Working to Be a Leader

“The Impact of Technology in the Workplace” is the topic of Written Assignment #3 for my summer students enrolled in “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior” or AMAOB.  Why?  Because technology changes behaviors.  And not always for the good.  Leaders, managers, and staff need to be smart on the how they use technology and the systems that they put in place.

The textbook I use in AMAOB is hot off the press.  Yet, there is little if anything of significance in the chapters of this latest edition that addresses how technology programs and devices change workplace behaviors.  When I looked up “Technology” in the Index, the definition was “The way in which an organization transfers its inputs into outputs” and mentions three pages where the topic can be found in the text.  The purpose of AMAOB’s written assignment is to help my students understand and manage the uses and/or abuses of technology by employees.

On July 26, 2010, Fortune Magazine published an article on “Ten Smartest People in Tech.”  What goes into being the smartest people in technology?  Fortune states that it’s, “An alchemy of intellect, ambition, and that uncanny ability to peer around corners.”

Not used in AMAOB

When looking through the list of the smartest people in tech, I started thinking about a guideline I have in my classroom.  That is, I do not allow the use of laptops and request that all technical devices such as cell phones are turned off—or on vibrate—and placed out sight.  It has taken a few class sessions to get full compliance.

Mine is a classroom based on experiential learning.  I want my 30 ambitious students each evening to have their full attention on listening to me and their classmates, contributing their thoughts and experiences, and being respectful of the sanctity of the classroom.  The classroom is where seeds are planted, ideas are generated, knowledge transferred, and invitations to “peer around corners” delivered.  It’s an opportunity to learn and grow from one another.  It is also a chance to be intellectually challenged.

If I had one thing to say to the smartest people in technology, it’s this:  “Technology is important.  I couldn’t communicate the way I am doing now without the use of technology.  Yet, there are limits when people need to take center stage and interact with one another.  A classroom on the topic of management is a time to unplug students from technology and allow them to relate to what they will be doing in their careers:  developing interpersonal skills and understanding workplace behaviors.

Okay, it’s now time to answer the question: Who are the smartest people in technology according to Fortune Magazine?  Here’s the list:

Smartest CEO:  Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple
Smartest Analyst:  Mary Meeker, Analyst, Morgan Stanley
Smartest Founder:  Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook
Smartest Engineer:  Christophe Biscigila, Co-Founder, Cloudera
Smartest Designer:  Jonathan Ive, Senior VP of Industrial Design, Apple
Smartest Investor:  Jim Breyer, Accel Partners
Smartest Hybrid:  James Cameron, Director, Avatar
Smartest Scientist:  Robert Morris, VP, Services Research, IBM Research
Smartest Academic:  Danah Boyd, Social Media Researcher, Microsoft Research
Smartest Executive:  Todd Bradley, EVP, HP Personal Systems Group

And I am going to be the smartest person in class this evening.  Why?  I’m going to use technology to transfer knowledge contained in a PowerPoint presentation to my class while interacting each one of my students, all of whom will be giving me their total attention since they are not using technology.

Everyone should have an iPad.  That’s how I’m feeling after using mine for the past month.  Everyone should have the ability to have a machine that is so responsive and lightweight, one that can put you into a good mood the way my iPad does for me.

It wasn’t my initial choice to buy an iPad.  It just happened in the course of working to be a leader while traveling.  I needed a lightweight solution for managing e-mails, writing blog posts, and editing articles.  The wonderful Dell Inspiron 600m laptop I’ve had since 2003 still works fine; the problem is that it’s heavy.  The newer models in the same line and a comparable price range are even heavier.  A netbook was a possibility but the screen is a little too small for my eyes.  When I was at a management conference, I saw a professor write on his tablet, a laptop computer with a screen that could translate his words into type.  However intriguing and time saving it was, my colleague warned me that the tablet was heavy.

So, one day I walked into the Apple store near me on the Upper West Side.  Warning: do not, I mean really DO NOT ENTER AN APPLE STORE unless you want to buy something that you really didn’t think you wanted.

My reason for entering the Apple store was to look at a Mac.  Relatives and friends had suggested I buy a Mac since I could I could find a model with a large screen that was probably in the weight range I needed.  Exploring the Mac interface, however, I quickly realized that I’m a PC person.  I’ve used Outlook/Exchange since 1996 and knew that I would not be happy with the Apple version called Entourage.  Plus, buying into a whole new way of using applications seemed like overkill for my needs.

“I want to look at an iPad.”  I give Dave, an Apple Specialist, credit.  Dave did not suggest that I look at an iPad.  I was lured to that area because I had walked by the store numerous times looking at the blown-up images of iPad screens posted on the walls (they were also posted throughout the city) and was curious about what the actual screens looked like.

That’s when it happened.  True love began to emerge.

Leigh's iPad

I was cautious, yet engaged, especially when Dave showed me how to enlarge the type on the screen with a few strokes of my fingers.  He wanted to show me movies and other sites that just didn’t interest me.  I was interested in a solution to easily manage my eight e-mail addresses, my need to search the web, and the opportunity to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.  Check, check, check!  The iPad fulfilled all that—and more.  Of course, I could read an e-book (Winnie the Pooh comes with the iPad), and download a zillion songs and applications from iTunes and the App Store.  That was icing on the compact cake that weighed in at 1.5 pounds.

I had to wait a week for my iPad since there were millions of other people who were also falling in love with the iPad.  When I brought my iPad home, I knew I had found the solution I needed.  Using the built-in keypad is a little awkward and there is no printer connection.  Nothing’s perfect.  It is what it is:  a lovely lightweight tablet that fulfills my traveling needs.

“Supercharge Your Career Search” is the title of a blog entry I posted on June 3, 2010, about a program I was scheduled to teach at the Zicklin School of Business.  The program ended last Wednesday and today I am writing to a share some of the results of the class.  If you are interested in attending the next 5-session program that begins on Tuesday, July 20, please contact Linda Moore at 646-312-3620 or Linda.Moore@baruch.cuny.edu.

The purpose of “Supercharge Your Career in Today’s Tough Market” is to create a platform that brings together CUNY students and alumni as well as well as the general public who are stalled, uncertain about, or in need of the skills involved in finding then applying and interviewing for a job in their chosen career.

Class size is limited in order to create a highly interactive environment.  There were 13 students in the first summer program who bonded very quickly since they had one thing in common:  how to present their best selves to potential employers.  Each person was supportive of the other, offering suggestions, words of inspiration, and leads to job opportunities.

Selected from participants after five weeks of meetings include:

I feel very self-confident and ready to apply what I learned.

You helped me see how I can position my skills to advance my career.

I’m going to go on informational interviews so that I can practice my interview story.

The profile of this group included a former Wall Streeter who has been out of work for almost two years, a woman who had worked for a company for over 20 years until the firm succumbed to the recession, an administrator with many years experience who was ready to find a job that held more meaning for her, a graduate student going for her M.B.A. who wanted a job, another M.B.A. student who wanted to apply for an internship, and a junior in college who wanted to get a head start on his career search.

Everyone participated, bringing in resumes for me to review, drafting and practicing elevator speeches for the networking meetings and professional association events they were going to attend, and role-playing interviews that included the tough questions.

It was a pleasure teaching this class and leading individuals to their common goal:  a way to contribute and earn rewards for their intelligence, skills, and natural talents.

I wish them my former students all the best in their searches.  If you are interested in finding out more about supercharging your career, please contact Linda Moore at 646-312-3620 or Linda.Moore@baruch.cuny.edu.

Look at this picture.  What do you see?  Who do you see?  How do you see them?  Where do you see them?  Why do you see this picture?

Spring 2010---A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior

When I look at the picture, I see my spring 2010 class of “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior”—a class that whether they liked it or not, moved out of their comfort zones to meet and excel at challenging course expectations.

When I look at the picture, I see a microcosm of Baruch College, the nation’s most ethnically diverse campus of over 15,500 students who speak 110 languages and come from 160 countries.

When I look at the picture, I see decision makers who will climb the corporate—or small business—ladders to achieve the success that they so much want to attain.

When I look at the picture, I see the future, a future that includes other students in classes like mine who will take what they have learned in college and use it to be effective and efficient managers and leaders.

When I look at this picture on my computer or now posted on my blog, I smile.  These “students” are part of today’s workforce.  While working to be a leader, they are making a difference in people’s lives as a manager, an intern, a small business owner, an executive at their parents’ company, a receptionist at a medical office, a technology lab assistant.  They are working to be managers and leaders, and in that process using directly or indirectly the knowledge that they gained in my class.

When I look at this picture, I see these and other individuals who in coming years will be making decisions about the future of America.  I like to think that the curriculum of the class that they took with me will help them make those decisions.  That required essays to examine their organizational behavior; identify and understand the bully or the procrastinator or the older worker in the workplace; acquire a realistic perspective on women in leadership from guest speakers and conference panelists; and compare a founding father with a technology pioneer helped to put innovation and risk-taking into a meaningful and historical context.

Part of my students’ final written assignment was to write about workplace 2020—what they will be doing, how they will be working, where they will be doing that work, etc.  Their essays included finding work-life balance and needing to be continuous learners.  One student, the only one in a class where everyone included technology as part of their future, mentioned that soft skills—interactions with others—will also be needed.

Relationships are part of the future.  My relationship with my students was a rewarding one, one where I could see the future develop during each and every class.  I salute my class of spring 2010 and wish them great achievement.

I’m not alone in saying that this is a busy summer.  Almost everyone I speak with state that they have been busier than usual during this summer.  Mine isn’t a complaint; I’m glad to be busy working and playing.

However, looking at the date of my last blog helped me realize how busy I’ve been; the last time I posted anything was Thursday, June 3^rd—over five weeks ago.  Where did June and the first half of July go?  It was a busy few weeks but I didn’t know that it was so busy that I wouldn’t have or take the time to write a blog.  I love to write blogs.  How and where did I invest my time doing other things?

One major investment I made was to begin a written project, specially a book—a term paper on steroids.  After positioning the book, I created the outline and drafted the preface and introduction.  Built around the experiences and results of teaching at CUNY, I will be the editor for contributions from my current and former students who are working to be leaders.  My return is not financial as much as how the book evolved to become a platform to share the insights and knowledge gained from my experiential approach to student learning.

Hendersons in the Merced River under El Capitan in Yosemite National Park

Another investment of time was spent at the Henderson Family Reunion in Tuolumne County, California.  My niece Dr. Tomi Sue Henderson hosted the event and prepared amazingly delicious food for our big family dinner in her backyard—as well as our picnic in Yosemite National Park.  It was great to get together with relatives, some of whom I hadn’t seen for a few years.  One of my nephews and his wife brought their four children who range in age from two- to eight-years-old.  We had a lot of fun together taking a train ride with an engine that used to pull passenger cars through the Gold Country in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Strolling for 1.5 miles through the Calaveras Big Trees, the Hendersons saw two groves of giant sequoia redwood trees, some of which are 2,000 to 3,000 years old, 250 to 300 feet high, and 25 to 30 feet across.

What else did I do?  Coach executives, meet with colleagues, manage administrative matters that include dealing with computer challenges that take days to resolve and taking more days to learn how to use my new iPad, and, at the same time, continue my professional development!  My “other career” is going to be as a Pilates instructor and, to formalize my seven years of taking over 1,000 classes, I participated in a 2.5 day Beginners Mat Certification Program last weekend (my results will be in the mail in a few weeks).

There’s been more.  Another five-session program of “Supercharge Your Career” at Zicklin just finished; it was a fabulous class because of the extraordinarily supportive, focused, and engaged participants.  Last week, I started teaching “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior” during Zicklin’s second summer session—a class that meets three nights a week!  The second summer session of “Supercharge Your Career” is set to start this Tuesday evening and end on August 17—adding a fourth night to my teaching.