Organizational Change and Personal Leadership Development Plan

Describe specific practices that successful project managers apply in exercising their leadership and management roles overall. Project managers play the leading role in the project management process: They are accountable for the completion and delivery of projects. They create an atmosphere of teamwork and collaboration in which a defined goal can be achieved in a controlled and structured manner by a group of people. Project managers manage projects on a day-to-day basis, maintain a continuous focus on moving projects toward their defined objective, drive the decision-making process and execute milestones according to plan (Guzman, 2010). Project managers are ultimately responsible for making projects happen. Carrying out this task requires a broad set of skills. In addition to exercising their knowledge of project management best practices, project managers also perform a variety of roles during a project’s life cycle. They serve as business liaisons, budget managers, communicators, customer relations managers, the project team’s cheerleaders, facilitators, negotiators, risk managers, change agents, motivators, presenters, planners, task trackers, problem solvers and implementers (Guzman, 2010).

Have open communications with everyone. Open communications encourage people to be forthright with their opinions and perspectives. Further, you eliminate fear and shyness by encouraging everyone to speak their minds. It is important that everyone in your group knows they can talk to you about any big obstacles they are facing, their opinions or questions. Being approachable is a very basic way to apply leadership skills (Moutria, 2008). Focus on one simple concept or goal. While your company, family or group may have more than just one goal, focusing on one particular purpose will put everyone in the same mindset. Naming a single goal likely will answer a lot of questions about specific scenarios (Moutria, 2008).

Evaluate Judy Stokley’s level of success in developing a culture of trust while implementing her drawdown plan as Eglin Air Base’s new Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) program director. Provide three (3) specific examples to support the response. Judy Stokley’s level of success of developing a culture of trust was very successful. She understood that changing an organization’s culture is one of the most difficult leadership challenges. That’s because an organization’s culture comprises an interlocking set of goals, roles, processes, values, communications practices, attitudes and assumptions (Denning, 2011). The culture of the organization was not in a good way and they did not have significant working environment. She came to the conclusion that they culture had to change at Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). They had to come to a conclusion that Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile was losing too much time and money on projects and needed to downsize. Stokley began to have monthly meetings so that the staff could talk and get to know her. She felt that if her staff did not trust her they would find it difficult to work for her.

Stokley began to give out note cards at the monthly meetings so the staff could anonymously write down complaints and recommendations. This was important to her to allow people to have voices because communication is the key to a successful organization. Although the staff understood they were about to be go through a downsize she gave them the opportunity to justify their jobs and to communicate to her where the organization was going wrong prior to her arrival (Laufer, 2012). Stokley began to notice that Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile was not honoring their contracts with companies. This was causing a strain on the organization because she understood that if you did not honor contracts you would eventually lose business. They were spending too much unnecessary money. The contractors were being burned by her organization prior to her arriving there. The Department of Defense had a problem with contractors making a profit or earn their contracted wages. Stokley knew that somehow the organization and the contractors had to work on the same page. She began to change the culture of contractors and the organization.

She knew that money had to be giving to the contractors in order for them to do their job efficiently. Stokley began to show the organization that they had to trust the customer and they would trust you (Laufer, 2012). . Stockley also understood until she officially downsized that the culture of the organization would not change. She believed that without a radical change in culture of the organization, involving a shift from control to trust and responsibility, her mission would not be truly accomplished (Laufer, 2012). Stockley had to relieve people that really did not have a purpose any longer that were only awaiting their retirement. She just did not want to come in and start handing out pink slips however she had to find out the who could move on with her project mission. Indicate three (3) key learning and behavior modification strategies that Judy Stokley used in order to address AMRAAM’s organizational problems and gain the trust of project team members. Provide three (3) specific examples to support the response. Studying how groups of people or individuals themselves interact within larger systems or an “organization” is called organizational behavior.

Behavioral modification strategies within an organizational context are concerned with implementing behaviors within large business to accomplish a main objective. The whole point of behavior modification techniques is to change undesirable or harmful behaviors and replace them with healthier, more desirable ones (Morrison, 2008). The most effective approach toward behavior modification is the theory of operant conditioning espoused by the noted American behaviorist, B. F. Skinner, in his book “The Behavior or Organisms” published in 1938. Skinner’s behavior modification theory holds that reinforcement, either positive, or negative shapes behavior. Providing positive reinforcement for changing behavior to desired levels through appropriate and effective rewards, and or providing negative reinforcement such as punishments or discouraging signals for undesired changes in behavior, or sticking to status quo helps employees make the appropriate behavior modifications (Nayab, 2011). The best of behavior modification examples is by setting goals for individual employees, with the attainment of such goals leading to the desired behavior.

The accomplishment of goals needs positive reinforcement with rewards such as a bonus. The success of the goal setting method to modify behavior depends on establishing a sound performance management system that provides a framework to set, modify, and evaluate goals on a regular basis, and guide and assist the employee to reach desired goals. Another key requirement is ensuring consistency of goals and rewards across the board (Nayab, 2011). Another behavior modification approach in the workplace is through supervision and leadership. Close monitoring, or policing of employee actions and behaviors to ensure the employee sticks to a particular behavior range also works in certain situations, especially when the workforce consists of many employees with low levels of skills and education, such as in mass production lines. Autocratic leadership that dictates terms, giving employees little freedom to display their innate behavior facilitates such an approach (Nayab, 2011). The first specific example of the behavior modification was positive reinforcement in which she began to assist the contractor in being treated fairly by the organization.

They had to realize if they wanted the organization to benefit the contractor had to be paid fairly. This left the contractor to accurately write down any expenses they spend on the organization. The mutual relationship between them began to change in a forward direction. Stockley also set goals that the company had to follow. Unfortunately downsizing was the first goal of the organization however it was necessary. She set a goal to complete the project with fewer people with a better relationship between the contractor and her organization. The supervision and leadership was a culture that Stokley had to change. She made sure that she closely watched over contracts and should he staff how to trust in order to succeed. They had to become loyal and to trust each other to get the project complete (Nayab, 2011). Analyze three (3) actions that Judy Stokley took in order to change the project team’s culture and create a relationship of trust, mutual support, and teamwork between the government and contractors. Support the response with three (3) specific corresponding examples. Stokley started with communicating with her team that began to change the relationship of trust. In order for the team to trust her they had to get to know her. Stockley began to have monthly meetings to let her staff complain and give recommendations to ideas.

Every constructive recommendation no matter how mundane was actually implemented. Stockley began to talk to her staff and contractors about “partnership” what was wrong with it, and what we were going to do to improve it. She began to implement an Engineering Change Proposal and the government had to approve it. This would account for every change modified on the contract to help trust between the two parties (Laufer, 2012). Stokley wanted to change that mindset and get the contractors to develop and get the contractors to develop what she referred to as a “heart and soul” relationship with the products. Stokley was striving to create a win-win situation for both sides by taking an unwieldy spec tree and writing a good, simple set of performance specifications that the contractor could control, while paying a fair price for the product on the government side (Laufer, 2012). She also made both parties not afraid to have risk but to accept and find a way to minimize it. Most projects have risk but she was able to convince them that all risk bad. Stokley also began to teach her staff to pay more attention to the goal of the project which was building missiles rather that the bureaucracy of the project (Laufer, 2012).

Create a personal leadership development plan for Judy Stokley so that she may be eligible for future promotions to leadership roles beyond program director. The plan should, at a minimum, focus on promoting key leadership behaviors, designate specific strategies to promote a higher level of performance relative to the position, and specify actions that Judy could take to promote the AMRAAM culture in her new role. Judy Stokley’s goal to be promoted pass a program director will be a huge process. She must first set a goal of what she would like to achieve. She must star with an individual development plan (IDP). An individual development plan (IDP) is a tool that helps facilitate employee development. It’s a two-way commitment between an employee and their manager on what they are going to do to grow. IDPs are often used as a way to drive leadership development. Organizations like them because they are visible, tangible evidence that leadership development is taking place (Great Leadership, 2008).

They can be monitored and tracked as a measure of progress, used as a way to drive accountability for development, and most importantly, if they are well written and taken seriously, they really do work. Here are the most typical reasons for an IDP: You’re new in a job, and want to get up to speed as fast as possible, You’re struggling in your job, and want to improve, you’d like to move to a new role, and want to prepare yourself for that new role, you are good at what you do, and have no immediate aspirations to move, but just want to get even better (Great Leadership, 2008).

She must identify what she wants to learn, identify the three most important competencies (skills, knowledge, attributes) that she would like to work on in order to achieve her goal. Sometimes, if you aspire to a larger role, the most important step in your development plan is to identify the role or roles to take in order to get you ready, often a lateral move. However, given that job changes are significant and don’t happen all that often, a challenging assignment is usually the best way to develop a competency or competencies (Great Leadership, 2008). Stokley has to find out what the job description is of the promotion she wants and start working from there. She has to give herself a goal track to achieve the job description items and advise her managers of her desire to work to move up in the organization. She has to be realistic of her goals and work on them with a set date of accomplishment.

References
Denning, S. (2011, 7 23). How Do You Change An Organizational Culture? Retrieved from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/07/23/how-do-you-change-an-organizational-culture/. Retrieved September 3, 2014. Great Leadership. ( 2008, November 24). Retrieved from How to Write a Great Individual Development Plan (IDP) : http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2008/11/how-to-write-great-individual.html. Retrieved September 4, 2014. Guzman, A. (2010). Description of a Project Manager Role. Retrieved from EHOW: http://www.ehow.com/about_6595724_description-project-manager-role.html. Retrieved September 4, 2014 . Laufer, A. (2012). Mastering the Leadership role in Project Management. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions.. Morrison, C. (2008). How to Use Behavior Modification Techniques. Retrieved from EHow: http://www.ehow.com/how_2330949_use-behavior-modification-techniques.html. Retrieved on September 4, 2014. Moutria, K. (2008). How to Apply Leadership Skills. Retrieved from EHOW: http://www.ehow.com/how_7706733_apply-leadership-skills.html. Retrieved September 4, 2014. Nayab, N. (2011, 2 22). Examples of Behavior Modification Approaches That Really Work. Retrieved from BrightHub a Hub for Bright Minds: http://www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/articles/107630.aspx. Retrieved on September 4, 2014.