Happy Monday everyone Amanda here from the research team. Today I would like to share with you about su-re.co’s first quarter of 2021. For the first three months, we’ve been managing a variety of activities in our think-do-be tank. As a team of fewer than 20 people, it is quite impressive how many milestones we have passed. Also, with the challenges that I experienced the last three months, I’ve also gained a meaningful, resilient and sustainable way in improving the complex system of working in a small team. Inspired by an article I read in Harvard Business Review (HBR), I found that there are three foundational capabilities in working as a team.
First is internal self-awareness which basically means understanding your inner narratives. For example, when planning such a big event like a su-re.co kick-off workshop, misunderstanding can happen quite frequently. Not only because we assign tasks is to several different team members, but also because each individual has different experiences, perspective, and habit that might interfere with the progress. Therefore when we start planning such an event, I try to pause, reflect and recognize the different thinking styles of each member at the beginning stage of this event planning. Before sharing my response or my input in an internal meeting, I always tried to ask myself questions such as “what am I assuming about the other person or the situation” and “what are the facts versus my interpretation”. These questions can help me learn about myself, and limit the possibility of misunderstood, devalue or even dismiss other people who think differently.
The second is external self-awareness, which refers to how our words and actions impact others. Although I'm still learning one of the ways I start to build a nice external self-aware nurse is by observing how others react to my impact during the discussion. On top of that, I also tried to be mindful and ask other team members sometimes about feedback and guidance. For instance, as I am handling admin tasks for all the team, I do find myself struggling or I feeling indifferent to some of the results. In these situations, I try to approach and asked specific questions, such as “what is it that I’m doing that is helpful?” or “if there’s anything I could change and improve on how I interact with the team?”. By doing so, I comprehend the impact of my actions and words and hopefully improve for the betterment of all team progress.
Last but not least is personal accountability which means that focusing on holding ourselves self-accountable. This may sound easy or relatable because we do this every day. However, quoted from HBR, “many of us have established unhealthy patterns: blaming or criticizing others, defending ourselves, feigning confusion, or avoiding the issue altogether.” since the first day I join su-re.co, personal accountability is one of value it highly upholds. Here, we practice the cycle of OODA daily – Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. In su-re.co, when we recognize a problem, we first recognize that there is a faulty within the system, then individuals must still be accountable and responsible to solve the problem.
In a fast-paced work environment like su-re.co, I am still learning to process and demonstrate these skills long enough to form new habits. By building these foundational capabilities, we could be better at tackling upcoming perplexing phases in the next three quarters.
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