Archive for category: Knowledge Nuggets

Remember, last week we introduced the six thinking hats and shared with you the import of these on our ability to think through issues in six different ways , when we use the hats. What exactly are these colours and what do they represent:
The White hat drives discipline and direction and spurs the thinker into objectivity and clarity of information. White Hat thinkers look for the “underlying facts”
The Red hat provides a legitimization of feeling and emotion as a critical thinking tool. Red Hat thinkers use their “gut feel” as a key thinking aid.
The Black hat is a hat that specifically concerns itself with negative assessments, risks, faults and dangers. Black Hat thinkers are consistently checking for “what could go wrong?”
The Yellow hat is a positive and constructive hat that speculates and seeks opportunities. Yellow Hat thinkers are consistent in looking for the “positives in any situation”.
The Green hat that allows for creative thinking, growth and a provocation that takes away the usual thinking pattern. Green Hat thinkers are therefore conditioning themselves to “think outside the box”.
The Blue hat serves to organize the thinking processes ,monitoring and enforcing discipline to ensure that good process rules have been observed. Blue Hat thinkers are therefore “methodical” in their approach to issues.
By using all six different hats, a multi facetted thinking culture is established , providing a more robust basis for the generation of broad , rich solutions to the diverse challenges we come across in the workplace.

 

Remember……………..Lawrence Kohlberg’s 6 stages of Moral Reasoning are grouped into 3 levels: Stage 1 –Pre Conventional Morality, Stage 2 – Conventional Morality and Stage 3- Post Conventional Morality. Over the last two weeks, we looked at the 2 stages in level 1. Now we move into level 2,Conventional Morality. Unlike level 1 where ethical decisions are made due to fear of consequence or a relative benefit/consequence analysis, at level 2,ethical decisions are made due to a desire to conform to a societal definition of right or wrong. It is important to note that the need to conform to a societal standard becomes the incentive for the individual to adopt moral positions that are now based on right and wrong. While this may be based on the individuals innate sense of right or wrong, we still end up with an ethical decision due to this conformist desire. This is why this stage is known as the Good Boy/ Good Girl orientation. Next week, we will look at the second stage of level 2 Conventional Morality which is known as Law Order Orientation.

Remember: Our reaction to ethical dilemmas is primarily determined not by our sense of right or wrong, but where we are on Lawrence Kohlberg’s three levels of morality development. This week, we will examine the import of the first level;Pre- conventional Morality Development. At this level, we exhibit two reactions to any ethical dilemma. The first; stage 1, deals with the fear of consequence being the motive for an ethical decision, as opposed to a sense of right and wrong.

Let’s look at an example:

Kunle  is newly promoted into the treasury department. He now has access to the company safe. He is tempted to temporarily use some money from the safe to pay off an urgent loan. Kunle decides not to take the money, therefore presenting himself as a person with high morals? Not exactly.  Kunle has not taken the money due to the fear of being found out and the impact that would have on his career. This is the typical behaviour at  stage 1 of moral development.  Our actions at this stage look ethical, but our motives are not.  Look forward to our discussion on stage two, next week.

Remember: The greatest thing you can do as a leader is to inspire your team. While coaching, leading and directing all form an important part of your formal authority as a supervisor at work, today we would be calling out some of the inspirational behaviours which leaders should exhibit in the workplace.

• Good supervisors do not act superior. They value their subordinates and treat them with equal respect.
• They avoid throwing their weight around. People are happy to be around them and they are easy to relate with.
• Boastful statements are never made by good supervisors. They draw on their experience to teach their subordinates, and make their boast in them instead.
•  At no instance do they make mean, cutting remarks, or attempt to put down their employees. Rather, thoughtfully stated feedback and words of encouragement are the norm.

Why are we calling these out? Constantly implementing the options above creates a relationship between you and your team members and driving teams through relationships creates a bigger impact compared to driving teams through transactions.

Hence, constantly make effort to be one who is approachable, easy to be around, encouraging to share ideas with, and watch your ratings soar as a real team builder, manager and leader… … …Today!

Remember: Before embarking on a team task, it is of utmost importance that all team members agree to a systematically laid out action plan. A concise, unambiguous plan that is fully supported by your team mates will help you avoid disappointing outcomes as well as provide a definite line-of-sight for the project.

A good action plan must provide answers to the following questions:

• What is doable? How much improvement activity can we manage over the next few weeks?

• What is fair? How can we ensure that everyone on the team is an equal partner in our improvement project?

• Where do we need help? For what areas will we need the help of other work groups or managers or external resources? How will we go about getting the help we need?

• What could go wrong? What obstacles are we likely to face and how can we prevent or work through them?

Ensuring that all these questions are answered before embarking on any project creates buy-in from all team members while also securing participation on all fronts. An action plan will also serve to lay a realistic framework before work is embarked upon.

Embarking on a team project this week? Create a mutually agreeable team action plan before kicking off the project… … …Today!