Verizon Wireless Small Group Communication Audit

Group Four Busy Bees

Aubryn Bittorf
Carlos Rivas
Carrie Hough
Caspar Flinder
Kayley Miller
Loriana Siegel
Shari Mooney

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 This organizational audit will assist in analyzing and providing feedback on how

to improve small group communications for Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless is a

division of Verizon, Inc., a Fortune 500 company with over 170,000 employees. The

analysis focus of this paper will be on the customer service organization segment within

Verizon Wireless in the virtual channel. There are 24 call centers within Verizon

Wireless which are run by one Senior Vice President. The Senior Vice President has

two Directors in charge of customer service operations and three Vice Presidents

responsible for daily operations for the call centers. Each of the three Vice Presidents

has Directors in charge of each individual call center. The Directors of each call center

have Senior Managers responsible for 10 to 12 Supervisors. The Supervisors have 10

to 13 frontline direct reports.

Our objective will be to analyze the characteristics of this segments small group

strategy, including best practices and pitfalls that aid and prevent the groups from being

run in an optimum fashion. This will allow us to provide a recommendation to enhance

effectiveness and efficiency the current group communication culture.

We were able to obtain three different perspectives relating to the small group

culture of the call centers. We interviewed Mike Riggs, Director of Customer Service for

the site; Brian Harder, Senior Manager of Customer Service Operations; and Jonathan

Rodarte, an Human Resources Business Consultant. After speaking with three of the

organizations leadership, we were able to identify small group sizes can range from 2-3

people to 12-15 people based on projects.

This organization uses secondary small groups review processes, initiatives,

projects and strategy. We found both Jonathan and Brian had very similar sentiments

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regarding how they chose their small group teams and how they run their meetings.

Brian and Jonathon mentioned relying on the skills individuals would bring to the table

and seemed to focus on an individuals area of expertise. They both identified

themselves as the person creating the agenda, taking notes and recapping as well as

driving the timelines of objectives and keeping group members engaged. Meetings are

generally face-to-face and no longer than an hour. Mikes overall feedback was more

balanced in his leadership. Similar to Brian and Jonathan, Mike is the leader of the

meeting but delegates responsibilities regarding agenda, recap and assigns a point of

contact to help drive deadlines and group engagement. He also spoke very differently of

assigning people to the small group. He mentioned the attention to the persons

business acumen and personality as a consideration beyond their skill strengths.

Based on the observations made from our groups interviews, we believe that we

have encountered a bit of conflict avoidance from a groupthink perspective. Groupthink

is the illusion of agreement- a type of thinking that occurs when a group strives to

minimize conflict, maximize cohesiveness, and reach a consensus without critically

testing, analyzing and evaluating ideas. (Beebe & Masterson, 2015, p. 199) The two of

the middle managers seemed content always leading the group. Our groups concern is

that appointing a leader to the group who is also the leader in the organization may lead

to group members being solely being concerned about pleasing the manager instead of

allowing creativity to flow through brainstorming (Beebe & Masterson, 2015, p. 201).

Leaders are naturally attracted to those who tend to agree with their point of view thus

making a consensus easy and avoiding disagreement. To truly embrace other points of

view, a leader must be willing to step and foster disagreement regardless of their ego, in

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order to fully understand each group members ideas and to benefit from the creative

process and encourage open and honest discussion.

There is also a gap between management and the front line associates. The gap

is created by the dictation of the leadership roles, designation of group members and

delegation of responsibilities. We feel that based on the middle management approach

the organization runs the risk of stifling potential emergent leaders to arise. Mikes

approach fosters candor in meetings and creates sense of comfort when small groups

are created and participants are selected. When the managers Jonathan and Brian

meet with small groups, they can prevent issues from happening in the future by

communicating effectively and utilizing group members to lead groups and speak their

mind. In this organization, Mike is the Director, however his vision does not always align

with Brian and Jonathans thinking and from the top down to the front line call center, it

seems as though the vision can be lost.

One of our recommendations to help avoid groupthink would be to assign a

person to be the central negative- a Devils Advocate, someone who is willing to state a

contrary point of view in order gain understanding or create new dialogue. (Beebe &

Masterson, 2015, p. 203) The Devils Advocate can be seen as an annoyance and

someone that is being contrary solely to create a disturbance in the group, but the

reality is that a Devils Advocate can be very useful in spurring critical thinking and

challenging conventional rational. If a company continues creating small groups to try

to solve the same problem time and again without any pushback, it should ask why in

order to gain an understanding of the dynamic of its staff and troubleshoot any

employee morale issues that are arising from seemingly amenable behavior. The risk in

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not supporting a central negative is not being able to develop the group members

problem solving or creative acumen thus stifling the personal growth of those who can

and should be the future leaders in the company.

The key to supporting this type of honesty is to ensure that the Devils Advocate

and any other group member that disagrees will know that they will not be punished

through verbal or nonverbal communication, either within the confines of the group or in

another work related situation. Openness is a basic ingredient for team success;

having team members who are straightforward and willing to appropriately discuss

delicate issues is a predictor of team success. Team members who are not open to new

ideas and who participate less are perceived as less valuable to the team. (Beebe &

Masterson, 2015, p. 11) When other employees see that one person is successful in

conveying their ideas, it will allow trust to flourish between management and

employees, more positive interactions and healthy debates.

The issue of continuous singular leadership was seen by two of the three

managers. In regards to the aspect of leadership, Research has shown that when

group or team members share leadership, their groups experience less conflict, greater

consensus, and higher trust and cohesion than in groups without shared leadership.

(Beebe & Masterson, 2015, p. 228) With that being said, having a single person

constantly lead a small group meeting, poses difficulties in overall group collaboration.

A secondary recommendation would be to have the members come prepared to the

meeting with topics, issues, goals and concerns that they would like to discuss. This

type of collaboration would allow group members to individually express their concerns

along with providing feedback or possible restructuring tips. This potentially provides

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solutions or proactive ideas that could help the team succeed or receive feedback

provided from equal and higher sources of management.

If this recommendation was to be utilized, the meetings agenda could still be

structured appropriately and remain timely. By structuring the meeting to involve each

member versus being led by a lone member, it would allow for each person to bring an

idea or solution to a problem in which another member may be struggling. Through

utilizing collaboration, an agenda can still be structured and sent out prior to the

meeting. This allows members to come prepared with questions, with the possibility of

creative suggestions. Group creativity research suggests that groups are more likely to

be creative if they appropriately analyze and define the problem, intentionally foster a

climate of freedom to be creative, listen to minority points of view, encourage members

to assume new perspectives or roles, and find ways to structure the process. (Beebe &

Masterson, 2015, p. 307)

In conclusion, after having the opportunity to dive into specific processes around

productive small group meetings, we found that Verizon had several solid practices in

place and an decent overall foundation of small group organization and objectives. We

were able to identify a couple of ways the middle level management can be more

impactful and effective to encourage diversity, responsibility and leadership

opportunities for the small groups they create to better model the autonomy they are

awarded with their site leader. We were also to demonstrate potential risks the

organization would likely endure if they arent proactive in making changes for the

future.

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 Avoiding Groupthink. Retrieved May 3, 2016

From: https://www.google.com/search?

q=groupthink+avoid&biw=1280&bih=895&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKE

wiO9LOy_r7MAhXlmoMKHaA_BYcQ_AUICCgD#imgrc=gjhibe3zELgcHM%3A

7
 Power of delegation. Retrieved May 3, 2016

From:https://www.google.com/search?

q=delegation+of+leadership&biw=1280&bih=895&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=

0ahUKEwjQi8HO_r7MAhWmlYMKHd6tD8kQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=GuQ4YzPkJog26M%3A

References
Beebe, S. A., & Masterson, J. T. (2015). Communicating in Small Groups:
Principles and Practices, Eleventh Edition. New York, New York, United
States: Pearson.

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9
 Appendix

Interview with Brian Harder

Carlos: When you assign a small, who do you typically choose for that group and what
characteristics do you look for in that person?

Brian: I think you want to do the best you can to target skill sets and assignments. A lot
of what I do is partnering with call centers so to some extent Im going to have POCs
assigned from that depending on what we are working on but we can influence some of
that to make sure you have the right skill set on the team. So if there is going to be a lot
of analytics involved for example, the overarching POC might not be the best person for
whatever youre working because they dont have that skill set but maybe there is a
reporting person within their group that might be a substitute in that instance. In any
group but in a small group in particular you want to have the right skill set so you want
to line those up against what the work type is going to be.

Carlos: So its a lot of whats the goal of the group and that kind of determines what skill
sets youre looking for?

Brian: Whats the goal and whats the work that needs to be completed because that
really dictates the skill set necessary.

Carlos: In groups, people are given tasks to do. Usually when a group is created, do
you have any rules or guidelines create that everyone has to follow?

Brian: I dont know that I generally will sit down and go through a list of rules and
expectations. I think that most of the work I do, people have the general understanding
that the expectations are that they do what they agreed to do to and meet deadlines. I
think thats probably the big one is managing deadlines in a small group just because of
the extracurricular type project that they are assigned to. It might not be their first priority
so I think thats the biggest expectation to manage.

Carlos: Would you say you really do have guidelines but everybody kind of assumes
them or understands that they exist. So if there is a deadline they know they have to
meet it.

Brian: I think so. I think the two overarching expectations would be participate and
engagement and then also meeting deadlines.

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Carlos: How often would you say you create small groups?

Brian: Well, I have several that are ongoing. They were created at one point and time
because they were the subject matter experts and we meet on a regular basis. And then
as far as ad-hoc stuff that comes up, it feels like it comes it spurts. The average would
be once or twice a month.

Carlos: Other than telling me about the call centers, usually when you create small
groups, what would you say typically is the most goal of those groups?

Brian: Usually if you are creating a small group, at least in what I view, its going to be
an implementation of some sort. Whether thats a training initiative or a process rollout
or a system enhancement type piece. It could be a performance improvement initiative.
Theres an identified area of concern in performance and youre creating a group to
address that.

Carlos: I think you talked about POC. Do you usually have leaders assigned to each
group that you create?

Brian: As it stands right now in regards to the performance I support for the area, I do
have POCs that I will work with on a regular basis within each center. When it comes to
a one-time implementation or something like that, I would then reach out to the centers
and either ask for this person or ask for someone to be assigned.

Carlos: And then, who typically creates the agendas for the meetings?

Brian: I would do that.

Carlos: If you have a POC, would they be doing that or would you still be doing that?

Brian: Generally, I would do that and then if I were to going to have them run a meeting
for me or something like that, I would have that prepared for them prior to the meeting.

Carlos: And then after the meeting, is there like a recap that gets sent out to
everybody?

Brian: Yes. I do notes depending on the meeting, I may take my own notes and action
items. Sometimes I can rotate who takes notes that creates some different level of
engagement. But notes and action items are always sent.

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Carlos: And then, do you usually assign a time limit and if you do, what typically is the
length of your meetings?

Brian: Depending on theI would say typical length is probably an hour. I think if it
required more than that on a regular basis, I would probably do multiple meetings rather
than a long meeting unless you were going to move to a face to face format.

Carlos: So thats kind of the threshold if its more than hour you might meet twice a
week?

Brian: I think that seems reasonable. Especially when you do a conference call style
meeting. If you go much over an hour, I think there is a lot of distractions happening on
the other end of the phone. I would either do more or move it to a face-to-face format

Carlos: People start to multi-task right?

Brian: A little bit.

Carlos: How is accountability upheld? So if maybe people miss their deadlines or they
dont participate, what accountability is in place for that?

Brian: So, you can jump in with my expectations. I think that people who participate are
my project managers have the same expectations of them if they are participating for
their workgroup. Thats not going to be my first move. Usually, Im going to follow-up and
say, Where are you at with this? Restless the importance of it. If I continue to have
somebody who struggles to achieve deadlines, then I would work through their
leadership in order to have that addressed. Potentially ask for a replacement if its really
bad.

Carlos: And this could be either if you are leading the group or if you have assigned
someone. How do they typically try to engage people or get them to participate if they
are one of the quiet ones?

Brian: To engage a quiet person?

Carlos: Yes.

Brian: Calling on them. Asking them specifically, What are you doing? What are your
thoughts? How do you feel about this? engages somebody in the conversation and it
could be somebody who is either quiet or maybe you dont they are paying attention.

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You can draw them back into the conversation that way. If you have somebody that
doesnt see the importance of it or doesnt feel like this is a top priority to them. Then I
think you need to figure out how to help them understand why. So kind of reinforcing the
ultimate goal but also the Whats in it for me piece. So, how does this tie into other
things that maybe are more important to them. So, that they can see the benefit of
providing their full engagement.

Carlos: If that happens in group meeting, would you say you do that off to the side, like
pull them to the side, or is it something you address in the meeting itself?

Brian: If I felt like somebody didnt believe or if we didnt have buy-in, I probably
wouldnt address that in a group setting if there was just one individual. I would probably
more so take that offline and reach back out. If I felt the whole group maybe wasnt
seeing the importance of what we were doing, I would open that up to a group
conversation.

Carlos: And then, what would you say are the obstacles you run into when you are in a
team meeting or group?

Brian: I think attention is definitely one of them at least within the environment we work
in here. People have a hundred things going on. So, you know, trying to keep them
focused on what you are doing is probably the bigger challenge and the engagement
piece right. Doing things like camera meetings is good so you can kind of see what
people are doing. It also creates more of a live setting where people feel more than just
something happening on the phone right. They engage a little bit different. I think thats
a big thing that can be done as well.

Carlos: Any other things that you think are obstacles other than getting their attention
and anything else they have going on?

Brian: It can potentially be the skill set of the people you are working with. Do they have
the right skill set for the work that is being done? I think that is something you can see
through whats produced by the individual. And then work that back because it could be
a communication thing or an actual skill set and you need to show them what you need.

Carlos: And then have, based on skill set, have you ever run a group or lets say you
have five people and maybe three of them feel like they have skill set. Maybe they feel
the two other people dont. How do you manage that?

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Brian: So, and its different right if Im running a project of external stakeholders versus
Im running my teams who report to me. I have little bit more influence there, right? But I
think that similar to somebody who may or may not be engaged, sidebar conversation, I
dont think you would call it out in a group setting right. And just being upfront. Asking
them, What are you struggling with? Do you know how to do this or do you not? If you
dont then is this something maybe, we can pair you up with somebody who does so
you can understand that and build that skill set which is a good development opportunity
for them. Is this something where you arent the right person for this one and do I need
to reach back out for a different point of a contact?

Carlos: And then would you manage anything different for the people that feel like they
do have the skill set?

Brian: I dont know that I would manage anything different for them. But, if it was a
situation where this POC has this other great skill set and these other people dont, then
selling to them that partnership of Hey, Brian can use some help with this. One - Its
also a good development to enhance somebodys skill set or if there isnt the time that,
then do you need to re-evaluate whos doing what within a project and potential shift
assignments to better fit the skill sets that you have. #00:10:00-0#

Carlos: Do you notice that there's certain kind of personality type that tends to interrupt
meetings or doesnt add to solving the problems of that meeting?

Brian: There can be. I mean you can have; you definitely have people that are more
assertive than others. In any situation, depending on whether or not they are in full
agreement with what you are doing that can end up being a disruption to the meeting.
Unfortunately, you do have people that dont like change and generally when you are
working a project you change something. So, you could potentially have people that
focus more energy on why we cant do this or what the obstacles are going to be rather
than targeting solutions. I think thats where there is opportunity to redirect sometimes.
#00:10:00-0#

Carlos: Do you notice any issues with communication of the personalities or the
personality differences, because everybodys different, within any particular department
or small group?

Brian: There can be. In anything I am currently working, I dont have a lot of conflict
with personalities. But, certainly there can be.

Carlos: Have you run into it in the past?

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Brian: Yes. I think generally it boils down to somebodys sentiment of another persons
ability or willingness to help. And then the other person being kind of open to seeing the
different side of things as well. So, when that comes up and it happens sometimes
within my team, there is I dont necessarily say animosity but there are different feelings
with people we interact with and how helpful they are and how demanding they could
be. And my role in that is to help one or both sides to understand the other point of view
and to tie it back whats in that for me. An example would be, if you have someone you
are working with that you support that is very demanding and whats all these things and
needs these things. That can be frustrating to a team that already feels like that they
already working hard to provide different things that may or may not be needed. But the
flip side to that is, if you have someone asking for this stuff, you can also be assured
that they are out engaged and trying to drive what you are trying to drive. So, you have
that kind of calming goal for sure and then its just working that partnership piece so that
both people have what they need to go out and achieve the goal.

Carlos: Do you notice it happens; during research there are obviously people that are
more analytical, really detail oriented with their numbers. And you have people we call
drivers that kind of are like leaders or are take charge kind of people. Do you notice if
there is conflict that occurs between those two personality types?

Brian: To an extent, yes. But generally, I would see the conflict or if I see a conflict
there, it might be because that leader person that wants to get out and do the work is
struggling with the analytical person who just wants to continue to generate reports.
One may or may not see the value in what the other one is doing. And that can create
conflict sometimes.

Carlos: Usually when you create groups or teams, what are usually the sizes of the
teams you try to create?

Brian: It really varies depending on the project

Carlos: What would you say is the largest group youve ever created?

Brian: Probably like 12-15.

Carlos: What would be the smallest?

Brian: Smallest would probably 2-3 people in addition to myself.

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Carlos: What level of honesty is displayed during meetings?

Brian: That to would depend on the individuals participating. I would like to believe that
most people are honest but there is also times when you can tell that youre being
provided answers really just to.

Carlos: Kind of appease you?

Brian: Yeah, in a sense. I think that happens a lot. Generally, you can get underneath
that by asking some follow up questions around detail and that sort of thing and figure if
someone truly is doing the work or are they providing that overview answer to appear as
if they have done the work.

Carlos: Just to kind of encourage it, what would you say are some techniques you use
to encourage honesty?

Brian: I think you know if you ask the questions that get to the level of detail on a
regular basis that kind of instills that that expectation is there. Thats going to happen.
So people would generally veer away from providing an answer that is high level
knowing that it is going to be follow up questions to get underneath the detail. I think if
people are used to that kind of questioning and understand what you are doing to get
underneath there, they are more likely to be forthcoming about how much they do or
dont know or have or havent done.

Carlos: What barriers do you think prevents people from being honest in the meeting?

Brian: I think probably more so than anything its embarrassment. I mean if you are in a
group setting and you havent done what you were going to do or potentially it didnt turn
out the way they thought it would, there is this sense of let me buy some time. Then I
can come back with the full analytic part of it.

Carlos: You talk about how your meetings, how you're trying to get a lot of stuff done,
projects or change processes. Switching over to peoples opinions of the changes. How
honest do you think people are when they either really agree with something or really
disagree with something?

Brian: I think in the culture we are in, people that are in those roles, they are
representing their center or workgroup. I feel like in most cases, people are pretty
honest in that sense because there are some serious consequences if their voices

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arent heard. Either for their department, their center, their rollout or whatever that looks
like. I think we do pretty good in that case.

Carlos: Do you notice if there is a lot of small talk in your meetings?

Brian: In my meetings there is generally not. There isnt a lot of downtime for that to
happen. There is some potential for sidebar like instant chat or sometime that may be
occurring, but not to a point where I feel like I have had people distracted by that.

Carlos: Are most of your meetings run by one person or are they collaborative where
the group is in charge?

Brian: I have my meetings ran by one person. The group participates and we will have
agenda items that are open for everybody to participate in. We want to hear from
everybody. I feel like you should always have one person in charge and on the hook for
facilitating the meeting and making sure notes get out. Staying on task. That sort of
thing.

Carlos: Does anything happen to someone who doesnt show up?

Brian: Probably not for a single incident. I think if it were somebody who was never able
to attend, same thing. Reach out and find out. How do I help Carlos? You havent been
on these calls. Are they not valuable? Do you have a conflict? Do we need to work at
rescheduling? If everything come out great and you continue to not show up, then I
would reach out to leadership to see what we need to do to gain participation.

Carlos: Lets say you are not able to make it to a meeting. What kind of warning is
appropriate?

Brian: Are you leading it or just participating in it?

Carlos: We can think of both. Lets say you were just a member of the group and
somebody was leading it and you couldnt make it. What would you say would be an
appropriate warning to the leader that was running it?

Brian: I think if you were a participant that wasnt presenting anything on the meeting
as long as you do it before the meeting would be fine. Especially, if you are able to say
Hey, I know these were the things due. Heres the status of all that. I will follow up with
you this afternoon. Im generally ok with that. If you are presenting on the call in some
fashion even as a participant, at least 24 hours would be warranted. That way whoever

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is facilitating the meeting can update agendas and that sort of thing prior to the meeting
starting. And then if youre leading it, the same thing. If you are going to reschedule it, I
think you would want to do it at least a day so that you can free up time on peoples
calendars. If youre having to reschedule it, you are not shifting too much around. There
are a lot of people that are living and breathing and dying based on their Outlook
calendar. I think just being respectful of that is something you want to do. Then make
sure you have coverage right. They know you are able to articulate where you are at
with your action items and are there any changes that you have to partner for
communication.

Carlos: Sounds like about a day is pretty good.

Brian: I think at least. The more the better. It might vary depending on the environment
you are in too. But I think that if you can give anyone 24 hours in advance, you are in
pretty good shape here. #00:10:00-0#

Carlos: And then my last one. Have you ever felt like the meeting didnt value your
time?

Brian: Yes.

Carlos: Just a follow up to that. What do you think are some things that happened
during that meeting that caused you to feel that way?

Brian: Covering information that I already know. Especially when it is a known thing that
people know. That is, I think not a good use of time. Also, when meetings arent
facilitated well. You could be in a meeting all day long and walk out of there
accomplishing nothing. What was the sense of the meeting? Usually that does have to
do with how it was facilitated. Was it kept on task? Did we know what we were coming
here to solve for so that we were preparing the right things to walk away with. Those are
probably two big kind of key things that I would say that are stressful in meetings.

Carlos: Going on the things you feel are not of value, what would be something you can
implement to make sure that doesnt happen?

Brian: I think a strong agenda. Prior to the... if youre the facilitator, prior to going to the
meeting, you have the agenda lined up. Also knowing what you are trying to get
accomplished. If you are rolling something out. What are the potential escalation points
the participants might have? What are some of the things that you can anticipate that
you can either build into your presentation to help alleviate? Get out of the way up front

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so can move past those things. Rather than to turning a meeting into a giant round table
that can go on for a long time. So I think the agenda but anticipation of the obstacles
and then addressing those within the agenda are probably the main things you can do
to keep something on task.

19
 Interview with Jonathan Rodarte:

Carlos: When you assign small groups who do you choose for those groups and what
characteristics are you looking for?

Jonathan: Typically I assign work groups specific to the project, when the project
requires certain things I start by identifying key members.

Carlos: How big are the small groups?

Jonathan: No more than 8 people.

Carlos: In order to make sure everyone is doing their part what rules or
guidelines do you have in place to make sure people are held accountable?

Jonathan: It is important to establish what the objective or end game is that way it
ensures that everyone understand when the due date is. Creating checkpoints is
important.

Carlos: What is usually covered in meeting checkpoints?

Jonathan: Refreshing the project vision with the group, changes to the business, and
discuss barriers.

Carlos: What would you say are the reasons you are putting together or
working in a small group?

Jonathan: When a task or project cannot be done by myself or just one individual,
collaboration is needed from other departments and people.

Carlos: Would you say small groups are best for problem-solving, project
implementation, focus groups, monthly /weekly meetings?

Jonathan: Problem-solving is the most common reason for small group work.

Carlos: Are leaders formally assigned to small groups?

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Jonathan: In most cases no, not by design there is not just one leader in a small group.

Carlos: Who creates the agenda for the meetings?

Jonathan: One person, myself usually.

Carlos: Is there a group meeting re-cap after the meeting is over?

Jonathan: Yes, if new material was discussed during the meeting.

Carlos: How often are meetings scheduled?

Jonathan: Bi-weekly, usually lasting an hour in time.

Carlos: How is accountability upheld and how are missing deadlines

handled?

Jonathan: This doesnt usually arise, workloads can be more evenly distributed if
necessary.

Carlos: How do you or the group leader try to engage a distant or quiet
member?

Jonathan: Ask them direct questions and ask for their input, also we give them an
assignment to complete before the meeting that way they have information ready to
share about it.

Carlos: What are some obstacles you run into working in a small group?

Jonathan: Different perspectives can be an obstacle when group members dont

agree, but having different perspectives can be a benefit as well. It can be difficult when
one group member has a strong opinion and influences others in the group to follow.
Meetings can go too long and become inefficient.

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 Interview with Mike Riggs
Carlos: When assigning a small group who do you typically choose for the groups, and
then what types of characteristics do you usually look for?

Mike: So ah, I will start with characteristics I will look for folks that are willing to give
input, that are willing to challenge thoughts and ideas. Hmm, but also with that
challenge being able to come up with things to get the project and or question over the
goal line, I look to make sure it is diverse so depending what the meetings involve, if it is
for example; something that requires feedback from folks that work early, folks that work
late, folks that work weekends. I make sure that there is a diverse group from a
scheduling from an age and from a personality perspective from the group.

Carlos: So, this is probably more from groups where you ask them to complete a task?
When people get assigned a task in a meeting, what kind of rules and guidelines are in
place to hold them accountable?

Mike: I make sure we have communicated a set deadline I also make sure there is a
check-in before that deadline, I make sure they are on the right course right path of
whats being asked of them, and then depending on whether, I normally will sit down,
and ask who the leader of the group is, who is going to be the spokesperson of the
group. So that, ahh, that way we are not derailed if the whole group isnt there. I can still
meet with whoever the POC is to get the groups feedback/mindset and I can get my
feedback back to them.

Carlos: Would you say the group when other than deadlines and check-ins are there
any specific rules and deadlines assigned to people depending on the tasks they are
given?

Mike: Ahh, yeah, I would say some of the rules that I always talk about is make sure
you keep on focus as well what you are trying to accomplish. Dont go in and try to solve
the problem, but lets go in and brainstorm first. And then based of your brainstorming
coming back and work towards what the goal/point is.

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Carlos: And then, how often would you say that you assign small groups?

Mike: I would say once a quarter, and different multitudes of responsibility and
processes.

Carlos: I will ask you a question to kind of come back to it, so in the business and not
just yourself I will give you I believe five types of groups and if you could just rank them;
Which one is the most often type, hmm so when groups are created do you feel that
most often type is a Problem solving group, Problem implication group, Group for
weekly discussions and meetings, Focus groups, or a group to go over employee
moral?

Mike: So, in 1 being the highest priority in the stand point and 5 being the lowest?
Carlos: Or which you feel just happens most often.

Mike: So, I would say focus groups happens the most, in that focus group is really
where we get the employee morale piece, so we accomplish both of those groups in
one meeting.

Carlos: So, they are kind of tied for one (Focus groups and Employee moral meetings)

Mike: Yeah, and the next one I would say is really problem solving, so here is what
came out of the focus group, here is what came out of the employee morale, here is the
issue and let's figure how to solve for that issue. And then the next one would be weekly
discussion and the last one would be Project.

Carlos: Ok, and just to tie back the groups you assign, which of those groups do you
think you assign the most?

Mike: Hmm, I assigned the Problem Solving groups the most, I think the, Yeah, thats
the one I assign the most. And the second would be the Focus and morale groups.

Carlos: When you assign groups do you assign a leader to that group?

Mike: Yes, Always.

Carlos: And then, how do you determine who is going to lead that group or meeting?

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Mike: Ahh, based on their personality, their business acumen is, what their disc-
personality I take that into consideration, and then based on their passion around
whatever the subject is, or the concern or issue is.

Carlos: And then who typically does the agenda for those things?

Mike: The person that I say, the person that is the POC.

Carlos: And then is their always an agenda that is send after the meeting? I mean
sorry, a Recap?

Mike: Yes.

Carlos: Ok, and who typically sends that?

Mike: Hmm, normally I assign a note taker, specifically in the meeting and that note
taker follows up and sends the information out.

Carlos: Hmm, would you say, the note taker is usually the leader of the group or could it
vary?

Mike: It varies, I prefer the leader not to be the note taker, because I want them (leader)
to be the moderator.

Carlos: so let's go back to maybe, assigning a meeting once a quarter. Ahh, 2 things,
usually how long do you want the meetings to last each one? So whats the time limit?
And then how often do they meet?

Mike: So time limit, is no more than an hour, and a minimum of bi-monthly that they
need to meet. And depending on the size and scope of the problem, it could require a
weekly meeting. And also depending on what the deadline is.

Carlos: So urgency would increase the frequency?

Mike: Yeah.

Carlos: This kind of goes back to the accountability, so if a task isnt meet or a deadline
isnt met, how is accountability upheld. So for example, is there any sort of corrective
action for it?

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Mike: The first time it isnt meet there is no corrective action for it. In where is say that is
it's during the check in time frame is, but, so there is no disciplinary action during the
check in but if they miss the project deadline itself and there is no communication along
the way, red flags, or what they cant do. Then absolutely there is disciplinary actions
that takes place.

Carlos: And just to touch base on any groups you have taken part in, have you ever
been assigned to groups where there arent any objectives or deadlines.

Mike: I have.

Carlos: And do, have you seen any difference with when groups dont meet their
deadlines?

Mike: Yeah, because what ends up happening when there is no check-in set in, is that
everything gets done the last 3-4 days before the deadline. So the procrastination sets
in when you dont have deadlines or check in points set.

Carlos: This is more relating kind of to managing an actual meeting, so obviously in a

group we have people that are more shy or introverted, so typically how would you as
the leader or someone you assign/engage them so that they can be able to participate?

Mike: So what I normally do, is if I notice that someone is not participating I will ask
them specifically what their opinions is, or what their ideas are, or how to they see the
outcome or see it differently. To get them engaged in the meetings. I also will after the
first meeting assign them a task whether it is time keeping, note taking, whether it is
gathering of the data, being up on the board and writing. So it allows me to get them
engaged, and for them to interact back with the group. So I give them something that
keeps them involved in the meetings itself.

Carlos: What obstacles do you usually run into when you are either leading a group or
have been assigned to a group?

Mike: Time. Time is the biggest obstacle because 9/10 these groups have to fit into
everything else you are doing.

Carlos: In your experience in being in a small group have you noticed a certain
personality type that tends to interrupt or does not add to solving the problem?

Mike: Yes.

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Carlos: So, if you were to describe that kind of person what kind of characteristics
would they have?

Mike: Well, Im very fundamentally sound on the DISC profile, in so the individual of the
profile that normally interrupts is my seat, the analytical side that needs to make sure on
how we are getting from point A to point B is thought out, that there is a clear path, there
is reporting and structure around how we get there, and most projects POC are D-
personality they want to drive it, they want to get it done, they clearly see what the end
game is, but they tend to lose focus on the structure and what needs to happen, so
thats why I said in the beginning that there is a very diverse group that I normally put
together. People that are analytical, folks that drive it, and then there is the other folks
that always need to look at the people piece and whats the impact and challenging that
thought process on whats the communication and how it impacts the people. What do
we need to make sure it is a win-win, not a win-lose, or a lose-win?

Carlos: So would you say you probably try to create groups where there is each letter?

Mike: Yes, absolutely.

Carlos: Any other personality types you think conflict, so one example was the Ds and
Cs do you see conflict between high Is and Ds?

Mike: There is a conflict between high Is and Ds, hmm because the Is want to keep it
happy, joyous, focused on the people which is fine, but a D wants to get to the point, Ex:
I got it. Give me a bullet point on what to do but think it through and let's move forward.
Not, Lets sit in a room and try to figure out how to work the people aspect of it.

Carlos: So you would say the High Ds with the Cs are more conflicts because of the
high structure the Cs want?

Mike: Yeah, hmm, yes in that case it is the conflict between the Ds and the Cs in is the
structure but it is also the analytical piece, the detail. And how they are going to get
there.

Carlos: The Is are maybe are too social?

Mike: Too social, and they believe that the Ds are looking at it from a business
perspective and the Is are looking at it from a people perspective, so you are in

26
constant combat of getting that balance we got have that win-win, we have to have a
win for the business side and a win for the people side.

Carlos: Just like our calls.

Mike: Absolutely.

Carlos: Alright, then in your small groups or meetings what is the size of the amount of
people that are in them?

Mike: I like to keep it no greater than 10 people, but it all depends on what the subject
is. For me personally, if Im running the meeting its 10.

Carlos: What would you say is the largest size group you have ever been in?

Mike: 25

Carlos: This ties back to meeting the deadlines, so would you say if someone isnt
meeting deadlines or isnt meeting tasks. Is that something you would talk to the person
about in front of the group or would you take that person to the side?

Mike: Well, so there is two different scenarios, did I assign the person or was the
person assigned by the POC? If the person was chosen by the POC then I will coach
and let the POC handle the situation. And if I chose the individual then I will absolutely
address it but I will have the conversation away from the team.

Carlos: What level of honesty do you believe is displayed during the meetings?

Mike: On a scale of what?

Carlos: If you scale from 1-10.

Mike: From a scale of 1-10, I would say a 7. And I say 7 because I think there is always
the whats in it for me so in those meetings you have to overcome that and look at it
from the standpoint of what is best for the customer of the business and the employees,
not just as whats best for you as the individual.

Carlos: What do you think techniques we use to try to be more honest, and to get
people to be more honest?

27
Mike: By keep going back and understanding what is the goal, what is the outcome that
we want to see, what is being done correctly, what is being done right, and so you keep
it focused on that opposed to how it is going to impact the individual.

Carlos: Other than whats in it for me do you think there is anything else that prevents
people from being honest?

Mike: Hmm, Yeah, I think the hierarchy. If Im running the meeting and they havent had
any contact with me they tend to test the waters first. And they would be afraid of giving
their true opinion, because they would be afraid on how that is going to come back on
them. You have to have a continuous conversation about wanting the truth and wanting
the persons involvement. Call it like it is, we are not perfect. And I always say it's not
what you say, it is how you say it. And just remind people of that.

Carlos: I will skip to the last one, its a 2 part-er. Have you ever been in a meeting in
which you felt like it was a waste of your time?

Mike: Yes.

Carlos: You have, and what do you think happened in the meeting that made you feel
that way?

Mike: I think the agenda of what was supposed to happen in the meeting didnt happen
in the meeting, so instead of solving problems, it was more about the gap, the drop and
the ball of what happened in the past opposed to how we can solve and move on and
fix it.

Carlos: Anything else you can think of?

Mike: I think that is one, and another one is people who were going to be at the
meeting, werent at the meeting so we couldnt discuss fully the topic or the strategy, but
we still wanted to carry through, which was a waste of time. Because, if key decision
making people or points of contact arent there, the meeting usually just gets
rescheduled.

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Grading Rubric
__15____Introduction (15 points)
_____ Introduced group and goal of the paper
_____ Provided detail of organization (location, size, org. structure, etc.)
_____ Included a preview of the paper
__28____Discussion/Analysis (30 points)
_____ Provided an overview of organizations communication
_____ Evaluated small groups (sizes, creation, temporary or permanent)
Make sure to be more detailed
_____ Discussed issues related to communication within organization
_____ Highlighted 1 or 2 key issues
___28___Recommendations (30 points)
_____ Provided 1 or 2 detailed recommendations
_____ Included rationale for each recommendation
Make sure each recommendation has a thorough rationale
__15____Conclusion/Appendix (15 points)
_____ Summarized the paper thoroughly (organization, issues, recommendations)
_____ Provided transcribed interview in appendix
_____ Provided other referenced information in appendix
___6___Grammar/Formatting (10 points)
_____ No more than 5 pages (not inc. cover/ref/appendix)
_____ APA format (1 margins, double-space, size 12 font)
_____ APA first level headers
_____ APA citations
_____ Transitions between main sections
_____ Grammar/spelling
No level headers
Make sure all sentences flow; no contractions

TOTAL ___92__/100

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