Discussion:
Q1. Read the below paragraph and write what you think about it. If possible give any real examples. You can ask the questions if any.
Creating a climate of trust and facilitating relationships are the two key aspects that come hand in hand for fostering collaboration. According to Kouzes and Posner (2012), "people work together most effectively when they trust one another." Trust is therefore the most important denominator in facilitating relationships in the workplace. When people trust each other, it's very easy for them to pursue common goals and work together. Kouzes and Posner's advice to build trust as a leader is "be the first to trust". Trust goes both ways and, by showing employees that they have your trust, you encourage them to pay you back with the same currency. Of course, you risk that some bad apples abuse and break your trust, but it's a chance you have to be willing to take for the benefit of the whole team. "When you trust others, they are much more likely to trust you." To prove you're a trustworthy leader, it's important to communicate clearly to avoid misunderstandings, and being an honorable person who sticks to their word. A good way of demonstrating trust in your subordinates is encouraging them to be proactive and giving them a certain degree of freedom to manage their workload. Listening to your team's suggestions, opinions, concerns, etc. is also a good way to build trust.
Q2. Read the below paragraph and write what you think about it. If possible give any real examples. You can ask the questions if any.
I felt powerful when I granted more authorization. My boss advised me that I can speak up and even argue with other department's manager if it's about work and I have a suitable reason. For example, we had a documentation that all related departments share and use, but only sales department manager didn't use so somebody had to fill in information for her. Then, the information might be wrong and the person needs to take responsibility if that's wrong information. Therefore, I had to argue with her saying that you are messing up this system and everyone is negatively affected.
On the other hand, I felt powerless when someone else solved a problem that I couldn't. I work with vendors and one of them is very hard to communicate and not very cooperative. I gave him full information in a timely manner because I didn't want him to mess the project up. However, something went wrong and I had to start over with him. Next day my coworker called him and they had a small conversation and he started to fix everything in just a couple days which I thought would take at least more than a week. That's when I felt powerless and lost motivation because I realized that even though I try my best, it's not always going well if someone or something doesn't work with me.