ALICE WASS
Exploring Media
ILM - The Institute of Leadership & Management
Level 2 Certificate in Leadership and Team Skills
Solving Problems and Making Decisions
The first topic encouraged us to identify a workplace issue at UCB and to write at 2,500 word assignment about the issue and how it could be solved. The work place problem which I decided to focus on was the communication between the Presenters/Producers of the shows. From my observations there seemed to be no clear way to know what each show is talking about or how they let social media or other department know. In my assignment I discuss the multiple possible solutions to the issues from hiring new staff to finding more volunteers. However, my conclusion was the best method is to introduce a project management system to make sharing show information easy and effective. This could avoid overlapping content, unnecessary planning, and other departments to know in advance what is happening to also aid their work and planning.
For the project I received the mark of 87/100. This means my piece of work passed. Comments made of the work included: that I highlighted a good problem, used strong explanations, it included good references both from inside information about the company and outside sources. One way I could of improved my assignment would of been to do some of my own primary research, from asking the current Presenters and Producers what they think of the current method, and if my solution would be a good one for them.
After the hand in and marking had been completed the assessor asked if they could pass my assignment to the Head of Radio and the Executive of Broadcasting and the assessor believed: "the problem Alice has tackled is pertinent for radio and comes up with great solutions".
I am very happy with my mark and that my work tackled an organisational issue which they may not have been previously aware of. However, since this assignment was finished there has been no changes to the way content is organised and communicated between the team and the issues which it has caused can be found in my Placement Reflections under Week 19.
Giving Briefings and Making Presentations
The next topic was focused on giving presentations. This is something I felt confident in as I had previously attend session on how to give presentations as part of the Global Leadership Programme at university, and also had given many assessed presentations. The presentation needed to be focused on a management topic within UCB. Thinking of what to do the presentation on was the hardest part as I do not know much about management issues. In the end I decided to discuss the importance of Stress Management. As it is a topic which is very important in the workplace and one many organisations do not prioritise.
I feel that the presentation itself was not my best as I was not overly confident in the topic as I normally am when I give presentation at university.
For the project I received the mark of 77/100. This means my piece of work passed. Comments made of the work included: that I had great research and planning for my presentation, which had good attention to detail down to the visual aspects of the presentation. I kept within the time restrains and had a discussion with the group after the presentation. However, it was picked up that I did not explicit ask for questions at the end, but at least I had a additional comment section on my questionnaire.
I am very happy with my mark, but I am sad that I did not give as high quality presentation as I believe I can do at university. I feel that it is due to the different target audience and therefore I need to improve on this before moving into the work place as I will most likely have to give Presentations.
Managing Work Place Projects
The third topic covered explore project management, another topic I had previously covered during the Global Leadership Programme. For the assignment we had to think of a work place project which we could complete all the planning for in the same way a Project Manager would. As podcasts are currently a big area of interest for UCB I decided to design and develop the plan for my own podcast idea, 'Perspective Podcast'. The plan included Cost Benefit Analysis, SMART Objectives, GANTT charts and multiple evaluation tools and methods. This was the task which I have found hardest and I had to learn how to create GANTT Charts on excel, and discuss finances. Both things which my natural skill set does not play to. However, I feel very satisfied that I succeeded in doing so.
For the project I received the mark of 60/100. This means my piece of work passed. Comments made of the work included: that my idea for a Podcast was great and well researched. I used a Cost Benefit Analysis and created GANTT charts which were praised, and that my points and explanations had good links to UCB. However, I was not specific enough with some of the financial information, this is something that I really struggled with and did not feel comfortable with.
I am happy that I passed as I did not feel confident with this assignment, but it has shown me areas where I would need to improve if I was to be a involved in Project Management in the future.
Developing Yourself as a Team Leader
The forth topic is focusing on Team Leaders and how to become one. For the assignment I had to clearly explained describe the responsibilities and roles of the Team Leader and the levels of the authority. Next I spoke to people I work with to get feedback about what it is like working with me so that I could take their comments to help me to develop my skills and become a better Team Leader in the future. This assignment showed me how I can find it difficult to ask people for feedback, as I found it rather awkward. However, it is only through receiving feedback that I can improve and develop my skills for the future. I cannot put my assignment on but below are some of the comments made about my work performance from people I work with.
In a group session where some of the people I had closely worked with and others I had not worked with much at all, we completed the Johari Window, this staff development tool employs a list of qualities we listed our top five. We had then ranked everyone else’s top five next we all stood up and shared what we thought of ourselves and each other. The Open Arena contains traits I believe I have and the group agreed with, the Facade contains traits which I believed I had but the group did not agree with, Blind Spot contains traits which the group believed I had and I did not put down, and Unknown contains all other possible traits on the list.
I also received more personal one-on-one feedback from the Presenters I work most with. I was happy to have been given so much positive feedback, as well as areas of weakness which I am now improving on.
For the project I received the mark of 75/100. This means my piece of work passed. Comments made of the work included: I made good points and used good resources of evidence, such as my Johari Window, and the number of people I asked to give me feedback. I also interrupted the feedback well and effectively compared my sources. Also I set out a great plan with clear points linking to my feedback.
However, to improve it would be better if I not only spoke about my team but also other team leaders within UCB. I find this more difficult as I do not know much about what they do and therefore would find it hard to comment. Also, sometimes I do not go into enough details about my points. I find this difficult which the very limited word count which I am already often over. Therefore, I will try and reduce the amount of point to give greater detail.
Managing Yourself
The fifth topic was focusing on managing yourself, focusing on time management and stress management in the work place. I felt well positioned for this topic as I had already completed a presentation on stress management and therefore knew a lot about the topic. I believe I have good time management, as I am I on a degree which had mostly self study time and within my job I do lots of bits and pieces for different people and different departments, which requires me to have good time management to get everything completed. However, going through this module has shown me areas where I could still improve my time and stress management to become more effective.
For the project I received the mark of 70/100. This means my piece of work passed. Comments made on the work included: that I have a good understanding of time management, that I have well laid out personal objectives, that my questionnaire was effective in exploring stress within my time, and overall that it was a great assignment. However, I need to improve on when discussing stress within the team, and how it specifically links to the company.
I am happy with my mark and feel like I have become much more aware when managing myself than previously and these are skills I can be aware of when returning to university and in future jobs.
Developing the Work Team
The sixth topic explored developing the work team. For this we focused on the differences between teams and groups, how a team develops and the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team. Teamwork is a very important topic as I want to be the best team member possible. This topic gave me clear areas on how I need to improve to become the best team member I can be and what areas my weaknesses are.
For this project I received 70/100. This means my piece of work passed. Comments made on the work included: that I had good explanations and great examples from UCB, however on top of explaining the recognised theory models e.g. Tuckman, and link it to UCB, I need to look at the effects of these changes on team development. I am happy with my mark, and feel like I am more aware of the ways in which a team developed and what can hinder its development.
Improving Performance of the Work Team
The seventh topic linked on nicely from the previous, as after learning h ow the team develops we then explored how we can improve at teams performance. For this module we looked at the requirements of teams, individual and group performance within a team, under performance, and motivation. I found this topic very interesting as there are many factors which could be causing someone to under perform and there are many different ways that a team leader needs to motivate their team depending on their personality.
For this project I received 81/100. This means my piece of work passed. Comments made on the work included: a great understanding of UCB policy and aims, especially for specific teams. Lovely examples of new members of staff joining the team and overall strong comments and great work. However, I do need to question aspects of under performance more, such as the consequences for the radio station and the whole team, and the impact it will have on everyone. I am very happy with my mark and enjoyed learning more about how teams work and if I was a leader the things I would need to consider.
Workplace Communication
Understanding Change in the Workplace
Waiting for final project marks.
Waiting for final project marks.