Last Friday, during the crazy rain/wind storm, Chris, Lauren, and I had a follow up meeting with the manager (J.V) of the organization we've been observing. Again I was apprehensive about going in, not wanting to impose on his time or make him feel uncomfortable in anyway. Once again my apprehensions were put to rest within 5 minutes of being there as J.V. and his staff welcomed us into the building and out of the weather.
Chris had arranged a meeting with J.V. weeks in advance and we had plenty to talk with him about after our tour at the beginning of the month and after hearing from our insightful instructors in the last few class sessions about how to go into these kinds of meetings.
I was thankful when we met with J.V., that we had heeded the advice of Patrick, Terry & Kate and ditched the formal questions and moved to a more conceptual framework. I don't think we got as many questions answered as we may have if the meeting had been more interview style. But I do believe that we would not have had the opportunity to hear the detail that J.V. shared with us in his response to the "questions" we did ask, and we certainly wouldn't have experienced as much of the emotion behind the work he does with his organization. And while the former would probably make for easier paper writing, the latter has given me a lot to think about regarding organizations and the kind of leader I hope to be someday.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Casual Observer
After some initial back and forth with our observation location, Lauren, Chris, and I went for our first visit this past weekend. I found myself a bit apprehensive about going; the manager that we spoke with, while friendly, was unsure about us coming in to observe (he didn't want us to give the members of this organization the impression that the organization was under review in any way - so no note taking), and he asked that we come in wearing clothing that would make it seem less obvious that we were there for observation (wear workout clothes and maybe participate in a class or get in a workout). So this is where my apprehension lay 1) I don't want to impose upon anyone, especially if they are uncomfortable with my being there, and 2) I haven't intentionally worked out, at a facility, in over a year.
What I found when we arrived was a warm welcoming environment. The employees seemed genuinely happy to be there, and the members of the organization were treated like family. The most interesting part of the day for me was how the employees treated us, as visitors. The manager that we had arranged the visit was not there (we knew he would not be) so he asked another employee to give us a tour of the facility and answer any questions we might have. We received a great tour, very thorough, and this particular employee was open to answering our questions. We talked a lot with her about her experience working there (she'd been there almost one year) and I felt that she was candid about her experience. In fact, every employee that we had the opportunity to talk with expressed how lucky they felt to work there and what a wonderful environment it is to work. I didn't have any feelings one way or the other what it would be like to visit the organization for the first time without the manager present, but in the end it was the perfect way to start. I think we had a genuine experience of how the employees view the organization when the boss is absent, and what I observed was a well developed sense of team, commitment to the organization, and care of the work that they perform.
What I found when we arrived was a warm welcoming environment. The employees seemed genuinely happy to be there, and the members of the organization were treated like family. The most interesting part of the day for me was how the employees treated us, as visitors. The manager that we had arranged the visit was not there (we knew he would not be) so he asked another employee to give us a tour of the facility and answer any questions we might have. We received a great tour, very thorough, and this particular employee was open to answering our questions. We talked a lot with her about her experience working there (she'd been there almost one year) and I felt that she was candid about her experience. In fact, every employee that we had the opportunity to talk with expressed how lucky they felt to work there and what a wonderful environment it is to work. I didn't have any feelings one way or the other what it would be like to visit the organization for the first time without the manager present, but in the end it was the perfect way to start. I think we had a genuine experience of how the employees view the organization when the boss is absent, and what I observed was a well developed sense of team, commitment to the organization, and care of the work that they perform.
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