Completed Staff Work: Prezi Video

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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 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.

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.

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.