Instructions:
- Post a new discussion related to the topics covered in this module. Your post needs to provide specific lessons learned with examples from this module helping you enhance your leadership capacity at work.
- After posting your discussion, review posts provided by other students in the class and reply to at least one of them.
8 Comments
The two skills I’d like to highlight are goal setting and goal ownership. Skill 29, goal setting, emphasizes the importance of creating clear and realistic goals that provide direction and motivation. Setting specific goals helps turn ideas into actionable steps and makes progress easier to measure. Skill 30, goal ownership, builds on this by stressing personal responsibility and commitment to those goals. When individuals take ownership, they are more invested in the outcome and more likely to follow through. Together, these skills encourage accountability and help support consistent growth in both personal and professional settings.
I thought the section about goal setting and goal ownership was something often overlooked or not followed through with. There may be a formal counseling for someone, and at the end, you put the corrective actions they are expected to perform in the future, or they will get written up again, but that isn’t real goal setting. Progressive goal setting for subordinates doesn’t seem to happen regularly, which is a problem. I liked the last elements of the goal section and how it focused on solutions. Goal setting enables individuals to envision realistic and motivating paths forward. The goal ownership ensures they are committed to those goals and understand their role in reaching them. When followed properly, this model helps solve problems and can also help uncover opportunities people may have overlooked.
This model can be powerful because it creates buy-in at every stage. It avoids leaders doing all the work and instead builds responsibility, confidence, and real progress in those being coached.
After viewing this module I realize I sometimes forget how crucial some of these skills are. Some of the more important ones to me are Implementing an action plan. To me there isn’t one part of my job that I could use an action plan for and be more accountable to the tasks I need to complete. Obviously goal setting is a big part of my career and has been since I started, but as I go along further in my career I realize how critical it is to continue to set goals and this module has reminded me and helped me set some differently than I used to. I think one that I relate with currently is referring to a professional helper. To me this is a different generation than the one I started with almost 30 years ago and back then we didn’t talk about what was bothering us and a professional helper wasn’t always readably available. Our department is in the process of hiring a professional helper/wellness director and this is kind of a checklist of what we would want to accomplish in making sure we can get our employees the help they need.
We recently had city training about counseling services that our city provides for its employees. So far I am aware of at least one employee using that resource. There are talks that do take place about officers getting help. It’s probably something that needs to be recognized more often.
You make a really thoughtful point about how easy it is to overlook these skills until we’re reminded of their impact. Your focus on action plans and accountability really stood out, especially since they tie so closely to long-term goal setting and career growth. I also appreciated your reflection on how attitudes toward professional help have changed over time. It’s encouraging to hear that your department is taking steps to support employee wellness by hiring a professional helper. That shift shows a strong commitment to meeting employees where they are and creating a healthier, more supportive work environment.
One of the points I took away from this lecture was to spend more time defining a problem. As Albert Einstein said if he were to save the planet in one hour he would take 59 minutes to define the problem and 1 minute to resolve it. When one is able to define a problem well, they may find that the solution is pretty obvious and may already contain a solution. If the problem is defined properly, it will become easier to solve which will save considerably on time and resources. Leaders should take the time to learn how to define problems and also master the patience that it requires. It seems that if a solution is found and is obvious then the problem was defined well. I think it is also important to consider if the problem is worth solving, as some are probably not.
Reflecting on the Problem-Management and Opportunity Leveraging module, I realize how valuable the skills I learned are. Advanced empathy has taught me to listen and understand others’ perspectives, even if they differ from my own. Problem exploration has helped me to delve deeper into issues, looking beyond the surface to identify the root cause of a problem. Problem specification has taught me to state problems, breaking them down into manageable pieces.
Goal setting and ownership have been instrumental in helping me to identify my own goals and help others identify theirs. Action planning has enabled me to create a roadmap to achieving my goals and those of others. Implementing action plans has taught me that planning is not enough; I must also execute those plans.
Confrontation, self-sharing, and immediacy are skills that have helped me to communicate more effectively with others. I have learned that it is crucial to be direct, honest, respectful, and empathetic. Making an effective referral to a professional is a crucial skill that I hope I never have to use, but knowing how to do so could make a significant difference in someone’s life.
Overall, the Problem-Management and Opportunity Leveraging module has equipped me with crucial skills that I can apply in my personal and professional life. I am excited to continue developing these skills and seeing how they can help me and others achieve our goals.
In summary, I highly value the skills I acquired through the Problem-Management and Opportunity Leveraging module. The advanced empathy, problem exploration, and problem specification skills have helped me to understand and tackle problems effectively. The goal setting, ownership, action planning, and implementation skills have enabled me to create a roadmap to achieve my goals and those of others. The confrontation, self-sharing, and immediacy skills have improved my communication with others. Lastly, making an effective referral to a professional is a crucial skill that I have learned, and I hope I will never have to use it. I am eager to continue developing these skills and using them to help myself and others succeed.