Mark's Mangement journal

  This week’s chapter on Leading Teams connected a lot to what I see at the dealership. One of the main ideas in the chapter is that teams work better when there is trust, clear communication, and a leader who helps guide the group through the stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing. I realized that I’ve seen these stages in real life without even knowing it. When new people join our team, everyone is quiet at first (forming). Then small disagreements start happening about tasks or schedules (storming). After a while, we figure out how to work together better (norming), and eventually the team becomes smooth and productive (performing). A “management in action” moment I noticed is when our team had a conflict about how the car photos should be organized for online listings. At first, no one wanted to bring it up, and the problem kept happening. When the conversation finally happened, it started off tense, but once we talked through it, we actually created a ...

  This week’s chapter on Motivating Employees connected a lot to what I see at my job. The book talks about how motivation isn’t just about money—it’s about meeting people’s needs so they actually want to work hard. One idea that stood out to me is that when employees feel recognized and supported, they naturally give more effort. I’ve seen that with myself. When my manager compliments my work or trusts me with more responsibility, it makes me want to do even better. I noticed that taking care of the people really does lead to better results, just like the Walmart example in the book. Another big concept from the chapter is understanding what motivates each person. Everyone is different. Some employees want recognition, some want growth, some want stability. As someone who works in a dealership, I see how people respond when their specific needs are met. For example, when I improved the dealership photos and my manager noticed, that small recognition pushed me to keep ge...

  This week’s chapter focused on understanding individual behavior and how emotions, attitudes, and personality affect performance at work. I learned how important it is for managers to be self-aware and emotionally intelligent. The way a manager acts or communicates can strongly influence the mood and motivation of their team. It also showed me how staying positive and managing stress helps create a healthier workplace where people feel valued and do their best work. After reading the article “ Who Is Tim Cook ,” I saw how he’s a great example of a leader who understands individual behavior. He leads Apple with calmness, empathy, and focus, showing that being respectful and emotionally aware can still drive big results. Tim Cook doesn’t try to copy Steve Jobs’ style, he leads in his own way, which fits his personality. That reminded me that good leadership starts with knowing yourself and treating others with understanding and consistency.