EMBA 560 Executive position week 3 journal 3 - Essay Example

Journal on Identifying Top Strategists The article ‘How to Identify Top Strategists’ provides an interesting list of attributes against which we maymeasure ourselves in order to determine whether we are ‘eagles’ or ‘aardvarks.’ We are asked to identify those attributes for which we give ourselves a thumbs up, thumbs sideways or thumbs down. It took a good dose of honesty to arrive at the answers, but for me:(1) I feel that I should give myself a thumbs down when it comes to “how unexpected and unpleasant changes affect my performance.

” I suspect that I am like many people in this regard. When my hopes have been pinned on the outcome of an event that does not turn out as I had expected, I turn to self-denial and refuse to give up my original position. I hope against hope that things will eventually turn out how I expected them to, only for those hopes to be dashed by the throw of the dice. When my expectations go unfulfilled, it takes some time – in fact, a lot of time – for me to overcome my disbelief and extreme disappointment.

Sometimes I take it as a personal affront that luck did not turn may way; there are just some changes that are too difficult to accept. I also give myself a thumbs down, though to a lesser degree, to behaviours 1 (separating strategy from tactics) and 3 (feeling threatened by obstacles rather than challenged).(2) I deserve a thumbs sideways in my ability to “see patterns and make logical connections or resolve contradictions and anticipate their consequences.” There are times when these happen and I am able to respond in an appropriate and timely manner, in which case I give myself a nice on the back and say job well done.

There are also times when I completely miss the boat, and depending on my personal emotional investment in the occurrence, I either: act in the manner I described in attribute (1) above in the important matters and for which I gave myself a thumbs down; or merely shrug my shoulders and say, better luck next time, if the issue was not that important. I give myself thumbs sideways to all the other behaviours not classified as thumbs-up or thumbs-down for me.(3) I can give myself a resounding thumbs-up for being able to “prioritize seemingly conflicting goals…to zero in on the critical few and put aside the trivial many when allocating time and resources.

” I pride myself in quickly identifying what is important and devoting for the moment my full attention and abilities on the quick resolution of the most important task at hand. I figure out it is best to get those important things done first even at the sacrifice of the others, rather than doing everything halfway through and not get anything completely done in the end. I also include behaviour 2 (not being subject to “analysis paralysis”).The first behaviour in (3) is where I gave myself the strongest thumbs up, that is, the ability to prioritize conflicting goals, and to concentrate action on the most important task.

This is a strength for me, and it helps me get through particularly difficult and confusing situations. To practice this strength better, I go over my past experiences in retrospect and review whether I could have addressed the situation better. Then I mentally file away the experience in my mind, so that if I recognize the same developments in impending situations then I try to respond according to how I analysed it in the past experience. I feel that problematic situations recur for a reason, and past experiences provide new lessons that may be learned.

Thus, if an unexpected situation develops then I am able to respond quickly, not because I am particularly adept, but only because I remembered a lesson learned from the past.