THE EFFECTIVE LEADER - BUAD 6305 LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO 1 - SELF ASSESSMENT - ON-LINE FORMAT Please follow completion instructions which are noted in blue before each section. Delete instructions prior to submitting assignment. This form will expand as you type. Name: Term / Section: A. Discuss the insights you gained from completion of the instruments and identify your strengths and weaknesses for each one. Complete and assess your results on the following instruments. Post scores where indicated in the left hand column. Then study your results on each instrument and identify your strengths and areas for development. Finally, discuss the insights you gained from each instrument related to your ability to be a more effective leader. In other words, how will your strengths help and how might your weaknesses be a hinder you? EQ Appraisal Strengths: Overall: Weaknesses: Self-Awareness: Insights: Self-Management: Social Awareness: Relationship Management: The Big Five Use normed Strengths: scores Weaknesses: N= Insights: E= O= A= C= Self-Monitoring Strengths: Total: Weaknesses: Insights: Tolerance of Ambiguity Strengths: Score: Weaknesses: Insights: Revised 3/9/13 1|Page JoHari Window Strengths: Insert lines to accurately represent the size of the panes in your window Weaknesses: Insights: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 B. Overall Effective Leader Assessment Look at your self-assessment profile as a whole by integrating your results on all instruments. In light of your definition of an Effective Leader (from section A above) assess your ability to become an Effective Leader or a more Effective Leader. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses / areas that need development? This section should include narrative rather than simple bullet points. Strengths: Areas for development: C. Course Learning Objectives Formulate three (3) learning goals for yourself in this class. What knowledge would you like to acquire and/or what skills do you want to develop by the end of the course? These should relate to the results on your self-assessment instruments and your areas for development as noted above. Be as specific as possible about what you want to learn and remember that these are not action goals. For example, increasing your social awareness score by x points would be an action goal - what I am looking for here are the skills you want to develop so your social awareness score will increase, such as improving your listening skills, or learning to show empathy. Learning Goal #1: Learning Goal #2: Learning Goal #3: Revised 3/9/13 2|Page THE EFFECTIVE LEADER - BUAD 6305 LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO 1 - SELF ASSESSMENT - ON-LINE FORMAT Sample B Term / Section: Spring 2014/ BUAD 6305 1QA A. Discuss the insights you gained from completion of the instruments and identify your strengths and weaknesses for each one. EQ Appraisal Strengths: Relationship Management Overall: 85 Weaknesses: Social Awareness Self-Awareness: 85 Insights: Self-Management: 85 When I first saw my results, I was concerned that I was misinterpreting them because they were all very close together. However, once I read through the assessment findings, it seemed to make sense. Of the four skills, it was not completely surprising that my lowest was social awareness. Sometimes is it easy for me to miss nonverbal cues from others and I have attempted to work on that over the past few years - especially when conducting HR investigations for my job. However, it appears that this is a skill where I still need to focus my efforts. If I could easily pick up on others cues, the mood in the room, and practice active listening skills, I would not only be better in my employee relations role, I would also be a better leader. In my job and in my personal life, I often try to multi-task by typing an email while having a phone conversation or listening to my husband while changing a diaper. However, in both instances, I have experienced missing a crucial part of a conversation. Either I type in the email message what has been said over the phone, or my husband has to repeat what he told me because I was focused on something else entirely. If I become a good active listener all the time, then I will be a much better leader. Social Awareness: 80 Relationship Management: 89 I found it very interesting that my highest score was in the same category as my lowest score...social competence. It took a while for me to really think about this and figure out how there could be a discrepancy in how I see others Revised 3/9/13 1|Page and how I act in those situations. However, my ability to accurately determine my own emotions (self-awareness) probably helps me in managing relationships with others. Once I can capitalize on social awareness and increase that skill, I hope to improve not only in relationship management but also in the other skills as well. Effective leaders must be able to accurately assess the mood in a room and react to the emotions of others. The Big Five N = 40 E = 52 O = 44 A = 44 C = 64 Strengths: Middle of the scale (generally) in extraversion, openness, and agreeableness. Weaknesses: Low negative emotionality and high conscientiousness Insights: The most interesting score for me was the extraversion and how that has changed over the years. In college, I tested fairly high in extraversion. However, that has slowly gone the other direction as I have gotten older. While I doubt that my personality trait has changed over the years, it is probably the environment that played a major role in how I reacted and was perceived during the college years Yes. I am also in the middle of the scale in openness although I lean towards low openness. Additionally, I am also in the middle of the scale on agreeableness but, again, lean towards the lower end. These results were not very surprising as I've always been somewhat skeptical, practical, and questioning of many things. I only scored a 40 on negative emotionality, which means that I am very rational but unresponsive and guilt-free. While this can sometimes be a good thing, it will not help me to be an effective leader. It is good to be alert and reactive to situations in moderation. I just need to realize there is a middle road when it comes to being emotional. I also need to constantly remind myself of the impact my decisions and actions are having on others. The ability to empathize is a crucial success factor for leaders. My highest score was in conscientiousness. While it is Revised 3/9/13 2|Page good to be dependable, cautious, and organized, I could practice down playing those traits in order to be more spontaneous and fun loving. Good leaders know how to have fun while also meeting goals. Self-Monitoring Strengths: Neither high nor low Total: 7 Weaknesses: n/a Insights: I was pleased with where I landed in this assessment - however, I do want to maintain this level of self-monitoring so it was good to learn what I need to continue doing going forward. I have never been one to say something just because I think it would appease somebody else. However, I have learned that in order to be successful, it is important to gauge some individuals to determine what level of feedback they are willing to hear and accept. There have been times when I have not done this well and I had to monitor that relationship going forward. Additionally, I need to be aware of the importance of flexibility and being interested in what others think and have to say. This creates a trusting relationship between two or more individuals, which is crucial to creating an effective working environment. Tolerance of Ambiguity Strengths: Moderate tolerance to change Score: 63 Weaknesses: A score of 63 is very close to the low tolerance range (16-62) Insights: Of all the assessments, this was the rating that was most surprising to me. Before I sat down to answer the questions, I thought that I would definitely rate high on tolerance to ambiguity. Not only do I work for an organization where change is constant and new initiatives are rolled out weekly, my own boss has nicknamed me \"Gumby\". I always go with the flow and adjust my schedule accordingly to meet new deadlines and react to emergent situations. However, once I circled \"2\" on the second question (would I like to live in a foreign country), I realized just Revised 3/9/13 3|Page how intolerant I am to uncertainty, change, and new situations. This is an area in which I definitely need to focus and make efforts to increase. In one of our readings, there was a reference about organizations which experience hyper-fast changes. I believe that I work for one of those organizations and I also believe that it is becoming more of the norm in our fast paced society. With the speed at which technology is advancing, good leaders will need to be able to learn, react, and adopt new changes at faster rates than ever before. Tolerance to ambiguity will be a crucial skillset for leaders to have going forward and will be mandatory for organizations to survive and thrive in this age of technology. JoHari Window Strengths: Arena Insert lines to accurately represent the size of the panes in your window Weaknesses: Blind Spot Insights: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Revised 3/9/13 5 6 7 8 9 I definitely need to work on increasing the \"arena\" box by shrinking the blind spot section. My large blind spot shows how much information I do not know about myself that others may know. It is very concerning to me that it is so large of a space. I have not been actively asking others for feedback or asking for their thoughts on how I present information, share ideas, or express concerns. I am making the assumption that this is being conveyed effectively but assumptions are not reality and I am missing out on crucial feedback that may help me to become a better peer, coworker, friend, spouse, and leader. However, based on the horizontal column, I need to ask people for feedback who are comfortable with giving honest feedback in order to receive truthful information. In addition to proactively asking for that feedback, I need to be aware of the vibes I am giving off when asking for that information. It can be difficult to give someone critical or honest feedback so it will be important for me to create a safe environment which will facilitate an open discussion. 4|Page Good point I am better about giving information and feedback than asking for it, which is why I rated myself a 6-7 on the selfdisclosure side. There is definitely still room for improvement but, as of today, I am doing a better job of giving feedback than asking for it. Strong leaders should probably have a very large arena in which there is very little \"unknown\" information. They strive to create an environment in which it is safe to solicit and provide honest feedback at all times in all situations. Outstanding job of analyzing your results on all assessments and in relating those results to your ability to be an effective leader. B. Overall Effective Leader Assessment Strengths: I feel that my overall emotional intelligence is in a good place. There is room for improvement in social awareness but my relationship management skills are pretty strong. Additionally, my ability to self-monitor in situations is in a good place and I need to focus on keeping it balanced. In terms of personality traits, feel I have a good balance in extraversion, openness, and agreeableness. Areas for development: I need to focus on my conscientiousness and being more spontaneous and less rigid. Both in my personal and work lives, it is important to be spontaneous and create a funloving environment. I also need to focus on my negative emotionality and work on being more responsive and reactive when the situation allows. My tolerance for ambiguity is much lower than I would prefer, especially in today's working environment. This is an area in which I need to focus on over the next several years so that I can be more comfortable with change and uncertainty. Of all the assessments, I feel that my biggest area for development was displayed in the Johari Window. My blind spot is much too large and I need to work on both asking for feedback and giving feedback on a regular basis. Revised 3/9/13 5|Page C. Course Learning Objectives Learning Goal #1: I want to become more comfortable with asking for feedback when I am giving a presentation, sharing updates with my team members on a project, or even asking my family members how I can improve my relationships with them. (Johari Window) Learning Goal #2: I need to practice active listening through not trying to multitask and only focusing on the person with whom I am interacting. Hopefully, this will allow me to also pick up nonverbal communication. (Social Awareness) Learning Goal #3: I want to become more comfortable with change and uncertainty in order to become a more effective leader (Tolerance to Ambiguity). Great goals for you. Overall excellent job on this assignment! This is one of the best LP 1's I have ever seen. Thanks for your good work. Revised 3/9/13 6|Page THE EFFECTIVE LEADER - BUAD 6305 LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO 1 - SELF ASSESSMENT - ON-LINE FORMAT A. Discuss the insights you gained from completion of the instruments and identify your strengths and weaknesses for each one become more effective? EQ Appraisal Strengths: Self-awareness Overall: 50 Weaknesses: Poor self-management. Self-Awareness: 57 Insights: My overall and individual scores for each component of the EQ appraisal test is an indication that my emotional intelligence is a matter of concern which I must address. I do have a poor self-management skill which I believe is due to inadequate self-awareness. Poor selfmanagement means that I am unable to be in control of my emotions and this can hinder my effectiveness as a leader in a number of ways. For instance, my inability to control my emotions means that certain bad habits like anger and impatience will be exhibited in my leadership roles. This will lead to bad work habits which will affect those I work with adversely and make me inefficient in any career. My stress level is also likely to increase and make me unproductive when I am not in control of my emotions. Even though I now have knowledge that an amount of stress helps to get tasks accomplished, I believe my edginess in many situations due to the fear of falling short of standards has the ability to stress me and make me unproductive. Self-Management: 43 Social Awareness: 48 Relationship Management: 51 Whiles the EQ score interpretation considers my score of 57 on self-awareness as a matter of concern, it is my highest score for the EQ assessment and to make the best of a bad situation I consider it my strength. This does not however mean I do not agree it needs to be addressed. What this means to me is that, with a little effort I can be better at knowing myself properly thereby setting the grounds on which all the other skills can be developed or improved. A high self-awareness will help me have the selfRevised 3/9/13 1|Page confidence I need to pursue any leadership role. This is because the knowledge of my abilities and inabilities will guide me to know how well I can handle tasks in different situations and thus exhibit my strengths without timidity in situations I have skills for. Knowing my shortfalls will give me a sense of humility so I can appreciate and seek assistance or inputs from others. This effort will help me become more productive since my own efforts will be complemented with valuable inputs from colleagues. Also, as self-awareness enlightens me on areas I fall short, I can make efforts to improve upon them. I have come to appreciate the importance EQ skills play in leadership roles and so I have already started making efforts to improve upon all the areas of the EQ skills. This is because I want to be able to interpret and handle emotions effectively in many of life's most important endeavors. This will help me make good decisions in every situation. A high EQ will also help me know and appreciate people, understand them and build quality relationships with them since I cannot be an island in my corporate life. The Big Five Strengths: Extraversion (ambivert), Conscientiousness. N =65 Weaknesses: Negative emotions E =55 Insights: My score on negative emotion has placed me in the reactive category which is characterized by high emotional imbalance and this comes as no surprise to me. While being alert is not a bad thing to a large extent, I see it as the breeding grounds for worries and negative reactions. My negative emotions have the ability to hinder my effectiveness as a leader. For instance, because emotions can be contagious there is the tendency of passing on to my followers any negative emotions I am likely to display. This can evoke negative reactions from them also. Consequently, this will obstruct team work and job performance as my emotions influence them in ways that affect their productivity. My negative emotions also has the likelihood of impeding good decision making because worrying and stressing will take the better of me and prevent me from seeing the big picture. O =45 A =45 C =55 Revised 3/9/13 2|Page My strength of being an \"ambivert\" is an indication I have the ability to move freely between the two extreme extraversion traits as and when the need arises or as situations demand. This personality flexibility I believe can make me survive in diverse work environments as well as different work conditions within a single work environment. It means I can be a good team player when I must work with people and when there is the need for me to take the lead position I will not flounder. Another personality trait I have as a strength is a good 'balance' for Conscientiousness. This is a very good trait that can help me be a more effective leader because I can play a balanced role that neither makes me extremely focused(a trait likely to lead to workaholism in its extremities) nor overly flexible. As much as my personality traits are not likely to change, I want to acknowledge that being aware of what they are will play very significant roles in my life. They will guide me as to which careers to pursue since certain traits are well suited for certain careers than others. I also have a better idea what characters I possess and will make efforts to manage them in situations where they can affect my career, especially when in a leadership position. Self-Monitoring Strengths: N/A Total:4 Weaknesses: Low self-monitoring Insights: My score is a reflection of my behavior because my actions are usually directed by my inner values and personal outlook of life. This makes me a little bit of an inflexible person as I am hardly influenced or convinced to adapt to different situations. Low self-monitoring can prevent me from being an effective leader. In playing leadership roles, the need sometimes arises to be flexible in adopting leadership strategies for changing situations but I will not be able to adjust to the expectations of different situations since the low self-monitoring trait reflects my inflexibility. The consistency in my behavior means I cannot play the Revised 3/9/13 3|Page multiple or contradictory roles required of leadership. I am also more likely to be the leader who is less concerned about how my behavior impacts others or what others perceive of me. Despite this shortfall, it is consoling to know that the other extreme \"high self-monitor\" is not the best fit for success in leadership after all. I therefore believe that with a little effort I can settle in the right spot that makes me neither of the two extremes but rather one possessing a balance for both. That is, I will have the ability to blend my emotions with other people's feedback. This will improve my relationship with others since my actions will synthesize their concerns as well. I will also be able to adjust my behavior to meet changing demands and be more attentive to situational cues and manage my responsiveness to suit it. Tolerance of Ambiguity Strengths: Moderate tolerance of change. Score: 63 Weaknesses: Considering my score of 63 which is on the border line, my moderate tolerance for change is likely to move to the low tolerance zone without improvement. Insights: I acknowledge my moderate tolerance for change is not adequate to make me survive in the current ever changing complex business environment, more especially when taking up a leadership role. As a leader, my intolerance of ambiguity means I am likely to view uncertainties that come up as threats. Being unable to handle uncertainties will mean my inability to exhibit the right emotional balance for recognizing and analyzing ambiguous conditions in a practical manner. Also, since I am less adaptive to uncertain situations, there is the possibility of putting in structures that make the people I lead follow a fast and hard rule for getting tasks accomplished. They will not explore or think of new ways of doing things themselves because of the fear of offending their leader. This will hinder creativity that leads to better performance. I intend to work on my ability to tolerate change because high tolerance for change is the panacea for good Revised 3/9/13 4|Page leadership. Even though a moderate tolerance for change can make me strive in a structured work environment with only occasional challenges, the dynamics or uncertainties of the current business environment require leaders who are innovators, have the ability to be in control of unstructured situations that are different from the norm and can tolerate and adapt quickly to change. Strengths: Arena JoHari Window Insert lines to accurately represent the size of the panes in your window 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 6 7 8 9 Weaknesses: Blind Spot Insights: The size of my blind spot window is big enough to communicate the urgency with which I must work on reducing it. It is a weakness that can hinder my effectiveness as a leader. Because my blind spots are things known to others but not me, there is the possibility of not being aware of my habits or characters which negatively impact those I lead. This knowledge may possibly be relevant for improving my leadership skills and my interaction with them but being in the dark about it will mean I will continue to exhibit behaviors not healthy for those around me without knowing it. I have identified that my inability to solicit feedback most of the time will not be a flattering account for this wide gap and I plan on taking steps to allow or encourage those I interact with to provide me with feedback. I have accepted that it will not always be things I really want to hear but developing a receptive attitude to accept it will help me know myself better so I can adjust my behavior in my interactions. My strength lies in the arena spot of the johari window. This is because I try my best when ever I can too provide relevant information about myself to people I interact with so my relationship with them is improved. This is a strength that can promote my leadership role because as long as I disclose myself in more details to my followers, they will know what rules and values I live by so they interact appropriately and know how best to be effective team players. Also, providing relevant information about myself sets the pace for my followers to do same. As we Revised 3/9/13 5|Page get to know ourselves better we tend to be better team players and more likely to control behaviors that impact others negatively. Trust will also be built as we can confide in ourselves as team members and not to use the knowledge of others to hurt them but rather help them. Considering the different sizes of the four windows after the assessment,I see the need to improve upon each area of the window. I hope to continue exchanging relevant information about myself with those I interact with. This should help shrink my faade and blind spot and increase my arena and public area. B. Overall Effective Leader Assessment Strengths: B Since a leader must let his/her followers know what is expected of them, having a wide arena means I can adequately communicate my values so team members can share in them. My ability to create a good balance between the extraversion and introversion traits will enable me be a play multiple leadership roles. Having a balanced conscientiousness also means I will not be overly focused and thus create a blend that does not make work boring for team members. . Areas for development: I do have low self-awareness which has translated to my poor self-management. My negative emotions probably reflect why I have a low tolerance of ambiguity because I hate to see my negatives come to light. I am also a low self-monitor because my emotions guide my actions. C. Course Learning Objectives Learning Goal #1: I want to be more attentive to feedback and people's opinion of me. This will improve my self-awareness. Learning Goal #2: I want to develop the skills for high self-management through deliberately using the knowledge of myself to be in control of my emotions Learning Goal #3: I plan making efforts to develop a high tolerance of ambiguity through learning how to be thoroughly objective in daunting situations. Revised 3/9/13 6|Page