Managing a Diverse Team

This post is about an interview Colombian and USA actor, Mr. John Leguizamo, gave to ABC News Prime in 2021 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT3xiQK-NTk). This actor is part of an ethnic minority, the Hispanics. He was born on July 22^nd, 1960, in Colombia, and moved to the United States as a child, so he is also a US citizen. He is a well-known Hollywood star, mainly known for his role as an actor and comedian, although he is also a producer of both movies and documentaries. Moreover, he is also an activist who raises his voice against discriminatory practices against his fellow Latinos and Hispanics.

 The workplace challenges prompted by his ethnic group identity this professional actor has had to overcome to make it in Hollywood are several, as he pointed out throughout the interview. Some of said challenges, for instance, comprise poverty, prejudice, immigration, lack of roles being created for actors such as himself to really have an opportunity to shine and demonstrate his skills.

The interview went on to let him further express how this movie he directed in 2021, based on a true story, goes to show how many gifted Hispanics simply are never given the chance to pass a casting process, or how they are not even nurtured by higher powers, preventing them from climbing their way up.

He explained how this Hispanic professor from Florida, Mr. Mario Martinez, struggled and succeeded big time by, precisely, nurturing, coaching, supporting, and encouraging a group of Latino students back in 1998 all the way until they became USA National Chess Champions, which is something he was able to portray in his film “Critical Thinking”.

Leguizamo elaborates some more on his criticism on how he feels like he and his fellow Latinos / Hispanics are living in what he deems a cultural apartheid, totally neglected, despite said minority group accounting for 25% of the U.S. box office.

          Some strategies I could propose for Mr. Leguizamo to try to help him overcome some of the challenges faced in the workplace are, for instance, encourage him not to so easily accept uneven distributions of decision-making power and access to perks and benefits, but instead to raise his voice and let producers, directors and even the audience know his people are not going to allow them to abuse those powers.

            Another strategy would be to make sure in his acting performance contracts to include a variable compensation component based precisely on the degree of his performance, making sure his efforts are duly recognized monetarily at the very least.

Another strategy would be to practice his assertiveness skills, in a such a way that, without him being disrespectful, he learns how to raise his voice to an extent that nobody dares crossing the line or abusing his kindness.

Yet another strategy that could be suggested to Mr. Leguizamo would be to encourage him to work on his uncertainty avoidance skills, given that his career is somewhat unstable, and even more so in his case given the minority related issue, hence it would be in his best interest to acquire some skills that deal with uncertainty avoidance.

Furthermore, I would also suggest Mr. Leguizamo to strengthen his focus on projecting his reward-obtaining moments for down the road, hence enabling him to be more resilient in the present, with focus of knowing, or at least expecting, to be further recognized or rewarded later.

A final strategy I would like to propose to this professional performer would be for him to further foster in-group collectivism among his fellow Latino / Hispanic artists, so that they can more strongly express their pride and union, which as a collective body will enhance their degree of representation of their community, hopefully managing to make an easier space for the upcoming generations not to have to struggle as hard to have access to the same opportunities as non-minorities do.

Organizational Behaviour - Daniel's Blog Entry #6 - Family Commitments and Remote Work - Grand Summary

This sixth blog entry related to our Organizational Behaviour class basically intends to summarize the prior five posts, dealing with the issue at stake, which is Family Commitments and Remote Work. In chronological order of posting, the articles based on which the mentioned blogs were created were: (1) "The pandemic changed how we work. Now, mothers want it to stay that way", written by journalist Kiernan Green, and published by CBC News, on October 10, 2022, (2) "When Your Boss Doesn’t Respect Your Family Commitments", written by Ms. Rebecca Knight, and published by Harvard Business Review, on September 01, 2020, (3) "Is the work-from-home debate already over?", written by Mr. Gene Marks, and published by The Guardian, on August 28, 2022, (4) "The pros and cons of working remotely", written by Mr. Bill George, and published by Fortune, on April 17, 2021, and (5) "Early Remote Work Impacts on Family Formation", written by Mr. Lyman Stone and Mr. Adam Ozimek, and published by Economic Innovation Group, on March 07, 2023.

Regarding the similarities found among all five articles I consider important to highlight the fact that all five of them were published by duly accredited entities, backed up by their prestige and careful choice of studies on which they based their disclosures, such as CBC News, Harvard Business Review, The Guardian, Fortune, and Innovation Group.

Continuing within the similarities that were perceived among the referred articles, most, if not all of them, have in common, as the trigger for the rest of their arguments, the undeniable game-changing event, which was the Covid 19 pandemic. As it may have been noticed throughout the reading of my prior five posts and of the articles based on which they were inspired, all of them start their analysis with the mentioned pandemic as the common factor that jump starts the rest of the discussion, stating facts such as those which describe the pandemic having been the root cause of millions of workers being sent home to continue with their duties, overnight, when the whole health-related crisis unfolded. That very event, referred to by all five articles, generated several transversal consequences affecting the life and overall dynamics of individuals, families, companies, industries, countries, and therefore were inevitably pointed at as a key component of the “Family Commitments and Remote Work” mega subject. As I mentioned earlier, the pandemic was the game-changing element that triggered the rest of the discussions, because, had it not been the case that workers were sent home, and yet entire industries proved to be able to keep delivering positive results, the debate on whether remote work could stay for good as an ongoing labor mode would have never been brought up, or at least not to the extent that it has. And again, all five articles invariably get their fuel from said event.

And, with respect to differences found among these five articles, the authors of articles number 3 and number 4 happen to somewhat disagree on their opinions regarding hybrid mode. Indeed, while Mr. Gene Marks advocates for hybrid mode, stating that the best possible solution to reconcile the perspectives of those who are pro remote work versus those who are against it is to go hybrid (in her article titled "Is the work-from-home debate already over?”), Mr. Bill George, on the other hand, while trying to suggest said mode would be a wise way out of the controversy, he lets is slide that perhaps such mode (hybrid) may not be such a good idea after all, as given that such an approach could potentially trigger its own set of issues and disputes among employees, some of the employees may feel played against when comparing themselves with certain peers who may be getting more home-office days than them or what not (as per his article, titled “"The pros and cons of working remotely").

As far as my takeaway from the research based on the previously mentioned articles, being myself one of the casualties of the pandemic, from a professional career stand point, that is, I strongly believe that the disruption it caused generated a priceless opportunity for professionals to rethink and redesign our careers, in such a way that would have never crossed my mind before. Nowadays, looking back, I am nothing but grateful for the unprecedented windows and doors that got open because of this situation, which have enabled me to become sort of what they are now calling a digital nomad, who gets to work from anywhere in the world, hence enjoying the perks that such a fun level of mobility triggers, which, by the way, happens to boost a healthier family life, granted by the flexibility that this kind of work arrangement provides.

Organizational Behaviour - Daniel's Blog Entry #5 - Family Commitments and Remote Work

         This fifth blog entry related to our Organizational Behaviour class is based on the following article, titled "Early Remote Work Impacts on Family Formation", written by Mr. Lyman Stone and Mr. Adam Ozimek, and published by Economic Innovation Group, on March 07, 2023 (https://eig.org/remote-work-family-formation/).

The article reflects on how dramatically the increase of remote work over the last couple of years has impacted society and the economy in such a way that it will be very difficult to ever go back to the base line as it was prior to the Covid 19 pandemic. Within such reflection, the authors go on to analyze that, even though there have certainly been negative outcomes out of the whole pandemic generated ordeal, there has also been several positive consequences, such as the fact that the sudden new remote-working mode arrangements enabled many people and entire families to get to enjoy more quality time at home, without necessarily leaving work unattended. Furthermore, having more flexible time to spend on their personal and family affairs boosted birth rates considerably, mainly on women with higher economic power and education levels.

The article points out that not only does remote work has enabled workers to enjoy more flexibility regarding where to work, but also regarding when to, as their performance tend to be measured more based on actual results and deliverables than on how punctual they show up at a given location to render their services. Hence, individuals are now further able to organize their overall schedules and can balance out their professional and personal life in a healthier fashion.

The authors then get statistically deeper in their analysis and try to break down some interesting figures as to how, apparently, unmarried remote workers were noticeably more prone to engage in marriage planning within the next year, and they support this interpretation on the fact that remote workers have probable higher migration rates than non-remote workers. At any rate, the article concludes that there seems to be an impact created by remote work on how much family formation intentions are likely to increase on women, mainly on older women who already have kids, and in general how the higher quantities of remote workers are impacting on fertility rates spikes.

As far as how this article relates to myself personally, I would say that I have witnessed close friends of mine, who used to have proud bachelor-like lifestyles, getting suddenly married and becoming parents, coincidentally during and post pandemic, as they were somehow feeling more vulnerable to loneliness and seemed to want to tie the knots and settle for a family. So, I would say the article does make sense, at least from the small sample I have been able to analyze from real life.

Organizational Behaviour - Daniel's Blog Entry #4 - Family Commitments and Remote Work

             This fourth blog entry related to our Organizational Behaviour class is based on the following article, titled "The pros and cons of working remotely", written by Mr. Bill George, and published by Fortune, on April 17, 2021 (https://fortune.com/2021/04/17/remote-work-home-hybrid-model-future/).

As its very title hints, the article at stake does a very well conceived illustrative job at portraying the advantages and disadvantages of a remote work arrangement, clearly detailing with the same level of thoroughness both sides of the same coin.

Among the pros the article describes there is time savings, productivity, schedule flexibility, balancing family needs, cost savings, organization design (very nice example of how, through a Zoom meeting, nobody gets to sit at a more “important” spot around the table, hence making the internal dynamics within the organization more horizontal and less hierarchical).

And, on the other hand, the cons listed by the article include issues dealing with trust, collaboration, lack of access to “informal interactions” and to meeting with customers in person. The last two of the mentioned cons are further explained by the author, stating that certain supervisors tend to lean on spontaneous pop ups in front of their subordinates to informally touch base with them, which certainly makes a difference, due to the human interaction taking place, which is totally forgone when exclusively working remotely. Same reasoning goes to explain about how important it is to at least once, in the first encounter, meet your customer face to face, and then maybe have the privilege to further follow up with them remotely, as that first meeting will have a higher positive impact if handled in person.

Hence, as the author further elaborates, organizations are leaning toward hybrid modes of job attendance, which could potentially resolve the conflicts between pros and cons, yet he (the author) points out that hybrid mode itself may create issues of its own, dealing with how fair certain employees may perceive the distribution of who gets to be where how many days and so on. Thus, seems like organizations will end up having to play it by the ear, in terms of deciding which actual mode or combination of modes to finally settle for.

As far as how this article relates to myself personally, I have been asked, even with my current online freelance arrangements to, eventually, become somewhat flexible and accept to visit the company premises sometimes, for face to face interaction with whole team at the Maryland-based automobile dealership, which is something that could certainly enhance my relationship with the staff and managers, and foster some team building dynamics, so I think I will agree with doing it every so often, as long as the official arrangement stays remote.

Organizational Behaviour - Daniel's Blog Entry #3 - Family Commitments and Remote Work

 

This third blog entry related to our Organizational Behaviour class is based on the following article, titled "Is the work-from-home debate already over?", written by Mr. Gene Marks, and published by The Guardian, on August 28, 2022 (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/28/remote-work-home-office-debate-pandemic).

The article begins by stating that it is safe to consider that the worst part of the Covid 19 pandemic is finished, and with that in mind, he sets the stage for the “whether now the time is appropriate to go back to the office” debate.

Mr. Marks (article’s author) mentions about some AT&T workers making official claims to avoid them being forced to return to the company’s premises to fulfill their duties, whereas, on the other hand, big shots, such as JP Morgan Chase’s CEO criticizes remote work and complaining about certain platforms such as Zoom. Tesla Motors’ CEO, Elon Musk, is also quoted in the article, allegedly stating that he does not mind his employees working from home, as long as they have put in good forty (40) hours in the office first. Go figure.

The article also talks about certain economist from Stanford University claiming that working from home is beneficial for companies as its has proven to boost growth, mentioning that other supporting studies state that 77% of workers disclosed an increase on their productivity levels when they were allowed to perform their tasks from remote locations. Although, the author also let it be known that other reports claim that workers performing from home are 70% less productive than those are not performing from their households.

 The article goes on to discuss the aspect of mental health, stating that, while certain experts tend to consider that working remotely potentially decreases workers’ stress levels (considering that they do not have to deal with daily commute, or the fact that they get to sleep longer, etc.), hence making family obligations be more easily complied with, an study conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, on the other hand, states that most employees working remotely have felt the hit of feeling lonely, isolated, locked in monotonous life styles and even struggling to actually put an end to their work day.

Taking all of the above into consideration, the author suggests that the way to go is a hybrid type of scenario, where by part of the time employees are allowed to perform their tasks from home, while also being encouraged (and somehow forced to) go to the office another part of the time, as some individuals tend to perform better when having the chance to have a human interaction with their peers. Thus, hybrid should be the target to aim for.

As far as how this article relates to myself personally, having worked the past three years from home, I would say that I agree with both angles of the analysis. Indeed, I find it more enjoyable that I get to distribute my own time and that I do not have to deal with daily traffic and such. But, on the other hand, sometimes I do feel that loneliness sensation of not interacting face to face with other human beings for prolonged periods of time, in which cases I try to compensate it with outdoor activity, which is not work per se, but it still makes it up for the cumulative hours I get to be secluded with my online jobs responsibilities.

Organizational Behaviour - Daniel's Blog Entry #2 - Family Commitments and Remote Work

 

This second blog entry related to our Organizational Behaviour class is based on the following article, titled "When Your Boss Doesn’t Respect Your Family Commitments", written by Ms. Rebecca Knight (currently a senior correspondent at Insider covering careers and the workplace. Previously she was a freelance journalist and a lecturer at Wesleyan University. Her work has been published in The New York Times, USA Today, and The Financial Times), and published by Harvard Business Review, on September 01, 2020 (https://hbr.org/2020/09/when-your-boss-doesnt-respect-your-family-commitments).

The article makes a parallelism between the ideal situation in which someone’s boss is understanding and flexible regarding his / her subordinate’s personal life and the opposite case, in which someone’s boss is rather unpleasant and completely oblivious to his / her subordinate’s personal life, making them really struggle to balance out their professional and commitments and their family and personal affairs.

Ms. Knight goes on to describe some stories collected from her research and from interviews she has conducted out there in the different markets and she explains how certain supervisors even dare to cross the line to become hostile toward their employees, harassing them any given time the worker has to leave his / her duties earlier due to having to care after their child sudden school-related issue or perhaps to accompany and aging parent deal with an eventual health-related matter.

            As a disclaimer, it is worth mentioning that this article is USA-based, and as such, specifically encourages readers from said country to know their rights, mentioning, for instance, that some states happen to have flexible-work related policies enacted for their government employees, and also prompts the reader to investigate whether they may qualify for the so called federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (important also to consider this article is dated September 2020, right in the midst of the first year of the pandemic, even before vaccines came out). But the idea may easily be applicable to different jurisdictions across the globe. Workers must know their rights.

The author also suggests workers to be upfront and transparent about their situation to their bosses, trying to explain them the ins and outs of their particular concerns and how they propose to still deliver results, but emphasizing the work-from-home arrangement they require in order to tend to both their personal and professional responsibilities.

As far as how this article relates to myself personally, in my case, when the pandemic started I had an office to go to and a schedule to go by, and hence, when we were suddenly switched to work-from-home mode, at the beginning my boss had no choice but to allow said arrangement to be in place, yet as weeks and months went by, but while we were still dealing with the pandemic situation, he began pressuring me to go back to the office, just because. He did not have a solid argument, as my performance had not changed, if anything I was putting in more hours, from home, to make sure I could keep my job. But eventually we came to an agreement for me to leave. It turned out to be for the best, as this sudden outcome prompted me to start looking for online freelance alternatives to continue developing my career, but I guess that is part of a different story.

Organizational Behaviour - Daniel's Blog Entry #1 - Family Commitments and Remote Work

 

This first blog entry related to our Organizational Behaviour class is based on the following article, titled "The pandemic changed how we work. Now, mothers want it to stay that way", written by journalist Kiernan Green, and published by CBC News, on October 10, 2022 (https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mothers-remote-work-pandemic-legacy-1.6607205).

This article, even though through its title emphasizes the perspective of mothers of younger children, applies to the entire work force.  Indeed, many industries worldwide were suddenly hit by the Covid 19 pandemic in early 2020, as the article explains, forcing a sudden and dramatic switch from presential job mode to a work-from-home kind of arrangement.

In the case of parents, this change was somehow positive for their families, as their children were being closely watched, 24/7, by their parents, while staying in the household for all their activities. And despite said obligations being already time consuming enough for those professionals, productivity on their jobs did not get compromised.

Yet, after the pandemic started to come down, many employers began demanding their employees to return to their work premises and resume the older arrangement, which the article considers somewhat pitiful, as a golden opportunity to for ever change the mindset of how employment should be conducted could be very well being passed by.

The article goes on to mention the statistical differences between how the children’s age affect mothers in a different scale that it affects fathers (“Women with two-year-old children were six per cent less likely to reenter the workforce than those with kids seven and older. For men, the age of their children was largely irrelevant to their reentry into the workforce”). This, again, seems like a clear case of gender inequality, something one would think should not still be an ongoing situation in 2023, yet apparently it still is, unfortunately, as per what Mr. Kiernan Green explains.

As far as how this article relates to myself personally, in my case, as in the majority of cases out there, I too went straight home from the office the very day lockdown was declared, without any smooth transitioning phase whatsoever, and there I was, making up an office space in a crumble space, and felt sort of out of place at the beginning, and feeling the uncertainty of would be coming next. And adjusting to that sudden situation in the house, along with my wife, proved to be quite challenging, even without children, as it was difficult for us to determine when the workday started, when it ended, when personal affairs were supposed to be happening and what not. So, it required some adapting period and lots of trial and error, but I guess everybody can relate to this situation, as we all went through it.

Part 5: Organizational Structure Design

Background Information about the Organization.-

One of the companies I provide professional services for is a luxury second hand automobile dealership, located in Maryland, in the United States. The company has been in business for over ten years now and, according to their own web site, they are proud to hold an inventory of vehicles hand-selected by their professional car buyers, who ensure every automobile they sell meets their exceptionally high standards.

Furthermore, based both on information disclosed on their very web site and on my own experience working for them, it is clear this dealership does not only seek unique and special luxury vehicles, but also focuses on providing ultra clean-title vehicles, with clear history reports disclosed for their customers’ sake.

They carry on their business both the old fashion way, caring to their customers face to face at the dealership location and online, in which case the sold vehicles are shipped to all states across the country. Moreover, they are also keen to assisting Spanish-speaking customers and doing business with them in their own language.

Thus, the organization’s broad mission is to assist people from Maryland, Virginia, and other states obtain the vehicle of their dreams with competitive financing and nationwide shipping. My role within the organization is being part of the Business Development Center (BDC) team, in freelance long-distance mode, working as a Bilingual BDC Representative and assisting in the recruiting, hiring, training, and supervising of the sub-group of Spanish-speaking BDC reps, as the market for said target segment of our customer base is notoriously increasing.

External Environment Analysis.-

When it comes to analyzing the organization’s external environment, there are key factors to consider, such as political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal, as understanding them will better enable management to be prepared to overcome any potential risks or take advantage of any eventual opportunities associated with them.

Politically, as the place of business is close to the nation’s capital (Washington D.C.), manifestations and demonstrations and instability triggered mainly during elections season are somewhat a concern sometimes, affecting sales, but currently this is not an issue, although elections will take place by late 2024, so there is enough time to prepare for that.

Economic wise, lately customers have been seeming to have more access to credit approvals and increased cash flow streams, which have been boosting the organization’s sales, and management expects this trend to continue in the short to medium term. 

Social wise, their market being so diversified, the organization is always tending to a broad base of social backgrounds, and incorporates different social background within its team, making their customers feel comfortable and identified with.

Technologically, the organization is always one step ahead, always updating their IT infrastructure and obtaining the latest developed CRM platforms, hence being able to expand their customer base throughout the entire country.

Environmentally, the organization is always on the look out to be friendly with the physical location in which it operates (the state of Maryland) and strives to keep it pollution free.

Legal wise, the organization makes sure to keep current and up to date on legislation that dictates the way in which it is supposed to operate and handle business. They accomplish this by engaging duly accredited legal external advice.

Internal Environment Analysis.-

As far as the organization’s internal environment goes, the key factors to consider which could have the biggest impact on its structure comprise the sales force for sure, the quality of the acquired vehicles for their inventory, the empowering of the BDC team as a key factor that enhances the organization’s commercial efforts, and HR team to oversee this whole interaction.

 It is important to consider this is an automobile dealership we are analyzing, and as such its main drive is sales, hence their sales force is one of the most key elements into play, duly supported by the BDC team, as their goal is to increase traffic of potential customers into the lot (or online). And, for all this to work, the Purchasing team must also ensure the quality of the vehicles being brought into the inventory is top of the line. Some of the BDC personnel aim at becoming part of the Sales team, said aspiration being therefore part of the internal dynamics of the growth cycle.

Argument for the Ideal Organization Structure.-

The ideal structure for the organization would be with the Owner / President on top of the chart, having the Sales Manager, the Procurement Manager, the BDC Manager, the Service Manager and the HR Manager reporting directly to him / her, having those four levels interact in parallel across teams. This is the best structure because while it is simple and straight forward, it also serves the purpose of multitask teams focusing on their specific internal goals, while at the same time aiming at the bigger picture of ultimately serving customers by selling them the best possible luxury vehicles and boosting sales and customers’ loyalty through the delivery of great post sales service as well.

Organization Chart.-

Motivation Plan for the Business Development Center (BDC) Team

 The team I have selected to write about for this post is the Business Development Center (BDC) team of the luxury automobile dealership, located in Maryland, USA, to which I provide remote bilingual business development services.

The BDC team is composed of eight Business Development Representatives, remotely located in Uzbekistan, some countries within Latin America, and Canada, and their job is to enhance sales traffic into the actual dealership location, boosting commercial efforts so that the actual Sales Team (physically located in the place of business, in Maryland) is better able to close transactions.

This is done through the use of a Customer Relationship Management platform (a CRM), in which all interactions with sales leads are captured, and so every time a Sales Consultant sells a vehicle, the CRM is able to track down which specific BDC Representative generated the lead. The BDC’s goal is to generate test drive appointments and provide administrative, commercial, and customer service support (both pre and post sale) to help deals materialize.

My role within the BDC team is to both work as a BDC Representative myself and to also recruit, hire, train, and supervise the sub-group of Spanish-speaking BDC reps, as the market for said target segment of our customer base is notoriously increasing, hence the need for our bilingual administrative and commercial role within the organization.

Having already established what the BDC Team’s role and goals are, our Management and Leadership class assignment represents a great opportunity for me to propose a plan aimed at increasing motivation amongst BDC members. Said plan will be composed of six specific actions, which are defined within the next bullet points.

1.     To actively address BDC members’ needs, duly asking each member how they are coping with the job and commercial challenges, understanding their concerns, and acting on the collected information (more training being required, updating the variable compensation side of their wages, offering training trips to Maryland, etc.). Basically, making them feel they have a safe workplace and certain level of job security.

 

2.     To show them that their leader is there to inspire them and to care about them. This would entail monthly virtual or presential meetings with the company Owner / CEO, so he can personally give them feedback on their performance and share successful stories happening in the business they are part of.

 

3.     To reinforce performance excellence by rewarding those who meet and/or exceed expectations with variable components on their salary. Currently, BDC reps, on top of their fixed salaries, are rewarded with a specific dollar amount per each vehicle that was sold with their involvement, yet said amount could perhaps be further increased in segments, of for instance, for the first five cars, a specific variable amount of reward per vehicle, but then maybe for vehicles number six to number 10, the variable amount could be increased by 50% of the base line, and so forth. This would satisfy the reinforcement theory of motivation and could be a great sale booster going forward.

 

4.     The prior action would be further backed up by a specific goal-setting approach, which would more specifically lay the ground rules for a more drastic effect on BDC members’ performance. They are currently somewhat motivated by the ongoing rules of the game for variable rewards, yet they could be further motivated once new specific goals are lined up, by segments, making them realize the greater potential they could aim for if they deeply apply themselves.

 

5.     In parallel, another action would be to enrich BDC members’ discretion on the job execution and strategies they want to develop on their own to produce results for both the company and for themselves individually. When employees are given certain degree of freedom to create and operate, they tend to fly in a more comfortable fashion, as they will feel a greater sense of independence and responsibility.

 

6.     And the last action would be to offer BDC members the possibility to grow horizontally across the organization, making them participate sometimes in other aspects of the business, such as assisting the Vehicle Procurement Department for instance, enabling them to learn different functions and traits, eventually leading toward a parallel move or other possibilities within the organization.

In summary, my Motivation Plan for the Business Development Center (BDC) Team would be composed of six specific actions, which are (1) to actively address BDC members’ needs, (2) to demonstrate them that their leader is there to inspire them and to care about them, (3) to reinforce performance excellence by rewarding those who meet and/or exceed expectations with variable components on their salary, (4) to design a more specific goal-setting approach to further support the reinforcement approach, (5) to enrich BDC members’ discretion on the job execution and strategies they want to develop on their own, and (6) to offer BDC members the possibility to grow horizontally across the organization. All these actions would be aimed at moving BDC Team members’ motivation a few steps forward, capturing and applying previously proven administrative motivational theory in a win-win manner for all parties.

My own personal leadership philosophy

 

When thinking about how to create my own personal leadership philosophy, several ideas come to mind, although a disclaimer would be important to be issued right from the bat, said disclaimer being the fact that, when it comes to picturing the leader I want to become I am not aiming at joining a small, medium or large organization, pay my dues, and little by little scale my way up. Not at all. I believe I have already tested that road before and have moved on to the current stage of my career in which I enjoy the flexibility and liberty of the freelance consulting world online, working solo.

 

That being said, my personal leadership philosophy indicates that as an independent freelance professional, what I want to convey is the image of a one-man orchestra director who cares about order, prioritization, organization, and being deadline-driven, who happens to want to exploit his bilingual skills to trigger profits both to his clients and to himself, and someone who is trustworthy and dependable.

 

Therefore, my leadership philosophy must reflect relevant traits, such as vision, emotional intelligence, knowledge of the diverse businesses I intend to do consultancy for, self-confidence, big-time honesty, creativity, drive, among others.

 

Fortunately, after some 15 years of professional career under my belt, I somewhat have the means to support, using reference letters and such, that those values, beliefs, and behaviors that I claim to have and / or that I intend to further improve on, are indeed part of my DNA, as former employers, current clients, colleagues, etc. may be able to confirm on my behalf. At the end of the day, it is not what you say you are, but what you are able to proof.

 

Hence, creating my personal leadership philosophy comprises duly identifying the values, beliefs, and behaviors, realizing which ones I need to focus more on for improvement, and developing a plan to make it happen, and once that is done, making sure the right parties are duly notified. How? By advertising, and us professionals advertise through LinkedIn, through networking and referrals, word to mouth, enrolling in college programs to further enhance and refresh knowledge, etc.

 

In summary, my personal leadership philosophy is made for me as an independent freelance executive, who wants to convey the image of a bilingual and dependable business administration professional and interpreter who seeks to earn his clients’ trust and help them communicate with stakeholders in different languages.

 

Three people I admire for their leadership abilities

 

One leader who I admire is Taiichi Ohno, a Toyota engineer who is also known as the father of the 5S Toyota Production System. He was a Japanese industrial engineer and businessman, whose disruptive ideas became key across several aspects of businesses and organizations, such as sales, marketing, and customer service.

 

I particularly admire the vision he had when he came up with the 5S system, which basically emphasizes on sorting, setting in order, shining, standardizing, and sustaining, all of which are principles based upon which I attempt to conduct my own leadership and administrative style, as they provide me with a clear pathway to follow and add value from.

 

A second leader who I personally admire is Andrew Royce, CEO of Voyce, Inc, the multinational medical interpreting platform I currently provide freelance interpreting services for. He had the vision of realizing the suffering millions of non-English speaking patients were struggling with when attending medical encounters across the United States and Canada, so he created this high-tech based platform, through which English-speaking health care professionals get to fluently interact with their non-English speaking patients with the remote assistance of professional medical interpreters connected with them at the press of a keyboard in the devices installed for said purposes at their facilities.

 

Andrew reasoned, as his slogan says: “everybody deserves a voice”, and hence built his business with people in mind, creating a clearly neat example of a win-win situation kind of deal, as the non-English patients get to fully be able to convey their clinical concerns, the English-speaking health care providers get to reach out to a larger universe of patients, and Voyce and its freelance interpreters get to generate a legitimate income while assisting those two parties to understand one another.

 

A third leader who I admire is Mr. Claudio Bastos, former CEO at a multinational mining company joint venture I used to work for. Originally from Brazil, Mr. Bastos was a highly ranked executive who was appointed for his role by the head of three large multinationals on their own, which were VALE from Brazil, Mosaic from the United States and Mitsui from Japan. And one of the main factors they used to appreciate him for was his transparency and honesty to always convey messages in a sincere manner, despite sometimes them being hard to relay in the first place.

 

Mr. Bastos always looked at people in the eye and had a personal touch to make everyone in the organization appreciated and cared for, regardless of whether they were his peers, the Board of Directors, his secretary, company interns, janitors, or whoever. All such qualities earned him my admiration toward his leadership style.