Paper Example on Knowing Self and Others

Introduction

According to a Myers Briggs Personality Test that I undertook revealed that I have an ESFJ personality such that I am extraversion (E) because I value social relationship and interacting with other people and I also have a strong sense (S) of perceiving concrete factors which exceed the intuition trait (Carlyn 2010, p. 115). Furthermore, my feeling (F) supersede thinking because I often use subjective values while making decisions more than objective logic. Lastly, an organized lifestyle explains my judgment (J) which surpasses perception (P) which would otherwise evident in individuals with flexible lifestyles. Personality test showing ESFJ is true considering that in real life, I tend to establish harmony in my social relationships and value teamwork and cooperation. The module has introduced me to personality tests which have enabled me to know myself by assessing my qualities and skills hence assisting in setting and realizing goals and maximizing my potential. This essay will explore some of my core attributes that the module has revealed mainly negotiation, time management, teamwork, and conflict resolution.

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Negotiation

By definition, negotiation is the skills that enable an individual to settle differences by compromising or leading the realization of an agreement without dispute or argument (Kalter, Bollen, & Euwema 2018, p. 243). In a situation that results in disagreements, individuals strive to find an amicable solution of their positions by compromising their stands. Negotiation as a skill is based on the concept of fairness where an individual seeks to arrive at a solution where conflicting parties are comfortable with and can derive mutual benefits. Negotiation has the objective of achieving the desired outcome in which conflicting parties are satisfied. According to (Overton & Lowry 2014, p. 259), the standard approach to negotiating in the situations where two or more individuals disagree involves the negotiator leading the conflicting parties through six basic stages including preparation to negotiate, discussing the issue at hand, setting and clarifying negotiation goals, striving to reach a win-win outcome, agreement and implementing the agreed course of action.

There are a number of reasons that make me believe that I possess the attribute of a good negotiator which includes the fact that I am a good verbal communicator and a listener. Listening and verbal communication skills are essential components of good negotiation. In any negotiation, the person leading the process must first listen to the concerns of both parties and use good verbal communications skills to establish a common ground. Listening is essential for absorbing the words of the conflicting parties before formulating what to talk. I a number of conflicts involving my friends at home and school, I have always led the negotiation process and it is for that reason I feel that negotiation as an attributed best described my personality. I believe that negotiation skill will help me in my career as an aspiring manager as it is essential in almost every day-to-day management and leadership activities such as legal contracts, service delivery, and formal transactions. According to Tsay and Bazerman (2013, p. 5) negotiation as a managerial skill helps in attaining business success because it helps leaders in building and maintaining relationships with employees and other individuals whom they conduct undertakings together.

Time Management

Grissom, Loeb, and Mitani (2015, p. 773) define time management to be the procedure of planning and organizing time for completing activities to enhance productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. This attribute has been essential in my academic because it has enabled me to balance between social and school lives. Time management ensures that students work smarter rather than working harder because it assists them in getting more activities done within a short period of time especially during examination period when there are high pressure and tight schedule (Razali, Rusiman, Gan, & Arbin, 2018, p. 6). From my experience, failing to manage time lead to stress, ineffectiveness and lowered productivity. It refers to the manner in which an individual's plans and organizes how long each activity lasts from their conception to completion. In the module, it seemed counter-intuitive dedicating more time in discussion about the personality attribute of time management but its exploration in class revealed that managing time both in school and work had enormous benefits including increased efficiency and productivity, improved professional reputation, lowered stress level, and enhanced opportunities for achieving career goals (Grissom, et al. 2015, p. 793).

There are a number of situations which indicate that I possess time management attribute. My promptness in completing assignments on time is the leading indicator that I possess time management skill. Throughout my college life, I have never delayed to hand in my assignment or become late in attending lectures. I have been able to organize, plan and management my timetable such that at any given time, I perform an activity according to the schedule. The way I spend my day is structured in a way that at any given day and time, I perform a duty, task or activity in compliance with the timetable and plan. Because of my ability to balance and manage my time, I have been able to juggle diverse domains of school life such as social life and academic work. One key strategy that I have used in managing time is the establishment of priorities and clear goals that assist me in setting aside essential activities from less important tasks which usually consume more time.

In my future career as a manager, I believe that time management will assist me greatly in leading a successful role. I understand that managers have increased demands which must be completed within a limited time. Regardless of the position in an organization, it is impossible to slow down or stop time but it is through time management that tasks are completed within specified timeframe. Managerial position requires effective management of time. I understand that in my future role as a manager, I will use time management in completing a host of tasks and keeping up with packed schedules. For instance, taking part in multiple projects, searching new marketing options and solving managerial issues will require proper management of time hence I will have to schedule my time effectively to ensure that I accomplish my responsibilities. Other managerial roles that require time management skills include prompt delegation of duties to workers and aligning their skills and knowledge to tasks in ways they will complete them efficiently and within a specified period.

Teamwork

The description of the term teamwork is such that it the act of two or more people coming together to accomplish a common objective (Guchait, Lei, & Tews 2016, p. 302). Teamwork originates from the willingness of individuals in doing a task as a group. Guchait, et al. (2016, p. 304) likens teamwork with glue which assists in keeping groups of employees together while working on a common task. It is an important attribute in contemporary life and business environment because it helps in promoting mutual support, reliability, unity, and strength. The existence of team working is dependent on willingness to combine skills and strengths in pursuing common direction to realize a mutual goal.

I am a good team player as evident from my active involvement in group work and other school activities that are executed in teams. In a number of circumstances, I have been chosen as the team leader and my role often traverses the creation, controlling and managing a group of individuals to attain a given goal. For examples, in assignments and presentations that are done in groups, my ability to display teamworking skills have always been evident from my commitment to group performance and getting things done together. I derive my teamwork skills from my long-term believe that two minds or muscles are better than one because coming together assist a group in moving towards goals smoothly. Furthermore, I have noted from classroom experience that working in teams help in overcoming obstacles and solving complex assignments.

According to Luca (2015, p. 641), teamwork skill is important in any career because it underpins the creation of synergies in the workplace and efficient resources management. It is for that I believe this attribute will be useful in my future aspirations as a manager because it fosters responsiveness and flexibility which are the building blocks in responding to organizational changes. Furthermore, I believe that this attribute will assist in the advancement of my career as it essential in developing a sense of camaraderie, equity, and achievement which are the basic ingredients of workplace motivation. Furthermore, possessing teamwork skills reduces hierarchical control of the organization as it fosters leaner and flatter structure which supports an empowered approach to organizational management (Guchait, et al., 2016, p. 319). Additionally, teamworking attribute as a future manager will encourage the concept of working in multidisciplinary teams which is important in creativity and innovation which are presently the key determinants of competitive advantage in organizations.

Conflict Resolution

Gramberg and Teicher (2016, p. 326) define conflict resolution to be a strategy used in finding a peaceful solution for conflicts disagreement among two or more individuals with differences. Conflict resolution is often confused with the term negotiation which is a subset of conflict resolution strategies used in finding an amicable solution for solving conflicts. The skill of resolving conflicts is dependent on an individuals' emotional intelligence which dictates how one, as a conflict resolution leader, control and manager own behavior and emotions. Having attributes of a good conflict resolution leader requires a person to manage own stress and remain calm and alert at all times and pay attention to conflicting individuals' feelings and become aware of their differences. While resolving conflicts, healthy responses are those that have the ability to identify and solve important matters first and prepare conflicting parties to adopt the forgive-and-forget concept (Currie, et al. 2017, p. 493). The goal of conflict resolution is to avoid punishment and misunderstanding and encourage conflicting individuals to compromise and forgive each other.

While doing a group assignment, there were two members who disagreed on the assigned roles and engaged themselves in verbal exchanges. The disagreement was due to the two group members clashing on the roles with everyone preferring to do a shorter task as the other activity demanded more time. As the group leader, I talked to the two students and resolved the issue. It was at this point that I realized that I have conflict resolution skills. I believe that conflict resolution attribute is closely tied to my personality and it will assist me in my future career. Since my dream is to become a manager of a high performing company, I expect to utilize conflict resolution skills in preventing conflicts which are inevitable in the present-day organizations and assist workers in concentrating in their roles. Any manager encounters conflicts at one point in their responsibilities hence having skills for resolving them is essential.

Summary and Action Plan

In summary, I can attest from the personal development plan that the key strengths include time management, assertiveness, time management, conflict management, and negotiator. I can derive these strengths from my ESFJ pers...