Demonstrating Your Ability to Use Good Judgment when Giving Advice - Essay Example

Demonstrating Your Ability to Use Good Judgment when Giving Advice Being a team leader in the aviation security screening department at Canberra International Airport often calls for me to use good judgement when advising my team members. In one incident, two security officers in the team came to me with one complaining that the other was too lax at the job and often let airport visitors pass without conducting the necessary security checks. The other retorted that as far as he knew, he was conducting his job properly. I advised them to forge a better working condition, because as team members in a sensitive security docket, each was practically supposed to act as “his brother’s keeper”. Later, I held a private meeting with the accused security staff and reminded him of the need to be ever alert especially in the wake of increasing security threats. To ensure that my advice was based on good judgement, I considered the importance of working as a team. However, to avoid victimising the accused in front of the accuser and creating working tensions between them, I decided to verify the facts, and advise the accused in a separate meeting. To ensure my advice was sound, I considered the long-term effects of taking the accuser’s statements as absolute truth without giving the accused a chance to defend himself and realised that such actions would create a bad precedent. I knew I had given the right advice because in a week’s time, the two team members were working together again in a friendly manner and even holding brief for each other whenever the need arose. Provide an example of a time when, as a member of a team, you have made a significant contribution towards the achievement of a goal Like all airports, Canberra International Airport’s security team has a goal of preventing harm to passengers, aircraft and the crew. By so doing, we are able to reassure all airport stakeholders of their safety. As a security team leader, I play an important role in ensuring that the identified goal is afforded the necessary importance by my team members. As such, I always ensure that the team has weekly briefings where any new challenges are identified and solutions to the same discussed and agreed upon. I also read a lot regarding the airport security around the world, and pick the best practices therein for incorporating in my team’s activities. For best practices that require management intervention, I always inform my superiors who then discuss the issue and decide the necessity or lack thereof of adopting the suggested security measure. To ensure coordination in the team, I schedule regular meetings where new practices are explained to all team members. During such meetings, team members are allowed to voice their questions and/or opinions regarding the new practices, and it is from such interactions that I am able to determine the effectiveness of my communication as a team leader. Through reiterating the importance of never losing focus on the goal to prevent harm to passengers, aircraft, and the crew, and through regular meetings to ensure that the same focus is never lost, I believe my team and other security stakeholders at Canberra International Airport have so far succeeded in upholding the airport’s security over the years. Provide an example that demonstrates your ability to liaise with a variety of people at differing levels of an organisation.  As a security team leader, I not only communicate with my team members, but with my seniors (e.g. the head of security), with the airport visitors, and other stakeholders in the airport industry. One of my most valued skills when liaising with people in different positions is perhaps found in my ability to be persuasive in oral and written communication, often for purposes of solving a problem or addressing a challenge. A situation in my current job illustrates liaising abilities; specifically, a new Head of Security was exhibiting high-handedness with members of the security team, and this not only created dissatisfaction among the security personnel, but if sustained long enough, was threatening to create inefficiencies in the entire airport. In one of the security meetings, the security personnel unanimously told me that they found it hard to put up with the high-handed Head of Security. As much as I understood their plight, I took time to make them understand that they should not give the Head of Security a reason to be high-handed with them. In other words, I was advocating for enhanced efficiency at work, which they agreed to work on. Separately, I was able to convince the Head of Security to be more democratic with the security personnel. I also convinced him to participate in the team meetings as part of the processing of making him part of the team, and gaining acceptance among the security personnel. The outcome is that today the team is cohesive and the Head of Security is able to interact with the personnel and solve any issues amicably. Provide an example of a situation when you have recognised the need to be discreet and professional when dealing with sensitive information.  A near–lapse in security although controlled, may create anxiety and fear among passengers, the crew and other stakeholders in the airport. Although the sensitive nature of the near-lapse security incident does not allow me to discuss the details regarding what, when and how it all happened, it is worth noting that my role as a security team leader was called upon by one of the security personnel who did not know how to handle a suspicious object left near the airport’s entry area. To avoid creating panic, I advised the security personnel to avoid human movement around the area, and give no explanations for the same when called upon by those wishing to access the airport. Next, I informed one of my superiors who then quickly sent the airport police to cordon off the area and remove the suspicious subject. Within 5 minutes of reporting, everything was cleared and normal operations had resumed. When handling sensitive information, I have since learnt to be calm in order to avoid creating panic among other people. The ability to think clearly is among the professional aspects that help one to make the right choices even amidst a crisis. As it turned out, my actions were right because although I could not disclose the kind of threat the left object posed, my quick decisive actions helped stop a possible calamity, while ensuring that the airport business was not disrupted as a result of the impending security lapse. Give us a specific example of a time when you have had to explain a complex issue or problem to someone.  Among my most valued skills is my ability to communicate effectively to my seniors, my team members and to passengers. Incidentally, my communication skills are often called upon whenever there is an incident that needs clarification among the team members I lead. One incident was especially complex since it involved explaining to a woman dressed in hijab (the Muslim religious gear worn by women to cover their heads and faces) that a random selection done by one of the security personnel making her subject to an explosive detection screening test was not discriminatory. My role was made even more difficult by the fact that the woman was the only person who had dressed differently in the entire waiting area where she had been picked for screening. While the security regulations emphasise that the selection was random, it was hard to explain to her that she was not picked because of her associations with Islam, which she argued that the West associated with terrorism. To explain the situations, I explained the airport’s rules and regulations regarding the random selection, the theories justifying it, and the consequence of refusing to undergo the explosive detection test. My multilingual abilities helped me to understand and make myself understood by her as I switched to Arabic when I noticed her limited use of and understanding of English. In the end, the woman told me that as a Muslim she has learnt to be on the defensive because the world had taught her to, but finally, she agreed to take the test. Provide an example of a time when you have prepared a report with technical content on an issue relevant to your work area.  Writing reports about the security situation in the airport is often a technical undertaking because it involves collating the number of security checks done, the number of threats identified, and the challenges identified during the security checks. As a team leader, I am charged with the responsibility of writing such reports on a monthly basis, and this means that I have to get the facts right before submitting the reports to the management, since the content of the reports plays a part in future policy directions in the airport. The reports qualify as technical because they contain factual details, and my (or any other member’s) opinions are kept to a bare minimum and clearly marked as ‘recommendations’. Writing the monthly report as a team leader is a process that requires getting daily reports from the team members, which I document separately in readiness for compilation at the end of the month. Through the daily updates, I ensure that everything is well documented and accurate, hence avoiding the last-minute rush that would jeopardise accuracy. The outcome of writing such reports is that my superiors at the management level are well aware of the activities that my team and I take part in, and should they have any recommendations, they usually raise the same with me. I take great detail to be comprehensive in my reports, and this means that my superiors almost always never have any clarifications to seek, and it also means that the management is able to keep progress with the happenings in the security department. Read More