Chapter 10: The Staff Officer Flashcards
A body of individuals working under a defined system of rules, assignments, procedures, and relationships, designed to achieve identifiable goals & objectives
Organization
THE LINE
- The Operating Core
- The Middle Line
- The Strategic Apex
THE STAFF
- The Technostructure
- The Support Staff
The 5 components of an organization
What component of the Line performs the majority of the organization’s basic work?
The Operating Core
What component of the Line has direct authority over the operating core?
The Middle Line
What component of the Line presides over the entire organization and exercise authority over thr whole operation?
The Strategic Apex
What component of the Staff is a group of specialists who help standardized the organization?
The Technostructure
What component of the Staff is a group of specialists who provide administrative, financial, logistical, and other support to mission areas of the organization?
The Support Staff
- Hierarchies promote accountability
- Hierarchies allocate authority
- Hierarchies are easy to manage
- Hierarchies are easy to manage
4 reasons that support the use of hierarchical organizational structures
- Hierarchies get in the way
- Free-form, self-directed teams are more agile
2 reasons that support the use of free-form organizational structures
A group of people entrusted to study issues, make recommendations or decisions, or perform some kind of service go a larger group
A committee
- Good ideas can come from anybody
- Committees can be smarter than individuals
- Group action adds legitimacy to decisions
3 reasons why leadership by committee can be helpful
A committee that is established temporarily, usually to consider a one-time issue; normally disband once their work is completed
Select committee
A committee that operates continously & has an indefinite charter
Standing committee
- In-Depth Discussion
- Manageable Group Size
- Division of Labor
- Specialization & Expertise
- Special Handling
5 triggers that alert an organization to begin using a committee
- Goal Statements
- Objective-Driven Agendas
- Read-Aheads
- Oral Presentations
- Agenda Sequencing & Breakouts
- Closing & Minutes
6 tools leaders can use to ensure productive committee meetings
- Place yourself in a quiet place free from distractions
- Be ready to receive the call precisely on time/early
- State your name before speaking
- Be especially clear and concise
- Identify the person to whom you are responding/directing a question
- Announce if departing call early & announce yourself upon returning to call
Guidelines for teleconferences
- Be online and ready to accept chat/call precisely on time/early
- Try to test connection and software in advance
- Place yourself in a quiet place free from distractions
- Mute when not speaking
- Turn down speaker volume when speaking to avoid feedback
- Offer parenthetical remarks in thr chat, not orally
- Provide web links via chat if referencing documents
Guidelines for “webchats with audio & text capability”
- Try to test your connection &software in advance
- Dress as you would for an in-person meeting
- Place yourself in a quiet place free from distractions
- Make eye contact and speak directly to the camera
- Avoid side conversations; mute if you must
Guidelines for videoconferences
- Chairperson articulates clear goal for the meeting
- Chairperson keeps meetings as brief as possible, distributes factual info in advance
- All, come prepared to contribute, having completed any homework
- All, attend the meetings they have committed to
- All, focus on business at hand and not laptops or phones
- All, listen respectfully and wait their turn to speak
Helpful tips for committee meeting etiquette
Whose job is to evoke the best possible performance from each member of their team?
(process-focused, not content-focused)
The meeting facilitator
What leadership style requires an unassuming, collaborative spirit of serving the team?
Facilitate leadership style (committee chair person/meeting facilitator)
- Neutral attitude
- Desire for consensus
- Adherence to Process
- Counterweight to Status Arena
4 hallmarks of facilitative leadership
- Ask open-ended questions
- Ask for specificity in responses
- Redirect questions to the group
- Invite quiet members to join discussion
- Record ideas & make them visible to all
- Signal to dominating members to hold back
- Help rambling members wrap up
- Redirect the energy of combative members
8 tips a facilitative leader can use to actively manage a group discussion
A code of rules and ethics for working together in groups, aka Robert’s Rules
Parliamentary Procedure
Why? The rules govern the orderly and efficient transaction of business and are designed to keep the committee or deliberative assembly running smoothly
Why use parliamentary procedure
A formal proposal, beginning with, “I move…“
Motion
At least one-half of the group’s members (required for committee work to be legitimate)
Quorum
- The practice of setting and achieving goals by exercising related functions: planning, organizing, leading, & controlling
- Working with/through other people to accomplish the objectives of both the organization and its members
Management
Someone who has responsibility for making a contribution
Manager
To be a manager, you can’t just be responsible for a program, activity, or administrative task that helps the organization - you must be responsible for the work of other people.
FALSE
- Management involves and affects people
- Managers should focus on their responsibility & contribution, not their *power & authority
The principle of ethical management
- PLANNING
- ORGANIZING
- LEADING
- CONTROLLING
4 functions of management
In Management: The process of determining organizational goals & means for achieving them
- Planning
In Management: Bringing together resources in the most effective way
- Organizing
In Management: Creating an atmosphere that will assist & motivate people to achieve organizational objectives
- Leading
In Management: Monitoring process toward the organization’s goals and making changes as necessary
- Controlling
A set of coordinated activities, with a specific start and finish, pursuing a specific goal, with constraints on time cost, and resources
Project
- The project sponsor
- The project manager
- The assistant project manager
- The stakeholders
- The customers
5 key players in project management
The internal buyer for the project
The Project Sponsor
The individual responsible for planning, coordinating, tracking, and reporting project process
The Project Manager
Subordinate to the project manager & take ownership of a particular slice of project
Assistant Project Manager
People who have either a direct or indirect interest in the project
Stakeholders
The people who directly benefit from or consume whatever the project creates (the most important player in the project environment)
Customers
- PROPOSAL Phase
- PLANNING Phase
- EXECUTION Phase
- REVIEW Phase
4 phases in the project lifecycle
Someone suggests a good idea to someone who has authority to OK the project
includes
The Project Brief
- goal statement
- project narrative
- key data
- deliverables
- action recommended
PROPOSAL Phase
The cost of an alternative that must be foregone in order to pursue a certain action; the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action
Opportunity cost
The team decides how to accomplish the project’s goals
includes
Project Initiating Document
- Organizational Chart
- Gantt Chart
- Budget
- Governance Plan
- Communication Plan
PLANNING Phase
The team builds the product and delivers it to the customer
includes
Controls
- staff meetings
- inspections
- schedules
- budgets
EXECUTION PHASE
The team reviews any feedback and closes out the project
includes
- feedback instruments
- recognition programs
- administrative close-out: Continuity File
REVIEW Phase
Know what the boss wants to say & how understand how they want to say it; have a close working relationship and a sense of the various complexities framing the central issue
The secret of writing effectively for the boss
Why?
- Great ideas will die unless properly staffed
- Ensure every stakeholder has an opportunity to coordinate
- Main tool: Staff Summary Sheet
Why use staff package to receive formal project approval
Text created for the website visitor, consumer, or user
Copy
- Place the key point right up front
- Limit paragraphs to just one idea each
- Choose simple, direct words
- Avoid jargon
- Write shirt sentences
- Respect the worldwide audiences
- Talk to your audience
7 tips for copywriting when writing for the web
- Use HEADINGS & SUBHEADINGS
- Use bulleted and numbered LISTS
- HIGHLIGHT critical information
- Write CLEAR LINKS
4 rules for formatting that can make web copy more reader-friendly
A succinct oral presentation
Briefing
What type of briefing provides an audience with information without arguing for the organization to respond in any particular way?
Informational briefing
What type of briefing provides an audience with information while also arguing for the audience go interpret it in a particular way?
Advocacy briefing
List the three parts of a briefing
- Introduction
- Body
- Closing
- CAUSE & EFFECT
- CHRONOLOGICAL
- COMPARE & CONTRAST
- CLIMACTIC ORDER
- TOPICAL ORDER
5 logical patterns for grouping a briefing’s main points
what will happen if I do that?
Useful when studying correlation or how 2+ items are connected
Cause & Effect logical pattern for briefings
how is it done? what is the time sequence?
Useful when describing a step-by-step process, or where a chronology is important
Chronological logical pattern for briefings
how are these items similar or different?
Useful when evaluating 2+ items; pro-con approach is effective here
Conpare & Contrast logical pattern for briefings
what isbmost important, what is least? what is most frequent, what is least?
Useful when discussing priorities or hierarchical relationships
Climactic Order logical pattern for briefings
what are the items in the set?
Useful when discussing parts of a system or when making a simple list
Topical Order logical pattern for briefings
- Rephrase the question for clarity
- Answer one question at a time
- Be honest
- Boomerang
- Go offline
5 techniques for effectively answering briefing questions
The best leaders encourage ____ ____, especially when negative; be mature enough to deal with criticism
frank feedback
- Honor the time commitment and *be professional by staying withing your allotment
- Have a back-up plan if given half the expected time
The importance of time management while briefing
A chart, graph, mapped picture diagram, flowchart whiteboard, or any visual tool that helps the audience think about a topic
Visual Aid (aka information display)
- People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint
- Don’t confront a problem by making a presentation
- Don’t substitute slides for thinking
- PowerPoint naturally distorts information; slides can fool an audience
PowerPoint is not always the ideal communication medium
- Start with eye contact
- Express emotion with your facial muscles
- Avoid distracting mannerisms
- Tell a story
- Stay true to your personality
- Make gestures convincing
- Vary your seeking position
Ways to use body language effectively in presentations
