Although getting up at 4:00 am to catch a flight usually requires large amounts of caffeine, I was energetic and high on anticipation the October morning that I got up to head off to Oxford in the early dawn. I was heading to Meltwater’s annual management training seminar, held this year at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Being the nerd that I am, I was looking forward to the lectures, to exploring the libraries and to getting a feel for the atmosphere in the famous town that inspired authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling.
Day one, Saïd Business School: Professor Pegram Harrison ran the seminar, focusing day one on leadership and communication. The lecture itself was dynamic and interactive. I was able to relate the material in the lecture to my own work style. One of the most valuable lessons of the day was built around the notion of trust; how communication between a manager and his/her team has to be built on trust. This resonated with me because it is an important element of Meltwater management training and something I always keep in mind when building a relationship with my team. In fact, I felt proud to recognize many of our managerial elements in the lecture, which further validated that we have been doing things right and that we should continue aligning our organization with the principles that were presented.
Day two, Saïd Business School: Things got a bit more personal. Before we came to Oxford, my fellow Meltwater managers and I had to complete two personality tests online. Filling in a personality test is always interesting, but I also found them intimidating. What would be discovered? What if I found out I am a total freak unfit for anything, but playing Nintendo?! Needless to say, the anxiety was high when the test results were distributed. It turns out there was nothing to be scared of. The two tests, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Firo –B were insightful assessments and I found them strikingly correct. The tests were specifically designed to enhance our understanding of ourselves, but also to appreciate the differences we all have in personality, communication styles and interpersonal behavior. I found the evaluations helpful in understanding different behavior patterns of mine linked to the test results.
Looking back at the experience, the training seminar at Oxford gave me a deeper understanding of my strengths and weaknesses, but what’s more important, it gave me a tool for understanding other people as well. As a manager, my goal is always to understand where other people are coming from and to find that one thing that drives and motivates them. I think both the Myers-Briggs and the Firo-B tests are going to be a reference point for me going forward when trying to help other people on my teams fulfill their potential within the organization.
Here is a summary video of Meltwater’s Management Training Seminar at Oxford:
