Completed Staff Work: Prezi Video
Anticipate
Research, Develop Options, Recommend
Execute
https://prezi.com/v/9to5u7ml2zy9/completed-staff-work/
Then post a public comment below
Management Training of DC
Management Training of DC
Anticipate
Research, Develop Options, Recommend
Execute
https://prezi.com/v/9to5u7ml2zy9/completed-staff-work/
Then post a public comment below
Professor Yoest,
I really enjoyed your Prezi video and understanding how the story from The Memo of two air-craft carriers (or, in other words, war-machines) throughout WWII is ultimately an exercise of leadership and followership. It is so important that managers understand this dynamic relationship so that their staff will be able to work cohesively with one another to provide their boss with perfect recommendations. The individual contributors fist must do research in terms of evaluation of what could go wrong, and then next must come up with options regarding the direction the boss could take. From these options, staff members work to provide a perfect recommendation to the boss. Because time moves so quickly, the boss must be able to trust in the staff’s recommendation. The goal of the staff is to make sure that nothing is left of the boss’ desk: meaning that there is nothing to add when the staff members provide him with a recommendation. This video really displayed how exactly to be a valued member of the boss’ team, through exemplifying Completed Staff Work in anticipating what it is the boss needs.
Perfection is not always something that needs to be achieved, whether that be the products one buys or a ship needing repairs. At the end of the day, it is about getting the job done. All work or objects have a goal to achieve. Since the US Navy’s goal was to get the ship functional versus the Japananesse’s goal to make it good as new, the US got the ship to do its job. The American’s realized this goal and started repairs as it was heading to a naval base using completed staff work. They anticipated that they would need this ship as fast as possible and got it working in record time due to this.
The boss is a very busy man and you have to manage your manager by not leaving anything on his desk. The manager never has enough time and your job is to maximize his time. Completed Staff work is only done when there is no other work to be done. In the military, there is a clear hierarchy and everyone knew their roles and what was expected of them. It is crucial that the staff is loyal and trusts the leadership especially in situations like WWII because as a leader you have men’s’ lives on the line. When you have that they can achieve something like getting a damaged carrier running in 3 vs 90 days.
A healthy relationship with your boss begins with you asking questions to know the most efficient way possible to complete a task. As explained in the informational prezi, the workers upon the ship knew the most efficient way to complete repairs within the 72 hour period would be to work in extremely dangerous conditions. Granted that your average job won’t require you to put your life on the line, this is a prime example of what completed staff work looks like. In completed staff work, all that is required is that the staffer researches opportunities to then present to the boss. The boss is there to approve these options and it is your responsibility to act on them. The biggest challenge that managers face is the lack of time in the day. Your job as a completed staffer is to limit the amount of paperwork your boss has on his or her desk. Making your bosses life easier will likely make your life easier as well. By showing your boss that you contribute ideas and understand instructions will greatly improve your boss’ trust in you. As seen in the video, teamwork and maximizing efficiency is what your boss cares about the most. Anticipating that will help you tremendously in the workplace.
I enjoyed the historic yet applicable application of this lesson to the world of Completed Staff Work! In my opinion, the fact that Completed Staff Work originated in war-time shows the method’s effectiveness. In a high-stake environment with life and death on the line, Completed Staff Work proved to be an effective way to motivate people to do the work needed of them. When an individual anticipates the supervisor’s needs, they focus on their work and contribute to the collective goal. In addition to the importance of the anticipation shown by the crew of the ship, they also possessed flexibility. Unlike the Japanese, the flexibility (coupled with anticipation) allowed the team to break protocol and fix the boat. If they had followed protocol, they would have been waiting on a 90-day repair. After arriving and the ship was less than perfect, what had mattered was their initiative to fix the ship. When directed to complete repairs in 72 hours, the crew once again anticipated what they needed to do and had the flexibility to achieve it. Completed staff work enables each individual to do their best work and allows the manager to make the decision. The initiative taken by the crew to break protocol prompted the decision to fix the ship in 72 hours and therefore enabled the team to do their best work. Completed Staff Work, at its best, is a virtuous cycle of anticipation, flexibility, and completion.
Professor Yoest,
I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation from The Memo and your discussion on the dynamic relationship in regards to fellowship and leadership, and how they affect the advancement towards organizational goals. The relationship between the leaders and the staff should produce a work environment that is very open for discussion between both levels of the organization. With this relationship, these staffers will feel comfortable to correct their boss and managers, and also offer them the correct recommendations they need to work fluidly. I love how to used aircraft carriers as the “vehicle” to explain the relationship of completed staff. These war machines were severely damaged, and both said that these aircrafts needed a few months to heal. However, on its way back to Hawaii, the one warship was repaired on the way home. It was not the best repairs, however it was accelerating the work that needed to be completed. Because of these staffers, they had this Warship repaired in under a week which is incredible because they thought they needed 90 days. These staffers made sure nothing was left for the commander to figure out. Staffers in any business should be working to reduce the amount of work that their manager needs to complete; make sure their desk remains empty. This video successfully illustrated how a staff should work for their manager.
This video is required viewing by my students at The Catholic University of America.
Leadership and Followership work together and form a crucial dynamic relationship in order to achieve Completed Staff Work. This relationship primarily focuses on managers and their direct reports. It is crucial for staff, the followership, to collect information, rationalize and come to the best possible advice or options to present to the boss, leadership. After this process has been completed, the boss is left with simply one task, to decide. At the heart of Completed Staff Work is anticipation. It is the staff’s role to anticipate what needs to be done for the company and their boss. They must think towards the future and complete any tasks they can anticipate being of value in the future. Additionally, understanding the boss’s intent and mindset in order to best recommend advice. In order for the staff, the followership, to perform to the best of their ability, they must “think”. Thinking allows for ideas and knowledge to flow, with the collaboration of the staff interchanging ideas, they will have the ability to present the best possible advice to their boss. This important aspect allows for the organization to succeed as a whole. In other words, without clear communication an organization cannot thrive.
The USS Yorktown, once arrived in Pearl Harbor was only in dry dock for less than around 48 hours, then she sailed again. This was Completed Staff work because as you stated, the crew got started on the work right away as they sailed home, they did actions and took recommendations without waiting for the shipwrights/ experts at Pear Harbor. This made the work list must smaller. On the other hand, according to Japanese reports, the Sh?kaku almost sank on the way home, due the unwillingness of the crew and officers to go against the traditions chain of command and make more serious repairs. They were thinking of the ship, not the war. The United State officers were already thinking of the next conflict and after the battle where the United States lost another carrier, the USS Lexington. The Americans were thinking of the bigger picture and taking action because they need every ship they could get at the moment, so that is why they started repairs. Thus the ship was able to participate in the Battle of Midway where she made significant contributions, but ultimately was sunk in the process. Completed Staff Works, is thinking of the bigger picture, from the subordinates view, and taking actions for anticipate the needs of their commanders
The biggest takeaway I have from this video is – you will not be able to anticipate if you do not put in the effort. As previously discussed, Completed Staff Work is only when the staffer is doing the research, creating the options, and providing the recommendations. If these three steps are followed carefully, there will be nothing to add. As the video states, a boss tends to promote people that they value, because they do all the work upfront before delivering the recommendations. If you put in the effort to anticipate your boss’ wants, your proposals will be appreciated more. Another aspect of CSW is the “dynamic relationship” between leadership and followership. Leaders will follow the advice from effective staffers. Staffers are supposed to follow the boss’ orders, but do not just be a follower. It is expected of the staffer to lead the boss in the right direction. A new takeaway I have is – don’t leave extra, unnecessary work for your boss. If you have a recommendation, put in the effort to persuade your boss to sign-off on it. They will see your enthusiasm and want to promote you. Professor Yoest tends to go back to the origin of CSW, but it can and should be implemented in most situations.
The relationship between fellowship and leadership is crucial in order for tasks to get done efficiently and effectively. Through the concept of anticipation, the staff is identifying the needs and objectives of their boss and making it easier for these things to get done. This environment of anticipating for the boss and presenting them with ideas through research and recommendations creates a workspace where staff is aiding their boss and thus helping themselves. When you know how to make the boss look good and make their job easier, it makes you look good as a staffer and guides you to a higher position down the road. I enjoyed your example of the aircraft carriers and how the staff anticipated the repairs that needed to be done and got them done in under a week. Staff anticipated that their command would need this repaired and did so quickly and independently. This example goes to show that when the staff anticipates, stuff gets done and it looks better on the boss and company as a whole. As a future staffer for a company, it is important to understand what is on my boss’s report card and anticipate what they need to be done. Therefore, I can offer recommendations and outwork my fellow colleagues through the tools learned in Completed Staff Work.
The one word that described Completed Staff Work is anticipation. It can be defined as avoiding the unexpected, by identifying opportunities and threats to the organization and then bring the warnings or good news to the attention of the boss. The most efficient and best leaders understand the importance of a dynamic relationship in the workplace, and it is done by making recommendations and where the boss just decides on the recommendation that staffers give him. In the Prezi video, we see a great example on anticipation and how it describes completed staff work. The crew members in the ship, anticipated the work that needed to be done, and did most of the work knowing what the organization needed but didn’t ask for permission to their superiors, just because they were running out of time. From this, I learned that staffers need to make the most effective and perfect recommendation, and the only thing that the boss needs to do is to decide for approval. This video displayed the importance on how staffers need to anticipate and conduct their own research in order to effectively finish CSF.
Leadership and followership is a truly dynamic relationship that requires both managers and subordinates to perform at high levels. The idea of followership requires subordinates to manage up to leadership and their managers/supervisors, making their decision making duties as perfect as possible. In the example of the two battleships followership is exemplified by the ability of the American subordinates to anticipate the need for the battleship to be ready for the next battle. This anticipation won the US a battle and lead to the eventual victory of the entire war. The subordinates were able to manage up and give leadership the best possible chance to take the proper course of action. This historic example was perfect to introduce this concept as the results of proper anticipation are immediate in war time and normally the results are not obvious for much more time (especially in the case of corporations or businesses.
Professor Yoest,
Thank you so much for creating this video about our MGT 302 course. I was very fascinated by all the information you provided especially the WWII story of the crews of the Yorktown and the Shokaku because they offered a clear example of how Completed Staff Work is carried out. I thought you thoroughly summarized all of the important aspects that contribute to Completed Staff Work and why, in general, the practice of it is extremely effective in the relationship between managers and their direct reports. However, what impressed me the most about the video was your discussion about the keyword of Completed Staff Work which is “Anticipation.” In my opinion, and I think we can both agree, this concept is the element that primarily drives Completed Staff Work because the staffers foresee a problem in the course of business or discover a better strategy to achieve organizational goals and understand what their boss needs to make a decision and implement a new plan. From there, the staffers do the research and work out all the alternative scenarios to ultimately present a finished recommendation to the boss for approval. Essentially, the direct reports are always one step ahead or “alert” so that their managers have less work and can make effective decisions when necessary by simply signing off on staffer-prepared solutions. However, this level of efficiency cannot be achieved without the cooperation of leadership and followership, which is another central aspect of Completed Staff Work. This mutual relationship is exemplified in how managers can successfully lead the business by trusting or “following” the recommendations of their teams of subordinates, while simultaneously, the staffers become esteemed followers by “managing their managers” or apprehending what they need and completing the necessary work to help them make the best decisions. As Truett Cathy affirmed regarding the importance of these complementary principles to effectual management, “To excel at leadership you must first master followership,” which epitomizes the bona fide ethos of Completed Staff Work.
Professor Yoest,
I appreciated learning more about the battle ships, as mentioned in the beginning of “The Memo” and how they were the perfect example of anticipation. Especially in the military, I imagine anticipation is even more important. In any position, one needs to always anticipate the next move so that they can stay ahead rather than fall behind. Anticipation also helps the worker to make sure all their bases are covered and that there is no work unfinished. Also agree that the relationship between the leader and staff is very important. Staffers are assigned to work on the research that helps develop options. Leaders are tasked with the responsibility of deciding which of those recommendations is the best option, the one the company will move forward with. Ultimately it is the job of the leader or manager to make the final decision. As staffers, our recommendations need to be concrete, they need to be solid. Should be well researched and without missing parts. While the boss makes the decision, the staff influences which decision should be moved forward. The job isn’t to create more work for the boss but to make their work easy. Again, following in line with our teachings of becoming indispensable.
The historical lesson here on World War II battles disguises a much more important takeaway that employees can use to improve their performance at work. Employees can become more effective and efficient when they learn the important concept of anticipation. Anticipation is incredibly important in environments like the military, but also in business-related environments. When employees anticipate the needs of their supervisors, they will complete tasks and provide the necessary information that their managers will need. Supervisors often hold the responsibility of decision-making, so employees can lead through followership by providing managers with the necessary information that their supervisors need to make decisions.
Anticipation is also an important concept to understand for organizations when conducting external analysis. Companies should anticipate the needs of their target customers (or whoever they serve), and they should anticipate the behavior of their competitors. By anticipating what others need or will do, individuals can better tailor their own work to be more successful.
Completed Staff Work is an excellent resource illustrating the powerful relationship between leadership and followership. For the advancement of strategic goals, the key is to anticipate. There are three important consecutive steps : (1) to research and evaluate, (2) develop options and alternatives and (3) make recommendations. A course of action is imperative for all organizations. Being innovative, identifying problems and finding solutions is necessary in a business or on a battlefield. The Prezi Video on Completed Staff Work illustrates perfectly the historical significance of staff working together on a common goal. During WWII, the Americans worked toward the collective goal of repairing their ship to a functioning level anticipating the need for it as soon as possible. The Japanese were not flexible and did not take the initiative needed at sea to begin making repairs using their “staff work”. Thus, not fixing their craft in a timely manner to use effectively in battle. The initiative taken by the US crew was invaluable to the strategic goal of winning. Time management is essential as it moves so quickly. The diligent and efficient use of time builds trust and strengthens relationships. Both leadership and followership are essential to Completed Staff Work in the business world, on the battlefield and in life.
Professor Yoest,
I very much enjoyed the Prezi video and how it made the real connection of Completed Staff Work between what we have been learning so far in business and management and the other application of Completed Staff Work; the military. The story of the two aircraft carriers as a very clear example of Completed Staff Work’s effect and the result and advantage it could gain you either on the battlefield or in business, the anticipation made by the staff of the USS Yorktown as to get the ship back online, not necessarily perfect, but good enough for it be back in the ocean and ready to continue its job. Whilst the job of the manager, Admiral Nimitz, to make the correct decision of just bringing the ship back online and knowing that he does not have three months, as the engineers predicted, but only a few days and he did not need the USS Yorktown to be back to being perfect again but only good enough to do the job. The correct decision making by the manager and the anticipation by the staffers really shows the importance of Completed Staff Work.
The story of the two aircraft carriers is very spectacular because as Professor Yoest said, time is a very limited resource. Even though Japan was able to get take its time to get everything running properly and well, the US didn’t have that time. Decisions must be made, even if they do not follow protocols or do not seem reasonable. In the concept of war, the reason is not always a good enough variable. Lives are at stake and enemies are constantly on the move. This means there is no time to sit down and think every possibility out. The decision to have the American Air-craft carrier up in running within 72 hours was the best that could have been made during that time because there is no time for something as valuable as an air-craft carrier to sit still and be a useless asset. In business, this is the same thing. If equipment goes down that is valuable to production and the progress of the company. A manager needs to know this information and given the best suggestions for being able to get everything back on progress as soon as possible. This will not only benefit the business and the manager but also anyone who is presenting and suggesting for the manager to make that call.
Watching this prezi video was an assignment given at the beginning of the semester, but I cannot stress enough how important being able to view it in the middle of the semester is. On the first day, this video along with the short syllabus YouTube video served as simple introductions to Completed Staff Work, but now the prezi video is more of a concise case study that we can analyze with our newfound knowledge of the concepts that define CSW.
Of course, an overarching theme in both the video and the class is the distinction between leadership and followership. We have seen this topic in great detail in the HBR article and The Memo, and the example of WWII is a strong look into its effectiveness. In this case, strong followership is anticipating the time needed to bring the Yorktown back to full repair to be re-employed and acting upon it without inhibitions, and strong leadership is the leniency, trust, and risky decision making needed to command the fleet in a predicament.
Not mentioned in the video are key CSW topics that we learned in The Memo. In particular, the staff was able to balance effectiveness and perfection to reach an outcome for the country. Effectiveness is the accomplishment of organizational goals, and at the expense of certain safety protocols, the staff was certainly able to fulfill these goals: get the Yorktown back in shape as fast as possible and win the war. In contrast, Japan was not able to meet this balance, as they prioritized perfection over everything else. While their repairs to the Shokaku may have been more effective with many more months of time on hand, effectiveness in this situation played hand-in-hand with timeliness, and the US staff was simply more adept at understanding and anticipating it.
Professor Yoest,
I really enjoyed this video and find it really helpful and useful to better understand our course. Leadership and followership are really important when it comes to the work dynamic and efficiency in the workplace. The relationship between the leader and staff needs to be in full communication and open for discussion so that the work can be anticipated. The example you used really showed the effect that communication really has and how anticipation won the US a battle. The staff must work on different options and solutions to provide their leaders with solid plans so that everything runs smoothly and effectively. But another important factor is the trust that leaders need to give their staffers since they must follow what the staffers researched.
I completely making the most of your introduction from The Memo and your conversation on the unique relationship concerning association and administration, and what they mean for the progression towards authoritative objectives. The connection between the pioneers and the staff should deliver a workplace that is extremely open for conversation between the two levels of the association. With this relationship, these staff members will feel good remedying their chief and directors and furthermore offer them the right proposals they need to work smoothly. I love the wonderful way to the utilized plane-carrying warships as the “vehicle” to clarify the relationship of finished staff. These conflict machines were seriously harmed, and both said that this airplane required a couple of months to recuperate. Notwithstanding, on its way back to Hawaii, the one warship was fixed in transit home. It was not the best fixes, anyway it was speeding up the work that should have been finished. In light of these staff members, they had this Warship fixed in less than seven days which is mind-boggling on the grounds that they thought they required 90 days. These staff members ensured nothing was left for the leader to sort out. Staff members in any business ought to be attempting to decrease the measure of work that their supervisor needs to finish; ensure their work area stays unfilled. This video effectively represented how a staff should function for their administrator.
I completely making the most of your introduction from The Memo and your conversation on the unique relationship concerning association and administration, and what they mean for the progression towards authoritative objectives. The connection between the pioneers and the staff should deliver a workplace that is extremely open for conversation between the two levels of the association. With this relationship, these staff members will feel good remedying their chief and directors and furthermore offer them the right proposals they need to work smoothly. I love the wonderful way to the utilized plane-carrying warships as the “vehicle” to clarify the relationship of finished staff. These conflict machines were seriously harmed, and both said that this airplane required a couple of months to recuperate. Notwithstanding, on its way back to Hawaii, the one warship was fixed in transit home. It was not the best fixes, anyway it was speeding up the work that should have been finished. In light of these staff members, they had this Warship fixed in less than seven days which is mind-boggling on the grounds that they thought they required 90 days. These staff members ensured nothing was left for the leader to sort out. Staff members in any business ought to be attempting to decrease the measure of work that their supervisor needs to finish; ensure their work area stays unfilled. This video effectively represented how a staff should function for their administrator.
Professor Yoest,
The Prezi video was very enjoyable and informative. It shed a new outlook on how vast Completed Staff Work can be used in so many different ways than a traditional business aspect. Having the correct research and leadership can help your team win the “battle”. The historical aspect really helped for me to visualize and actually see how Completed Staff Work can be put into action. It was also a very interesting event you explained. One of the takeaways is being able to have the resources to lead your team to be the most efficient and productive team they can be.
I think this video hit on an important point about Completed Staff Work. In its discussions about the damages of the Japanese and United States ships, we were able to see the differences in management. The Japanese predicted to take 90 days to get the ship back to its original quality. They took their time and made sure the ship was brought back to perfection. Meanwhile, the United States only took 72 hours and only worked until the ship was operable again. It was not about achieving good quality. With this, they broke all types of standards and protocols. Working under such tight conditions does not enable staff to go to the manager for approval because they have to get the job done. It shows how Completed Staff Work is often dependent on time. In order to achieve it, the staff must have the time to complete the work until it is finished and get approval from the boss. After all, Completed Staff Work is all about anticipating the boss’s needs, giving him a finished product, and just needing his stamp of approval. The Japanese achieved this but took a much longer time. This shows that it is often a tradeoff to get the best work done. As we have more time, we are best able to get our best work done. But also, it is important for the staff to do things time efficiently.
Completed Staff Work finds its basis on anticipation. As shown in the story about the Yorktown aircraft carrier, completed staff work was in use and allowed for the ship to find great success in the war. Instead of waiting to return to land for three months’ worth of repairs, the crew decided to start repairing what they could. Meanwhile, the Japanese ship waited until reaching land for the repair crew to fix the ship. Because the Yorktown crew had begun work before getting to Pearl Harbor, the ship was able to be used at the Battle of Midway, leading the US to victory and turning the tables of the war.
Completed Staff Work was clearly in use here. Although the repairs made by the Yorktown team were not perfect, they still anticipated the needs of the boss and the crew in Hawaii. They chose the option that allowed them to have the most success, and ultimately had great success because of their use of completed staff work. The team may not have known that their work would lead to this instrumental win, but they still knew that it was better to start working on the ship early. They employed the practice of managing up here, which is another core function of CSW. The story of the Yorktown ship truly embodies the meaning of Completed Staff Work.
As explained in the video, Completed Staff work is all about leadership and followership. With leadership and followership, the relationship between and responsibilities of managers and employees are established. The basics of these responsibilities are described in the video. Beginning with employees, their job is to make the boss’s job easier. This is done by doing research, giving the boss recommendations, and anticipating what needs to be done. When employees fulfill these duties they are making the boss’s job easier while also helping with the flow of the organization. The boss’s job is to make decisions. The boss can only make effective decisions when the employees have their work finished. There also needs to be thought behind all of these actions. Employees need to put genuine thought and reason into their recommendations so the boss can have the best options to decide on. Moreover, bosses need to think in order to make decisions. Bosses need to just take the time and think about what is truly the best decision to make. If there is a lack of thought on both ends, there is no Completed Staff Work. With no completed staff work, there is no efficiency, no effectiveness, and no functionality. Completed Staff Work is extremely significant for the proper functioning of an organization.
Completed staff work is about the art of anticipations. As a staff, we should be able to anticipate anything and everything at any given moment. Another important component of completed staff works is the study of leadership and followership. Being a leader is not only a one-person job but a group effort. These topics are developed through the presentation explaining how through history completed staff works has been a key component for success. In every team, there is the staff that has to know to anticipate a manager’s need and make their job easier. The boss’s job is to make the best decisions for their employees. But, one key component is his staff being able to give the boss the ultimate finished product in order for him to execute his decision.
The principle of Completed Staff Work includes several aspects, such as an employee putting effort into a project on behalf of the boss. It also includes guidance regarding behaviors that develop relationships between employees and their managers. The most important aspect of CSW is anticipation. This is applied to the example in the video in that the workers on the ships anticipated the need of the ship to have repairs done before it arrives at its destination. They repaired the aircraft carrier over their trip to Hawaii and, as a result, they were able to have a significant advantage over Japanese troops who did not apply the same principles. By providing the boss with Completed Staff Work, which includes anticipating the needs of the organization, the employee is able to get things done more efficiently and effectively, which can make success easier to attain for the entire organization. This results in the boss not having any problems to solve, work to correct, or other things that they may not need to do and will waste their time, which gives them the opportunity to make the decisions they need to make.
It is a great thing to work together as leaders and followers because it helps to achieve excellence in all areas of life. The question that needs to be answered is the nature of relationship between leaders (managers) and followers. Leaders make decisions and guide followers about matters of inquiry, wisdom, and knowledge. Leaders often have more knowledge and wisdom as compared to their followers and it is this knowledge and wisdom which makes them achieve a higher position in the hierarchy of work. Followers consider leadership to be the authority over them and they follow the directions given to them by the leadership. Followers work as individual members to manage up the leadership. Followers are autonomous because they can give good advice and clear guidance to the leaders as well. If followers are aware and knowledgeable, they can guide the leaders towards making the right decisions which make the whole team to grow and prosper together. Leadership can also give advice to the followers about matters about which leaders are certain. That is the reason that organizations that achieve excellence work both ways, managers giving advice to followers and followers giving advice to managers, with putting much emphasis on importance of knowledge, wisdom, and continuous improvement.
The whole point of completed staff work is for those to come up with a completed solution to bring to their boss so that the only thing the boss has to do is sign off on it. There are three aspects of completed staff work that should be followed when trying to fix a problem. The first is research, where the staff members must identify the problem and start to brainstorm different solutions to this problem. The second aspect is options, which are the different ways in which staff members can solve the given problem. After researching and brainstorming the different ways in which the problem can get solved, the staff members are then able to recommend their solution to their boss. This solution should be completed and polished, and ready to take action. The boss will review the solution and either accept, tweak, or decline the course of action. It is up to the staff members to make the job of their boss easy and find solutions to problems quickly and efficiently. One way a staff member can do this is to anticipate the problem before it even happens. By anticipating what will happen, one can prepare themselves on what to do once a problem does arise. If completed staff work is done properly, there will be nothing to add. All the boss should have to do is sign off on the solution because it is already completed and ready for a signature.
Leadership and followership is a dynamic relationship that needs great performance from both managers and subordinates. Subordinates are expected to manage up to leadership and their managers/supervisors, ensuring that their decision-making tasks are as flawless as feasible. The capacity of the American subordinates to anticipate the requirement for the battleship to be ready for the next fight exemplifies followership in the case of the two battleships. This foresight earned the US a battle and ultimately led to the war’s overall triumph. The subordinates were able to manage up and provide the greatest possible opportunity for leadership to adopt the appropriate course of action. This historical example was ideal for introducing this concept since in wartime, the effects of appropriate anticipation are instantaneous, but in normal times, the results take a long time to appear (particularly in the case of companies or enterprises).
This video was very informative of what the concept of Completed Staff Work should be because it provided a real life example of this concept from World War Two. If the members of the U.S.S Yorktown didn’t anticipate that the ship desperately needed repairs at the peak of war and begin to repair the ship while traveling to Pearl Harbor for eighteen days, then the United States might not have won the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war and this can be partially attributed to the U.S.S Yorktown being operable during that battle. In contrast, the Japanese ship, Shokaku, was not at the Battle of Midway because her crew members did not anticipate the desperate need of an extra operable ship on their side and they lost.
This shows that staffers need to do the research and know everything about a particular situation, give options to their managers, and recommend the best course of action. Through doing this, thoughtful staffers will make their manager look good and they will personally feel fulfilled in their own work through completion of their tasks at hand. This will also increase trust between manager and staffer.
I really enjoyed the Prezi. It really harps on and stresses the importance of the relationship between both fellowship and leadership. It shows that to do both effectively and efficiently, the concept of anticipation must be put to use. Anticipation is really nothing without hard work and effort. The staff needs to identify the needs and objectives in order to aid the manager in the decision making process. To do this effectively you must take time, do research, and have prior knowledge on the subject on hand. A great example provided to us by the presentation was that of the Aircraft Carrier. The Aircraft Carrier needed some decently major repairs. Due to anticipation and hard work the crew was able to work steadfastly and have the repairs done within a week. This small feat enabled the manager to look really good due to the work from his subordinates. It also allowed the subordinates to look really good as well. This is due to the fact that they were able to get the work done independently and on time. If other companies took notes of this example then the world would be a better smooth sailing place. I recommend that anyone working anywhere learns to master the art of anticipation and what it entails. It takes no skill or prior talent to show anticipation, just hard work and determination and a will to get the job done properly.
Professor Yoest,
Using examples from World War II is an incredibly effective to get the point across about the importance of leadership and follower-ship. In times of War everything is heightened and chaos is imminent. It takes the stakes in regular business transactions and raises them ten fold. That being said when it comes to proper leadership the principles remain the same. Completed Staff Work is the most efficient way to make decisions and plans, whether in war or the office. Once again the importance of anticipation shows clearly in the war story of the battered ships. Those soldiers who took the manager’s “responsibility” into their own hands and began repairing the boat anticipated what needed to get done. It seems obvious when explained but that anticipation was the difference in the months of the repair of the Japanese vs American ships. A month is an incredible amount of time to get in front of the competition and certainly made a difference in that fleet’s success.
Completed Staff Work dates back to WWII, where the crew on Yorktown, an aircraft carrier had a perfect dynamic of leadership and followership. Through anticipation, the USA was able to have the aircraft back in 3 days, as the general commanded enabling them to succeed. 1,400 workers were there, all with the same goal which enabled efficiency. They took many risks and broke many safety codes, yet did what was necessary to stay efficient to reach their goal. The Battle of Midway, was a turning point for WWII because Yorktown was there, due to Completed Staff Work.
As Professor Yoest explained time is limited and valuable. To use it efficiently, like with the completion of Yorktown, Completed Staff Work needs to occur. This video exemplified the dynamic relationship between leadership and followership. Through Completed Staff Work managers do one thing, make decisions. While managers make decisions, followers are there to manage up and persuade their managers. They can help to manage their managers by anticipating what needs to be done and helping reach that goal. The USA understood that through anticipation they could succeed. There was a perfect relationship between leadership and followership and through this, the Battle of Midway was a success as Completed Staff Work was incorporated.
The study of completed staff work is such an important idea in business and other team settings. Completed staff work has much to do with the relationship between a manager and his or her subordinates. When looking at specific examples, Tom Watson from IBM would make his employees always have the word “think” in their minds. This encouraged the employees to always be thinking of new ideas or anticipating things for the future. Anticipation is also one of the main ideas of completed staff work. We learn the example of the Yorktown a United States warship in which it was disabled. With U.S. engineers anticipating the work needed to be done the ship was back up and running within 72 hours. The Japanese had a similar situation in which it took 90 days to get the ship back up and fully operational. Having this ship operational was the turning point in the Second World War leading to the victory at the Battle of Midway. It is also important to look at the relationship between manager and subordinates. The subordinates must be able to research pick the best options and eventually recommend the best option to the manager. This will lead to strong relationships and trust from all parts of the business.
The biggest part of Completed Staff Work is to anticipate your manager’s needs. Managers should be able to trust their employees to read through documents carefully and report the best options to their managers in a timely fashion. This takes work off of the manager’s plate and allows them to focus on their boss’s needs. The best staffers know what is on their manager’s report cards, meaning that they know what their manager will need to do in the future, what they are doing currently, and what they have done in the past.
Completed Staff Work also helps to save people time. By anticipating the needs of others, people can complete their work in a more timely fashion because they will have all the tools they need. With complete information and recommendations, managers can make important decisions faster, which is why it is so important for staffers to deliver information and options to their manager on time and on budget. In the example of the U.S. military, the ship was able to be repaired faster than was anticipated because the people on the base planned for the ship’s arrival before it got there. The staff was prepared to do the necessary work and anticipated what types of repairs they would need to make and what types of equipment they would need.
The real leaders teach their subordinates to lead and follow is the best learning which is well demonstrated in this video. This is well explained by the example of how the United States won the World War II with this strategy and also demonstrated strong bond between the manager and the staff to avail learning of better completed staff work. The leadership and followership are the two main strategies which are require enabling effective staff work as the leadership teaches managers to make decisions and to make assure that these decisions are adequately followed by the subordinates and the followership explains the employees to employ the power of teamwork to make their leaders successful. This video provided the historical highlights of management which were well utilized by the US military in order to bring organizational effectiveness and decision making. He demonstrated well with the example that leader needs to manage the followers and the followers need to lead their managers which is a two way process and needs effective coordination between the leaders and the followers. Therefore this was a very effective and interesting content which has used the best example to illustrate the necessity of implementing leadership and followership in management to succeed.
After watching the Prezi video, I have a better understanding of the impact of the staff on their leader, or boss. We see the dynamic of followership and leadership all the time in the work place. As mentioned in the video, the job of the staff is to anticipate and the job of the manager is to make decisions. With the examples in the video of the crew anticipating the work needed to be done on the ship, we see how a dynamic like this should operate. When the staff is confident and open to offering solutions to the manager’s problems, it works better than if the manager just controls everything. Sometimes the staff has a clearer and more open perspective on certain situations, and when the manager views their recommendations, it could turn out to be a better outcome. As shown in the video, the best leaders understand that they do not need to be in control of everything. If there is trust built with their staff, it can make their job much easier and make bigger decisions a lot easier. By anticipating what our boss needs, we save both them and the company time, and ease the decision process.
This Prezi video is a great explanation of leadership and followership. This example of management changed the course of WWII and changed the course of the world. The US ship was effective in repairing their ship so that it could be useable in battle while the Japanese decided to bring their ship all the way home for repairs which took a lot longer and their ship was not able to fight at the battle of midway. The US ship made many repairs on the water and was able to do the bare minimum to keep their ship in working order so that it could get back out on the water. This is good management because a hard decision was made but the followers were able to execute and eventually win the battle. This is a good application of management in the real world.
We consistently mention in class that the word that perfectly describes Completed Staff Work is anticipation. Anticipation makes managing your manager easier making everyone’s role more enjoyable, the best managers are rarely surprised. We often talk about how the staffers are so trusted by the manager that the only thing the manager gas to do is validate or deny the work of the staffers. We talked about in the past to be a strong leader, you also must be a loyal follower. A leader usually begins as a follower who seeks opportunities to lead. If you begin to adopt behaviors people associate with a leader, people will symbolize you as a leader. Leadership emerges from a relationship between leaders and followers who are bound together with the same social group. The anticipation of a problem and how to solve it describes Completed Staff Work, but everyone must know their roles as leaders or followers for it to be successful.
Professor Yoest’s Prezi video on Leadership and Followership clearly depicts its positive effects on Completed Staff Work. As a staffer, or a follower, they are required to manage up and persuade their boss and give him the best recommendation to get the job done. Managers only make decisions, so it is up to the individual contributors to exercise followership to help develop options for the boss. There is a simple three step process that will help the staffers achieve this goal for their boss. The staff must first do some research on what they have to do. Once they discovered all the information about the job, they must plan and think of potential options to offer to their boss. Once they have a couple options, the staff can then single out the best recommendation they can offer the boss that will be the most effective to get the job done. Another key part in Followership and Completed Staff Work is anticipation. In the story about the battleship, Yorktown, we can see how the crew members anticipated the repair that had to be done on the ship to minimize the repair time and to optimize the time to get it back in battle. Instead of 90 days of repair, they were able to get the ship back out in 72 hours, so we can see here that anticipation and followership alone got the Yorktown back in the water fighting sooner rather than later.