Module 4: Team and Culture Discussion

Provide a brief overview of your 2 selected talks.

The two TedTalks I selected to watch were, How Great Leaders Inspire Action and Why Good Leaders
Make You Feel Safe, both by Simon Sinek. In the video How Great Leaders Inspire Action, Simon Sinek
(2009) talks about the importance of the Golden Circle which includes the “What,” “How,” and “Why” of
an organization. Most companies start with the “What” of their organization which simply defines what
the organization is and what product/service they are producing. However, reading the Golden Circle
from the outside-in does not prompt people to buy your product because people do not buy the “What” of
the company (Sinek, 2009). Sinek (2009) suggests that the companies who read the circle from the
inside-out are more successful because people buy the “Why” of the company. The “Why” describes the
company’s purpose and mission which not only inspires people to buy your product but inspires your
team to contribute more authentically and earnestly to the company. The one aspect of this TedTalk that
resonated with me is how your limbic system responds to emotions and feelings which ultimately drives
behavior (Sinek, 2009). This is one reason as to why Simon Sinek argues that people respond to leaders
who are driven by their purpose because it appeals to emotion. When you are doing something for the
wrong reasons or motivated by the wrong reasons such as to generate wealth for yourself, you aren’t
going to be as successful because you are not driven by a true purpose that connects with your audience.
Moral of the story is to know your purpose and ensure the people you work with are aware of your
mission in order to inspire others.
In the TedTalk, Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe, Simon Sinek (2014) makes a powerful and
inspiring point regarding the significance of trust and cooperation. If leaders foster an environment that
makes his/her employees feel safe, then each person has the potential to do remarkable things. Sinek
(2014) suggests that when you feel safe, trust and cooperation are inherently present which will shift
people's motivations and behaviors. When you do not facilitate a culture that allows people to feel a sense
of belonging or safety, they will use their energy to protect themselves from others within the organization
(Sinek, 2014). In a team, you do not want your group members to feel the need to protect themselves from
the other group members. In a team setting, you want to ensure your employees trust each other which
will promote cooperation and collaboration. For this reason, leaders need to create an environment where
their employees feel safe which will encourage people to work together and enhance the potential for
them to do incredible things. To encapsulate the lesson, being a leader is more than a rank, but it is a
choice that allows you to look out for people to facilitate a feeling of trust and safety that will inspire your
employees to be their best selves individually and collectively (Sinek, 2014).

Identify examples from your chosen TEDTalks videos of the role of the project manager/leader in
building teams and developing company culture.
Within my chosen TedTalks, there were many concepts that applied to the roles and responsibilities of
project managers. Throughout my learning experiences about project managers, I have learned that they
are leaders not only in charge of delivering a product or service, but they are also in charge of overseeing
a project team. In the first TedTalk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action, Sinek (2009) talks about how, as a
leader, you need to understand the “Why” of your project and your team needs to be aware of the “Why”
of your project. When you are a project manager, the purpose of your project should drive your actions
not only as project manager but as a leader who inspires your team. Sinek also mentions that company’s
who are driven by the wrong reasons such as wealth and accomplishment, similar to competitors of the
Wright Brothers, will not be as successful as those who are driven by a set purpose. This is also related to
the second TedTalk, Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe because Sinek (2014) argues that the leaders
who put their people first over the deliverables will create an environment that promotes trust and
cooperation. It is important as a project manager to, yes, be aware of the status of the project in relation to
quality, but it is even more important that you ensure your team is motivated by the inspired vision as well
as by the culture you have facilitated. When you are a project manager, you cannot be so focused on the
end result/deliverable that you fail to look out for the people who are supporting you through the journey
which is why so many people fail as leaders. As a project manager, you must make certain that you create
an environment that not only makes people feel safe, but also inspires people through the vision of
purpose aka the “Why.” Once your team members understand that you are willing to put them before the
project result, you can inspire your team to do remarkable things which will help you get where you want
to go in the right way. Sinek (2014) also mentioned an instance where a leader said the words “it is better
for everyone to suffer a little than for one person to suffer a lot.” This increased the company morale
because it not only created a feeling of “family” but it also showed how the leader cared about each and
every individual. It is important for the project manager to create a culture of belonging and safety which
can increase job satisfaction, motivate people to put their best foot forward, and believe in you as a leader.

What is the role of the project manager when there is a breach of the program?
The program manager has a duty to identify the breach within the program and repair it when faced with
one within the organization. According to Brown (2014), a breach is considered to be a violation of either
integrity or ethics that jeopardizes the program’s team dynamics. As a program manager who oversees
multiple programs, there may be violations in relation to behavioral norms despite your best efforts to
create an adequate culture. However, it is your duty to investigate, expose, and intervene when a violation
occurs which is stated by Brown (2014). When you are a leader such as a program manager, you want to
ensure that you are not jumping to conclusions based on hearsay which is why it is important to
investigate the possible infraction. You also do not want to cast blame onto the person or group of people
who have completed the breach because you need to assess the situation properly. There may be a chance
that you could have done something within your leadership practices that prompted this behavior which is
why it is always important to receive feedback and reflect on your own leadership. Once you have fully
investigated the possible breach, you need to acknowledge the fact that an infraction has occurred but not
to everyone, only the people involved (Brown, 2014). Lastly, the program manager needs to intervene and
make decisions as to how the breach will be handled and if a consequence is necessary (Brown, 2014).
Depending on the gravity of the situation, the consequence should vary. Meaning, a consequence could
vary from removing someone off the project to having a one on one meeting ensuring they understand
what went wrong. I also believe it is important to take preventative measures on top of investigating,
exposing, and intervening to ensure the same violations do not repeat themselves.

Identify examples from your chosen TED Talks on how team building and effective communication
reflect Quality Project Management.
As we have already identified in other modules, quality has many different definitions, but is basically
how well project requirements are met. Project tasks are carried out by the project team in order to
achieve the project requirements stated by the stakeholders. The project manager’s duty is to ensure that
the project team is carrying out tasks that align with the end deliverable and ensuring the requirements are
being met. With that being said, the program manager needs to foster an environment that aligns with the
overall purpose of the organization and that allows people to feel safe which relates back to the previously
discussed TedTalks. There needs to be effective communication regarding the purpose and mission of the
overall organization which will create a common understanding of what needs to be done and “Why” it
needs to be done. Also, there is a high importance of team building within a team culture. In the textbook,
Brown (2014) suggests that program managers who prioritize team building, support the organization
long-term. This notion relates to the idea that you need to generate an environment that not allows people
to trust one another, but also fosters a shared understanding of the purpose and how it aligns
organizationally. Program managers' view of quality is to ensure that the organizational goals are being
met which is facilitated through the environment they are overseeing.

References

Brown, J. T. (2014). Chapters 6 & 7. In Handbook of Program Management: How to facilitate project
success with opti (2nd ed). essay, Mcgraw Hill Education.

Rose, K. H. (2014). Chapters 7 & 8. In Project Quality Management Why, What and How (2nd ed). essay,
J. Ross Publishing.

Sinek, S. (2009, September). How Great Leaders Inspire Action. Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire
action | TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

Sinek, S. (2014, March). Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe. Simon Sinek: Why good Leaders Make
You Feel Safe | TED Talk.
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe#t-17998