Joe Burak on Leadership Training

I enjoyed the Leadership Training exercise on team work. While I’ve been through these types of workshops before, both in my undergraduate days as well my work career, I think it’s nice to reinforce these concepts when possible. I particularly liked the exercise where everyone played their part in a machine (video is attached). The guide asked a series of questions after the exercise including, “Who is the leader?”  Often times, we assume it’s just the person pushing the buttons but it’s really more important to understand what happens when parts need to be replaced, work is sped up or something occurs that changes the entire system. I (re)learned that team members have a responsibility to ensure that the work gets done and the leader, in order to be most effective, needs to provide the direction, feedback and resources necessary to keep things moving forward. Leadership is closely intertwined with communication because in order to “get the job done” teams need a clear understanding of what’s expected and what tools are at their disposal to make it happen.