Let's go back to the reason why we are here.

What is LEADERSHIP to you?
How would you describe a Leader?
How would be/she behave?
What are her competences?
What skills must she master?

Drawing on board: Circle with WHY in the middle

From all your submitted challenges, they fall under 3 categories:

As far as organisation is concerned, two things:

In session 1, I immersed you into an exercise.

In the exercise there was a goal: which was to replicate your partner's design.

You were expected to work together, communicate well so that you can reach the desired result.

This was as introduction to communication and the idea is to get you start to think about how you communicate.

To make you realize how others tend to communicate, and how these preferences affect your communication.

Conclusion: Your communication is only as good as the RESULT you get.

D+A=R

Based on Carl Jung's theory, Isabel Briggs Myers identifies 16 personality types.

The types are not absolutes! One has a preference to one style more than the others.

An individual's preferred learning style is directly linked to his personality style preference.

A man's actions (what he says, what he does, how he say and do things) are affected by the decisions he makes.

His decisons on the other hand is based among others on on what he is (personality), what he knows (knowledge & skills), and the CHOICE he makes whether to make use of them or not.

Let's make sure that we all understand first what the codes EI SN FT PJ means.

FIRST we look at the general attitude:
Where one's focus is: - meaning where lies his motivation.

then we look at how we gather information.

Once we have the information, how do we make our decisions? Where do we base them from?

And lastly, what are our actions?

Who took the learning test I sent you?
If you did, your result would either show if you are more of an (board)

ACTIVIST = Doers (F)
REFLECTOR = Monitors (P)
THEORIST = Thinkers (T)
PRAGMATIST = Think & Do (J)

We are all these, however we have a preference to one more than the other.

He/she who uses all four in a balance is one who is adaptable, flexible.

What has this got to do with your personality style?

You will find that:

N types are more thinkers and will likely spend more time reflecting.

S types are more concerned with "what is" so they usually like to watch.

IF YOU ARE WORKING ON YOUR OWN, NOT AN ISSUE. As you do as you prefer to be. In a project however, one has to work with others. That's when it becomes challenging.

We have done almost the full circle.
Your homework was to apply the learning.

So who wants to start?

1. your most important learning point during session 1
2. how you applied it
2.1 describe the event (situation, actors, state of mind, emotional state,etc)
2.2 application of the learning (what you did, what you normally would have done)
3. results

ROUND TABLE TESTIMONIALS

In his book the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni claims that mastering these team dynamics in order to become successful.

They must overcome the common dysfunctions.

At the very bottom and the foundation of all successful relationships is TRUST.

We trust WHEN we know, feel, think, see that the other person has our interest at heart.

And that is different from person to person.

He also says that one must overcome the Absense of TRUST first before being able to overcome the next dysfunction.

In order to build or create trust to a Sensing person...

Drawing of a single tree with details: fruits, leaves, branches and how they connect with each other.

While an Intuitive team member needs these in order to give you their trust.

Drawing of several trees making up a forest.
A bird-eyes view.

Let's reflect back into the AIESEC team standards.
Essentially,
BUILDING
PERFORMING and
CLOSING

make up the well-known team development model by psychologist Bruce Tuckman in 1963

or otherwise:
FORMING
STORMING
NORMING
PERFORMING
CLOSING
& after that ADJOURNING

What is interesting is the dynamics that happen within each of this stage and how the team and the individuals deal with them.

During the team challenge, it has become obvious that:
openness and disclosure of what you think and feel is easier when there is TRUST.

Particularly in situations when two or more people disagree on a subject, communication and the result is improved when both parties are aware of not only his own preference but also is willing to understand and take into account that of the other party.

One sure way of ensuring every person is able to be open and honest is to set some rules of engagement. Knowing that you will not be criticized by doing something, allows you to be participative, motivated and productive.

Constructive Feedback is a foremost strategy to use.

A Johari Window exercise

Now we go deeper into the interactions you have with your teams.

Let's analyse your team meetings:

Do you...
- have boring Meetings?
- tend to ignore Conversational topics that are critical to team success?
- fail to tap into all the opinions and perspectives of team members?
- create environments where back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive?
- strive for Artificial Harmony?


Is there a lot of conflict in the team?

Lets go back to the pyramid and the 5 Dysfunctions that all teams have to overcome according to Patrick Lencioni.

Once we are able to establish an ENVIRONMENT that creates TRUST a team is in a better position to deal with CONFLICT.

Is CONFLICT GOOD or BAD?

Conflict exists everywhere. To a certain extent indicates a healthy exchange of ideas and creativity. However, COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE CONFLICT can result in DISSATISFACTION, REDUCED PRODUCTIVITY, LOW INVOLVEMENT, INCREASED STRESS.

As a leader, if you are handling conflict then first you have to understand how it originates and what conflict management style individual are using to resolve it.

Conflict arises from differences, both large and small. It occurs whenever people disagree over their values, motivations, perceptions, ideas, or desires.

Sometimes these differences appear trivial, but when a conflict triggers strong feelings, a deep personal need is often at the core of the problem.

Thomas Killman

Take a post it, write your name, place it on the spot where you think you are "usually" operating based on your conflict mgnt survey results.

Discuss the composition.

Again, a better leader is WILLING to make use of the different styles that fit the situation.

So when do you use the more assertive/directing/competing style?
-when a quick decision needs to be made
- you wan to get what you want no matter how it affects the other party

What about Avoiding?
- when issues are of low importance, relationship high
- when parties are emotional, need time to calm down

When to be Accommodating?
-

Correlation between your personality style - MBTI and the conflict management style TKI -

I = tends toward the Avoidance
E = more towards Collaboration

T= leans toward the Competing
F= relates more to Accommodating

Don’t allow the fear of conflict to prevent your need for better decision.

Distinguish what is IMPORTANT from NOISE:
-stress = noise
-external environment = noise
-irrelevant thoughts = noise
-feelings = noise

Remember the domino exercise..these could potentially take your focus away from seeing the important things that will make the good DECISION.

STEP 1: Make it visible. By doing so you will be able to focus to get rid of the obstacle which stands in the way to getting an issue resolved.

STEP 2: Why is there a conflict? Understand, recognize, accept styles of all involved without prejudice. Each person asks himself/herself:
A. what is most important
B. what are my priorities
C. my perspective IN_LINE with the TEAM GOAL?

STEP 3: Analyze and use the conflict resolution style that fits best with the situation.

Peeling the ONION: The model demonstrates why it’s so challenging to get to the heart of any issue. One has to get passed several different layers of obstacles that prevent teams from discussing and resolving issues.

The goal is to get to the middle of the chart. This is where the issue itself becomes the focus of the conversation.

To get there, teams must acknowledge and address other topics, many of which are unrelated to the issue at hand but still create distractions and barriers.

The obstacles closest to the center are ones that are easiest to address.

So far we have covered the outer layer. We've looked at our various communication styles based on our preferrred personalities and how they differ from others.

It is clear to everyone that acceptance of other people's preference help in our dealings with them.

INDIVIDUAL: Most challenging, due to the person involved. A flaw in their personality or character inhibits “clean” conversation. This may be due to lack of experience, education, self-esteem or EQ(Emotional Intelligence). A person’s motives or values may differ considerably from others in the leadership group.

RELATIONSHIP: Involve the people involved in the discussion or conflict. An unresolved past incident, stark differences in their styles, inhibit their ability to focus on the issue. Past reputations of individuals may influence others in the group. In leadership meetings, a person who is higher in the organizational ladder may prevent others from voicing their concerns, or departments may be in conflict and this long-established adversary relationship prevents honest, open discussions.

ENVIRONMENTAL: Nothing to do with the issue, it’s the very environment in which the discussion is happening. A hallway, airport, conference room where others might hear the conversation, shortage of time, people in a bad mood.

Distractions and misinterpreted behavior provide an atmosphere where it’s difficult to resolve issues. Office politics, a pending layoff, even people involved in the discussion that might be affected by the issue, all provide an environment not conducive to resolving issues.

INFORMATIONAL: These obstacles are related to the issue being discussed. They are the easiest and most comfortable to discuss. Conflicts that achieves resolution, require teams to exchange information, facts, opinions, and perspectives. Most teams believe that’s what they are doing, even when one of the other types of obstacles (1-3 above) get in the way.

Lets go back to the pyramid and the 5 Dysfunctions that all teams have to overcome according to Patrick Lencioni.

A team that trusts each other and are able to openly disucss conflict will be better at overcoming the lack of commitment.

The enemy of accountability is AMBIGUITY.
Commitment requires two things CLARITY & BUY-IN;

Clarity requires that teams acoid assumptions and ambiguity and they end discussions with a clear sense of what they have decided.

Buy-in does not require consensus. Members of great teams learn to disagree with one another and still commit to a decision.

EXERCISE:
It is important to find a common ground that will bind you for the rest of your time together on the project.

Together define a team GOAL that is SMART - external motivation is essentially coming from the completion of this goal.


Take into account each memeber's STRENGTHS when dividing activities and tasks.

End of Meeting ask “What exactly have we
decided to do?”


Review each decision make sure everyone
agreed. If not, discuss until it is clear


Everyone writes it down.


Decide which ones needs further
communication internally or externally

Accountability refers to the willingness of team members to call out their peers on behaviors that might hurt the team.

Having the courage to name the counter productive behaviours that will set the team results back is key.

It is thus closely related to the previous dysfunction of lack of commitment because without clarity of what is expected, one cannot identify the destructive actions.

Ensuring accountability, says Lencioni, involves peer pressure, because team members will be hesitant to let others down, especially those they respect.

Two or more persons working on completing a deliverable together allows the posisbility of keeping each other accountable on a task/activity level.

WHAT HELPS/

1. Publish objectives & tandards - make them visible
2. Have progress meetings
3. Reward teams - not individuals

Many people confuse activity and result.

Focus on the outcomes - instead of what is being done.

In your AEISEC office, use a space where each team to share with each other, each team's achievements. What had been done - NOT what is still to be done. Not the activities.

Create a PRODUCT breakdown structure instead of a work breakdown structure.

Inventors : JOseph Luft & HARry Ingham
Model describing human interaction
4 panel “Window” describing into 4 types:

No styles is better than others.

There are many models and ways to look at leadership. Let's look at the basics - in terms of approaches.

Focus on Task or Relationship.

Task oriented is an approach that is focused mainly on the tasks that needs to be performed in order to reach a sprecific goal.

Relationship oriented is a leadership approach that focuses more on the well-being of the team members as they work towards the completion of a specific goal.

Which one is better?