Personal Attributes For Effective Career Development

Discuss About The Industrial Society Human Relations Englewood.

Self-awareness

The purpose of this report is to help an employee to acquire personal benefits such leadership in an institution, problem solving as well as effective decision making. By understanding these concepts, an employee is able to develop in their career in addition to demonstrating self –awareness. This paper focuses on an analysis of personal attributes which enhances an individual’s place within an organization. Personalities vary from one individual to another.  A good understanding of the different personalities would therefore be a crucial tool for leaders to help them in managing human resources within a culturally diverse environment. This report is a summary of personal attributes based on a review of a personality test and other associated models. Self-awareness is a crucial attribute as it enables an individual to identify their strengths and weaknesses (Acocella, 2010).  A good record of one’s personal attributes enables an individual to identify the specific areas in which they need to make the necessary adjustments in order to effectively fit in an organization. The aspect of organizational diversity equally implies the need to have the right personalities as this would allow an individual to easily merge into the various activities which define a diverse organizational environment. In line with the overview above, this report entails the details of my personal attributes and the general framework of my individual awareness. The report shall also entail a critical evaluation of decision making with references to various management and decision making theories

This basically comprises the details of what I know or feel about myself. This part shall be completed with a specific reference to my personality, values and motivators, emotional intelligence, leadership as well as power and politics.

With reference to the Big Five personality traits, there are a number of attributes that I have since discovered about myself. To begin with, I am open to new experiences and ever willing to take part in a change that promises constructiveness. I like a creative approach when it comes to obtaining solutions in times of crisis. At the same time, my desire to continuously explore the environment in search of new things summarizes my attributes in line with openness to experience.

I prefer planned to spontaneous behaviour. I believe in operations and procedures which are based on structure and carefully guided by regulations and limitations. I am not effectively disciplined when it comes to time management and this comes out as one of my weaknesses. I however remain disciplined and loyal to stated strategies. With the above details, it can be deduced that I possess high conscientiousness. However, there is need to create an effective balance to ensure flexibility which is a good attribute for exploring new things.

Openness to experience

In a group set up, I stay mainly resolved and reflective on other people’s opinions before I give mine. I believe in a non-assertive environment hence give room for other people’s opinions as well. This is low extraversion based on the descriptions in the big five personality test.

I encourage compassion towards others especially in a group set up. Cooperation is among my major attributes as this creates an environment of free communication and open expression of feelings.  I possess high agreeableness as I rarely hit against other people’s points. I however prefer to stand strong on my own opinions which therefore deletes the notion that high agreeableness indicates an individual who is easy going and naive.

I am prone to emotional imbalances and operate less effectively in environments that are stressful. I am not good with controlling anxiety and may remain overly concerned about news that I am about to obtain. High anxiety in most cases impacts my concentration levels and in some cases, withdrawal from active participations ends up as the eventual scenario. The review of personalities above was mainly pegged on the details and arguments outlined in the big five personality model (Al-Lamki, 2012). From the analysis above, I have gained a number of insights which would be helpful in enhancing integration especially in activities that involve groups. Openness to experience is generally a good thing as it allows room for creativity and innovation. Adventure and curiosity about our surroundings enable us to discover more which could be incorporated to improve individual attributes. I am also cooperative which has given me an easy time in group related activities. My inability to effectively manage time is however an area of weakness which consequently requires the right adjustment. This is because poor time management serves to derail others especially if the activity involves group dynamics. By taking the personality test, I have noted the attributes which could be associated with strengths as well as those aspects which reveal individual weakness.

I have a positive attitude towards change and success. Getting to meet new individuals and learning from them is one thing that I am always looking forward to. I believe in humility and mostly give a result oriented approach to most of my ventures. This implies that right from the beginning of an initiative, I tend to retain my focus on the expected outcomes. I however have a negative attitude towards critics and individual who are majorly out to see the worst in others rather than the other way round (Alvesson and Ka¨rreman, 2011). Despite all these, I remain open to current and usually view this as a positive path towards individual development and achievements.

Conscientiousness

As a value, I keep matters confidential especially when they are sensitive and need to be kept confidential. Addition, consistency is a major value as I am always keen on maintaining a path which has promised good reward. I also like efficiency as a value and always wanted to see an effective end to any initiative began. I am reliable and flexible to transitions. In cases where an individual is expected to volunteer or when charged with responsibilities, I ensure I remain available for the responsibilities. Loyalty and commitment are my other key values. For instance in an organizational set up, I prefer to stay true and commitment to the key organization goals and objectives. I always hold these goals above my personal interests.

One of my key motivators is financial reward in addition to other forms of appreciation. Secondly, the availability of resources and supportive people encourage me to insert more effort on the accomplishment of the stated objectives. An environment which is characterized by openness and freedom to express one’s feelings is my other source of motivation. As stated earlier, I am a result oriented individual (Ashforth and Kreiner, 2009). When taking part in any activity, I remain keen on possible outcome and level to which these outcomes are likely to impact my status. From this, we can deduce that the end results also act as my motivators. Obtaining the desired results ought to remain an individual’s priority this is only possible when the best effort is inserted. Finally, my motivation emanates from the leadership strategies used by an individual or people based on the environment of operation. Efficient leadership approaches tend to instil positive reactions among individual especially in a group set up

One of the core concepts of emotional intelligence is empathy. I am always keen on the feelings of other. I gauge my behaviours and tune them to ensure that they result in the best feelings from others. I am concerned about the well being of people in my surrounding and feel moved when others are going through situations that are emotionally depriving.

I am personally unstable when it comes to identifying and regulating my own feelings. I can be overly quiet at one point and active at a different point depending on the nature of my surrounding. I have struggled in the past when it comes to regulating emotions however, I believe in my ability to adjust my emotional needs to create a better environment for the individuals that are around me (Ashmos and Huber, 2008). This often comes with a myriad challenges especially in a situation where an individual has to sacrifice their comfort for the sake of others. In line with social skills, I am a highly social individual often looking forward to meeting new people and establishing rapports. This could basically be attached to my personality as an individual who is open to new experiences. The curiosity to achieve the very best from my surrounding pushes me to interact with various individuals. Despite the fact that I am never so adept at maintaining social ties, I am always keen on staying consistently close with individuals with constructive contributions towards my life goals, vision and objectives.

Extraversion

A leader is an individual who is always willing to take risks and the very first step in times of crisis. A leader is an individual who concentrates more on the possible solutions to a problem rather than the problem itself. At the same time, leadership entails proper communication skills. Based on the above descriptions of a leader, I can say that I enjoy leading as opposed to being led. The curiosity to explore the surrounding pushes me to take risk without giving room for the fear of failure. I also like team work and homer individual opinions. These I believe are effective leadership attributes (Collings and Wood, 2009). I however desire to develop more not only as an individual but also as a leader by enhancing my communication skills. In addition, there is an inevitable need t adjust on time management as these crucial attributes necessary for an effective leader. However, I am flexible to change and correction which has often given me a wide room for learning new ideas and attributes towards leadership. As an aspiration, I would love to develop into an individual who is not only able to communicate his grievance but also able to apply effective decision making skills in order to obtain appropriate solutions to emerging problems (Dubin, 2009).

From an individual point of view, the place of power should not be used as platforms for intimidation, discrimination and unfair treatment of people. The leadership position ought to be applied as the very spot from which inspiration and motivation to work harder comes (Golding and Gray, 2009). Some individuals in power tend to apply authoritative approaches while executing their duties. In this case, the opinions of individuals lower in the pecking order are rarely factored. Such approaches lead to the development of an environment in which people are not only lowly motivated but remain confined hence unable to openly express their views and feelings. Power and politics are crucial concepts which ought to be used to bring about positive influence on the being led (Gomez-Mejia, Luis and Robert, 2008). I believe in a leadership approach in which the individuals in power handle those below with respect and wisdom. For instance, their opinions can be factored in during important decision making processes. When power is used constructively, the created environment remains conducive enough for growth an expansion. This however may never be the case when individuals use their positions instil negative influences on those around them (Jasper, 2010)

Agreeableness

Decision making involves the process in which a course, action or option is selected in the presence of several other alternatives. Various models have been fronted to aid in a better understanding of decision making. First, there is the rational model of decision making which implies that each aspect of decision making is rational (Johnason, 2009). The theory emphasizes on the clarity of the various aspects of the decision making process. For instance, before the beginning of the process, it is important to ensure that the objectives are clear and the consequences are anticipated. At the same time, the model highlights the importance of clarity of the problem and overall unity among the individuals who are involved in the process of decision making (Klerck, 2009). This model is essential as it brings out a clear outline of what should be done to ensure that the process of decision making and problem solving is as effective as possible. Through the model, it is equally possible to establish decision making facts in terms of priority. As such, the decision making team can arrange the facts based on their importance to the decision making process.

According to the model of bounded rationality, the main focus of a decision making process is the goal. The process is therefore strictly aimed at achieving the goal by exploring the best option from the various list of objectives. This model is less complex compared to the rational model since there is only one point of consideration (Knippenberg, 2010). The advantage in this case is the aspect that the decision making and problem solving process is likely to take a shorter time. However, the fact that more effort is laid on the goal ignores the position of other vital stakeholders in the process for instance the people involved. There is therefore need for a holistic consideration of facts when it comes to designing a decision making process.

Retrogressive decision making model is a model which focuses on justifying a decision after it has been made (Stone, 2015). This model is not keen at identifying the root cause of the problem. Each of the individuals tend to believe that their choices are rational hence justifiable. Such decision making approaches may at times take a lot of time, a phenomenon which may also be accompanied with financial implications.

Based on the review above, the decision making model likely to be used when seeking for internship or employment is the rational model. This is because is widely and deeply factors in the relevant elements which also lead to the achievement of the most appropriate decisions. The rational model does not only focus on the goal but also factors in the consequences and people involved (Wood, 2014). Despite the fact that this model may be time consuming, it provides the right framework from which informed decisions can be made.

Conclusion

This report entailed the identification of and analysis of individual self-awareness. Various personal attributes were explored in terms of personality, value and motivators, leadership, emotional intelligence as well as power and politics. In addition, the report involved a critical analysis of the concept of decision making from the perspective of three models namely; rational, retrospective and bounded rationality models. Based on analysis of each model, it was deduced that the rational approach would be the most effective decision making style to be used when seeking for internship or employment.

References

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