Vida Fisher

OGL 343

Professor Hawkes

Module 4 Essay

Prompt 1

After finishing the self-assessment, one thing I uncovered about myself and that for me

to pursue excellence, creativity has always been part of the equation. I scored 62 points in the

assessment, and it didn’t surprise me at all. I learned that with my tenure at Starbucks, I have

become more creative. With my partners, and the people I meet every day, I have become

more aware of the importance of staying motivated, persistent, open-minded and be relentless

in learning. One of the steps I have taken at work that has worked for me was my relationship

with people. Building relationships has allowed me to learn about other people and with that

knowledge, I have become more adaptable. I find that personality differences and experiences

have given my team and I an opportunity to grow and learn from others. With that, creativity

has become second nature. We try new things because we are all different. During our busiest

time of the day at work, we plan our shift according to skill sets. To do that we hone those skills.

We practice running shifts together. We ensure that everyone has their tools and resources,

with encouragement and recognition. I learned that with coaching, I must find different ways to
coach my team. There are coaching styles that are short and simple with just listening and

acknowledging. There is coaching style that requires diligence and time. Creativity has become

paramount because I must ensure that everyone feels heard and welcomed with their feedback

and their experiences. One way I could enhance creativity at work is to continue to seek

feedback from my team. Ask questions that will inspire the team and I to do something bold

and different. Our pursuit of excellence doesn’t stop, and it requires creative thinking and

collaboration amongst everyone. For me as a leader, one way I could enhance and encourage

creativity is to observe my team daily without judgement. That means if something bad

happens the day before, I’ll use that experience to guide me in encouraging my employees and

help solve problems by learning from those bad things.

Exploration refers to activities such as search, variation, risk taking, experimentation,

play, flexibility, discovery, and innovation (Thompson, p.227). Exploration is something I want

to continue every day at work. It gives me an opportunity to discover something new to help

my team succeed and our store to be successful to meet our metrics. One way I will use

exploration at work is moving some of my partners/employees to work different dayparts

during the holiday season. Most of my partners are college students and they typically work

afternoon and evening shifts. In December, I plan on utilizing them in the morning shift to see

how well they perform and to recognize their growth. The morning shift is where we see the

most business and where regular customers recognize the work that we do. At Starbucks,

working peak or the morning shift is the rite of passage of being an excellent barista. It opens

new opportunities for growth and learning. It gives my team a chance to work with new co-

workers and meet new customers. With this, they will hone their skills with team building,
beverage craft, and routines. Before I move my afternoon team to the morning team, I will

meet with my management team to brainstorm first. I want to hear their feedback. I want to

plan the plays we will use for the morning shifts. What starts as many small seeds of an idea

can become the emergent fuel that primes the engine and starts a fire within your company

that outshines your competitors (Newon, 2021, November). I have held brainstorming meetings

with my team before but this one will be a little different. The amount of business in sales we

do daily has doubled since the year 2020. Most of my team are new and still learning their

routines. My goal is to get all my partners to succeed in all dayparts in all positions. With

planning, brainstorming, and organizing, we can make this possible for the holiday season.

References

Newon, D. A. H. (2021, November 10). Council post: How leaders can unlock creativity in

others. Forbes. Retrieved November 11, 2021, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/11/10/how-leaders-can-unlock-

creativity-in-others/?sh=12c544cc7fd5.

Thompson, Leigh L. (2018). Making the Team: A Guide for Managers, 6th edition. Pearson.