Organizational Skills and Strategic Thinking - Example

1-Selection Criteria 1 Demonstrates high level administrative and organisational skill My current and previous jobs require me to multitask and manage time effectively. My current job at Canberra International Airport requires me to juggle numerous tasks when handling employees and clients. My duties also include supporting the staff members who work under me and interacting with clients and the general public who come to the airport. My exceptional communication skills further enhance my administrative skills especially because they help me communicate to staff members, clients and the general public who come to the airport efficiently and effectively. Having studied politics at the undergraduate level and international economic law at the graduate level, I am well versed with business propriety guidelines, and this means that I am able to practise discretion when handling sensitive content. I also posses technological skills especially in computing and keyboarding, and I do my best to stay informed regarding software system changes. I also possess adequate records management and maintenance skills including electronic and manual filing procedures. My Internet skills are also up-to-date and I can effectively carry out research on the Internet using the proper combination of keywords in order to get the desired results among other things. My organisational skills are evident in the effective manner that I manage time, especially in relation to my ability to work within tight schedules. I also take initiatives and generally do not wait for my superiors to tell me the direction to take. I have learnt through my previous and current work that prioritising work in consideration to my employer’s priorities is an essential principle that I should always uphold. 2-Selection Criteria 2 Ability to demonstrate strategic thinking In my own opinion, strategic thinking is the wisdom that everyone working in an organisational setting needs to have. It is the ability to look at a situation from all angles and determine how the actions taken in the short-term will affect the organisation’s future. While working at my current job posting for example, I am well aware that every action I take has consequences either in the short-term or the long-term. Before implementing a decision therefore, I take time to analyse its possible effects on the overall welfare of my employer. If the analysis shows that the possible advantages are more than the disadvantages, then I go ahead and seek the necessary approvals to carry on with an initiative. When handling the staff for example, I am always cognisant of the fact that my approach can either boost or lower their morale, and either way, their performance at work would improve or decline. As such, I always strive to associate well with the staff, motivate them, and encourage them. Consequently, I have found that people working under my supervision have better work outcomes and are always ready to express their concerns, challenges and joys with the entire team when we have meetings. Overall, I posses the ability to analyse issues and trends that arise in my place of work, and by so doing, I am able to link them to the capabilities, responsibilities and the potential of the people I work with. Based on such practices, I am able to make efficient plans, and/or advise my superiors accordingly. 3-Selection Criteria 3 Ability to achieve results Having worked in jobs that gauge performance based on the results attained, I am well aware that a person’s competence is just as good as the results attained either individually, or by the team that he/she leads. During my college years, I demonstrated my ability to attain good results by striving for goods grades, which I successfully attained. Similarly, I have strived for results in the work place, and so far, I am happy with the performance. In my current job as an Aviation Security Team Leader, I strived to ensure that my team did a good job in enhancing security in the airport, and so far, we have successfully managed to ensure that the airport is safe, without compromising the comfort of the clients. Security measures although necessary, are often viewed by a significant number of airport users as intrusive and time-consuming. As such, my team, with my leadership, have long decided that we will use minimal intrusive security procedures, while ensuring that our clients’ security is enhanced. By so doing, the team manages to uphold the clients’ sense of dignity, while ensuring that security is not compromised. As a team leader, I also realise that the results of my team depends much on the values and work ethics of the team members. As such, I have done my best to secure training and motivational programmes for my team, especially considering the critical nature that security apparatus plays in the wake of heightened tourism threats. Our team meetings usually reiterate the need to be vigilant and always conscious of the surroundings, as well as how the team members should behave if they suspect a breach in security. 4-Selection Criteria 4 Cultivates relationships Whether in the formal or informal job settings, I have always strived to behave amiably with other people in order to understand their reasoning, and perhaps understand why they behave the way they do. I have long realised that human beings respond better to kindness than to threats. My approach to relating with others has helped me get assistance, create bonds with my colleagues and team mates, and has generally made me a more empathetic person when handling my detractors. In the latter group especially, I have realised that I can easily reason with people and change their mindset altogether without resorting to the use of force. My relationships with other security enforcement agents have also made me a more enlightened person especially in my job, and I have effectively learned what to tolerate to and how to deal with other complex issues. Working in a social environment means that my team’s job performance is determined by the relationships they cultivate both with the internal stakeholders (the management, airlines, and staff working in different airport departments) and the external stakeholders (mainly the clients). At Canberra Airport, my team has successfully created relationships with the internal stakeholders and by so doing, we have made everybody aware that security is everyone’s prerogative. As such, any staff member is free to alert us when they detect something that the security team may have missed. By so doing, we have created a workplace where everybody is practically their “brother’s keeper”. Overall, I have realised that life is a learning process, which is enriched by the experiences in the relationships that one cultivates. 5-Selection Criteria 5 Exemplifies personal drive and integrity From an early age, I realised that for one to succeed, they needed to be passionate about what they do. It is for that reason that I made up my mind to be passionate about education, and so I set out to acquire all the knowledge that I was convinced would add value to my life. In the workplace, I also realised that I succeeded best in jobs that I was passionate about; and as such, I only apply and accept job offers that I am convinced will give me job satisfaction. My approach in life is informed by the realisation that I find it easier to take initiative, to form relationships, and to work in environments where my ‘heart is’, literally. In my present and previous jobs, I have found that jobs are more rewarding if I take the prerogative to act rather than wait for directions from my superiors. This however does not mean that I am an arrogant worker who disregards opinions of his superiors; on the contrary, I am a person who respects protocol and is mindful that some activities require me to consult, or seek approval from my superiors. Similarly, I realised from an early age that the world is full of opportunities where one can literally ‘bend’ the rules to favour his/her situation. Nevertheless, I also realised to cheat or not to cheat during an exam, or anything else for that matter is a choice that one makes. I chose to be a person of integrity, and for that reason I always strive to uphold, act, and respect what is true, upright and honourable – in the workplace and elsewhere. 6-Selection Criteria 6 Communicates with influence From my communication classes in college, I learned that not everything one says, writes or gestures is interpreted as he/she intended it. I also learnt that the message receiver interprets messages and non-verbal cues to make meaning from any communication. From such lessons, I learnt that influencing the audience requires more than spoken messages, written memos and letters, or signs. As a team leader in my current job position, communicating with influence enables me to pass the knowledge, values and work ethics to new and existing team members. However, to ensure that my message is always interpreted correctly, I always strive to engage team members by inviting their responses and initiating dialogue. Based on their responses, I am able to tell whether the communication was effective or not and hence devise other strategies. I have also realised that the cliché ‘it’s not what you say but how you say it’ is true for effective communication that can influence the audience to take place. As such, I have learnt to use the right tone, the right environment, and the right approach and medium in delivering my messages. Before communicating however, I always determine my objectives – which may vary depending on whether I am communicating a decision on such aspects such as coordination, control, planning or organising, or communicating the need to initiate change in the thinking, attitudes, behaviours or relationships in my team. Finally, I am cognisant that communicating with influence requires one to treat communication as a journey rather than a one-off event; handle it rationally, and be information-based. Read More