Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Whole Elephant Episode 4
12 Plays5 months ago
In this episode, Dr. Lee Hibbard sits down with two guests: Dr. Kyriaki Kalaitzidou, Associate Chair for Faculty Development in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Lorett Swank, Executive Director of Academic Success and Advising.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction of Guests & Initiative Overview
00:00:22
Speaker
Hello and welcome to The Whole Elephant, a podcast series showcasing the effective team dynamics initiative at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I'm your host, Dr. Lee Hibberd. And today I'm sitting down with Dr. Kidiaki Kalaitzithu, Associate Chair for Faculty Development with the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Laurett Swank, Executive Director of Academic Success and Advising. How are you both today? Doing well. Doing well, thank you.
Roles & Focus Areas at Georgia Tech
00:00:49
Speaker
Wonderful, I'm so glad that you've taken the time to sit down with me to have a little conversation about your experience with the Effective Team Dynamics Initiative, which means we're gonna jump right in and have a little conversation. So what I would love is for each of you to take a moment to tell our audience ah a little bit about yourself. What do you do at Georgia Tech? What sort of work are you in? Sure, I'll go first again. um So again, Loretta Swank, Executive Director, Academic Success and Advising.
00:01:18
Speaker
So I have the pleasure of working on several student success initiatives. And in my portfolio, I have tutoring and academic support, retention and completion initiatives, first gen limited income, pre-graduate, pre-professional advising. And I feel like I'm leaving somebody out, undergraduate advising and transition. yeah But all things student success with Georgia Tech.
Faculty Development Responsibilities
00:01:40
Speaker
All right, awesome. um I am Associate Chair for Faculty Development. um I serve in that role for my fifth year now in the Woodrow School of Mechanical Engineering. And so in that role, I oversee all the faculty evaluation processes, including annual evaluation, reappointment promotion and tenure, periodic peer review or post tenure review process.
00:02:07
Speaker
um I also put forward mentoring program and I oversee that um and leadership and management program for um ae for for faculty and um trying to create more um spontaneous collisions of faculty and staff to enhance, to facilitate interactions and create a more collegial environment.
00:02:35
Speaker
Alright, wonderful.
Challenges in Team Dynamics
00:02:36
Speaker
Well, right from the get-go, it sounds like both of you do a lot of work that is probably pretty heavy when it comes to collaborating with other people and working in teams. So that rolls right into our next very important question. What has your past experience with teamwork been like, not just at Georgia Tech, but throughout the course of your career? Do you have any particular stories or anecdotes or just a general overview? How has teamwork been for the work that you do? Yeah, I'll start with my experience. I am a role prior to this. It was a similar position. I was the Chief Student Success Officer at Southeastern Louisiana University. And um it was interesting in that it was I inherited a team that wasn't working well together. um I inherited a team that had a lot of mission confusion, um role confusion. The university kind of misinterpreted
00:03:31
Speaker
the purpose of the group. So really had to start from the beginning and kind of disassemble to reassemble and and definitely looked at highlighting what people were good at and not try to make everybody good at the same thing. So we started the very beginning part of really taking, um you know, an inventory of of talents and strengths and and finding what people were really interested in wanting to run with. um So I felt as if if I had tried to get everyone to the same level at the same time and I honor those things and I don't know that we could have gone in the direction that we did. That sounds like a ah complicated process although a very rewarding one. I think it's not uncommon that especially when you come into a new team you find that you kind of have to
00:04:17
Speaker
rebuild from the ground up, start at zero, figure out ways that you can make everything work even when it hasn't been working previously. So that's that's a lot of very specific and important teamwork experience. Thank you for sharing. Yeah, of course.
Diverse Team Selection
00:04:30
Speaker
ah For me, prior to the to my current role, I was really only part of teams that um I felt I belonged to and I felt I'm aligned with. And um of course, small conflicts and these are very creative and disagreements are acceptable. However, as just the faculty, you have the luxury of doing that and work, you know, and collaborations that didn't work will naturally dissolve um hopefully at the end of the project and not earlier. But the once I stepped up in this role, then it is more deliberate
00:05:09
Speaker
the teams that I work with or I form and around me and I'm part of. And um it is very, very important for me to to have good working relationship and being in an environment where all members feel valued and appreciated. That's more important than actually what we are doing. because if people are unhappy or if if if it is draining, then the outcome cannot be good. um And so I put a lot of emphasis on what committees I'm serving on, if I have a saying on what um in which teams I'm part of or how I form teams moving forward um to make sure that they are functional.
00:05:58
Speaker
and sounds like a great strategy. I think that when we have the opportunity, the opportunity to have more autonomy and how we create teams is one of the most helpful things that you can get. It's such a rewarding experience when you find those people that you can collaborate with and when you can mesh with. And it it really does make all the difference. And I think that that rolls really well into what we're what we're talking
Introduction to Team Dynamics Initiative
00:06:21
Speaker
about here. I would love for you to tell our audience a bit more about how you first encountered the effective team dynamics initiative here at Georgia Tech. What was that experience like? Yeah, um I've been in my position for a little over a year, and this is a newly created position with a newly created team.
00:06:39
Speaker
so um There were five those five areas that I described earlier. They all reported in different ways and functioned in different ways, and it was decided before I arrived to pull those together for and to create a team of academic success and advising with a new executive director. So um I was really excited to connect with Mary Lynn and CliftonStrengths because it was such a nice time for us. i like in my prior role to start from the beginning and say, let's discover each other. Let's figure out what we're good at. Let's figure out what we're not good at. Let's not focus on the strengths that you don't have, but let's highlight the ones that we do have as we started to sort of weave this quilt together of a team. um and And building on what you just said, it it doesn't come without conflict. It doesn't come without
00:07:31
Speaker
um people disagreeing. um And as we're establishing who we are, we're also kind of writing our script. Like, what what are our values? What do we believe in? What do we think is important? And just because you put great people doing great things together in the same room, it doesn't mean that we all align. So I think that the work with Maryland and with strengths is really having us understand our differences as well. You know, um understand, well, that the way they approach that is this way because that's what's in their top five. you know It's not that they're wrong or different, it's just that' that's that's what fuels them in their work. So I think more understanding of that, the better and the more aligned we're becoming. And we've chosen to do a layered approach. So we um met first for a retreat where we just sort of discovered you know how how we worked together with our strengths. Then we had Mary Lynn come again and we did part two after we had kind of all been together and started working together. And I plan to keep layering that approach on and to to look at it from from different.
00:08:30
Speaker
from different angles as we grow. That's fantastic.
Impact on Work & Team Building
00:08:34
Speaker
um For me, I think I was exposed to effective dynamics. First time sometime in 2019, I was um part of a program in the Center for Deliberate Innovation where Marilyn was a faculty fellow. And so um for a semester, we would have weekly sessions and discuss topics and Um, see what really very passionately talk about the effective deep dynamics, um, initiative and programs he was putting together and all of that. And then of course, then we did the, the, um, the strength, um, right finder. And, um, I merely needs a regular presenter facilitator in my program for four years. Now she comes and I'm there in the, uh, I'm present. And every time she goes through.
00:09:28
Speaker
I understand different things from the things to say because I have a different context and different things in mind while I hear the same thing. So there there is the gift that keeps giving for me. And um what for me was a little bit counterintuitive, although everybody talks about, yes, we are in favor of diversity and in thought and this and that. I realized I was attempting to form teams or to be part of teams that we were more or less thinking alike. And, you know, it was very difficult for me to work with somebody who puts a lot of emphasis in small details. ah I find it very tiring and draining. And so I will work with people and write proposals as a faculty with people who think alike, who go after the big vision. Well, you cannot just be visionary. Somebody has to execute, right?
00:10:23
Speaker
And so then as soon as a marrying start talking about it, everything clicked together. It's like this is the diversity we are talking about. It's not just gender diversity. It's like you need people with different strengths. You need people to take care of every single aspect of this project and and see through. And um it it although it is difficult to communicate, right, because everybody's in their comfort zone and people need to step out of the comfort zone and do that. but but But that's what is needed. And also the whole, what was also counterintuitive for me in the beginning was that my strength get on my way. You know, I always think, oh, that's these are my strengths, yes. But then these are really my limitations as well, because I cannot think outside that little box that it's framed from my strengths. And so I, I'm very appreciative of this. It was not intentionally, but but that I was part of this program in the Center for Deliberate Innovation. And that exposed me to Mary Lynn's effective new dynamics initiatives. And she has been part of my program since then. And I'm just so, um I think I keep learning and evolving because although you it's the same thing, you interpret it differently
00:11:51
Speaker
compare and because you are a different point in life and in career and you have different, you bring in different context. Absolutely. And I think especially if you are working with multiple different teams or with new people or even with people you haven't worked with a while, being able to reassess that context is so important and having the tools to do that is an even better way to do that, as it were.
Benefits of Effective Team Dynamics
00:12:15
Speaker
That's wonderful. Absolutely. um I think knowing that you've both had such a good experience working with Mary Lynn is just, it's one of the things that we talk about here. I've done multiple podcast episodes with multiple people, including Mary Lynn herself. And the introduction into the effective team dynamics initiative always comes down to that passion and the excitement of not only being able to work in a team, but thrive in a team. And not only being able to recognize your strengths, but how those strengths at interplay with other people's strengths. And I think that you both
00:12:48
Speaker
in this moment spoken to that very highly. And that goes right into our ah the the meat of things, the the big question, which is, of course, the work that you're currently doing. I would love it if you could tell our audience a little more about how you're currently making use of effective team dynamics with collaboration in teams, what that is looking like in your current line of work. I think for me, you know, trying to really understand people as individuals and what they where they will best be a contributor. you know I'm trying to be very strategic in committees that I form, if down to search committees, to like we're doing a webpage redesign, you know to really understand what people thrive in that work and what people are annoyed by that work.
00:13:38
Speaker
And trying not again, trying not to have a one size fits all as it as it relates to the initiatives that we have going forward. um I've also, you know since I'm newish, I can't say, I don't know if I can say new anymore after a year. I don't know, but anyway, I'll still play new. um I think that a lot of it has, on my end, has been observation. has been my way within the lens of what I know their strengths are in observing how they approach projects and people. So I took a lot of time to really watch that happen before I kind of decided what groups might work best together, how could I cross pollinate my teams to make sure they're they're most you know at highest functioning by minimizing you know um personality differences. And so for me, it's it's been an inventory and and really just watching and learning
00:14:30
Speaker
and observing you know what projects are really being successful and what ones are kind of struggling a little bit.
00:14:39
Speaker
um So for me, there are um two types of teams that I either form or am part of. One is student teams when it comes to my research research um group or many research group that consists of different types of students from undergraduate researchers, masters, senior researchers, PhDs and so on and colleagues. And so they are sure all of our students that come to Georgia Tech, um they are very good in terms of, you know, credentials and everything, quality, but then when it comes down to person personality and how they work and what motivates them. and and And so this is where I actually utilize a lot of the things that I learned through effective dynamics.
00:15:28
Speaker
right ah How can you talk to people depending on what their strengths or what their their comfort zone is or what is it that they are after to get them involved and help them develop right and help them feel they belong and they are appreciated? um in In the past, I used to say, you know, all students need to do XYZ at the same level. Well, no, that they don't have to do all XYZ at the same level, right? this i'm I'm not lowering the caliper, the standard, but they they some of them will do much better in that, some of them will do much better in that, and they can learn from each other and they can help each other grow. And so it provided me a more linear approach
00:16:17
Speaker
i'm I'm more elastic per se, and I negotiate more with them, what motivates them and what brings them together, and all of that. And then on the other side are the teams that I form in terms in form of committees to go after some programs, initiatives, reviews, um that and I'm either part of the committee or I'm not part, I'm just forming the committee. And and there, I now dare to select people that may look that they are coming from different angles in the past. I may think, well, this committee will never reach a decision because they are so different and they are so... right But now I'm not afraid of that. I'm not afraid, but I don't think along those lines. I say we need all perspectives, we need all strengths, we need somebody who can
00:17:12
Speaker
consider the big picture and somebody who can dive into the details. And we need somebody who is more aware of um the boundary conditions, so they're more realistic um when the committee, you know, deliberates and decides. And and so now i'm I'm very intentionally forming committees who may look very inhomogeneous, but I know that all of these people need to be there. and And it helps me because I am in Georgia Tech for now 17th year. So I kind of know my colleagues and where it stand. I have served with them in various committees. I have interacted with them in various capacities. So it's easier for me now um in them with the context of through the lens of strengths and effective new dynamics to form committees without avoiding
00:18:10
Speaker
perceived or excel expected conflict. That's wonderful. I feel like when we form teams, whether it is students forming teams or trying to form committees or even just figuring out how to get a project through to its needed conclusion, our instinct is always to homogenize. We want to find people who agree with us. We want people who see eye to eye with us, even though that may not always give us the best result, because humans aren't drawn to conflict. It's not a natural instinct for us. We want to avoid it. But if you have the tools to not necessarily fully avoid that conflict, but understand what that conflict means and where it comes from,
00:18:51
Speaker
it ends up making a huge difference. You have the opportunity to work with people you otherwise never would have. And I think that's one of the the beauties of effective team dynamics as a tool. You are learning your own strengths, but also seeing other people's strengths and how they interplay. It sounds like you both had a lot of really good experiences with that. And so I guess that leads to our next big question, which is, of course, what aspects of working with your teams, with your students, with advisees, with search committees, what have notably changed and improved since you started using this effective team dynamics approach?
Overcoming Team Merging Challenges
00:19:29
Speaker
I think for me, you know, one of the the biggest challenges was that I had intact teams doing their own thing. And then we put all those teams together and said, OK, now you've got to find a common vision. So I think I think it's given me the opportunity
00:19:50
Speaker
to, to guide my team, but also have kind of a, I don't want to say sort of a consultant in the room who's, who's facilitating some of the harder conversations. You know, you know, I can't, I can't assume that all the teams that were put together wanted to be put together. So I think that this has helped me highlight the importance of the impact that we can have by diversifying all of our skill sets and in our strengths. um Like you're saying, groups tend to get homogenous together. And once you start pulling at other people with different thoughts and ways of doing things, um conflict can happen. But what it does, it it expands the scope and role of what you're doing. And and when I'm looking at student success, you know I could see a first gen doing their thing, tutoring doing their thing. But when I combine those things together, the impact's incredible that we're we're doing strategic
00:20:45
Speaker
you know um academic support for first-gen limited-income students. So I have to you know use the strengths to show that the way you do business and the way you do business, and we put these things together and we're going to reach students in a more powerful and um more present and impactful way. So that that part has been the most helpful to me is showing people how even though that your scope and mission of what you're doing is different, we're all in this for student success and we can highlight even our individual strengths to to create a greater impact on student success at Georgia Tech.
00:21:23
Speaker
ah So the the question was just to make sure that they follow, um was about challenges facing putting things together? just how things have changed, ah things that have potentially improved since you started using effective team dynamics, working with effective teams dynamics, what what that's looked like. Okay. So um ah there are prongs and cons. So for example, um that I have more trust on the outcome that it has
00:21:55
Speaker
it it has of of these committees that have been formed based on effective deep dynamics values, principles that they are um um free from biases that may come from people only when people think alike and they only serve in the same committee and all of that. um And so definitely that's one. And I feel very confident about the outcome. that everything has been looked at. So it's not just about biases, but all aspects were considered and that the work will, um that people will follow through because there is somebody with a strategic vision and somebody who is an execut executing and somebody's, ah you know, all of that. but Then, but but when it comes to, for example, I'm teaching a course where we form teams and the students working teams in undergraduates,
00:22:50
Speaker
um And we try to have a metrics and they put down their strengths, what they think the strengths are and what they bring into this course. And then we had we try to match strengths. And so there is a team formed based having everything, right? So somebody, I mean, as simple as like somebody has a car, at least one person per team, because they will need to go run, do something, right? Somebody needs to be very good in PowerPoint, somebody needs to be good in um in the maeno
00:23:21
Speaker
But then um because the teams are so diverse, um they slowed some of them slow down a lot. And they may not they need a lot of um supervision or you need to be on top of them to make sure they meet deadlines and that internal friction does not dissolve the team, that you don't end up having two sub teams. even doing their own thing, right? Because, for example, um they come to these teams, to these course, maybe with different goals. So it's very like one says, I just want to get a pass grade. And others says, I want to excel. And they end up being in the same team, right? So now you can imagine how these people are stretching. um and And so that is a little bit of a challenge when, and and I'm sure
00:24:18
Speaker
I need to learn more on effective dynamics and how to address these challenges. But that is something that I noticed when the teams are made out of um very, of people who have very different goals or desires for the outcome of that team. Yeah, that absolutely makes sense. I think that dealing with those challenges is You know, in some ways it's the natural part of teamwork, but it still is always something that is going to come up and finding the tools to make that work is, you know, it's one of the hardest, but one of the best things once you can figure out how to do it. And ultimately it's kind of a trade off because there may be challenges in that space, but the,
Future Integration of Team Dynamics
00:25:01
Speaker
the diversity of perspective, the ability to draw from different strengths, to create something ends up sort of balancing out the more work in my experience.
00:25:13
Speaker
And yeah, I think those were our big questions. And thank you both so much for talking with me. I think to to wrap things up, I just wanted to casually just ask, what is ah what does the future look like for the work that you're currently doing, how you plan on involving effective team dynamics in the future, and other things you plan on involving in your work with teamwork in the future? Oh, to be determined. um Of course. There's still very much a work in progress. but And this doesn't answer that question, but I just want to say that having a facilitator that is as passionate and committed to the work really drives this project. You know, it it is in sometimes, not sometimes, most times when you get together and and you've got to be a little vulnerable, um you know, and some people are more than others and really kind of showing what you are good at. Maybe some of the things that you're not
00:26:09
Speaker
And like you said, your strengths sometimes become your weaknesses. To have someone who has the empathy um and the excitement and the enthusiasm and someone who really believes in this work is really what my team felt when we first were engaged in it. So that that is so incredibly appreciative. and ah And I think if anyone who had less than what we got, I don't know if it would have been as successful.
00:26:37
Speaker
So for me, I don't know exactly what it looks like moving forward, but I definitely know that um I need Mary-Lynn and they reach out to me regularly, maybe more regularly than she would like. ah For example, um in the program that I mentioned that it's for academic leadership and management for so assistant professors, postdocs, and so on,
00:27:08
Speaker
She comes in and she does two sessions out of the 12. One, she does strength and all of that, and then how to work in teams, right? and And now I'm putting together, we are in them we are planning a a similar program for leadership for graduate students in in my unit. And the first person I reached out to was Mary. Right? Because and effective dynamics is not just teamwork. It's really being successful. And and it's really being, um it's it's leading, right? It's not just, you cannot be a leader if you don't apply the principles, the ideas of effective team dynamics.
00:27:50
Speaker
You cannot be in academia. I mean, academia is everything we do is in teams, right? It doesn't have to be an official team. It doesn't have to be a committee that it shows in papers, in in record, right? Everything we do. And so diffuse all of these ideas of how to better function in a team, not just because you want to do the right thing, but because Otherwise it will not work because otherwise we will spend our time, money, resources, energy will will be drained and the outcome will not be there. Right? And so I don't have, besides inviting Marilyn at this point, and and so she can reinforce more. And again, as Loretta mentioned, it's Marilyn's passion that drives and and the way how engaging she is when she presents
00:28:45
Speaker
to a group that I think that can make a difference and slowly but steadily we can change the mentality. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. It's one of the reasons I've been delighted to work on this podcast with Mary Lynn and I look forward to seeing what she and also of course your units end up doing in the future. But ah that is about all the time that we have for today and I really appreciate you talking with me. and