Leadership

I believe leadership plays a huge role in giving instructions and in training others. In order to better understand what leadership is and how instructors can be better leaders and encourage their students to lead, I asked for others input. The following are the questions I asked and the insights I gained from the received answers in regards to leadership. If you would like to view or take the quiz click here.  

1. What does being a leader mean to you?
Most people talked about being a good example and encouraging others to work hard. But thoughts that stuck out to me included:

• Leaders give credit to the team when things go well and take the blame when things don't 
• Leaders give their time and allow others to ask questions without making others feel dumb or an idiot, these leaders are approachable

2. What characteristics make a good leader?
Many answers included hard working, motivated, selfless, confident, and discipline. Some of the comments that really stuck out to me included:

• Leaders invests in helping others improve
• Leaders are willing to do anything they ask others to do (nothing is below them) 
• Leaders are easy to relate to and are approachable 
• Leaders ask for input and have desires to continually improve themselves, not just others 
• Leaders are willing to step down if needed or if they recognize someone may be able to better do something than they could 

3. Where do you observe the leadership skills of others?
The most normal answers given were work, church, and family. It was pointed out that in reality leadership is present whenever a decision needs to be made and thus it can be observed on a daily bases with any individuals you surround yourself with.


4. Who do you observe leadership skills in?
My boss, friends, church leaders, professors/teachers, and parents were the most common answers for this questions. Though a few different people mentioned the following:

• You can observe leadership skills in everyone. Everyone can be a leader because there are so many different ways to be a leaders
• Circumstances can create leaders

One person also made the comments about viewing the leadership skills in athletes. I found this interesting because I feel that I gained many of my leadership skills being on the swim team. Both from viewing the example of older swimmers, but also by being a lane leader and team captain. 

5. Have you experienced bad leadership? What kind of qualities may have caused this bad leadership?

I loved reading these answers, maybe because I also have had my share of bad leaders and seeing that others recognize these characters as bad validates my own opinions. My favorite comment made was: 

"Bad leadership is the lack of leadership!"

Other comments made included that these leaders are not approachable, they don't listen to others, they are always looking out for themselves and trying to look good, they are full of pride and have to micromanage because no one can do it as well as they can. These kind of leaders feel entitled and have a desire for power, yet they don't take responsibility for the mistakes and don't take time to help or get to know others.  

6. How do you evaluate the success of leaders?

Most answers included being able to communicate with their team and bring out the best in those they work with. Some of my favorite answers included:

• If the team doesn't want to let their leader down and will do most anything their leader
• The team has respect has for their leader (even though they may not necessarily like them as a person)
• Leaders bring out the best in their team and the people around them

7. What kinds of experiences have helped you gain leadership skills?

Everyone mentioned the opportunities they have been give whether in school, church, or extra curricular activities have helped them gain new leadership skills. Working with great leaders who give leadership opportunities to others are great learning opportunities.  More responses that I really liked also included:

• Practice, practice, practice
• Reading leadership and business books and articles
• Learning from failures

"Failure in a leadership position can lead to an excellent opportunity to gain new leadership skills." 

8. What do you do to develop leadership skills in yourself? 

Many people commented about following the example of great people around them or those they have read about in books and in doing research. Putting yourself in places and trying to get out of your comfort zone (taking a new classes, taking risks, learning new things) help in gaining leadership skills and building confidence. Some of the other ideas I really liked included:

• Remember to put myself in the shoes of others (especially those you're leading) and thinking about their thoughts and feelings
• Reflecting on good leaders had and what you have valued and appreciated
• Take a weakness and work on it becoming a strength 

9. What do you think are the bigger challenges facing leaders today?

In this response there was a lot of discussion about the raising generation wanting something for nothing and feeling a great amount of entitlement. There are also many distractions we have surrounding us in the world and that multitasking can become a major issue when trying to get work done. We also have all the information we could ever want from the internet and sometimes this may cause people to think they know it all and that they have all the answers, for right or wrong. So not only is it important to avoid being this way, but also to realize how to motivate and communicate with such people is important as leaders. However, one of my favorite responses included:

• The need for our society to except failure and not be so critical. Often leaders are afraid to fail because our society doesn't allow it.  

10. What characteristics do you think are most important? (each person choose 3)

Honest: 8

Ability to Delegate: 4

Communication: 9

Sense of Humor: 2

Confidence: 3

Commitment: 3

Positive Attitude: 8

Creativity: 0

Intuition: 0

Ability to Inspire: 11

You can see that most people think the ability to inspire, being able to communicate, having a positive attitude, and being honest are the most important characteristics.  

Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment and the different insights I was able to gain from the 16 people that took the quiz. I find it interesting that anyone who wants to be a leader can be one and in many different ways. But I do think it is important to be your own best leader and not try to be someone else. It is also important to give opportunities to others in being their best self and leader!  

Training Top 10

For this assignment I viewed three different training/instruction experiences, wrote about these different experiences, and came up with a top 10 list on what makes good trainings and instruction. 

TOP 10 LIST:

1. Build instruction around the needs and skills of learners
2. Be organized with lists and agendas
3. Allow for and ask clarifying questions
4. Give learners hands on experiences
5. Provide leaners with mentors to watch and ask questions
6. Make the class personal to users
7. Share or demonstrate with examples
8. Allow for repetition
9. Make training fun and entertaining 
10. Be aware of time

Below are more about the experiences I had in watching and participating in different training and instructional experiences: 

1. Sports Academy Front Desk Training

I observed new employees being trained to work at the Front Desk of the Sports Academy.  The training started in an office with the manager going over the basic rules and responsibilities of the job. The manager has a list typed out of things to go over including check-in procedures, lesson sign-ups, and how to answer the telephone.

Once they had gone through the list and all questions had been answered the Manager took the new employees to the front to observe first hand what the front desk staff does. The Manager then showed the new employees how to welcome members, answer the telephone, make smoothies, run the cash register, and sign members of for different kinds of lessons (everything they has discussed back in the office).

After job shadowing for a time, the new employees took turns performing different tasks with a skilled worker helping and answering questions along the way. Because there were only 3 employees being trained this approach worked well and was very personal. The training was also very organized with specific procedures to go over.  In this training new employees were able to first learn about the procedures, see someone else do the procedure, and then try it out for himself or herself. The repetition in this training helped new employees grasp the concepts being taught and practice, practice, practice until they were comfortable with the different tasks.  

2. Yoga Classes

I participated in instruction for yoga classes, both in person and through video.  In a live class the instructor is able to check for understanding and can clarify if anyone is uncertain of what is going on. The instructor can also mix up the routine and the moves according to the students needs in the class. A live instructor also has the potential to share more energy and motivation to the students. In a classroom setting students also have peers to ask questions or share thoughts and feelings with. 

When watching the video the instructor was able to give great instruction and the moves being shown were precise and perfect. However, because this instruction was recorded there was no way to ask clarify questions or adjust moves to the students. One benefit of having video for instruction is that it can be paused and re-watched at the students pace, but the instruction never changes. Some may like this consistency, while others might like the change up of a live class. 

Overall in classes such as yoga, the most important thing is the student and what they are most comfortable with. If student like being alone and going at their own pace, watching a yoga video would be best for them. If a student learns well from others and likes receiving feedback, going to a live yoga class would probably work best for them.

3. Swim Coach Training

I recently attended a coaches meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to go over the new rules and regulations made in the USA Swimming program for this year. The meeting was held in a large room and papers were handed out to coaches. The list went over the new rules that were being implemented.

The meeting started and we began going over the list. Not until the end did the instructors ask if there were any questions. By that time anyone who had question regarding items 1-6 had long forgotten what his or her questions were. Along with this, because we were in a classroom there was no great way to clarify questions in regards to stroke techniques. It would have been beneficial to have a video of the swim strokes or even allow coaches to try or even see the stroke techniques live in the water at the end of class.

Though this meeting was kept short and sweet, I felt frustrated and uncertain with some of the discussed changes.  

A Book Review of "DISNEY U!"

I loved this book and found the principles taught within the book’s pages very beneficial.  Learning about different training programs that have been created through Disney University was helpful in sparking ideas that I can try and implement in my future jobs and throughout my career.  The ideas were fun and creative and I had a hard time putting the book down.

I also loved this book because it was not written as a traditional novel or in a textbook format. This book changed it up through giving examples, sharing stories, asking questions, giving reviews and application practices at the end of each chapter. Because the book was written this way it helped me not only better learn the fundamental principals being taught, but to retain the lessons I learned and apply them to different training opportunities I currently have or will have in the future.

The book was broken up into 13 Lessons and the following are my “take-a-ways” from reading each of the chapters. 

“Training cannot be limited to ‘here’s what you need to do, now go do it.’ That’s not good enough. Training needs to instill a spirit, a feeling, an emotional connection. Training means creating an environment of thinking and feeling” (p. 20).

Lesson 1: Setting the Stage for Success

Van France was the main guy behind creating and developing Disney University. He had four circumstances that he wanted to be included in all trainings.

1. Innovation
2. Organizational Support
3. Education
4. Entertain

Along with his four circumstances Van also helped create the “Secrets of Disney University” that all trainings needed to provide. These included:

• All employees having a seat at the leadership table.
• All employees being a valued part of the organizational culture.
• All employees moving beyond providing merely short-lived programs.
• All employees being incessantly creative and willing to try new approaches to keep the message relevant, fresh, and engaging.

Lesson 2: Capture Hearts and Minds

“The Happiest Place on Earth is a fine balance of values and things, along with a lot of hard work” (p 33). The Disney Company expects that their employees will work hard not only in their area, but throughout the whole park. Everyone, now matter what your job at Disney was accepted to go through the same training. This allowed for everyone to see the big picture in what the Disney Company was trying to achieve. 

  

         

Lesson 3: It Takes Art and Science

“The best is never the best, and pay attention to the smallest details” (p. 44). I would say that this is one of the reasons that Disney is so successful; everything matters to them, not just the big stuff.  In reference to their parks (both on stage and off stage) there were to:

• Keep the park clean (street clean enough to eat off of)
• Keep the park well maintained
• Keep the park friendly

And all employees worked to achieve these goals. Maintenance, grounds crews, and custodial were all trained to lend a helping hand to lost guests and taking family pictures. 

Lesson 4: Gather Facts and Feelings

One things that Walt Disney was known for was searching for different perspectives of his guests.  Often he would look at the vantage point of a child to make sure that everything was still magical closer to the ground. Also as Walt walked the park, nothing was below him doing. He would pick up trash, help a crying child, or give directions to the lost; in this way he set the best example for all the employees who were trained to do the same. 

In order to make sure everyone was on the same page trainers had “One foot in the Past, one foot in the Future” and focused on the following three things:            

1. Consistency (Everyone must attend the new-hire orientation program)
2. Systems (Specific on-the-job training must follow the orientation program)
3. Continuing Education (Supervisors and mangers needed leadership and communication skills training)

Lesson 5: Be Willing To Change or Be Willing to Perish

This section talked about the importance of having a purpose behind trainings, and if the purposes were not being meet it was time to make some changes. It’s important to recognize that change is not a bad thing. It‘s what helps you to improve! 

This was Disney University’s purpose:

“Whether you are a new host or hostess, starting out on your first job or an experienced od0timer, the University of Disneyland was established to assist you. It is an educational facility where everyone majors in “people.” Our ability to deal with people in a personal and courteous way is the basis for our success” (p. 74).

And their focus was on creating leaders, people specialists, trade specialist, and sharing history and traditions. 

Lesson 6: Simplify the Complex

In this chapter the example of how customer service in the Disney Stores were improved. They would send their employees out to different stores to track the good and bad customer service they received, giving them personal experience. All the employees then came back and discussed what they liked and didn’t like and how they as cast members could improve their own customer service skills.

Its funny because after reading this chapter I found myself at the grocery store, the gym, different restaurants, and much more noticing the customer service I was receiving and reflecting on what I could do better as an individual to cause others to feel happier after being around me, even if just for a few moments. 

Lesson 7: The Honeymoon Will End

This section was great for continually training and understanding where cast members are coming from. This way any problems that arise can be dealt with through understanding and perspective. Disney focuses on everyone both the Centralized & Decentralized employees becoming a team.

Stories were shared of executives dressing up like Tigger in 90 Degree weather, walking around the parking being friendly to guest, taking pictures, and sign autographs. What better way to learn how casts member feel, then by doing what they do! 

Lesson 8: Keeping Plussing the Show

Often companies blame the economy for the lack of improvement or things breaking down.  Not at Disney, they continue to improve their products and services. They also recognize that training can’t solve every problem, often there are adjustments that need to be made to increase productivity and so they put resources into those things.  The comment was made that “money might be tight; but creativity is free!”

“Marketing is the time and money you spend to get people in the door. Training is the investment you make to get guests to come back and cast members to stay: it creates loyalty. If show was affect, I never cut corners to save money. I never canceled a training program if it helped out show” (p.123).

Lesson 9: Beyond Orientation

After orientation training, other programs were created to help employees. Trainings were to innovate, support, educate, and entertain.  Trainings were also to be made simple (not simplistic), enjoyable, and memorable. 

“It is much bigger than ‘everyone buys into it’. It is ‘everyone lives it’. From my earliest days at Disneyland, I saw manager and senior-company executives lead the way as role models. This creates a gigantic difference” (p. 138).

Lesson 10: The Language of Success

I loved this section; there is so much power in the words we use and how individuals view the world around them. Van France gave the following quote, which I thought was pretty powerful.

“[Throughout my career], I had found that most people wan tot be involved in something greater than just being paid for a job, My basic story is about two men laying bricks. When asked what he is doing, one man says, “I’m laying bricks.” The other man performing the same task says, “I’m building a cathedral” (p. 143).

It should also be noted that the Disney Company takes advantage of their words:

1. We don’t have customers, we have guest

2. We aren’t employees we are host, hostesses, cast members

3. We don’t wear uniforms, we wear costumes

4. We don’t have crowds, we have audiences

“At Disneyland, I wanted people to feel they were involved in something more important than parking cars, serving food, or sweeping popcorn, that they would be creating happiness for others” (p. 145).

Lesson 11: Give Back

The Disney Company knows the importance of giving back to the community and helping to serve those in need.  They want everyone to feel like they are a Disney guest, whether in the park gates or not. 

“Consumers, whether paying customers or recipients of social services, gravitate towards organizations that demonstrate good corporate citizenship” (p. 165).

Lesson 12: Communicate Globally Spanning the Gaps

As the Disney Company has expanded throughout the world, they have seen first hand that something that seems like commonsense in one culture, may not be so in another. 

The story was shared that as the park in Tokyo was weeks away from opening the cleaning staff was asked to clean the Haunted Mansion, and so they did. The staff removed all the cobwebs, dust, spiders, and everything that had been placed within the Mansion for design and costume was taken down and the Mansion looked as clean as could be. Disney realized that this was a good opportunity to learn. They recognized that assumptions were made and the expectations weren’t clear, which was something they could work on.

Lesson 13: Work Hard, Play Hard

The Disney Company believes that working hard and having fun go hand in hand, and they wanted to make sure that their employees experienced the fun in working hard.  It was said that you “Develop your sense of humor and eventually it will develop you” (192). 

“Procedures, rules, and policies, which are important to any organization, are more memorable when presented creatively” (189).

Not only were trainings fun and enjoyable. But employees were also able to enjoy games such as the “Case Canoe Races” where employee teams would wake up early and race around the lake in the Davy Crocket canoes.  There were also the Disneylander News for all employees to read. The newspaper gave updates on different parts of the park and cast members. 

As Walt said:

 “Why do we have to grow up? That is the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up. They forget. They don’t remember what it’s like to be twelve years old” (p. 194).

And as the Disney training staff kept this in mind they were able to engage their employees, who where then able to engage the customers.  It was send that “Van (the lead trainer) was a maverick. He didn’t fit into any box; he was his own box” (p. 200). And that is a huge reason why Disney training programs, Disney University, and the Disney Company are so successful today!