Your Top Five Strengths - Assignment Example

Reflection 3 After completing the Values in Action (VIA) Character Assessment, please list your top 5 strengths and answer the following questions about each of these top character strengths. a). Please share an example of an experience that has contributed to the development of this strength. Gratitude I’m naturally a selfless person that strives to help people as much as I can. However, this usually occurs when my pockets are full and since I’m naturally programmed to help, fishing out a few dollars is not a big deal. One day, my philanthropic attribute was put to test. I was facing serious financial constraints and my parents and friends were also not in a position to help me as they were also coincidentally financially strained. I had only a few dollars between me and poverty and was contemplating whether to skip lunch in favor of a light supper or to enjoy a snack for lunch and sleep hungry, when I met this old street lady with two small children. Judging by the way they were yawning, I knew they had not taken anything for a long time. Out of empathy, I gave them the little money I had. They were very grateful to the point that the woman shed tears. Despite the fact that I had not eaten anything, I became satisfied and I learnt one thing: there is no greater joy than knowing that you have saved a life, in my case three. Hope I have an aunt who unsuccessfully tried to have children five times, each time the baby died while still in the womb. The doctor later revealed to us that there was rhesus incompatibility between my aunt and the babies. The doctors intervened and treated her, but still the fifth baby died. My aunt and her husband were really depressed to the point of quitting, however my aunt urged her husband to try again. This time she successfully conceived and gave birth to a girl. The girl is growing strong each day and is the source of our joy. Whenever I’m on the verge of giving up, I derive my inspiration from this story. Creativity Many people say that I’m very creative and it is due to this fact that I’m able to easily come out of very tricky situations. At one time, my friend and I were stranded as we did not have enough money to buy bus tickets. I therefore came up with a plan to secure us a free ride home. Accompanied by lots of tears and loud wails, I pretended that I was suffering from ulcers. My friend consoled me convincingly. It was not long before motorists started noticing that something was wrong and whole heartedly came to our rescue. Forgiveness I’m never quick to judge people and it is due to this attribute that I easily forgive people. When I was young, I had developed a habit of saving money in order to buy something useful. At one time, I had saved enough money to buy a video game when all the money disappeared from my room. Later I found out that my younger brother was the culprit and I confronted him for that. He did not tell me where he took the money, but insisted that he would pay me back every single coin. The argument became physical and I ended up hurting him. He eventually revealed to our mother that he had taken the money to assist African immigrants who did not have food and shelter for the cold winter. It was a valuable lesson for me as I still feel guilty up to this day for cruelly mistreating my brother for doing humanitarian work. Leadership I acquired this trait from my father who is a natural leader. I admire the way he treats and leads us as a family. He leads by example and does not preach water while he drinks wine. He would do everything and sacrifice all things in his possessions, including his life to ensure our safety. He does not bully or mistreat anyone and is willing to take criticism for mistakes done. He loves new ideas and would seek our guidance on various issues despite the fact that we were very young. b). How can you utilize this character strength in a leadership capacity? Do you believe that you have an ethical obligation to utilize that strength to the betterment of an organization/workplace? Gratitude is an essential concept in leadership. Workers like everyone else need assistance both financially and emotionally. As a leader, I would always offer a helping hand to my fellow workers. Hope is also very important in an organization. Leaders should never lose hope or encourage their subjects to give up. I would encourage people to never give up and urge them never to quit as problems are temporary things that build and strengthen our character. Creativity is the driving force of organizations that make them thrive. Apart from offering creative ideas, I would also encourage others to contribute ideas and for each great idea comes a great reward. Forgiveness is important for the general relationship of all personnel. I would therefore encourage people to forgive one another. I would also designate special days where conflicting parties are given a chance to reconcile. Leaders are heads of all organizations. Workers look up to leaders for guidance and should be able to emulate them. As a leader, I would lead by example and not mistreat my subjects. I would ensure that everyone is treated with dignity respective of race, sexual orientation or religious affiliations. 2. Stephen Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (referenced in our supplemental readings/videos) discusses the concept of “synergy.” Describe your unique blend of synergy with your signature strengths shown in the VIA results. How can you leverage this synergistic combination of signature strengths to grow as an ethical leader? Combining my strengths help me overcome my weaknesses. For instance, a combination of fairness, honesty, prudence and gratitude has made me popular among people. I’m given more responsibilities as I’m reliable and trustworthy judging by my good character. In order to be a great leader, different combinations of these attributes can go a long way in making informed decisions and solving disputes. As a leader I would practice different synergistic combinations and apply them in real life. For example, a combination of judgment, fairness, prudence, honesty, creativity and forgiveness can do wonders when it comes to solving disputes. Consider this scenario; there are two conflicting parties and as a leader I’m called to resolve the conflict. Through judgment, I will listen to both parties’ grievances without prejudice, then fairness will give me the best solution to the problem as I fairly weigh the two accounts and deduce who is wrong. Furthermore, creativity and prudence will enable me give out solutions without hurting either of the parties and through forgiveness I will reconcile them to one another. Read More