Month: January 2020

While working at a small staffing company, we frequently made changes (pretty much every Monday, to be honest, especially after a disastrous payroll Friday) via “all hands” meetings called by the VP/Manager and one of the owners. The methodology of these was pretty much the same – the VP/Manager, out of frustration and exasperation and having spoken with the owner over the weekend, came in with a proposed change to which she tried to lead the rest of the group through leading questions. We all shared our perspectives and experience, but rarely in any sort of productive manner.

The Formal Authority method was then enacted, with the VP/Manager making the final decision on the new policy, sometimes taking our feedback into account, frequently not. The owner was usually there for support and a motivational talk after. Many decisions were just exhortations to enforce what was already supposed to be policy. Some definitely ranged into very contentious Decision by Minority situations (citing that a decision MUST be made because the decision-maker knew what was best), e.g. when we were all stripped of our Gmail account passwords and forced to use Outlook (as the marketing guy, this was really not helpful as all my applications and services synced with Gmail, usually through extensions). I think in this case, and others, the Decision by Minority was used to try to force habit changes, while making them universal to “not seem discriminatory” or something. Not surprisingly, these rarely worked out long-term. The turnover at this company is extremely high, also.

I feel that the facilitator vs. mediator role can be particularly challenging. In short, mediation between group members can create negative personal feelings toward a group member or the facilitator,  or a notion that the facilitator has “taken a side” against someone. These feelings and edo-driven perspectives are sure, if indeed they are engendered and they are allowed to persist, to slow down the process and make reaching group goals more difficult. While people are often petty and unpredictable, I think these negative outcomes can be mitigated by clear, open, communication, a commitment to a neutral stance, and above all avoiding the “uncharted territory” of conflicts that are beyond the facilitator’s expertise in nature or scope. It is crucial to understand one’s own qualifications and the nature of ensuing conflicts in the mediator role.

Hi! My name is Alejandro Gutierrez. I am currently freelancing for marketing and biz dev in the Baltimore area while I do this course, and others, and look for work starting around march. I do web consulting work as well via a friend’s company in Santiago, Chile, my second home.
I am from Harrisburg, PA, an alumnus of Loyola Maryland. I enjoy soccer, snowboarding, audiobooks and podcasts, working out and yoga, and good times with good folks doing good stuff.

• What have you learned about yourself in your previous classes that you feel will be important for you to keep in mind as you progress through this class?

I did the Strengthsfinder test in Appreciate Inquiry, and the results were heavily concentrated in the “Strategy” area of things – recognizing patterns and deriving results or salient themes, constructing action plans and metrics, distilling goals, and efficiency focus. Definitely want to keep these attributes in mind and develop them within the context of the course.
Also, in WFED 572 , I learned from the extra webinars that the OD field is not particularly strong in technology and its use, as well as various applications related to consulting and businesses. I realized that my startup and marketing experience is fairly unique, as many come from more HR-type roles, and I plan on using that.

• What do you see as the biggest challenge you would face in marketing yourself as an OD consultant?

I am not the most traditional “corporate” type of person. It’s an air I have to strongly put on if I want to come off as “professional” in that context. I fear this might be somewhat of an issue, as many industries are more of the legacy type, and people seem like they feel fairly unsure of the necessity of them paying for consulting, and so it seems that one MUST have a very professional, stuffy air to build that sort of trust with potential clients. I hope that’s not entirely the case.

Hi! My name is Alejandro Gutierrez. I am currently freelancing for marketing and biz dev in the Baltimore area while I do this course, and others, and look for work starting around march. I do web consulting work as well via a friend’s company in Santiago, Chile, my second home.
I am from Harrisburg, PA, an alumnus of Loyola Maryland. I enjoy soccer, snowboarding, audiobooks and podcasts, working out and yoga, and good times with good folks doing good stuff.