Corwin’s Comments (group member since Mar 02, 2016)

Corwin’s comments from the JOAG Professional Development group.

Discussion Topic: Mentorship
~Do you have a mentor? If so, how many mentors do you have?
~What challenges have you faced in seeking a mentor/mentors? Have you been able to overcome these challenges?
~The author mentions that many professionals have been successful with creating “mastermind groups”
~Do you have a “mastermind group” or “mentor board of directors”? How has this idea benefited you thus far in your career?

Discussion Topic #5: Case Studies 1 & 2
*Describe a situation in which you felt overwhelmed or on the verge of burning out.
~Did you feel comfortable expressing how you felt to your supervisor?
~Were you able to provide potential solutions to problems that you identified and was management receptive to your recommendations?
~Did you have an “eye-opening” moment in which you were glad that you talked with your supervisor about the situation?

Discussion Topic #4: Helping & Being Honest
~“Offering a small lifeline….is a way to cement your identity as the responsible worker committed to the success of the organization”
~~Does anyone have a scenario in which they offered to assist with a project or task rather than fully taking on the project and did you find this fulfilling?
~~Were you comfortable expressing this to your supervisor?
~“Trying to be the hero to the point where you burn yourself out is not the best answer”

Discussion Topic #3: Providing Solutions & Set Priorities
~The article stated never go to your boss with a problem without having solution. Do you agree?
~In an effort to manage the work load have you ever recommended to your boss that a project be delayed, delegated, deleted or diminished. What was the reaction?
~In setting priorities the author recommends getting your boss to define expectations on certain assignments. What is there “maximum, minimum, and moderate” effort look like. Would this work in your environment?

Discussion Topic #2: Give Slack & Seek Counsel
~In your organization if your team is understaffed and you are a hard worker do you feel seen as lazy if you ask for relief?
~Do you agree with the author’s statement about saying no from time to time? Do you feel it increased your credibility? Has it ever back fired on you?
~The author mentioned how to begin a conversation with your boss about hours spent on a task and ask for the bossed opinion? Would that work for you and your boss?
~Have you ever consulted in a third party to help facilitate with your approach to your work and work load?

Discussion Topic #1: Expert Opinion
~How do you approach those difficult conversations with your boss-especially regarding your work assignments?
~Do you doubt your capabilities even when faced with a heavy workload? Not think you are working hard enough? Why?
~Do you feel you need to impress your boss all the time? Do you tend overcommit? Leading to underwhelming when you can’t deliver?

Discussion Topic #8:Combine the Humanities with the Sciences & Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish
The author states that creativity is the essence of applied imagination.
How have you used creativity on the job to resolve a complex situation?
Why do you think there aren’t more hungry, foolish, crazy world-changers?
If these are such positive traits, why are so many people resistant to them?

Discussion Topic #7:Engage Face-to-Face & Know Both the Big Picture and the Details
Difficult to engage in person when working with people in other locations – suggestions to overcome this?
What are benefits of having a verbal discussion with a person (phone/in-person) instead of a written discussion (email/text/etc.)?
Which is easier for you to understand, the big picture or the details? Why do you think that is?

Discussion Topic #6: Push for Perfection & Tolerate Only “A” Players
Surgical procedures require a “time out” before proceeding – is this something you routinely do?
Does it matter what the “guts” of something look/function like? Why or why not?
Have you experienced “the bozo explosion”?
How do you balance candor/sincerity with professionalism/diplomacy/etc.?

Discussion Topic #5:Bend Reality & Impute
Jobs said (paraphrased): I’ve learned that when you have really good people you can get them to do great things by expecting it. How does this compare and contrast with the Set Up to Fail Syndrome?
Describe a scenario in which you used the impute principle during a project and how did it affected the outcome.

Discussion Topic #4: Put Products Before Profits & Don’t Be a Slave to Focus Groups
Does anybody have a great example of when you focused on making the product great and the profits followed?
Timely, because ALL of healthcare is moving towards: quality > quantity!
“Intuition is a very powerful thing – more powerful than intellect, in my opinion”…..thoughts on this?
How have instinct/intuition helped you on the job?

Discussion Topic #3: Take Responsibility End to End & When Behind, Leapfrog
These both seem difficult to do in government jobs, because typically the job is assigned to multiple people/teams and each person only does part of the whole. Thoughts on this?
Have you ever “leapfrogged”?
Have you ever experienced it? What was the outcome?

Discussion Topic #2: Focus & Simplify
It seems easy enough, but how to do these in real life?! Recommendations?? Examples?
The author mentioned multiple times that practicing Zen was very helpful to Jobs – thoughts on this?
“It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions”, which is exactly why so many things aren’t simple…..

Discussion Topic #1: Personality & Leadership Style
How much do you think these two affect each other?
What personality characteristic do you think would contribute best to being an effective leader? Why?
It seems like Steve Jobs was aware that he didn’t have the most wonderful personality, but that he also didn’t try to change it. Why do you think that was the case? Or was it something else?

Walter Isaacson

Open Forum
Last thoughts or comments
Any stones left unturned?

Discussion Topic # 4: Training Future USPHS Leaders

1. Does the USPHS provides an adequate or more than adequate level of leadership training? Do you feel that your agency provides enough leadership/supervisor training that is readily accessible to USPHS officers?

2. What classes have you participated that would be helpful for other officers?

3. What type of training that would help you avoid being a “Set Up To Fail” Supervisor?

Discussion Topic #5 Micro-manager or Set Up To Fail?

Leaders micromanage due to the need to be in control, have problems trusting people, and or extreme perfectionists. In addition, they may not be able to clarify goals and strategies.

1. How does this relate to supervisors in the Set Up To Fail Syndrome article?
2. Is this behavior mutually exclusive?
3. Is the micromanager setting up employees to fail?

Discussion Topic # 4: Fighting the Good Fight

1. If a subordinate is caught in the Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome, what can he/she do to try not to lose the motivation to “fight the good fight”?

2. Any tips on helping the boss to separate emotions from reality?

3. Any tips on helping the subordinate objectively show/prove to the boss that he/she actually isn’t an underperformer?

Discussion Topic # 3: Stay or Go?

1. What can a subordinate do to try to reverse the Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome when his/her boss can’t/won’t acknowledge that the boss is a major part of the problem and/or can’t/won’t have an honest and open discussion with the subordinate?

2. Has anyone ever known of a supervisor to challenge their own assumptions regarding a particular employee and mend their relationship?

3. What steps did take for their relationship to get back on track?