One week into this course has already changed the way I view my current employment and the way I see myself. I had never put much into the type of thinker I am, "opposable or oppositional" as described by Roger Martin, but as an automotive mechanic I use the style of opposable everyday. You have to keep in mind that there can be more than one answer to a problem, you have to trust your training and your skills. To take a chance when the answer is not always clear, and yes there are consequences equipment downtime, loss production, or the worst thing in an municipal environment wasted money. I was able to use this style of thinking in a recent pilot project for a shift change in the shop. The shift was changing to a ten hour shift four days a week, it was not the shift that was the problem it was everyone getting the days off they wanted. It was a quiet week in the shop other than a few arguments over who should get the Friday and who should get the Monday off. We were able to solve the problem (I know this sounds crazy) by talking to each other. In actually listening to one another, we realized that one of our techs had been saying he would just like a day off in the middle of the week, thus allowing all others to have a long weekend. Simple listening skills solved what was becoming a major issue.
I began my working career in the year 2000 and I believe management roles have changed in a lot of ways. When I began my career, the manager was the boss, they said stuff and you did it. I am sure that sounds simple but that's the way it was. Recently I have notice a huge shift in the culture of our corporation, this includes training opportunities for all employees. Employees are writing accountability agreements, no longer having job descriptions, these agreements are holding themselves accountable for their own jobs and goals. This change in style has definitely made me look at my role as an employee differently.
When I started to work, I worked because I needed money for things like beer, and gas to get to the store to get beer. Twelve years later, as far as beer and gas goes, my concerns are how many calories are in the beer and how expensive is the gas. I am now accountable for what I put in my body and the way we spend our money as a family. This change in style, allowing accountability, has allowed me expand my role in the corporation. There is more trust and responsibility put on me, and this in turn is a way managing myself. One of the reasons I believe management roles are changing, in looking at my own team, our manager is in charge of four different departments, the time and resources are simply not there for her to make every decision. We all have to be accountable.
I have begun to prepare to be a future manager by first and foremost, taking advantage of the opportunities given to me. By jumping on every training course available, being engaged and more importantly gaining any experience I can get. I believe that for my situation the toughest obstacles is gaining the experience and so I never pass at the chance. Over my career I believe have developed many of the soft skills needed, but my weak point at the moment are the hard skills. A prime example would be the mathematics of the business, but with courses like this one and others like it, I will continue to develop those skills.
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