Old Way -> New Way

February 12, 2017 by rll50 1 Comment

Change is never easy. A reasonable person can attest to this widely accepted philosophy outside of reading the lesson commentary, or textbook. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, is quoted as saying “change is the only constant in life.” As the world becomes smaller, change is occurring at a more rapid pace than in the past; the manner in which global leaders manage change will have an impact on whether the change is well implemented and becomes the new norm.

In my current work capacity, I deal with planned change on a regular basis and easily recognized Schein’s planned change theories. I support the implementation of information technology engineering tools and processes utilized by U.S. and overseas workgroups. I have found that the obstacle most difficult to overcome and critical to the success of the project is the transition from unfreezing to the changing stage. It is at this point that leadership savvy plays an important role. Often the catalyst to unfreezing processes/tools a is a directive from senior leadership that aligns with overall corporate goals and improvements targets and not negotiable. However, the implementation is left to those with their “boots on the ground” to make it happen.

In doing so, it is imperative for the implementation team to put forth a united front. In other words, we all have to know where we’re going and have a plan to get there before we can begin to impose a change on the individual[s]. If the team does not put forth this united front the attitude of those needing to change is undermined and resistance increased. When they observe that leadership is behind the initiative, and it’s clearly and often communicated this transition is easier.

One of the tool I utilize is a form of subliminal messages. Once the plan is solidified and funding approved I begin putting the “buzz” out there. I put flyers on the communication boards, a tag line just above my e-mail signature (coming soon…), things like this. It’s most effective when dealing with a complaint regarding the current process/tool. I respond with “well you know we’re working on upgrading that tool/process. Send me a note and I’ll see if your concerns are included in the upgrade.” In doing this, I try to make the end user more of a stakeholder and another champion for the upcoming change. This also helps reduce the “I didn’t know…I don’t want…I don’t like… factor because the “buzz” has been going on for several months. Those times when a complaint or concern become a fix during the change, that individual seems to be eager to express other concerns in the hope the that next change will address their specific issue. This also helps to offset unmotivated peers whose negativity can infect others as we strive for a win-win solution.

References:

Heraclitus of Ephesus. Retrieved from: http://www.ancient.eu/Heraclitus_of_Ephesos/

OLEAD 410, 001, SP14, Lesson 5: Learning and Change in a Global Setting. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654116

Video Credit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHR8gw6derg

Communicating Lady Gaga

February 5, 2017 by Gabriel DeLong 4 Comments

Lady Gaga entered NRG Stadium from the open roof. Credit Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

As I sit here with my father, his wife, my sister my cousin and his friend watching the halftime show, my cousin and father tell the group that they don’t see why she was chosen for this performance. They agree that she doesn’t “do anything form them.”

Knowing that my father is uncomfortable with anything that has to do with LGBTQ+ people or their allies/icons I raise my eyebrow, ready to jump into conversation defending the community. My cousin tells us that he doesn’t know any of “these” songs and he things that performers like James Brown or New Kids On the Block should be performing right now.

After just having read the course notes, I remember that one part of missing information has to do with decoding error. I take a step back and think about how I am interpreting the information that was just presented to me. I am looking at a black male in his mid 30’s who, I think just said something negative about Lady Gaga, an artist that I respect and that I believe has done a great deal in normalizing the LGBTQ+ community. I wanted to jump to defend her, I wanted him to know that he was being a bigot.

While I was in my short state of reflection, I thought about our different interests and so, I simply asked him “you don’t listen to this type of music, do you?” he responded with “no, not really.” There seemed no judgment in his voice. I knew that in this moment, I judged him based on my egocentric communication. I was so overconfident in my communication style that I didn’t take into account that others communicate differently based on diversity and cultural experiences. He wasn’t telling me that Lady Gaga and the LGBTQ+ community was somehow inferior.

I think that if it weren’t for having read the reading notes for this week, the conversation would have gone into a very different direction that may have blown something simple and non-confrontational into an argument that would not have gone anywhere.

So, how do we prevent this from happening again, how do I remember to take a step back when I am at work talking with a colleague that I disagree with, or reading an email that may come across as harsh or when I am drafting an email to a group of people that I don’t know?

Diversity within Sameness

February 4, 2017 by Gabriel DeLong 3 Comments

At work we talk a lot about diversity, not just for our students, but also for faculty and staff too. When I first started working at the school, I thought we didn’t really have diversity. 100% of the student body is black American and from low income DC. I’ve observed our students in the hallways and at lunch and they seem to listen to the same music, talk about the same social events and dress alike(part of the likeness in dress is due to the school uniform, but most students elect to sag their pants, not tie their ties all the way or pop their collar). The staff is predominantly black American from DC, but we do have five white people, two people from India and one person from Germany.

So how can we talk about diversity when it all looks to be the same? What I realized through this lesson is that I was looking at the surface of what diversity means. Surface level diversity only looks at the physical attributes that sets us apart or unites us, ethnicity, demographics, etc. (Campus PSU World, 2017).

I took another look at the student body this week to look at the deep-level diversity of this group. The deep-level diversity refers to the way people behave, their interests, thoughts; the things that we can’t see or know just by looking at them (Campus PSU World, 2017). It seems that these are things we discover only by getting to know people.

We break our students into one of five academies. All the first year students (9^th grade) are in an academy, and then we have the Fine Arts Academy, Health Science, Information Technology and Early College. Each academy has attracted students based on their interest and talents. Members of these academies are knowledgeable about their fields, for example I spoke to one of the students in Information Technology who told me that our Wi-Fi “sucks” and that he knows how to fix it, if only we would let him. I got to teach a master class to the dance students in the Fine Arts academy and they were interested in the lesson, asking questions, engaging in the activity and discussing their future career goals.

I say this, because I’ve learned that diversity is not just what we see, but when we get to know others, we get to see the world through new lenses. To me, it seems that this is how change is made, how policies can be updated and human rights can be honored. Even though leaders may have the same skin color, or gender, it doesn’t mean that they can’t bring value to the discussion.

So how can the diversity of the staff encourage conversation of what diversity means and looks like for the students? To me, it is no longer about bringing the white, Indian and German staff members together; instead, it’s about bringing different walks of life and opinions together; really listening to someone that I disagree with and trying to see where he or she is coming from and how we can compromise.

Bibliography

Campus PSU World. (2017). Penn State University. Retrieved February 4, 2017, from www.psu.edu: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654094

Gabriel DeLong

January 9, 2017 by Gabriel DeLong 1 Comment

Gabriel DeLong Student Information Manager

I live in Washington, DC where I am the Student Information Manager for a charter school. This is not my final career, but it allows me the flexibility to go to school. I want to get my Ph.D. in either school psychology or counseling psychology. I am very interested in creating programs that allow young people to express emotion and thought in creative ways. I’ve worked as the Recruitment and Registration Officer for a school district; I am the founder and president of a nonprofit called Real Youth; I’ve worked in various capacities in leading the discussion in schools around support for the LGBTQ community, etc.

I’m not sure that I have a favorite leadership quote; I love the idea that we all have talents and a good leader knows how to help you bring that talent to the forefront and use it.

I don’t have any children, however, I did recently get married in 2016. I have a background in classical ballet and I am interested in combining my degree aspirations with dance.