Wednesday, September 21, 2005

...last day in ciast...

3 may 2005 - our first day in ciast....

22 september 2005 - today will be our final day in ciast. after almost 5 long gruesome months in ciast, finally we are going back to iitc. weird though, when we first arrived, all we can do is complain, complain and complain. but today, we all have mixed feelings about it. feels so sad to leave ciast. somehow we all have grown to like this place and enjoy the freedom that we have here. no director, no worries about coming in at 930, no worries about long lunch. just the team and a nice working environment.

:: good bye ciast :: we miss you ::

Thursday, September 8, 2005

...styles of leadership...

...Styles of Leadership...
"Concern for people" is plotted using the vertical axis (0-9)
"Concern for task" is along the horizontal axis (0-9)

4 styles:
Authoritarian Leader (high task, low relationship)
People who get this rating are very much task oriented and are hard on their workers (autocratic). There is little or no allowance for cooperation or collaboration. Heavily task oriented people display these characteristics: they are very strong on schedules; they expect people to do what they are told without question or debate; when something goes wrong they tend to focus on who is to blame rather than concentrate on exactly what is wrong and how to prevent it; they are intolerant of what they see as dissent (it may just be someone's creativity), so it is difficult for their subordinates to contribute or develop.

Team Leader (high task, high relationship)
This type of person leads by positive example and endeavors to foster a team environment in which all team members can reach their highest potential, both as team members and as people. They encourage the team to reach team goals as effectively as possible, while also working tirelessly to strengthen the bonds among the various members. They normally form and lead some of the most productive teams.

Country Club Leader (low task, high relationship)
This person uses predominantly reward power to maintain discipline and to encourage the team to accomplish its goals. Conversely, they are almost incapable of employing the more punitive coercive and legitimate powers. This inability results from fear that using such powers could jeopardize relationships with the other team members.

Impoverished Leader (low task, low relationship)
A leader who uses a "delegate and disappear" management style. Since they are not committed to either task accomplishment or maintenance; they essentially allow their team to do whatever it wishes and prefer to detach themselves from the team process by allowing the team to suffer from a series of power struggles.

The most desirable place for a leader to be along the two axis at most times would be a 9 on task and a 9 on people -- the Team Leader.

However, do not entirely dismiss the other three. Certain situations might call for one of the other three to be used at times.

For example, by playing the Impoverished Leader, you allow your team to gain self-reliance. Be an Authoritarian Leader to instill a sense of discipline in an unmotivated worker.

By carefully studying the situation and the forces affecting it, you will know at what points along the axis you need to be in order to achieve the desired result.

...my pm is a country club manager. and my new pm is also a cc manager. i think i am being lucky in many sense...

Tuesday, September 6, 2005

...my passion...

...passion and strength...

this is from a frens blog...
I just thought of something:

Takumi (in Initial D) is one good example of someone with the strength, but not the passion (at least, not initially). He has been driving the mountain roads for 5 years that not only does he feel bored of driving, he finds it a chore! Mentally, driving the roads fast means getting the job done faster, and hence getting home faster for some much needed sleep.
Driving the car has become a negative anchor for him. He does not find driving exhilirating, nor does he find cars very interesting. All he knows about cars is that it is used as a mode of transportation to do his job of transporting tauhu.
Which leads me to the question:

Can passion be instilled in a person who has the strength?


i have a colleague, a programmer. his strength is in asp.net and oracle. but this is work. his objectives is to get things done and meet the deadlines set. can i instill passion in him? how to make him change his strength to passion?

i have another idiot colleague. his passion is to do coding, software programming, he has the strengths too. but, not following any rules and guidelines set. do we consider him as a good programmer. (anyway, he got "fired" from the company), so lets not bother about this fella.

i have another colleague. her passion is in doing coding, programming. but her strength is not in asp.net. what i can do is, provide her with training and she should be on her way. but how long will i have to provide her training. is her passion strong enough?

maybe, my fear now is people leaving. being a compliant staff previously, i am so happy that my colleagues are leaving, cos they found a better life. now, after getting INVOLVED so much, and being part of the project; i guess having ownership of this project does make me feel responsible over the project. not that i get paid sky high to work, but my mindset is like, i am given the ownership of it. the concept of nobody ever washes a rented car.

my passion will still drive me, but my strength is not yet in this area or project management. pretty much in business analyst area(cos it does not come with such big responsibility as a pm)

how do we apply the concept of passion and strength in the workforce where dog will bite dog to survive?

will passion still be the factor to look for when i employ people or strength? is having passion enuff?

Monday, September 5, 2005

...CIAST implementation...

...september 6, 2005...
CIAST IMPLEMENTATION :: TRAINING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM(TMS)

the very first site implementation of tms after one year, exactly one year since i join this team, upon my return from chiang mai! i am not sure what will i expect today, but this is what i see ::

a. i met my new pm yesterday and his first leadership words to me was, "i am a people person, i will talk to everyone". its like DOH, lets wait and see. well, to my surprise, my new pm is short, partially bald and speaks so softly. well, thts my first impression ler.

b. my existing pm came into office today at 930am and started everyone what they want to eat for breakfast. its like, double DOH, its implementation day and all he can think of is eat eat eat.

c. my system engineer is asking stupid questions, "gimme a new clone pc to do installation". its like, triple DOH, is getting pc what i NEED to do for u or u are just plain not innitative enough to get it yourself but have to depend on me.

and i am not getting any more DOHs today!!!