey order just because they are told. They are like a new wave that is slowly but constantly eroding your shore line. Before you know it, the shore line could be totally different from the original one when you turn around and look at it. It may or may not be a good thing only time will tell. However, for the timebeing I am just going to sit back and enjoy the wave that is coming my way!!

A lost battle-Part 2

It seems to be a common practice that people in an organisation who lead the changes are always those that are high in the hierarchy. If a change is to be implemented in a department normally the department head will become the leader, when a change is to occur in a whole organisation, the CEO could be the leader. However, what is not realised is that these people may be highly effective in their own area of expertise but they may not be the right candidate to plan, lead or implement a change.

Typically those who are in such position are normally people who have been in the organisation for quite some time or have been working for a long while. They may lack the enthusiasm, passion or even the charisma to implement a change. Who is to lead a change has a far reaching consequences, it could decide whether the change could be implemented successfully. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the CEO or head of department should not lead a change, they must of course one way or another be involved in a change but what i am trying to say is just that if a change is to happen in a department, it does not necessary always follow that the head of department lead the change. There could be other people who are in a better position to do so. Think about it and look around you, how many times did you see a good idea be destroyed by the person who is implementing it.

Who to lead a change seems to be the first logical question in change management. However, this question is either not answered or analysed sufficiently in actual corporate world.

A lost battle

I realise there are people who are just resistant to change no matter what you do. What do you do then? I have a case and after trying everything by getting him involved in the change steering committee, by counselling, by hanging a carrot in front of him. It just doesn't work. What make the matter worse is that the repercussion of not changing is not there. there is no one at the end of the tunnel carrying a whip. I wonder in the historical data of the organisation, has anyone been asked to leave? Has anyone who is not performing asked to leave?



Perhaps it is time for us to think long and hard about this. If there are people who are not with us in the change process, what do we do? If tagging them along means slowing us down tremendously in this rapidly changing world, what do we do? when do we draw a line to say enough is enough? How many times do we have to ignore the indifference uncoporation and cynicism before we do something?



This is perhaps the first wuation that needs to be answered when a change intiative is first started!!

A non compelling case?

How do you create a compelling case for your stakeholders to agree with you? What if the compelling case put forward is still not compelling enough then what do you do?

That's what happened to me this week. How can I convince someone who does not report to me. I have put forward something which I think is compelling enough yet it was not enough to convince the counter part what do i do next? Do I force my way through? Or do I bypass him and go to his boss? Or does that mean that the change proposed is not urgent enough and is a course that does not worth pursuing?

I am not sure which is which and I am not sure which course I should take at the moment.

First Day of Blogging

It's amazing how simple it is to start blogging. I was terrified at the thought of getting started. If not for this course, I wont even find the time to start playing with this thing. I guess this is exactly what they mean when they said we have to be prepared to open our mind and "paradigm shift".

However, it seems to me it is easier if the change is force through rather than waiting for the voluntary move. Take this blog as an example, if it was up to me, I think you wont see this blog for another 10 years maybe. But here I am sitting in front of my desk blogging. You asked why? well, because I am supposed to put in an entry once a week to pass my postgrade study hopefully by end of 2009.

This is definitely against the notion that you cant coerce change as without buy-in, there will be sabotage. Well, I must say sometimes coercion does seem to be more effective.

Well, that's it for the first day. Lets see how this looks like at my blog. Ciao