Belbin Self Perception Inventory - Essay Example

1. Coming from a humble background, I knew I would have to accept certain challenges in life. This consciousness was my greatest strength which urged me to work even as a high school student. So keen was I to continue working at that age that I had to force myself from not giving up studies. I knew I needed a formal certificate to advance in career and I was glad I did not take an impulsive decision. However, the experience gave me the confidence to decide what I wanted to do further. I was in a dilemma when I was offered a position both at the university and the technical institution. I opted for the latter as it suited my requirements. Along with my studies, I gained experience related to the course. The most valuable experience was my 3-month stint with a US hospital in the operations and maintenance of their essential building systems. I also received an exposure to diverse backgrounds and culture, thereby enriching my experience. My greatest challenge was to obtain a job that would help me work on environmental protection. I did find one as a design engineer after the completion of the diploma. My role was to improve the way the buildings operate and I derived immense satisfaction in this role. Then came another turning point when, along with the engineering background, I wanted to equip myself with managerial abilities and hence decided to pursue a Masters course in building services engineering management. However, due to financial constraints, I have not been able to complete this course yet. Challenges provide us strength and hence, when my job was terminated in 2009 at a contracting firm, I seized the opportunity in a government initiative and enrolled myself at the Project Management Programme. This was precisely what I was keen to pursue – learn the techniques in the management of projects. Buildings are essentially projects and this complimented my background in engineering. At each stage – when I was learning and when I had to take vital decisions – I gained immensely. While the formal learning was in the technology, I also acquired the ability to effectively communicate and negotiate. I acquired time management skills, team dynamics and I also learned to work with minimum supervision. At each stage of transition, I gained more confidence not just in my abilities in the job, but also to make the right decisions for my career. I did not have any major transitions in job as all the jobs were related. This made adaptation to the next job easier as in each job I worked in planning, designing and coordinating. I could build up on my previous skills acquired and advance further. The fact that I derive satisfaction at work demonstrates my passion for the chosen area. I would like to continue in the field of energy and environment. I would love to be involved in building projects that can help reduce the CO2 level emissions, as this is a global need. I firmly believe that dedication to work can bring the best out of the human. Hence, regardless of the chosen career, it is the sincerity and commitment to the cause that matters. Since I am keen to work on the environment, I am confident that given an opportunity, I would be able to contribute towards a greener world. Disappointments and challenges are the stepping stones to success and this is precisely what has been my motivation. Having been left with a scar on my scalp, following a third-degree burn as an infant, did create psychological stress. It did affect my self-esteem and self-confidence at one point, but I decided not to allow these to affect my career. My successes have more than made up for my disappointments as I received laurels both from clients and my supervisors. Usually we are supposed to hand over the complete projects to our supervisors, who in turn hand them over to the clients. However, I took up personal sign-off on all projects assigned to me and I ensured that the clients got value for money and timely delivery of projects. This has fetched me immense respect from my clients as well as my supervisors and I consider it to be a matter of success. 2. The outputs of 16PF5 questionnaire reveal that I am generally emotionally distant from people, which is true, as the scar on the scalp has affected me deeply. Despite this I am emotionally stable and have been able to achieve success at work. I do not take rash decisions and engage in reasoning is evident from the fact that I did not quit studies when I enjoyed working during secondary school. Even though I like to avoid conflicts, where necessary I am dominant. I have always abided by the regulations at work and the demands of the supervisors. I have been able to complete assignments on schedule which shows that I am dutiful. However, I am not good at time management at the personal level. For instance, I arrived late for the examination which affected my output. I do realize that I need to improve upon this aspect. I have a lurking fear, an inferiority complex that keeps haunting me from time to time which perhaps is accountable for the average score on social boldness. My insensitive nature can also be attributed to my family background and my childhood injury. I have never enjoyed a family bonding. Even though I am not a very sentimental person, I am not suspicious of others’ moves or actions. I accept people and this is why I have been successful in team work in all the engineering projects. I am practical and solution oriented, which is evident from the respect that I have earned from my clients on the projects. Because of my psychological trauma, I do tend to be an introvert. I do not discuss my personal problems easily with others, possible because I do not want others to know me more closely. The lack of confidence stems from my physical injury which gives me psychological stress, even though I have been able to recover to a large extent. I am open to change which makes adaptation easier during transitions. Having worked under different supervisors through different projects has enabled me to acquire this ability. While I can work with teams, I am individualistic and an introvert, a closed-person. I am proud of being self-disciplined, which is why even with minimum supervision, I am able to deliver work on schedule to satisfaction. I have time management skills and know what is expected of me. I do not get tensed easily and can keep my calm. The graph from the 16PF5 questionnaire is represented below: The key traits that have emerged from this graph is that I am an introvert, self-reliant, but a determined person. My determination has seen me through each stage of my education and career. The profile that has emerged is a true description of my personality in more ways than one. The graph shows that I am insensitive, emotionally distant, an introvert and a fearful person. All these are true because I have undergone psychological trauma due to my scalp injury. This coupled with my financial constraints, have added to my woes. I have recovered to a large extent as I was blessed enough to receive technical training and related work experience. I gradually gained confidence in my abilities to succeed. This I owe to the determination I had in pursuing my career. I am a goal-oriented person and I could achieve what I did because of the goals I set for myself early on in the career. Self-discipline has also helped me to acquire what I could. All these have give rise to tremendous self-respect and an ambition to know and learn more. At the same time I would like to share the knowledge earned. The values that I nurture too have reflected in the graph. These are the values of being committed to work, being dutiful and honest, and having the ability to look forward to a bright future. This gives me the confidence to design my future short-term and long-term goals. After gaining experience in the field for a few years, I would like to become a trainer in the field of engineering. I feel I have the necessary capability apart from having the passion to share knowledge. I enjoy this field of work and I am sure can motivate others to find meaning in their work. 3. Team work is essential in any organization as it gives rise to creativity and innovation. Since each individual brings different skills and behaviour to teams, a team comprises of different personality related team roles. From my Belbin team profile, I find myself as a completer. I have seen myself as adhering to deadlines and ensuring that minutest details are taken care of. I have achieved success with my clients for successful and timely completion of projects and as an engineer I possess good analytical and problem solving skills. Completers are perfectionists, orderly, conscientious and anxious (Mindtools, 1995). I possess all of these qualities because I do tend to get anxious if things do not go right. It is then that I exert more effort to ensure that client’s satisfaction is achieved. Yes, I do worry unnecessarily at times and because of lack of trust in others, I do not find it easy t delegate. However, I find that this worry and anxiety is responsible for the completion of the project in time and as per specifications. As an engineer, I know and understand the team dynamics and value team play. No engineering project can be handled by an individual and requires collaborative effort. A team approach becomes essential when adapting change in the project. Engineering projects can and do demand last-minute changes to be incorporated and this often leads to anxiety. However, I do posses certain weaknesses which are permissible in the Belbin team model. For instance, I am insensitive and this could affect my role as a team player. This necessitates that a team should be fully developed before the start of a project. Belbin’s team roles are based on observed behaviour and interpersonal styles. While one individual may adopt a particular team role, the behaviour and style is dependent upon the situation. Each of the nine characteristics is essential to have fully developed team. Each team member brings with him certain qualities and certain weaknesses. Once the strengths and weaknesses of the members of the team have been determined, it is easy to identify the prevalent team roles. The potential areas of conflict too have to be identified. Shapers stimulate others and they ensure that the team does not become complacent. Obstacles to them are mere challenges but since they tend to be argumentative it is likely they offend others. Implementers turn the ideas and concepts into actions but they being conservative, may be inflexible. An implementer according to the Belbin Model should be disciplined, reliable, conservative and concerned with deadlines. However, the shapers can stimulate the implementers. Completers can ensure that the projected is completed to schedule and coordinators are required in every team because they take on the role of the traditional team leader (Mindtools, 1995). They make excellent listeners and they recognize the value of each team member. The resource investigators negotiate for the resources for the team but they lose enthusiasm quickly and are overly optimistic. The plant is the innovator who comes up new ideas every now and then but they may be poor communicators and tend to ignore warnings and parameters. The monitors evaluate ideas; they are critical thinkers and strategic planners. Specialists have specialized knowledge to get things done but they tend to limit their contribution. Thus, the weakness of one team member can be balanced by the other members. No individual can possess all the qualities essential for a balanced team. The shapers, implementers and the completers play the action-oriented roles while the coordinator, resource investigator and the team workers play the people-oriented roles. The plant, monitor and the specialists play the thought-oriented role in a team. This tool can be effectively used by determining the strength and weaknesses of each member so that imbalance does not occur. References Mindtools, 1995, Belbins Team Roles, retrieved online 11 December 2009 from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_83.htm Read More