Individual_Strengths_and_Problem_Solving_Techniques

Individual Strengths and Problem-Solving Techniques Paper University of Phoenix Individual Strengths and Problem-Solving Techniques Paper Currently, I work in a group setting or scenario in which the leader leads by autocratic leadership. The director that I work for has a large amount of power within her group and she runs her group my micromanagement maintaing strict control over everyone, from how long they work on a project, to how they do the project. A staff member who she feels is not competentant to do things her way must give in to her minute-by-minute instructions. Working in this manner has many staff member working under stress and they are depressed. Our director tries to control everything about every situation, such as the direction and outcome of a discussion or project, she does not allow many to have or share their opinions, she makes the decisions about everything and sometimes, though rarely, would ask other management to share their ideas only to ignore the suggestions later. She rarely allows others to make decisions, constantly gives orders about every little thing, expects everyone to place her on a pedestal and to follow and obey all of her orders no matter that she makes people redo work that she decreed even though the person told her that was not the best way to handle it. She never admits to being wrong but has a way of blaming everyone else using tones that a person dares not speak up in defense of him- or herself. However, unlike a true autocratic leader, she never takes responsibility for the results of a project when she obstentatiously did not listen to sound ideas from other staff on how to achieve the deliverable. Instead, she ignores the ideas of others, do things her way, then blame the team when things do not go her way. When a project finally goes right, after being long overdue due to her insistence that things are done her way even if she does not understand the concepts of the software and the requirements of getting the project done, she has a moment, a rare moment, to reward the team to blizzards at Diary Queen, her favorite dessert even though members on the team are not into sweets, she dares them to refuse. The morale of the staff is low; it has a damn if I do, damn if I don’t attitude. Most don’t enjoy their jobs but know that the job market out there is scare and so, most hold their tongues and speak to each other to try to relief the stressful situations which is a daily occurance. Most celebrate when she is out of the office and that’s when most of the work is successfully completed without all the interruptions and interference. It’s a shame that the group is looking forward to her surgery next week on her bunions next week and all are praying that she does not try to put it off. It gives us all a reprieve while she is out recovering. Some of the strengths and skills that I have brought to the group setting is my software skills and knowledge of computers and the shortcuts and tricks to making a computer do what I want it to do. Almost everyone in the group come to me for software expertise and the director and all staff member declare me to be the subject matter expert. This has truly benefited the group and saves in time when we don’t have to call technical support for assistance or have to go to lengthing training when there is someone there to assist immediately. There are many drawbacks when I use my knowledge of software and skills to assist my fellow co-worker and my director and manager. There is so much need for me to assist others because of their elementary knowledge of their way around the computer. Sometimes, I am called on to ask how to delete a pagebreak or a frame or a footer. I feel that with the high salaries that the others are making, they should have these elementary skills. No one seems to write down what I instruct them to do to fix their problem. Instead they continuously ask me to assist them in the same types of problems. This has affected me in a negative way because I can’t always work uninterrupted when I have deadlines to meet. People don’t seem to think about I also have deadlines to meet, but will come into my cubicle all day long to ask for assistance. I have spoken with both my manager and finally my director about this. Both told me that I was not required to share my experience. Then, however, both has asked me to come up with training material in which I can present to the staff in order to build their technology skill levels but has not given me any time in my work day to create the presentation nor have either given me permission to create it on my own at home. In rebellion, during a period of my worklife a few weeks ago, I refused to assist anyone. Instead I directed them to the help menu of the various software applications that they were working in. This was not appreciated and I had told management beforehand that I was going to do it since they told me it was not my duty to teach them by interruption on a hourly basis every day. However, they continue to ask and slowly, I continued to assist. I think that the staff not learning these things by writing down this valuable lesson will affect the group in a negative fashion. I don’t plan to always be an administrative assistant, which is one of the reasons that I have been going to school to obtain my bachelor’s degree. Some skills that I could really improve on to foster a more effective group environment is to not be so loud. I think listening to loud music for so many decades has caused me to talk in elevated tones. Once someone asked me to speak in my indoor voice. I know there is a problem and I have been working on it, however the process is slowing changing. I am constantly aware of the level of my voice and am physically trying to bring it down a notch at a time. Problem solving skills that I use at work is to use my Christian knowledge to assist others in calming down when the director is being cruel and mean to others just for the sake that she can do so. Lately, she has had it in for my manager and she is treating him wrong by not allowing him to manage his own employees but instead has set her henchman on him. The henchman is several classifications under him, however, the director has given him authority over everyone. He doesn’t know a lot of things, but he knows how to follow her direction and tell us her ruling. He often gives senseless instruction and we can tell that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but still, he trudges along doing her menial deeds of bring dissatisfaction to the workers. My manager made the mistake of proceeding with a project and did not get her approval on one original applications’ portion of it because he gave it to her in spreadsheet format with the applicants’ critical information for her approval. However, she feels that she should have also received the original applications, all 480 of them. He thought he was doing a service by putting and the critical information in an easy to read format. However, she has treated him like a dog since, which is why she put her henchman on him. Others call him the bulldog, but I don’t want to do unjustice to a whole breed of dogs. Reference Engleberg, I. N. and Wynn, D. R. (2007). Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies, Fourth Edition. Published by Allyn & Bacon. University of Phoenix textbook.