Whetten & Cameron (2011) noted "There is little question that the knowledge we possess about ourselves, which makes up our self-concept, is central to improving our management skills. We cannot improve ourselves or develop new capabilities unless and until we know what level of capability we currently possess." (p. 58). Self-awareness or self-understanding is essential to personal and professional growth. Those that avoid personal growth are limited due to fear. I personally cannot imagine not having the desire to improve myself not only for me but for my family.
I have worked for ERAU for just under two years as an academic advisor. This position is completely different from my previous line of work as a mortgage foreclosure paralegal. When I was hired and before my extensive training, (all new advisors go through a comprehensive 3 month training period) I was told that it would be about a full year before I was comfortable with my position (which I found to be true). After my first 3 months of training I was "cut loose" and was advising students on my own. I was struggling to keep up with my daily work requirements, I was uncertain of my decision making, and I was beginning to become discouraged by my performance. I knew I had to do something because I knew that I could do this job. I was not shy about asking for help but I came to the realization that I needed to do something more. Luckily, I work with a tremendous team and they were extremely supportive of me. One morning I took some time to really reflect on what I was doing and how I could improve my processes. I felt it was necessary to get some feedback from one of my teammates about my performance and ask what I could do to improve. I IM'd one of my senior co-workers and I asked her what she thought of my performance. I could tell her reply was "guarded" as to not hurt my feelings. She said I was doing as expected for someone new to the position and I just needed more time to develop. I asked her to please be honest with me and tell me what she really thought. And she did! It was the best thing that could have ever happened and I respected that she was honest with me. She said I knew what I was doing but I kept doubting my own abilities. I was so worried about doing something wrong that I couldn't complete my other tasks. She was right. I am so happy that I was self-aware enough of the fact that I needed to know how I was being perceived in order to correct and re-evaluate my processes. In my self-awareness survey I scored in the top quartile for self-awareness.
Whetten & Cameron (2011) wrote that "Emotional intelligence has come to encompass almost everything that is non-cognitive- including social, emotional, behavioral, attitudinal, and personality factors- so the extent to which it can be adequately measured and predictive of outcomes remains cloudy." (p. 62). I scored low in the survey on emotional intelligence and I was actually surprised by this result. "Emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to monitor one's
own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different
emotions and label them appropriately and to use emotional information
to guide thinking and behavior." Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence#Definitions In my mind I think I am very in-tune with the my feelings (to a certain degree) and with the feelings of those around me. This is an area I am interested in exploring further because maybe I'm not as in-tune with myself and others as I had believed. I feel like it would benefit me to gain a better understanding of emotional intelligence by researching literature on the subject and possibly taking some additional online tests.
I hold my personal values in high regards and consider this factor of self-awareness to be one of the most important for me. I was raised on respect, honesty, and virtue by my parents. As a parent now I am passing these traits on to my son. I learned the value of hard work at an early age and I do not take things for granted. I know what it is like to be hungry. I know what it is like to not have a lot. I also know that hard work pays off and I grew up idolizing both of my parents for their commitment to me and 3 brothers. We may have never had a lot but we were loved and taught right from wrong. I espouse my core values in my work and think it is important to remain humble, genuine, and hard working.
Whetten & Cameron (2011) define cognitive style as "the inclination each of has to perceive, interpret, and respond to information in a certain way." (p.74). Admittedly this is in area of improvement for me to work on. I wasn't necessarily surprised by my mixed results in this area of self-awareness. It was more or less what I had expected. I scored low in my knowing and creative style, however I scored above average in my planning style. This is a pretty accurate reflection of who I am. This is definitely an opportunity for me to improve upon and raise my self-awareness. For example, we are about to begin a new academic term in October and I have brainstormed a few different creative ways I can improve my enrollments (which is our measure of success and how our goals are based for the year). To improve my knowing style I plan to sit with various advisors during the course of the enrollment period to view how they interpret facts, details, and data to improve on my processes.
I am a creature of habit and as so I need to improve upon my attitude towards change. I get so used to doing things one way that I don't allow myself the opportunity to experience new processes. My mentality had always been to stick with whatever "brings you to the dance". My tolerance of ambiguity score was less than desired and my locus of control score was in the second quartile. My orientation toward change needs to develop much like my pallet for wine has over time. When I was younger I only liked white wines because I never took the time to educate myself on the intricacies other wines had to offer. I was a fan of Rieslings and chardonnays, so why would I ever try a sauvignon blanc or a pinot grigio? I "din't" like Merlots so there was no way I could be entranced by a syrah or malbec? With age, much like with wine, we mature and I hope to develop in this area.
Lastly, I scored high in my core self-evaluation. I always thought I had a pretty good idea of what made me unique. Does this mean I can't learn more? Absolutely not. Just the opposite. What traits do I espouse the most in my life and how do others interpret that? I attended a work social gathering with my wife and gained some insight. I was slightly embarrassed because of all the kind things my co-workers had to say about me to my wife. She joked and asked if they were talking about the right person :) I knowingly make an effort to make my interactions with others as positive and as pleasant as possible. I think it is important to be thought well of by my peers and as a leader I look forward to gaining the respect and trust of those I will serve. Seems that I have some more work to do on my self-awareness before I am ready to lead others but I openly welcome the challenge and look forward to new self growth.
Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall/Pearson.
No comments:
Post a Comment