Module 2: Task 4c - Developing my Questions with my Professional Community

I thought it would be both interesting and beneficial towards developing my questions for inquiry by presenting them to an industry professional outside of the industry of my own. I had the opportunity to present my questions to a professional working in the Financial Technology industry, who holds a similar managerial/team leading role to me. With the view that I could learn, identify any key pieces of information that could help develop my questions for inquiry from each of his responses.

• What are the distinct outcomes of using positive criticism and negative criticism in the workplace?

“It depends on the person and how they take criticism. Some people need negative feedback to be pushed. Sometimes they need a clear message so that they 'get it'. - And that they get the right pressure to get the stuff done. But then there are other types, especially when they are not confident (like 'juniors'), who definitely need positive criticism, otherwise they will give up. I, personally, am someone who will always try to spin it in a positive way.”

• How does my own personality affect the quality of work output in my fellow cast members?

“I always have a can-do attitude, I think it animates people in my team to think outside of the box. Where as other people may say they can’t do certain things, I will always try and be creative to find a way to solve a problem. I always try to put myself in the person’s shoes who will receive the work. And I will always challenge myself and I am never satisfied with my work and I will always keep improving my work. I believe that there are always improvements to do. I don’t believe that there is something is perfect. And I produce a better quality of work for it. And I believe it rubs off on my team in a positive way.”

• How does the atmosphere in my working environment affect work output?

“A lot. It puts you in a completely different mindset. For example, If you’re positive about something, you are always driven to find a solution about a problem. I hate negativity and that definitely affects the work. Negativity in the workplace doesn’t push you not does it produce the best results because you’re not motivated or driven and because you already have the mindset that it won’t work already.’

• Is there any correlation between the standard of work ethics and age/place of training etc?

“It’s definitely the geography. Certain ways of how you’ve been brought up have an effect on the quality of work. It definitely has an influence on ambition and confidence. I think young people these days are worse because they don’t have as much respect because of how they get raised these days. So they might be quite hard to manage. The gap between very intelligent kids and non intelligent kids is getting wider.”

• What causes complacency in the workspace? (What is the main cause)

“In the area in what I’m in. It’s definitely in the success of selling the software, so as soon as you think that your software is wining the competition, you think that you don’t need to carry preparing and pushing and perfecting the software anymore. But you must treat every client with the same thoroughness. There may come a point where you may lose a contract, and then you’ll be in trouble.”

• Does being amicable with your co-workers produce better work compared to the work of non-amicable co-worker?

“Yes, it does produce better work because in some tasks where you may need help, they are often more willing to squeeze in the extra time to help you or try and find a compromise. If you are friendly with them, they are often more willing to help you. In the area we are, communication is the key. If you don’t have a friendly environment you can potentially lose out on other knowledge because you won’t feel like sharing information.”

• What is the optimum method to teach a group of with different learning styles?

“What I like when teaching, is learning by doing it. -I will always try to give people little tasks by asking them to complete an objective and tell them what the end goal is that I expect to achieve. And I will let the individuals solve the tasks how he thinks will suit him. That way they should be able to learn the way they feel comfortable to. But when necessary, I show them, step by step, how its done. I record it. So that they can always look back at it again.”

• How peoples attitudes in the workplace affect the quality levels of work?’

“A bad attitude can bring it down (quality of work) and destroy your whole team if you have someone who can’t be bothered or who isn’t pulling his weight. And it can be even more frustrating if the managers don’t see it. You also end up with a rubbish team spirit in the workplace if they think they are 'carrying one' in the team. The people who don’t contribute well do not help the workplace environment. But you need someone in the workplace who will be critical in the team to challenge a few things, and who brings a different view. If you have someone in the team who always questions aspects, you get better results and you can see things you didn’t notice before.

• Why do performers often continue to work through injuries instead of taking rest or recovery?

“Maybe they fear the team can’t do it without them. Maybe they fear potentially to let the team down if he doesn’t finish his work. Perhaps he doesn’t want to miss out or fall behind on work etc. Perhaps, even the fear of potentially being replaced.”

Reflection

There are several things that I can take from receiving the answers above. 

Primarily, one of the most surprising observations is realising the amount that I have learned just by reading the answers to my questions above. By reading and reflecting upon these answers given to me, I believe that I can now try to take on board all of the beneficial observations, methods, attitudes that I may not have been aware of or accustomed to and incorporate these in my professional practice. This will greatly benefit me in bettering myself as a professional.

This exercise has also made me aware of the key benefits of using tools/methods such as an interview or questionnaire to obtain useful information to aid the development of an inquiry when there is a need for accounts of personal opinions, views and experiences. 

Thirdly (and probably most importantly), is that upon discussion about the questions presented above, it was noticeable that several of the questions above were based on a similar area: The quality of work produced in my working environment. Nearly all of the questions above make an assumption that I am looking to find out ways that I can ensure high quality of work in the workplace. It is clearly a key area of interest for me. 

However there's more to think about here. I'm questioning myself whether this link/connection between my initial questions for inquiry is an assumption insinuating that I am dissatisfied with the quality of work being produced by my cast members and it is a result of respect and leadership issues and therefore base my inquiry on leadership. Or that I would benefit from basing my inquiry on what causes high quality work in the workplace. Inquiring the latter of the two could tackle many more issues in the workplace than that just of leadership.

What I feel I must do now is to retrace my steps. I shall take my findings upon this reflection as use it to construct a more carefully thought out question for inquiry that has a clear purpose and motive behind it. As always, for those reading my posts, please feel free to share your views, observations and opinions.