A521.7.4.RB_LarsonKurt, KnowledgeSharingStory

I am a sportsman that has had the good fortune to have hunted and fished all over the North American Continent, including parts of Canada including fishing overseas when the opportunity presented itself.

I also pride myself on following appropriate game laws especially when I am in the field alone and have only my conscience to guide me. And I only take from nature what I need, and always give back in some form or another as my small way of preserving the outdoors for generations yet to come.

On occasion I have fly-fished the Madison and Gallatin rivers in Big Sky Montana, just to the North of Yellowstone Park In Wyoming. Most states have reciprocal agreements with each other, as a measure to avoid conflict with a fisherman on a lake or stream unknowingly violating game laws by straying into another state.

Like I said this applies to most situations unless a particular lake or stream flows into a National Park where you need a special permit. I have no particular problem with special permits, since the revenue goes toward wildlife and habitat conservation and the cost is generally not too steep considering the spectacular views one can witness, not to mention fish to catch or game to harvest.

In June of 1999, I was in Big Sky fly fishing and purchased my Montana Sportsman’s license, listened to the locals talk about the fishing conditions and got the general lay of the land including a topographic map of the area, which I proceeded to mark a red line at the Montana/Wyoming border of the rivers I intended to fish, as a method of not straying into Wyoming let alone Yellowstone.

My day began quite early as I donned my warm clothes, hip waders, fishing vest and small backpack with supplies and food for my day on the water. I must have been fishing for about four hours, making my way down stream not having too much luck, but enjoying the day and scenery none-the-less, when I spotted a game warden on the right bank approximately 200 yards down stream. I figured that as I worked my way down toward his location he would want me to come to the shore so he could check my license and catch (if I had any). Well he actually came out to see me, which I thought was pretty cool for him to not disturb my fishing more than needed.

           

We exchanged the pleasantries as well as answering if I had any luck, which I indicated to the negative and asked if he would like to see my license and I.D., which he did. I handed him my Montana sportsman’s license and military I.D. to which he mentioned he was retired Army, I said I am Air Force and thanked him for his service.

He asked me do I know exactly know where I am? To which I took out my topographic map and showed him I/we were approximately ¼ mile north of the red line indicating the Montana/Wyoming border. The warden took my map and studied it a bit, informing me I was a bit farther down river than I thought, and was actually ¼ mile into the great state of Wyoming and he then welcomed me to Yellowstone Park.

I must have looked flabbergasted when he told me, as I proceeded to restudy the map figuring how I got so far down stream, unaware of my true location. I let him know that I pride myself on knowing the game laws of the areas I hunt and fish and that I have unknowingly strayed into Yellowstone.

I believe to this day he took pity on me for several reasons, one, we were both brothers by virtue of our military association and I had taken great steps to avoid the circumstance I have now found myself in. He informed me he was not going to cite me and In-fact he offered me a ride upstream to my vehicle, which I graciously accepted. During the ride we talked about our times and places we both were stationed in the military. I decided to let him know I was going to purchase a Yellowstone permit as a way of assuring my compliance with the local game laws and as a way of repaying a courtesy extended. Like I said… I always give back. Not to mention the savings from the rather steep fines he could have levied against me that day.

I use this as an example when teaching our daughter about good sportsman like conduct and to always do the right thing…  or at least give it your best effort, even when nobody is looking.   

A521.6.3.RB_LarsonKurt, High Performance Teams

Based on this week's readings from the Denning text, identify the elements of

high-performance teams and apply them to teams with whom you have worked in

your organization.

Next, Identify the importance of shared values and discuss the influence of

shared values on your team's performance.

Finally, examine the four patterns of working together and detail one positive an

one negative experience. What could you have done to influence the outcomes?

During my 20 plus years in the A.F. I had the unique opportunity to have

participated five times, in an airlift competition named “Airlift Rodeo”. Airlift

                        Rodeo sponsored by the Air Mobility Command is the Mobility Air Force's, or MAF, readiness competition. This competition focuses on improving our worldwide air mobility forces' professional core abilities.

                        The experience that I along with my fellow airman from maintenance, operations, and aerial port squadrons, were astounding from the standpoint of team bonding of the many disciplines and in a compressed, predetermined timeframe stemming from team selection to preparation to competition.

In several instances team members were total strangers before and some the best of friends afterword. Even those who had challenging relationships quickly forgot and became part of a team driven toward the ultimate goal of winning. The team was so successful because we all quickly realized early on that this is something bigger than any one individual. And in order to win and to not be the first looser (aka) second place, we would need to combine our specific expertise and become one cohesive team that went to completion and won as a team, or lost as a team, with no specific outstanding prize to any one individual or blame to any one individual.

The importance of shared values were so important for the overall success of the team, that if any one member were to have differing values the risk of loosing the competition or, compromised safety could not be tolerated. The level of commitment of shared values was so high, that after the competition(s) were completed and we returned to our respective squadrons.  Most would often have conflict with what had become the new norm of shared values vs. what was the current norm for our work centers.

In fact during subsequent deployments Rodeo competitors would look toward working with one another, to revisit the level of commitment and working relationships again.

The four patterns of working together:

Work groups according to Denning, are the traditional subunits in an organizational department or division.

A positive experience would be during an acceptance check of a particular weapon system, the group I was assigned to encounter setbacks. As a result the team that was comprised of various engineering disciplines of mechanical, electrical including a functional test engineer of differing aerospace companies and myself the customer, who were able to assess the root cause of the problem and tailor a corrective action including functional test and acceptance portion.

A negative experience would be a similar circumstance as the one previously described. Only now a perception of compromise of proprietarily information between contractors (KTR’s) leads to a rift between two KTR’s of a similar nature. Rightfully so, they were protecting there companies information and shareholder interests.

I along with contracting experts, proposed a closed-door meeting between the respective companies legal and management personnel. The root of the issue was a contract clause requiring the two rivals to have instituted a joint venture team for the purpose of this program and that there were those from both sides who were unable or unwilling to abide by the contract requirement clause.

What I would eventually do differently is to have a pre-meeting citing specific contract clauses and a constructive change notification as a stop-gap toward any Gov. to KTR misunderstandings. 

Teams are an organizational group of individuals that are interdependent; share a common goal and who coordinate their goals, sharing the overall responsibility for performance of the team.

A positive experience would be the previously discussed Airlift Rodeo experience. And the can-do attitude displayed by all team members during the selection, preparation, execution and continued new high standard taken back to the work centers as a result of Airlift Rodeo.

A negative experience would be addressing an organizational shortfall and the team comprised to address the corrective action and implementation. Several members were not on board with the root cause or the need for a corrective action. Thus they were party to fake collaboration and were instrumental in disruption and delay of policy revision and implementation.

I individually had no leverage to positively influence the outcome. I as the identifier of the shortfall found the culture was lacking toward implementing this type of corrective action. Several post closed-door meetings with command staff citing the outcome convinced command staff to implement by direction and not from organizational consensus as had been hoped. This of course left some animosity in the organization, and at times directed toward yours truly.

Community is a group that has emerged in recent years in an organizational setting as a group of individuals who are geographically dislocated.

The Interagency Committee on Aviation Policy (ICAP,) is an executive level committee I serve on in Washington, DC. The committee is comprised of various federal agencies with aviation programs, with the goal of commonality and safety for the federal fleet of non-military aircraft.

The committee is very close knit, meeting quarterly and traveling to agencies to asses their aviation safety programs, making recommendations and then utilizing lessons learned to enhance federal regulations and distribution of information through a list-serve and continued collaboration.

The negative side is dud to federal budget cuts, the frequency the committee meets and the impact it currently has on the federal fleet of aviation programs is in jeopardy.

At this juncture we are looking at alternative methods of communicating like webinars and teleconferences. Unfortunately these are not a proven venue for collaboration and discussion of topics or salient points made during the course of a live meeting, considering the cost of set-up and the fact that less than 10% of effective communication is verbal. There will be a lot of vital communication lost in the translation.

I have recommended abandoning the purchasing of webinar and teleconference equipment and do a cost comparison between travel cost and equipment purchase.      

  

Networks are a collection of individuals that maintain contact with one another either professionally or personally.

Like most effective programs or projects, it is the individuals who stay in-touch after the fact that are instrumental in getting the correct individuals for the next team and project. Mediums like email, phones, linked-in, Facebook (not a member) and even the golf course are all acceptable methods of staying in touch and utilizing as a networking tool.

I do not have a negative side for this pattern except that possibly the human touch and interaction can be and in certain circumstances been lost in cyberspace.     

Reference:  Denning, S. (2011). The leader\'s guide to storytelling. (2 ed.).

A521.5.8.CM_LarsonKurt, Value Narrative

The value communicated is adherence to the minimal standard for the use of calibrated tools and equipment, while performing maintenance, alteration or preventive maintenance.

More specifically from: 14 Code of Federal Regulations or, C.F.R. § 43.13, Performance rules (general).

(a) Each person performing maintenance, alteration, or preventive maintenance on an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance shall use the methods, techniques, and practices prescribed in the current manufacturer's maintenance manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness prepared by its manufacturer, or other methods, techniques, and practices acceptable to the Administrator, except as noted in §43.16. He shall use the tools, equipment, and test apparatus necessary to assure completion of the work in accordance with accepted industry practices. If special equipment or test apparatus is recommended by the manufacturer involved, he must use that equipment or apparatus or its equivalent acceptable to the Administrator.

(b) Each person maintaining or altering, or performing preventive maintenance, shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality, that the condition of the aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly altered condition (with regard to aerodynamic function, structural strength, resistance to vibration and deterioration, and other qualities affecting airworthiness).

The issue is important from the standpoint that an organization does not automatically get a pass on adherence to the basic rules because they are hard to adhere to, economically unfeasible, or, past practice.

Another value that has been in conflict is economics, and the added cost of having to get tools and equipment identified and on a consistent calibration program to follow the requirements of 14 C.F.R. § 43.13.

A conflict between the two values came to light during identification of non-compliance and an attempt to architect organizational policy. The articles author was the protagonist or individual who was responsible for the identification, recommendations and course of action that should be taken, to alleviate the non-compliance.

Conflict was also manifested between the author and established decenters, because of an established culture (before my time,) that was not receptive toward positive change, including past practice and the way it had always been accomplished in the past.       

A521.5.4.RB_LarsonKurt, Aligning Values

Denning discusses in detail the process of developing and aligning organizational values.

Identify the three basic components of an ethical community and discuss how they might be applied in your organization.

Are there values that are missing from your organization?

Discuss how you might develop those values and also align them with the values of the individuals in the organization.

In Denning, specifically Pg. 131 discusses the three “Genuinely Ethical Values”.

An organization with good ethical values will revere its staff as a community of individuals to whose welfare and contributions are valued along with a commitment for the well being and nurturing of the individual.

My organization is extremely stove piped, with particular entities looking at others as simply support for their purpose and needs. The organization is somewhat flat lined in that innovation or new ideas, or an attempt to bring the organization to the minimum requirement for a particular policy, regulation or requirement, is met with so much resistance and opposition. Along with a general lack of support to the individual proposing the change, that most do not bother, having been thrown under a bus or two previously.      

An ethical organization will treat the environment with respect, and not simply a commodity from which needed resources can be harvested for the good of the organization, without replenishment and concern for the future.

           

The organization does a fantastic job as a good steward of the environment, and looks to furthering the science of understanding the environment and mans effect upon it, in a manner conducive to sound and environmentally responsible practices and methods.

How an organization treats its internal and external stakeholders as individuals and not simply a means to an end or to be exploited for the sake of profit.

The organization will not acknowledge that injustice has been done toward specific individuals, and that it is more expedient to simply ignore an unfortunate situation in hopes that it will go away. The wronged individual is further alienated and/or diminished when attempting to right a wrong, or addressing a condition that may be controversial or overtly difficult to accomplish although it may be regulatory required.

Are there values that are missing from your organization?

The organizations Strategic Plan is chock full of Espoused values that are           of no particular value since management does not consistently support or lead by example. This has instilled certain mistrust between various groups of officers, civilians and management. 

Discuss how you might develop those values and also align them with the         values of the individuals in the organization.

The individuals who possess strong lasting values ad brought them from the military. And will not devalue or bend these values simply to get along with the crowd (present company included).

There are those who are lost somewhere between and cannot take a stance either way, or are afraid to make a stance and risk an already uncertain career.

That said… most of the retired or former military have a strong bond that will not be broken. The crowds that do not possess these strong values and integrity are most likely to be the dissenters attempting to discredit and/or diminish an individual that has identified problem areas.

It is because of this that the organization will eventually flounder, as strong willed and skilled individuals possessing the drive and determination along with strong values and integrity leave (again, present company included).

The latter paragraphs content was not noted as being discussed in the course text(s) however, I believe it prudent to address from the stand point of a bad relationship… at what point does one throw-in the towel and search for greener pastures in an organization that values and appreciates an individuals high caliper contributions, experience, attention to detail and credentials?

Kurt,