Responses class, during an event with a manager, he consist

1. Responses
Class,
During an event with a manager, he consistently would not
acknowledge that I was in his office trying to brief him on a
situation that had the potential to explode. After about five
minutes of the one-sided conversation, I excused myself from
his office. Two days later he approached me asking about this
issue that I attempted to talk with him. I replied that he was too
engulfed with his phone looking at different things that he did
not acknowledge that I was in his office trying to discuss with
him. He reevaluated the period that I was in his office and said
he had more important things happening at the current time.
This is a direct reflection that he did not want to act and listen
to the problem.
The issue that caused the conflict was his lack of attention to
the event. However, overconfidence does have some economic,
psychological, and even evolutionary benefits (Mottola, 2009).
The way that he could have helped me understand the direction
I was coming from was to lay his phone down. He could have
moved out from behind his desk and asked to get out of his
office. By removing himself from his office would have taken
any distraction that he had and listened to the situation.
Therefore, anyone in a leadership position should take all
events seriously. He could have given me some guidance to
better not only me, however, himself showing a small amount of
concern. When feedback is given honestly to you it can reduce
the size of your blind area (Window, 2013). Should have he
listened to me he could have given feedback defining that he
indeed was listing to what I was saying.
W.

2. References
Mottola, G. &. (2009). Group decision-making: Implications for
investment committees. Vanguard Investment Counseling and
Research, 1. Retrieved from
http://agb.org/sites/agb.org/files/u16/Vanguard%206.pdf
Window, J. (2013, 11 10). Understanding the Johari Window
model. Self-awareness Organization UK, 1. Retrieved from
https://www.selfawareness.org.uk/news/understanding-the-
johari-window-model
Class,
My boss told me many years ago that I wanted to gear up and
board a plane for a month the next day at the National Training
Center in the Mojave Desert, not exactly the most attractive
business trip. I appreciated my boss, but he was the one who
chose conflict prevention, which is why I was picked for this
duty. Within my team, there were three others that were
qualified to meet this responsibility, but the common
denominator that absolved them from this obligation was that
they were all married with children. I was the only suitable
NCO to fill the role and therefore the one least burdened with
the possibility of this undesirable trip and, in his opinion, less
contentious.
From my perspective, I was discriminated against based on my
marital status, my counterparts were equally qualified to
perform this duty. Though single, I had too had obligations and
assets to secure. Although I was willing to perform the duty
(like I had a choice) and understood the rationale behind the
decision, the principal bothered me, and I let my emotions got
the best of me. I highlighted the issues that I perceived were
discriminatory against my disposition in a less than savory
manner which provoked colorful reactions from some of my
counterparts. In retrospect, my concerns were valid; however,
my message was tainted by my emotions and was not well
received. In the end, a compromise was made so that I could

3. take some leave after the rotation ended. This experience is a
classic example of how one’s reaction is important, especially
during an unfavorable situation.
On the other hand, I find it easier to recall a little more of a
conversation I had with my sister by using the technique for
active listening. The talk was about her work and some of the
things she does on a regular basis, not in a broad way, but in-
depth about how she really does her job. The reason I have
wanted to question her about the more technical aspects of her
work is that it is a new topic and I do not have any previous
experience of any of the systems or procedures used. Using
active listening made the topic difficult for us all.
Even my sister found that it looked like I was trying to observe
her. Personally, I agree that I went too far into the specifics and
answered way too many questions. Active listening can have the
benefit of getting more interested in the interaction that you
have (Active Listening, n.d.). The experiment proved to be
successful because it had the desired result of being more
interested in the debate.
Del
References:
Active listening: Hear what people are actually saying. (2016).
Mind Tools. Retrieved
from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.ht
m
Issues Teams Face: Managing Conflict (n.d.) Retrieved
from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/54195_Chapter_7.pdf
Module 2 – Background Reading
MANAGING GROUPS AND TEAMS
Required Sources
Force Field Analysis
The Force Field Analysis model is one that has been widely
used to address challenges in communicating with others,
leading teams and managing conflicts. Its goal is to move

4. opposing groups or individuals toward more effective
cooperation. As its name suggests, this model analyzes the
factors (or forces) that influence situations in which people are
having trouble working together. By increasing the driving
forces for more effective communication and cooperation and
weakening the restraining forces against open communications
and cooperation, one can create a working situation that is more
collaborative and productive.
For a brief summary of the Force Field Analysis model, see:
Tutor2u. (2016, April 22). Lewin’s force field analysis
model [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9ujAtYAfqU
Communication
We begin this module by building a foundation of knowledge
about interpersonal communication. After all, communication is
needed for effective group activities. In gaining this foundation,
we will refer to Wikipedia for a “quick and dirty” overview of
the topic. (Caution: Wikipedia is an unacceptable source for
academic papers because it is a publicly edited site with
information that can be incomplete, biased, or incorrect.
However, to get a quick introduction to a topic, it can be a good
place to start.)
Models of communication. (2016)
Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Models_of_communicat
ion
Never discount the value of trust in strengthening
communication and improving work relationships. One way to
build trust is to maximize what we know about ourselves and
wish to share with others. Conversely, we want to minimize
aspects of ourselves we are not aware of but are readily
apparent to others (our "blind spots"). This is accomplished
through a combination of self-disclosure and feedback.
The Johari Window is an excellent model for improving
communication effectiveness and therefore trust. Created in the
1950s by two guys named Joe and Harry (no kidding!), this
model is still widely used in organizations to improve

5. communication between coworkers, bosses, subordinates, and
teams. Watch the following videos:
Leader Logic. (2018, February 5). Johari Window example in 5
minutes [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TUTc3h01oA
Leader Logic. (2018, February 8). Johari Window for project
scope development [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCw1wcSJ5V8
Then read:
Apricot Training Management Limited: Self Awareness. (2013)
Understanding the Johari Window. Retrieved
from http://www.selfawareness.org.uk/news/understanding-the-
johari-window-model
Groups and Teams
The structure of modern organizations is continually changing
and work is being done in teams more than ever. But teams are
more than just a collection of individuals working on a single
project. Team workers need a set of skills that exceeds those of
individual workers to allow them to collaborate effectively.
Often, employers do not train employees in these skills so it is a
rare thing when teams live up to their potential. This is
particularly true of teams in the United States, where the culture
highly values individual effort and accomplishment.
In this part of the module, we will increase our ability to
manage teams by learning what constitutes a team, how to
handle conflict, and how to build a high-performing team. To
get an overview of this topic, view this PowerPoint presentation
on Group Dynamics and Conflict.
The Tuckman model of group development is one of the most
widely used tools to understand the dynamics of team formation
and development.
The following reading offers a concise explanation of this
model and as a bonus, relates group development processes to
the Johari Window (above) and the Situational Leadership
model to be presented in Module 3:
Chapman, A. (2016). Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 Forming,

6. Storming, Norming, Performing team-development model.
Retrieved
from http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnor
mingperforming.htm
Most of us think about trust in teams as growing over time and
with experience being with another team member. However,
swift trust stems from an initial assumption of trust which is
confirmed, or disconfirmed, over time. In this sense it is
conditional and must be verified by the actions of team
members. Read this blog about the factors that contribute to
swift trust and how leaders can create it:
Swift trust—why some teams don’t storm (2011). In
Management Pocketbooks. Retrieved
from https://managementpocketbooks.wordpress.com/2011/04/2
6/swift-trustwhy-some-teams-dont-storm/
Here is an interesting example of organizational theory being
used to solve practical business problems. This report is
designed to help its analysts avoid group decision-making
biases such as groupthink, polarization or "risky shift,"
overconfidence, or composition bias. The practical application
of theory demonstrated in this source may be helpful to you in
preparing your case.
Mottola, G. & Utkus, S. (2009) Group decision-making:
Implications for investment committees. Vanguard Investment
Counseling and Research. This article can be found
at http://agb.org/sites/agb.org/files/u16/Vanguard%206.pdf
Conflict Management
When working with groups, conflict is inevitable. Although
conflict is often viewed as negative, this is not always true. As
we learned in the earlier PowerPoint presentation, well -managed
conflict can increase team performance and result in better
output. One trick is to learn the differences between healthy and
destructive types of conflict. Read the following for more
information:
Issues Teams Face: Managing Conflict (n.d.) Retrieved
from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/54195_Chapter_7.pdf

7. Now that you can recognize the difference between good and
bad conflict, take a few minutes to read about some techniques
that can help you manage conflict between people at work (or
even at home!) and keep situations from spiraling out of
control:
Help Guide (n.d.). Conflict Resolution Skills. Retrieved
from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-
communication/conflict-resolution-skills.htm