Interpersonal management - Coursework Example

? Interpersonal Management Insert Insert Grade Insert Record 4 Undesired Listening Behaviours and How to Improve On Them Listening is an essential component of effective communication and at personal level I should look to improve on it. There are four main listening behaviours that I should mostly improve on in my daily face-to-face communications or interpersonal interactions to be able to achieve that objective. First, is not completely paying attention by myself to be distracted by either others or occurrences within my view or even thinking about other things during conversations. Secondly, sometimes I engage in listening but not hearing by listening only to details or the manner they are being presented and therefore not getting the actual meaning of what is being said. The third behaviour is rehearsing which involves listening to some point where I feel I want to add something then I stop listening and start preparing what to say mentally while waiting for the chance to speak out my mind or respond to what is being said. Consequently, this usually results into another behaviour which is interrupting the speaker without leaving him or her to relay the full meaning of what they intend to put across. Sometimes this may lead to arguments or breakdown in communication. There are several benefits that will be derived from improving on the aforementioned listening inadequacies. Getting to understand the speaker more through getting full meaning of what they want to relay is one such benefits. As a result, my interpersonal relations will likely be enhanced. Another important benefit is that I will be able to understand how to best handle different people by understanding them. Lastly, proper listening will assist me in identifying my own weaknesses and improve on them. Cause of Action and Success Evaluation Having looked at the areas of listening that needs improvement, it is important to outline the measures that will be put in place to ensure that the situation is corrected. Active listening will be the most appropriate measure to be employed to ensure that this situation is corrected. First, is making sure that I maintain eye contact when communicating with others. The next thing is to ensure that I listen fully to what is being said before thinking of how to respond to it so that my response will be more appropriate. The success of these improvements will be measured through observing the response of the various people I will communicate with within the next two weeks. Direct questions on how they feel I should improve on my listening skills will also be asked. Positive responses and more lively discussions will be the main measure of how effective I will have improved on my listening skills. Record 5 Areas of Strength in Team Work The questionnaire on team contribution skills has been of great assistance in identifying my major strengths and weaknesses in team work skills. Personally, I have identified nine major areas in which my teamwork strengths lie in. When working with teams, I have been good at listening to others, providing solutions, time management, maintaining group focus, helping others and organizing the members. The area of administrative chores has also benefited from my contribution. Generally, I have over 60% rating gauging by the questionnaire; which is commendable. Weaknesses in Team Performance Group members identified two major areas of weaknesses that I exhibit during teamwork activities. They include leaving the responsibility of driving the team to others and generating many ideas that are mostly irrelevant to situations. To begin, I have left responsibility in the hands of others in this activity. This has been due to my areas of weakness such as the inability to present charts and drawings, my inadequate research skills and inability to help in positive conflict resolutions. In the past, it has been a difficult task for me to remain non-partisan especially when my close associates are involved in conflict and that has been a major hindrance to me when there is need for positive and timely conflict resolution. Moreover, my other weakness is the inability to prioritize issues during group activities like the one under focus. As a result, this is shown when I need to contribute meaningful ideas to the team. I always end up coming up with numerous ideas without necessarily prioritizing on the main issue at hand. The two weaknesses in team performance as identified by group members need to be addressed so that my team work skills are sharpened. This will be addressed in the next section. Addressing the Weaknesses I intend to pursue the full realization of the potential I have exhibited in teamwork skill by rectifying the identified areas of weaknesses in the various ways. The first cause of action will be to improve my research skills in the next three weeks by reading, consultations and practice. I will also engage my team mates in this so that I learn from their experiences. In the area of conflict resolution, I intend to register for future conflict resolution seminars and join relevant clubs or societies that promote effective conflict resolution to enable me handle future conflicts effectively. Since this will involve a lot of changes in my personal character, it will be a long term goal that will be reviewed on a monthly basis through trying to resolve simple conflicts in school and while at home. Record 6 Non-violent communication (NVC) Non-violent communication approach involves overhauling how we express our thoughts, feelings and concerns and in turn how we hear the same from others (Rosenberg 2003). Rosenberg (2003) outlines the four main components of NVC that are very essential in any communication process including face to face communication. They include observation, feelings, needs and requests. The four components are to be followed closely and concisely to be able to ensure that the giving and receiving part of our daily communication remains as emphatic as possible. The first step involves observing and in face to face communication it may involve listening to the details of the speaker, which are verbal and non verbal. The most important factor to consider in this stage is that it is important to avoid making judgments based on the observations made (Rosenberg 2003). After the observation phase comes the feelings stage where we state how we feel according to what we have observed from the speech. Feelings may be in various forms like sadness, joy, hatred among others. After stating how we feel, the next stage involves identifying the needs that maybe connected with the said feelings. For instance, if you feel enraged you may want some time on your own to clear out your anger. Identifying the needs that will make your life more comfortable as a result of your feelings is very important so that there is no conflict with the other person. Consequently, the three stages leads to the arrival of a request to be made to the other person. The request is made according to the needs that have been identified in the previous stage. The other part of the NVC is identifying the stages when the other person speaks so that your response is in line with the requests or needs of him or her. The NVC process is reliant on giving rather than receiving. In this case, receiving is hearing and giving refers to expressing yourself. It aims to eliminate communication that is a barrier to attainment of compassion. The NVC is applicable in real life and daily face to face communications because of the way it helps in creating an environment where the two parties involved in communication are able to consciously respond to perceptions, feelings and needs of each other. One of my life situations that can be used to illustrate the importance of no-violent communication is back when I joined college as a freshman. Life was stressful, as I had to adapt to doing things on my own, resolving issues and communicating my concerns to total strangers. Due to the cheekiness of one of my classmates, I one morning found a classmates’ book on my locker. I found out it belonged to a bully in our class and my inability to deal with conflicts and confront others meant that I was in for a tough day. I had to take the book to the owner who as usual was not amused by the whole incident. I had to explain in an intense argument that I was consciously aware that could result in violence any time. Luckily enough, a student sympathizer came in and helped me to handle the situation. I have come to observe that the student had some of the qualities proposed by this theory in handling face-to-face communication. The use of the NVC could have helped in this situation. The process of observing, stating feelings, identifying needs and finally making request was not duly followed. The explanation of getting the book in my locker could have been relayed differently by stating my feeling of surprise and apology to the said student instead of going to give back the book to its owner. The area of classification or otherwise known as moralistic judgment as indicated by Rosenberg (2003) was also my main undoing in the situation. Thinking of the student as a bully first rather than a classmate whose book got lost made me handle the situation the wrong way. Applying the requirements of NVC could have helped in this situation since there could be no heated exchanges that had the potential of culminating in violent communication. Identifying specific needs of the book owner and identifying mine could have helped in resolving the matter. It is notable that the student who came to my rescue used the same procedure as proposed by the writer even if he did not necessarily follow it strictly. Continuing Professional Development Plan COVERING THE PERIOD FROM: ..... January 2013.TO: January 2013 What do I want/need to learn? (goals) What will I do to achieve this? (action points) What resources or support will I need? (time/money/people etc) What will my success criteria be? (How will I know that my action points have been successful?) Target dates for review and completion Improve my conflict resolving skills ? Reading book: ‘Difficult Conversations’ by Mayer, E. Every Tuesday and Friday, 20:00-21:00 ? DVD: ‘Effective Conflict Resolution’; Watching and learning key elements. Every Thursday evening,1 hour ? Attending the workshop ‘Dealing with Conflict’ at City University Cambridge, over one weekend (8/9 September 2012) ? ?11,90 for the book ? 8 hours in total for studying ? Available at the LRC/ UH 1 hour to get the DVD, and 5 hours for studying ? ? 125 to pay the fees, which results in working more hours. ? One free weekend ? Support of my partner; (his understanding since I will be away over the weekend) ?I will have read the book, and / or I will have studied for minimum 6 hours ? I will have watched the DVD, and I will have studied the key elements for minimum 3 hours ? Certificate of my successful attendance ? Successful result of our team discussion in May 2012 regarding poor staff performance ? 15.01.2013 ? 15.01.2013 ? 15.01.2013 Improve my time management skills ?Reading book ‘time management’ by Meggins, D and Whitaker, V. Every Wednesday ?. DVD: ‘Effective time management’; Watching and learning key elements. Every Monday evening, 2 hours ?Attending workshops dealing with time management throughout the month ??10,70 for the book, 12 hrs reading time ?. Available at the LRC/ UH 1 hour to get the DVD, and 5 hours for studying ? ? 325 allocated for this ? I will have read the book, and / or I will have studied for minimum 6 hours ? I will have watched the DVD, and I will have studied the key elements for minimum 3 hours ? Certificates of my successful attendance ?14.01.2013 ?15.01.2013 ?30.01.2013 Improve my team work skills ?Reading book ‘team work is an individual skill’ by Avery, M et al Every Tuesday night ?. Watching YouTube videos on team work Every Saturday evening, 2 hours ?Joining clubs and associations promoting teamwork ?? 5,70 for the book, 9 hrs reading time ?Personal computer ? ? 25 allocated for membership fees ? I will have read the book, and / or I will have studied for 8 hours ? I will have watched at least 4 clips on teamwork ? I would have been a member of at least 2 clubs and actively participated in at least 3 teamwork activities ?15.01.2013 ?15.01.2013 ?30.01.2013 Improve my listening skills ?Reading book ‘effective listening skills” by Kratz, D and Kratz, every Sunday afternoon ?. DVD: ‘Effective listening skills’; Watching and learning key elements Alternate Thursday evenings, 2 hours ?Doing more listening than talking in conversations ??10,70 for the book, 12 hrs reading time ?. Available at the LRC/ UH 1 hour to get the DVD, and 4 hours for studying ? Allocated a whole month for this ? I will have read the book, and / or I will have studied for minimum 6 hours ? I will have watched the DVD, and I will have studied the key elements for minimum 3 hours ? I will have received good responses and developed strong relations ?14.01.2013 ?30.01.2013 ?30.01.2013 Bibliography Rosenberg, M.B., 2003. Non-Violent Communication – a Language of Life. New York: Puddle Dancer Press. Read More