Piper woke of her own accord, thankfully. After getting ready, she emailed Jason her list of the six trainees. And asked when she would be able to see around round of courses from her favorite trainees. She called Donovan and asked that the team be ready for some breakfast or possibly lunch, and that she'd play it by ear after that. He called her back a few minutes later and said the team would be waiting for her in ten. At the knock on the door, Piper grabbed her purse, keys and notepad and headed out. At the restaurant she got a patio seat and allowed Ben to sit her but told him she was more in the mood for people watching than conversation. She encouraged them to get food or at least drinks, her way of signaling them that she planned to stay awhile after she ate.
Piper's mind drifted back to her trainees, yes her brain had claimed them, even though not all would make her chosen detail. She tried to imagine what today would be like with them instead of her current detail. She sees Alex instead of Ben sitting next to her; but actually having a conversation with her. She also sees Alex as the one she wants to communicate her wants to, like she currently does with Donovan. She tries to envision each of the trainees in each role filled by her current team. 'I think this is more helpful than daydreaming. To actually imagine them in specific roles. I need to re-read the team roles list that Jason gave me. That should help me determine exactly where each should be placed and why.
After a few hours she was ready to leave and get back to work. She had already come up questions that she wanted to ask the trainees in one of the upcoming courses. 'Okay first things first, team roles.' The four roles need to have a body person, a scanner, a drifter, and an enforcer. The team leader could be assigned any of the roles. Piper decided that Alex would definitely be team leader and body. She saw Chase as more of an enforcer. Colton had struck her as excelling at noticing details and movements in a room, so scanner. And Bradley didn't stick out out as rockstar in any specific area, more of a jack of all trades or drifter. Keith and Rick weren't out of the running, but at the moment were probably closer to the 'as needed' fifth spot than a set role. 'I need to carefully critique them all and notice if any rise or fall in numbers or my own expectations.
Once more Piper headed to her parents on Saturday evening. She wanted to have a face to face talk with her Dad and see what, if any progress, had been made on a different apartment. Texting Cal on the way and asking him to try and drop by.
"Princess, so nice to see you again."
"You too Daddy."
"Let's go into my study and talk for awhile before dinner." Smiling brightly at his daughter, "So tell me all about how the selection process is coming for your detail?"
"Really good Daddy. I've cut my list to six. And been thinking a lot about who I would put into each team role. I have one more day of courses to observe and then I make my final selection of three possibly four of them."
"Do you want to tell me which trainees are on the list Princess?"
Piper has a big smile in her face. "Yes Daddy. Do you mind if I get my laptop and show you what I've been working on?"
"Not at all Princess. I keep hearing from my head trainer just how thoughtful and detailed you've been thus far. I'd love to see your work."
Piper happily shows Bill her complex spreadsheet, explaining it in meticulous detail, before telling him the six names. Bill's pride wells up over how easily his girl has taken to the business classes he asked her to take, and how easily she uses it in her own projects.
"So Alex, Chase, Bradley, Colton, Rick and Keith. Piper I can tell you that one of these names does in fact fit both of my criteria."
"I'm so glad to hear that Daddy."
"So tell me your thoughts on how you'll go about selecting three trainees, and in what ways will that differ from choosing four?"
/"Well my top selection will be my body person and the team leader. I'm over 90% sure that I will select Alex. I'm leaning towards Chase as enforcer and Colton as scanner. But I'm also liking Bradley, but I'm not setting those definitely in mind yet. If I get a fourth pick, I'd put Bradley in the drifter role. I'm not ruling Rick or Keith out, but if nothing changes in my assessments Monday, they are destined for the 'as needed' for a rising risk assessment list'."
"I do hope you get exactly the team you want Princess."
Monday morning Piper heads straight to the training facility's kitchen for a quick breakfast. So many thoughts and so much excitement inside her. 'Today is the day I choose a detail of my very own. One that answers directly to me. I wonder if I'll get three or four of these trainees.' Her thoughts are broken my Jason's voice.
"So today is it. Tell me is there any more you want to know about the trainees? Anything you want to tell them about yourself, your life?"
"I hadn't considered telling them more about me. But that's probably a good idea, for them to know about someone whose about to become their boss in a sense."
"I would encourage it. Your in a very special situation here. The more you are able to bond with your detail the more loyalty you'll feel from them in return. And the fact that you are specifically choosing them helps as well."
"As far as the questions for them, I'll probably play it by ear. What exactly are the courses made up of today?"
"There will be a great team exercise. You once again play asset. The trainees will be mixed into specific team roles. Each exercise will be a different mix of trainees and positions. It should let you see how they can function as a group and as individuals. You'll see how a mix of different personalities and styles and whether they operate in harmony or clash. That way you can consider who functions in ways that you want for your detail, and who might prove problematic in overall scheme of things."
"That does sound helpful. I'm leaning towards Alex as team leader and body person. This will give insight on how the guys react to being under the guidance or command of two women, if they're accepting and work well with Alex or if they try to assert any kind of dominance and disrupt the overall team."
"Do you want to see Alex as lead in the various team roles or are you feeling certain of her in the specific position who mentioned?"
"I definitely want Alex as the body. I feel the most comfortable with her. I feel as if our non-verbal communication is already incredibly strong. And I've been very impressed by her tactics and abilities in similar roles that we've seen in training exercises. So unless something major happens today, Alex is pretty much a lock."
"I'll make sure you see everyone with Alex, in rotating team roles for the guys. Though I'd encourage some all guy exercises so as to not making is so obvious that Alex is your top pick," Jason winks at her. "So there's a little over half an hour before the trainees are done with testing. Why don't you think of what you want to share with the trainees. I'll look for you here or on the patio, and escort you to today's training location."
Piper smiles at Jason as he leaves then pulls out her notepad to compose a mini speech about herself and her life. She needed to get her points down before trying to make is sound more conversational in her mind.