How My Behaviours Impact My Approach to Management - Example

REFLECTIVE REPORT By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date How My Behaviours Impact My Approach to Management Introduction In the 21st century, managing people is associated with embracing change. In nearly all aspects, the job of the manager has almost remained the same; inspiring, motivating and influencing the employees. Still, there are some differences brought about by the work environment increasing complexity and the fast pace of change. I believe that the complex diversity of technological, demographic and social change has made management of people more challenging than before. Behaviour according to Burke and Cooper (2013, p.47) is what we as bystanders see in others. I have realised that people always learn about others and based on what they see, they make attributions. Yet, behaviour is not only driven by personality since there are some external forces that influence how people behave. Therefore, we must be cautious concerning the attributions we make with regard to limited interpretations in particular contexts. Basically, personality is central to how people relate amongst themselves every day. Personality enables us to know why our lives are different from others. When deciding on our job, it is our personalities that shape our lives’ path and drive our choices. Behaviour can also affect how we communicate and respond. Normally, communication breaks down more dramatically when we need it to achieve specific goals. Kofman (2015) asserts that difficult conversations are frightening because of high stakes and costs associated with failure. Difficult conversations are normally attributed to poor communication within the organisations. I have noted that it is important to understand the different forms of conversations that exist within the organisation. This reflective report focuses on working with different personalities in addition to difficult conversations and effective feedback. Working with Different Personalities According to Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test TM, I am intuitive (13%), judging (11%), thinking (10%), and extravert (8%). I have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing and Feeling over thinking, but marginal or no preference of Extraversion over Introversion and Perceiving over Judging. In view of the Big Five model; neuroticism is considered to be a normal personality dimension that indicates a person’s inclination to experience negative affects like unhappiness, fear, discomfiture, resentment, disgust and guilt. I cannot consider myself a high scorer in neuroticism because my behaviour does not exhibit any form of psychiatric problems. As mentioned by John et al. (2010, p.127) people with high score in neuroticism are normally prone to irrational ideas, unable to control impulses, and cannot handle stress. Since I am emotionally stabile, I consider myself a low neuroticism. This is because I am always relaxed, even-tempered, composed and can easily face stressful situations devoid of getting angry. In various workplaces, neuroticism is used as a performance predictor given that it is inversely associated with job performance. The second dimension is extraversion, which includes personalities like talkativeness, assertiveness and sociability. I do not consider myself extraverts because I am less optimistic, instead I see myself as an introvert since I am reserved, prefer working independently, and am always even-paced. In the workplace, extraversion is typified by positive experiences and feelings; therefore, it is considered to be a positive effect. Extraversion is considered to be a performance indicator in jobs that are characterised by social interaction, like sales managers and employees. Basically, Openness to Experience involves aesthetic sensitivity, active imagination, being attracted to the inner feelings, the inclination to variety, judgement independence as well as intellectual curiosity. I can consider myself as a low scorer in openness because I do not have conservative outlook and conventional behaviour. I consider myself a high scorer because I am unconventional and always ready to accept new political, social and ethical ideas. As an Open person, I am always curious about the world (both inner and outer) and I am always ready to accept new ideas. In terms of agreeableness, Fairweather (2014, p.103) argues that a person who is agreeable is deeply sympathetic and unselfish to others and always ready to help them with the hope that the others will similarly be helpful. I do not consider myself as a disagreeable person since I am not sceptical of other people’s intentions. The agreeable individuals’ co-operative nature normally results in occupations’ success, especially where customer service and teamwork are relevant. Conscientiousness according to Kofta et al. (2013, p.78) is the strength of mind in addition to the active process of organising, planning and performing tasks. As a conscientious person, I consider myself strong-minded, determined and purposeful. Individuals low in conscientiousness is always persistent, hardworking, careful, responsible, organised and able to plan. On the other hand, those with high conscientiousness could result in aggravating fastidiousness, obsessive deftness or overachiever behaviour. I think low scorers cannot be considered to be lacking moral principles, but they apply them infrequently. Basically, goal setting and autonomy has an effect on the relationship between job performance as well as conscientiousness (Rothmann & Coetzer, 2003, p.69). The emotional intelligence concept was initially introduced as adaptive abilities; the ability to express and appraise emotion; ability to regulate emotions; and ability to use emotion in the process of problem-solving. Emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to recognise the emotions meanings as well as their relationships. As observed by Nawi et al. (2012, p.229), there is a positive correlation between the extraversion dimensions, emotional intelligence, management of experiences, conscientiousness as well as harmony. They also observed a negative relationship between neuroticism and emotional intelligence. Actually, they observed that two dimensions of neuroticism and extraversion can envisage the changes associated with emotional intelligence in negative and positive directions, correspondingly. Ability to regulate my emotions, prepare for both positive and negative experiences explain and justify the relationship between my personality dimensions as well as emotional intelligence. Athota et al. (2009, p.11) in their research exhibited that emotional intelligence is an important predictor of four personality trait; Neuroticism, Openness, Extraversion and Agreeableness. Still, emotional intelligence is positively associated only with Openness and Extraversion (Shulman & Hemenover, 2006). Personally, I think that emotions at the place of work can result in innovations, productivity gains as well as achievements of the organisations, teams and individuals. In the organisation setting, leaders with high emotional intelligence are considered to be more successful at managing and leading people and promoting positive personality traits of openness to experience, agreeableness, extraversion and conscientiousness. I consider myself high on emotional intelligence because I am good in utilising emotions so as to guide my decision making and I am always open–minded to newly generated ideas. Some of Neuroticism facets such as angry, anxiety, depression and hostility according to Furnham et al. (2005, p.12) are associated with psychometric intelligence. I have individually noted that anxiety normally weakens the intellectual functioning in different contexts, ranging from school achievement to intelligence tests. My personality is sourced from my immediate surroundings and genetic heritage and has always been constant throughout my lifetime. People are different in the workplace because of human nature complexity that arises from different life experiences and differing personalities; in consequence, this affects individual relationships and climate within the organisation. Even though individual differences happen because of different parenting styles and the level of attention a person gets while growing up, I think successes and failures that a person has experienced can change the personality of a person in the long run. I have a high level of openness and conscientiousness since I am reliable, organized, efficient, orderly, practical, prudent, innovative, resourceful, practical and inquisitive. I understand that for a person to be successful, he/she must have a high level of extraversion; that is to say, he/she must be energetic, sociable and more accessible. Traits related to openness to experience include curiosity as well as intelligence; therefore, I consider myself to be high on openness to experience because I am more imaginative, flexible and also intellectually curious, especially when in stressful situations. According to Yesil and Sozbilir (2013, p.554), openness to experience is associated with academic performance and that it is the most relevant personality dimension that predicts the innovation propensity. Therefore, openness to experience according to Yesil and Sozbilir (2013, p.554) is positively associated with individual innovation behaviour. I am also a high scorer on agreeableness since I am good-natured, merciful, considerate, altruistic, helpful, cooperative and generous. According to Matzler et al. (2011), agreeableness is related to having satisfying and pleasant relationships with others and has a positive relationship with workplace performance. Still, Yesil and Sozbilir (2013, p.555) cite a number of studies that have demonstrated a negative relationship between innovation and agreeableness. Individuals with high conscientiousness according to Matzler et al. (2011, p.296) are achievement oriented, organised, responsible, dependable and hardworking. Kumar and Bakhshi (2010, p.33) argue that conscientiousness normally results in hard work because it is associated with dutifulness, self-discipline, persistence and obligation. Difficult conversations and effective feedback I have noted that having conversations about matters that are sensitive, like performance issues, delivering bad news or giving difficult feedback is very hard. When I want to communicate with a person with upsetting behaviour, it is always hard and I keep postponing it with the hope of getting a ‘perfect time’, which hardly arrives. I have realised that avoiding a conversation with someone deemed ‘difficult to communicate with’ is not the answer considering that the problem cannot resolve itself. During the Interpersonal Communication Skills Test, the results pointed out that I occasionally endure difficulty in interpreting other people’s actions and words as well as seeing things from their viewpoint; normally, this leads to misunderstandings. According to the result, I have little insight (50%), but still I can tell if a person has understood or misunderstood what I am saying or whether they are comfortable with a particular topic and if there is a need to change my behaviour. Difficult conversations sometimes are attributed to conflicts. At one time, while working as a part-time employee in a local company, my workmate used to consistently leave the working space messy and disorganised, this in my own understanding was unprofessional. This normally resulted in conflicts and difficult conversations. Some employees have a tendency of throwing instruments or charts or yelling to other employees when they disagree. Therefore, conflict and difficult conversations normally take place when working with such individuals. According to Overton and Lowry (2013, p.259), conflict creates a distraction from the immediate tasks and results in wastage of resources during conflict resolution. Any person that works in a team or manages people is likely to experience difficult conversation. Some of the behaviours that normally result in difficult conversations within the workplace include: Dressing unprofessionally and inappropriately; poor hygiene; flirtatious behaviour that can result in sexual harassment problem; vulgar language; and being disorganized. Personally, I have encountered such behaviours, which normally cry out for responsible feedback. Through the Conflict Resolution Questionnaire Analysis, I have noted that I have a compromising behaviour: I am inclined to express assertive and cooperative behaviour. According to Lasley (2005, p.13), minimising emotions during difficult conversations is the safest strategy, but in due course, direct engagement and honesty guarantees higher performance levels since it fosters teamwork and deepens understanding. When emotional energy increases during a conversation, it is imperative to take a break. A number of studies as cited by Polito (2013, p.144) have demonstrated that collaboration, communication as well as teamwork, are not adequate in the most work environment, especially in the healthcare sector. In the healthcare sector, findings point out that communication barriers normally result in medical errors and can result in the violation of rules, mistakes, poor teamwork, lack of support, disrespect and micromanagement (Polito, 2013, p.144). Feedback as defined by Gigante et al. (2011), is an objective, non-evaluative and informed appraisal of performance with the goal of improving the employees’ skills. Imperatively, feedback must offer reassurance concerning the competency that has been achieved, should support positive actions, guide future learning, ascertain and correct improvement areas, and encourage self-reflection. Basically, effective feedback should be specific and be able to describe the behaviour that has been observed. When my boss tells me I have done a good job, it can improve some of my behaviours if I am told which behaviours I should improve or repeat. I agree with Gigante et al. (2011) that feedback must focus on the observed behaviours, which are changeable. Basically, being able to give feedback effectively is one of the characters that every manager should have. Failure to give feedback can force the employee to depend on self-assessment so as to determine the behaviours that are all right and those that need improvement. Even though self-assessment is promoted by effective feedback, Sachdeva (1996, p.107) asserts that inexperienced employees experience challenges in identifying their own strengths and weaknesses. To promote successful communication and effective feedback during difficult conversations, it is important to prepare. I believe that a good manager should gather facts so as to ensure there are no palliative situations. As opined by Zofi and Meltzer (2007) managers should only focus on facts. Besides that, a good manager should analyse the goal or purpose of what he/she anticipates to achieve, like improving the quality of work as well as communication. Furthermore, a good communication is important in enabling the employees to clearly understand the culture of the organisation as well as to make a positive contribution. Without a doubt, this can promote employee compliance, retention, and engagement. I have established that communication practising is very important; for this reason, I think employees should look for peer whom they can role-play together. Basically, role-playing has helped me prepare answers for scores of possible responses from another person. Another way of handling difficult conversations is by learning how to manage emotions. Personally, I have largely benefited from calming my emotions through role-playing. Therefore, when employees know themselves through role-playing practices, they can easily neutralise their emotions and is important for both communicating effectively and managing conflict. I have come to realise the value of listening and understanding during a difficult conversation. It is important for a person to allow the other explain so as to be able to see things differently (Zofi & Meltzer, 2007). While giving feedback, I have come to realise the importance of refraining from making comments about the type of person the other person is, or what they value or believe. The feedback should only comment on how the person behaved. It is unwise to discuss aspects of intelligence or personality. Besides that, feedback must describe how a person’s behaviour affects the organisation. I have learned that effective and timely feedback plays a crucial role in developing self-awareness amongst managers. Still, it is important to understand how behavioural feedback should be delivered so as to be able to tailor the feedback according to the individual’s personality. For instance, if a person is very confident it is very hard for them to appreciate the value of feedback since they do not understand the importance of change. On the other hand, people who have high emotionality are naturally eager and modest to develop themselves; they are always ready to change (Twose, 2014). Conclusion In conclusion, this reflective report focuses on working with different personalities in addition to difficult conversations and effective feedback. To effectively run the organisational management, it is imperative for the managers to clearly understand the employees’ different personality traits. All organisations, as I have mentioned in this report have employees with different personalities; in consequence, in this influences the organisational performance and behaviour. Therefore, it is crucial for the organisation’s managers to understand the organisational job design, as well as the essential type of employee personality, which can well fit into the organisation. As I have emphasised above, understanding the individual and personality differences can improve the organisation’s effective management, especially during a change. A number of factors impact the employees’ ability to innovate, but personality is the main factor. With regard to difficult conversations and effective feedback, I have stressed that a manager should ensure that certain messages should be aligned with the organisation's goals and culture. Furthermore, the employees have to be informed consistently of such goals so as to ensure commitment, engagement as well as suitable corresponding behaviour. Communication within the organisation should be more about building a cooperation, empathy and rapport by means of inquiry art, instead of just communicating with employees. Therefore, effective communication skills can essentially enable managers to prevent conflict through employee commitment. When a manager confronts issues directly, even if they are difficult, is more beneficial. In difficult conversations, effective communication is a skill that every manager should learn because it is not ability. Communicating effectively can improve the manager’s overall performance and that of the employees. References Athota, V.S., O'connor, P.J. & Jackson, C., 2009. The role of emotional intelligence and personality in moral reasoning. In Hicks, R.E. Personality and individual differences: Current directions. Bowen Hills, QLD: Australian Academic Press. pp.1-15. Burke, R.J. & Cooper, ‎.L., 2013. Voice and Whistleblowing in Organisations: Overcoming Fear, Fostering Courage and Unleashing Candour. New Jersey: Edward Elgar Publishing. Fairweather, A., 2014. Naturalizing Epistemic Virtue. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 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[Online] Available at: http://www.ltlmagazine.com/article/delivering-negative-feedback-positive-manner [Accessed 20 May 2016]. Read More