BSBLDR502: Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Student Assessment Assessment Context There are four competency clusters in leadership: self-awareness, building relationships, business acumen and organisational strategy. This unit focuses on the second cluster of competencies, building relationships. The unit can stand alone, however if you are studying for the Diploma in Leadership and Management, it is best completed after BSBLDR501 Develop and use emotional intelligence which focuses on the first cluster of competencies, developing self-awareness. Some elements of self-awareness developed in BSBLDR501 will be implemented in the tasks for this unit. Note: The unit applies to individuals in leadership or management who have a prominent role in establishing and managing processes and procedures to support workplace relationships taking into account the organisation's values, goals and cultural diversity. Therefore the tasks assume you are currently working in, or have experience working in a position that requires the exercise of considerable discretion and judgement, using a range of problem solving and decision making strategies. Instructions Before commencing your assessment you should read your text book, Cole, Chapters 7,8 and 9 and watch the video Leadership Fundamentals presented by Britt Andreatta on Lynda.com. These resources provide source material for your assessment tasks. You might also like to do further research and reading for a greater depth of understanding of the elements of the unit. You will find an outline of the Elements and Foundation Skills being assessed on pages 6 to 8 as well as the evidence you need to provide for competency in this unit. The assessment consists of the following tasks: ⦁ Part A of this assessment requires you to complete a series of short questions testing basic understanding of the unit and the skills required for competence. You must also post your answer to Question 13 on the Discussion Forum. ⦁ Part B requires you to respond to two scenarios ⦁ Part C is a workplace project in two parts ⦁ After completing your assessment tasks, you are required to complete a Reflection on what you have learnt and post it to the Forum. Presentation of Your Work Writing is one of the Foundation Skills for this unit. Your assessment will be judged as much on your ability to present the information as it will on your content. At a minimum, you should ensure typography (fonts and font colour) is consistent across your tasks; spelling and grammar have been checked; and you use appropriate conventions such as headings, sub-headings and appropriate report format. You may also be expected to be able to design graphs and charts in Word and Excel, and use PowerPoint at intermediate level.  This page has been left blank intentionally  ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET Participant’s Name Sukhdev Singh Assessor Qualification Date Company Name Training Location On-Line Unit Code Unit Name Assessment Result BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Result code: COM – Competent NYC – Not Yet Competent CT – Credit Transfer RPL – Recognition Prior Learning Method: Please indicate the assessment method used: Q –Short answer questions S – Scenarios P – Project I agree that the purpose and consequences of the assessment(s) have been explained and I have received all the relevant tools and resources necessary to undertake assessment, being fully aware of Upskilled’s assessment, complaint and appeal processes, and I believe that I am ready for assessment. Acknowledgement and agreement that recorded activities have been conducted on specified dates and the assessment process was carried out fairly, with integrity, professionally with appropriate feedback during and after the assessment. Participant’s Signature: Date: Assessor’s Signature: Date: Assessment Mapping: BSBLDR502: Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Assessments Element: Performance Criteria Written questions Scenarios Project 1. Manage ideas and information 1.1 Ensure strategies and processes are in place to communicate information associated with the achievement of work responsibilities to all co-workers 5 2 √ 1.2 Develop and/or implement consultation processes to ensure that employees have the opportunity to contribute to issues related to their work role 6,7 2 √ 1.3 Facilitate feedback to employees on outcomes of the consultation processes. 2 √ 1.4 Develop and/or implement processes to ensure that issues raised are resolved promptly or referred to relevant personnel 2 √ 2. Establish systems to develop trust and confidence 2.1 Establish and/or implement policies to ensure that the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical values are adhered to. 10 1,2 √ 2.2 Gain and maintain the trust and confidence of colleagues and external contacts through professional conduct 8,9 1 √ 2.3 Adjust own interpersonal communication styles to meet the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical environment and guide and support the work team in their personal adjustment process 4,10 2 √ 3. Manage the development and maintenance of networks and relationships 3.1 Use networks to build workplace relationships providing identifiable outcomes for the team and the organisation 11 1 √ 3.2 Conduct ongoing planning to ensure that effective internal and external workplace relationships are developed and maintained 1,2 √ 4 Manage difficulties to achieve positive outcomes 4.1 Develop and/or implement strategies to ensure that difficulties in workplace relationships are identified and resolved 13 1 √ 4.2 Establish processes and systems to ensure that conflict is identified and managed constructively in accordance with the organisation’s policies and procedures 12 1,2 √ 4.3 Provide guidance, counselling and support to assist co-workers in resolving their work difficulties 13 1,2 √ 4.4 Develop and implement an action plan to address any identified difficulties 13 1,2 √ Foundation Skills 1 Writing: ⦁ Prepares plans and policies incorporating appropriate vocabulary, grammatical structure and conventions 1 √ 2 Interact with others: ⦁ Adapts personal communication style to model behaviours, build trust and positive working relationships, and to support others ⦁ Plays a lead role in situations requiring effective collaboration, demonstrating high level support and facilitation skills and ability to engage and motivate others 4 2 √ 3 Navigate the world of work: ⦁ Establishes or follows organisational policy regarding diversity and ethical conduct 1,13 1 √ 4 Get the work done: ⦁ Takes responsibility for formulating, organising and implementing plans, processes and strategies that impact the workplace ⦁ Systematically gathers and analyses all relevant information and evaluates options to inform decisions about organisational strategies ⦁ Evaluates outcomes to identify opportunities for improvement 1,2,3 1,2 √ Evidence Required: Develop and/or implement processes to manage ideas and information including: ⦁ communicating information to support others to achieve work responsibilities ⦁ facilitating employees' contributions to consultation on work issues ⦁ providing feedback on the outcomes of consultations ⦁ resolution of issues raised or referral to relevant personnel Establish and/or implement policies to ensure that the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical values are adhered to Provide leadership through own behaviour including: ⦁ professional conduct that promotes trust with internal and external contacts ⦁ adjusting own interpersonal communication style to meet the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical environment Plan for, and manage, the use of networks to support identifiable outcomes for the team and the organisation Develop and/or implement processes and systems to manage difficulties including: ⦁ identifying and resolving conflicts and other difficulties according to organisational policies and procedures ⦁ planning how to address difficulties ⦁ providing guidance, counselling and support to assist co-workers in resolving their work difficulties. Learning Activities These activities are located on the Learning Management System – MyUpskilled. These must be completed in the first week of you starting this unit. ⦁ Learning Activity 1 I have completed Learning Activity 1 Need Help with your Assessment? Post your query to your fellow students in the Discussion Forum – Need Help with Your Assessment? Use this forum to post any question about any part of the assessment. Alternatively, post your query to the Facebook Study Group for your course. Perhaps, you need help answering a particular question or sourcing the information from the resources. Perhaps, you need some informal feedback on your assessment before you submit it. You can upload your assessment here and ask your fellow students for a constructive and supportive review. Perhaps, you can even help another student and answer their questions. Sharing information is the key to success and remember the only silly question is the one that remains unasked!!! Assessment Questions PART A This section consists of 13 short answer questions. Unless otherwise stated, the expectation is that your answers will be one to two paragraphs in length. ⦁ Effective workplace relations begin with (but don’t end with) a basic understanding of the legal requirements of employers and managers and compliance with the law. Explain the role of the Fair Work Ombudsman in this regard. Fair work ombudsman is an independent statutory office. Its jurisdiction is set out in the Fair Work Act and its services are free to all workers and employees in____. Main role are as follows: ⦁ Promote harmonious, productive and cooperative workplace relation. ⦁ Ensure compliance with Australia workplace law? ⦁ Management and leadership are terms that are often used to mean the same thing, yet they are quite different. Explain the difference between being a manager and a leader. Leaders create vision, manager create goals (ii) Leaders are change agents, managers maintain the status quo. (iii) leaders are unique, managers ____. ⦁ Leaders take risk, managers control risk. ⦁ Leaders are in it for long haul, managers think short term. Leaders grow personally, managers rely on existing, proven skills.  ⦁ Fill in the following table showing the differences. (See Britt Andreatta’s Fundamentals Of Leadership in Lynda.com) Management Leadership 1. Approach 2. Time frame 3. Focus 4. Resources 5. Task goals 6. People skills ⦁ Review the four styles of leadership on page 292 of Cole and describe a situation from your own experience when each style would be the appropriate style to use. Insert your response in the table below Leadership style Situation where this style is appropriate High directive/Low relationship High directive/High relationship High relationship/Low directive Low relationship/Low directive ⦁ “Call a meeting” is often the default method for managers to disseminate workplace information, but not necessarily the only way or the best way. Suggest appropriate ways to disseminate information to employees on the following: Insert your responses in the table Workplace information Suggested method(s) of communication Code of conduct Information on an employee’s salary, superannuation and taxation Feedback on individual performance Workplace safety information How to use a new software system Team objectives and targets  ⦁ a) On what matters is it mandatory to undertake workplace consultation? b) How is this usually done? Insert your response here ⦁ It is good practice when reconfiguring offices and workspaces that employees are consulted. Provide an example of a simple process of consultation and feedback that would be suitable for this situation. Consult employees to find out what problem and hazards they experience and how they think can be rectified. Develop good working relationships with safety officers, safety representatives and safety committee member. ⦁ What does Britt Andreatta in the Fundamentals of Leadership identify as the 10 most common causes of employee disengagement? List them. 10 most common causes of employee disengagement as follows: ⦁ Stress and isolation ⦁ The absence of loss ⦁ No training ⦁ No raise ⦁ Non-financial incentive ⦁ No respect ⦁ Lack of communication ⦁ Annoying co-workers ⦁ Monotony ⦁ Too many restrictions. ⦁ What are the 5 strategies that Andreatta outlines for building a culture of employee engagement? ⦁ Act to know people individuals ⦁ Actively support their professional development ⦁ Focus on their strengths to bring out their best. ⦁ Celebrate successes with your employees. ⦁ Regularly provide coaching and training to enhance their skills. ⦁ Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones spent three years researching what the best workplace on earth would look like. One of their key findings was a dream workplace would have six virtues, one of which was that it would nurture individual differences. (See Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones (2013) Creating the Best Workplace on Earth, https://hbr.org/2013/05/creating-the-best-workplace-on-earth/ar/1) Explain how individual differences can be nurtured in the workplace to improve innovation and problem-solving. The efforts to nurture individuality run up against countervailing efforts to increase organizational effectiveness by forging clear incentive systems and career paths. Competence models, appraisal systems, management by objectives, and tightly defined recruitment policies all narrow the range of acceptable behaviour. ⦁ The ability to build supportive networks is recognised as a core competency for leaders. Provide 2 examples of your own external business networks and explain how each contributes to the outcomes of your organisation. Handing out business cards – this is an easy way of connecting and getting clients anywhere you go anytime. The card will always be in their wallet and will have my contact details all the time. Calling them - call those most appropriate for your specific purpose for a coffee. The ones you prefer and like most or you can relate to best should go first and most frequently as per your ranking. Try to meet with key people on your list a few times a year and the others at least once a year, or call those I can’t get face to face with. ⦁ Wherever people work together, conflict is inevitable. What are the key components of an effective conflict resolution or grievance policy? Key components of an effective conflict resolution or grievance policy are: Step 1 – identifying the issue Step 2 – building trust Step 3 – asking diagnostic questions Step 4 – reframing strategies Step 5 – brainstorming Step 6 – getting to agreement. ⦁ Sometimes managers must deal with very difficult situations. Bullying is one of these situations. ⦁ What systems and processes does your workplace have for managing this? ⦁ Describe how you would implement the process to handle a case of suspected bullying in accordance with your organisation’s processes and procedures. Workplace bullying is characterised by persistent and repeated negative behaviour directed at an employee that creates a risk to health and safety. Anti – bullying policy could be in place in a workplace including training about how to identify, prevent and how to manage it. Employees will be more likely to report workplace bullying if they have confidence in the workplace procedure and know it will be used when necessary. Encouraging reporting assists employers to: • take action to address the issues as early as possible • assess whether workplace bullying prevention measures are working • provide prompt assistance and support to employees. Reporting can be encouraged by: • consistent and effective responses to issues • supervisors and managers acting appropriately on issues when they become aware of them • regularly providing information (eg quarterly) to the health and safety committee on numbers of reports made, how they were resolved and what actions were taken • regularly providing information to employees on numbers of reports made, how they were resolved and what actions were taken. s Part B This section requires you to answer questions based on two scenarios. Scenario 1 You have recently moved into the role of leader of a diverse team in terms of experience, background and culture. A recent climate survey, which has been provided to you as part of your induction into the role, shows a high level of distrust among the team both of management and of each other. This has also spilled over to relationships with key customers who have complained that messages provided to one team member for another rarely seem to be passed on. Consequently team members have developed a fortress-like mentality and are very territorial, unwilling to share information and sometimes deliberately undermining the efforts of others on the team. Three team members have split off into a faction along cultural lines and have expressed an unwillingness to work with any of the other team members on projects. Re-establishing trust and confidence and ensuring the organisation’s cultural diversity and ethical values are adhered to is the primary objective for your first 90 days in the role. Tasks: Read Cole, Chapter 7 and research the Jacobs model for building trust in the workplace (See https://www.recruiter.com/i/the-jacobs-model-building-trust-in-your-workplace/) ⦁ Provide a brief overview of how trust can be won or lost in the workplace. ⦁ Based on your research, prepare a plan to gain and maintain the trust of the team, firstly in yourself and secondly in each other. Your plan should include: ⦁ The objective ⦁ Overall strategy ⦁ The policies, processes and systems you need to develop or implement. ⦁ The networks, internal and external, you would call on to provide assistance ⦁ How you will monitor progress and evaluate the outcomes of your strategy. Note: Your answer should be provided in appropriate business format suitable as a platform for discussion with Human Resources or your senior manager. As a guide it should be about 600 words to 900 words in length. Trust is one of the most important key component when it comes to any relationship especially those within the workplace are no exception. The managers need to trust their workers, workers need to trust their managers, and employees need to be able to trust each other (teammates). And although we all know the value of having trust within an organization, we don’t always know how to develop it. It is very important to be able to trust the people that you work with day every day. However, it is hard to communicate this trustworthiness to others. Few tips to help to show your co-workers how trustworthy you are and how to win their trust: ⦁ Be consistent. Make sure your actions uphold your promises. People won’t take you seriously if you continually make promises you can’t keep. ⦁ Beware of excuses. Take responsibility for any mistake you make instead of trying to rationalize your way out of it. Those who take responsibility for their actions gain more trust from co-workers. ⦁ Stay away from negative comments. Just because a co-worker isn’t there to hear them doesn’t mean the comments won’t be passed on. If people hear you bad-mouthing a co-worker they may wonder what you say about them when they’re not around. ⦁ Fact-check your information. Before sending out information, make sure it’s correct. It is tedious to have to go back and make corrections, and it also makes people second-guess you. ⦁ Make commitments you can stick to. Don’t blindly commit to events you don’t know if you can attend. Tell co-workers you need to check your schedule, and, if you RSVP yes, make it a priority to attend. ⦁ Don’t criticize people in public. While constructive criticism can go a long way in helping an employee, it’s not always best to dish it out in front of everyone in the office. Set up a meeting instead to talk to a co-worker about any issues you may have. ⦁ Realize it takes more effort to build a reputation than destroy it. While the effort you put in to make sure your co-workers trust you could take years, it can take just one conversation or incident to lose the trust you worked so hard to build. Keep in mind the kind of reputation you want to have at the office and work toward that each day. These are some of the fastest ways to lose trust from your co-workers. ⦁ Act and speak inconsistently. Nothing confuses people faster than inconsistency. And if confusion due to contradiction is the only constant, trust is sure to fall victim. ⦁ Seek personal rather than shared gain. One who is out only for him or herself, especially in a team environment, quickly loses the respect and trust of others. ⦁ Withhold information. When the communication channels shut down - both top-down and bottom-up - rumours start and misinformation is believed to be real. Then come denials. True information is often too late, or is never offered. Then trust falls apart. ⦁ Lie or tell half-truths. Untruthfulness is a quick way to break a bond of trust. People may accept it once, even twice, but as the old saying goes, "twice burned..." ⦁ Be closed-minded. An unwillingness to consider other ideas and points of view, and/or to create an atmosphere of, "it's going to be my way or the highway…," will certainly cut-off communication and eventually shatter trust. Objective: To build and maintain trust in the workplace. Strategy - As the team leader/manager, it is my responsibility to show my staff what is trust and to be a role model for everyone. I could show them the importance of trust and how it could affect our work without it. I would implement Health and Safety Policy to foster a high trust work environment for my colleagues, which is the kind of environment where people do their best work. Unlawful harassment, discrimination and threats to health and safety all undermine our high trust environment, and make it harder for people to excel. Therefore, it is our policy to provide a safe work environment, free of unlawful harassment, intimidation and discrimination. Using an internal and external network such as training, online training, workshops or a fun activity that I will prepare to assist me build the trust in my workplace and reach our objective. I will closely monitor the progress of my objective by observing the workplace environment and to also get feedbacks either in writing or in an appraisal interview. These feedbacks will be accurately evaluated if my strategy is working or if not, then I would make another strategy until I will get a positive result. _____________________________________________________________ Scenario 2 You have been asked to coordinate a project to develop a new customer relationship management system which requires consultation and collaboration across three separate units within your organisation: Sales, IT and Marketing. These units have vastly different workplace cultures and focus. The Sales Department are very action orientated and are impatient with detail. They just want something easy to use since they are the people having to input most of the data. The Marketing Department are concerned with the look and feel of the system and whether it provides the necessary reporting. They like a lot of consultation and communication. On the other hand, the IT Department are process driven and inclined to prefer to get on with the work without too much discussion and this has caused some miscommunication and dissatisfaction with new systems in the past. Ari, the programmer, is extremely quiet in meetings and you have noticed he has difficulty confronting the demands of the Marketing team, tending to say “yes” to every demand and then not delivering Your aim is to ensure there is collaboration and appropriate consultation across departments to get the best solution. Tasks: ⦁ Develop a communication strategy to facilitate communication and feedback throughout the project’s life cycle. ⦁ Draw up a process for resolving any issues that may arise. (Present the process as a diagram or chart.) ⦁ Explain what adjustments you might need to make to your own interpersonal communication style to get the best contribution from each of the members of the project team and provide the necessary glue to hold them together. (To complete this task you may wish to refer back to the identification of your strengths, your communication style and your notes on developing empathy which you completed in BSBLRD501.) ⦁ Describe what guidance and coaching you would provide to Ari to ensure that he does not over-promise and under-deliver. fh  Part C This section requires you to complete a workplace project in two parts. Section 1: ⦁ Review the chart below from Britt Andreatta’s Fundamentals of Leadership and identify your current level of leadership. Level Focus Who %Tactical %Strategic 5. Leader of organization Envision and strategize Leaders of the organization 10 90 4. Leader of function Align and maximize Leaders of functions or divisions 25 75 3. Leader of leaders Model and train Leaders of managers and/or professional staff 50 50 2. Expert/Manager Transition and develop Leaders of individual contributors, experts 75 25 1. Individual contributor Focus and prepare Individual contributors, and emerging leaders 90 10 My current level of leadership is: _______Leader of leaders ________ ⦁ Undertake a leadership skills audit ⦁ Use at least three separate sources for your audit. ⦁ Attach your sources as a separate file. ⦁ Complete the SWOT analysis below aligned to the requirements of your current leadership level. Note: Sources could include: ⦁ The two Checkpoint audits in Chapter 9 of Cole ⦁ Your most recent performance reviews or 360 degree review ⦁ One of the free self-test quizzes available online such as that available from Mind Tools at http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_50.htm ⦁ A third party report from a senior colleague or supervisor (See Learner Resources) Leadership Strengths Leadership Weaknesses Opportunities for Growth Challenges ⦁ What competencies do you need to develop to successfully lead at the next level? Insert your response here ⦁ Create an action plan for fostering those competencies that need remediation or further development. Insert your response here ⦁ Identify the people in your network who can assist you. Insert your response here _________________________________________ Section 2: ⦁ Describe one difficult workplace relationship that either you, or your team as a whole, have faced or are currently facing. Insert your response here  ⦁ Explain the conflict and its basis or cause. Insert your response here ⦁ Why is a positive outcome important for the organisation? Insert your response here ⦁ Develop a series of options to resolve the conflict and ensure it is managed constructively. Insert your response here ⦁ Identify what policies there are in your workplace that will support you in this process. Insert your response here ⦁ Review your leadership strengths from Section 1 and analyse the skills you will need to call on to ensure the conflict is resolved. Insert your response here ⦁ Identify the support you will either need yourself, or have to provide to others, during the process. Insert your response here ⦁ What steps will you take to ensure the situation does not recur? Insert your response here ____________________________________________________ Section 3: - Individual Self Reflection (Compulsory) Self-Reflection This is your personal space; no other student can see what you post here. Your trainer will review your entries into the journal (wiki). Self-reflection is one of the most significant learning tools for all students. It is about questioning, in a positive way, what you do now and deciding whether there is a better, or more efficient, way of doing it in the future. I have posted my journal to My Learning Journey