Reinterpreting Regular Things in an Organization

The assignment content discusses the importance of critical thinking in organizations, particularly in think tanks where it is considered a valuable asset. The author reflects on their own competence level with critical thinking and acknowledges that it is an advanced skill but necessary for effective decision-making. The content also highlights the contradictions related to critical thinking, noting that while individual creativity is important, it must be aligned with team goals. The author shares how critical thinking can help in their future career by developing a business-ready mindset and increasing acceptability. The development plan presented includes time management, communication, handling pressure, problem-solving, and decision-making as essential interpersonal skills for a successful organization. The plan is ideal for small organizations where people work in close quarters and can be applied to larger organizations through team-based approaches.

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Name
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Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................... 3
Reflective Statement One..............................................................................................................3
Development Plan for effective time management...................................................................3
Reflective Statement 2...................................................................................................................4
Switching on between official and unofficial channels of communication.................................4
Reflective Statement 3...................................................................................................................6
Coping with pressure and stay business ready...........................................................................6
Reflective Statement 4...................................................................................................................8
The interpersonal skill of Critical thinking..................................................................................8
The development plan in a bird’s eye view...................................................................................9
Abstract
The definition of interpersonal skills changes drastically when we check them out in the setup of
a team, if an individual is donning the hat of a manager then things can certainly become
variable. The current study is an attempt to explore the variable definition of interpersonal skills
under the purview of team management and team dynamics. This particular study has a limiting
factor because it is based on the worldview and working environment of the author. It is a gist of
his experiences where he jotted down a few traits that may have this universal connotations and
implications attached to them. The current study also follows the essence of great writers and
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thinkers working in the same field. Here we are presenting four reflective statements; each
statement is catering to certain interpersonal skills and their implications in variable conditions.
(Goldberg, 2014 )
Reflective Statement One
The core Skill of time management
We can take the example of time management. It is a very important skill and it can be
considered as a core skill for a person working in an organization. Punctuality and delivering it
on time can be considered as a mark of your personality in an organization.
The importance of the skill of time management
Time management is a skill that has the power to lead you towards an arena of consistency
when we look it from the point of view of Johari window. They can trust you in the terms of
time delivery commitment or not, if the answer is yes then you are in the arena of Johari
window, otherwise you are in a blind spot for your peers and senior team members.
My personal competency level with time management Skills
Most of the managers and people working under a crunch of time follow a simple formula. This
formula says to divide your task list into three parts, first the tedious or time taking jobs, second
relatively easy jobs and finally the jobs that can be done while you are acting in a multitasking
mode. Now try to accommodate small tasks when you are doing relatively easy jobs. It will save
a fair part of the day for you. Another general formula says that never allow your focus to waiver
when you are attending all those tedious tasks because it will also save a fair bit of time for you.
I personally follow this formula to its very core, right from my curriculum revision schedules to
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the answering of important emails on my smartphone, I manage everything under the same
framework.
Contradictions related to the time management skill
Identification of right task at right place can bring in some weaknesses
Preparing a PPT for boardroom presentation is a tedious task. It requires time and attention.
Answering the emails of clients is an easy task, all you need is to forward the queries to the right
departments and checking customary emails is an easy task. As a manager or a team player, it is
important for an individual to understand the time commitments involved in various tasks. This
is the same reason that many companies prefer to shuffle the jobs of all the employees from time
to time. It gives him or her, this opportunity to understand each other’s position; on an
interpersonal level, every supervisor should groom himself with the help of the same process. It
means that the interpersonal skill of time management can be broken down into two major heads
when we see it from the perspective of a team.
Weaknesses and counterproductive techniques to remove them
First, we should try to come up with a period where the competency and efficiency of every
employee can be adjudged means to design a framework where a leader can utilize the best from
every employee. From the perspective of Johari window it lights up the blind spot quadrant of
Johari window. On a personal front, I must say that sometimes my gestation periods starts giving
this impression that I am not working properly or I am not giving any attention to the issue. I
think I need to improve in this department and become more deadline oriented.
Whenever I lead a team during the assignment I figured out that we should take care of gestation
periods and other implications a little more practically. Sometimes we should consider the
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interest of the team members and on most of the time; we should cater to the interest of the
system and profitability.
How this interpersonal skill will help me in Future.
Certain employees may take their sweet little time in furnishing certain tasks. It may change the
time equation of the project. However, sometimes managers find it difficult to replace them
because they are good at core business and weak in procedures. This is why it is very important
to strike a balance between time and the quality of the product.
(Williams, 2011)
Now when I am practicing this interpersonal skill at the level of studies, it is certainly going to help
my future. Time management helps you a great deal in organizing your stuff. If you are well organized
then you are always in the range of Arena because your seniors can rely on you with various deadlines
and keep you in a direct loop of the main circle. This visibility can certainly help me a great deal in the
terms of career prospects.
Reflective Statement 2
The core skill of communication
Communication is a very strong interpersonal trait, it has the power to make and break many
things quite effectively. When we break down the details of "leading by example" then we find
that a part of it is also contributed to "leading by the interpersonal skill of communication."
Importance of communication style
Australian CEO Ruslan Kogan's communication style can be a great example here. He emerged
as the worst critic of his employees; still, he promoted them to make mistakes. It was a tough
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task by all the possible standards because giving a license to commit a mistake can lead an
employee towards being an incompetent employee. Ruslan Kogan’s enterprise www.kogan.com
is a big organization; it has all its proper organizational communications channels in place. Still,
this organization has a culture where managers and supervisors support their employees outside
this communication channel. The idea is very clear at an organizational communication works as
a flash and blood for the soul of the objective and organizational goals.
(Vence, 2016)
We are emphasizing on this example particularly because this kind of a culture always prompts
an employee to develop his communication skill as an interpersonal skill. In the past, we
followed the communication style of various assembly line setups; it was the time when the
efficiency of an employee and the effectiveness of a manager was more important. The
communication model generated by Ruslan Kogan broke this monotony of the events; it clearly
stated that it is the effectiveness of an employee that finally translates into efficiency, this
statement certainly holds its validity at a time when soft powers are in charge and intelligence of
each employee is running the show. This is one example; many traits that are more interpersonal
may walk into this territory. Style of communication may vary from team to team and setup, this
is also another area, which can be considered as a variable. Even then, the thumb rules remain
the same. Like the thumb rule says that break your communication into the parts. While
communicating a process makes sure that you emphasizing on each part very carefully.
(Vence, 2016)
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My competency levels with the interpersonal trait of Communication
The art of communication is a never ending ground of learning, each day you come across with a
new situation and ends up with getting a new experience. Personally, right now I am learning the
art of corporate communication and learning the diplomacy associated with it.
Since we are looking at it from the point of view of an interpersonal skill, here we would like to
add one very important thing. This thing is related to the impact of the communication. Design a
communication that has the last mile reach. It means benchmark the person with the lowest IQ
level in your team. If he can understand you then rest of the people will definitely understand
you. The best example to understand this fact can be the speech of any US President. It is a
speech where address the lowest strata of the society along with diplomats of the foreign
countries in a single breath. This is the best communication. This speech has become a tradition
now and with each generation, they are improving it and adding new tangents to it.
The contradiction arises when diplomatic communication becomes fake
communication
The final goal of Johari window suggests that communication should be done in such a fashion
where it can keep you in the first quadrant or the quadrant of open area. In order to become
politically correct, sometimes managers restrict their communications a great deal. This makes them
politically correct, however, the same restrictions throws them in the third quadrant or the blind area of
Johari window. This in my views can act as a big barrier to the communication and sometimes it can kill
the spirits of the team at a lower level.
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How will this skill help me in future?
When we see it from the perspective of an organizational point of view then we can say that at an
interpersonal level an individual can add a personal touch to it as well. Besides being a
leadership trait, this personal touch breaks the monotony of the events quite considerably. In
other words, we can say that we can develop a new approach to communication by adding three
factors.
1. By conceiving an easy and impactful message that can reach to the last miles
2. By adding a personal touch into the conversations or an addition of an ice break session
3. By generating a communication model, which is more dedicated towards, invoking the
effectiveness levels of all the team members.
(Arnold, 2015)
Reflective Statement 3
The interpersonal skill of handling pressure
Corporate culture often tests your endurance levels when they throw challenges on you. These
challenges bring you under various kind of pressures, handling these pressures is also an art in itself. It
can also be considered as a very important interpersonal skill because it can win you a reorganization in
the front line of operations.
The importance of the interpersonal skill of handling pressure
We are not living in a utopia, all the writers of the self-help books were the richest creatures on
the earth, we are sure you will negate this statement because it is untrue. The theory is not the
end of the road; it is only a beginning point from where the real world starts. Before we move on
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to the main course we would like to share another example, after the finishing the course
material, most of the renowned filmmaking institutes offers a booklet under the title "what they
don't teach you in a mass communication course."
The business world is just like that, you are good in theories fine, now it is your turn to see the
practical world. The real world is full of pressures. Your opponents are not in a mood to leave
any stone unturned. They are waiting for a single mistake from your side and it will be all over.
We deliberately used some active words to build tension in the plot because this tension brings in
the element of pressure. Handling the pressure or coping up with the pressure is a great
interpersonal skill. Compare it with an eye staring match, the way you are in trouble because you
cannot blink, in the similar fashion, your rival is also in trouble. He is also sailing in the same
boat.
My position when it comes to handling the pressure
When you are well aware of the pressure cooker that is being forced on you, now think about the
tactics to cope with pressure. For this, you need to fix a role for yourself. If you are acting as a
leader of the team then polish your skills to handle the pressure in such a fashion where your
team does not feel the heat of the pressure. It is not an easy task to carry a brave face when you
are battling it out against some mighty enemies. This is how I want to see myself down the line. I
am practicing it hard to keep a poker face amidst all those pressure cooker situations that can
grill us. When I try to fix this interpersonal skill into the findings and practice of Johari window
then I find that it is a confidence building measure that falls in the first quadrant or the open area
of the Johari window.
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The act of handling the pressure sometimes bring you at a contradicting spot
A business-ready person never allows pressures to reflect on his organization's behavior. An
interpersonal skill may reflect on the working of your entire team. This is why it is important to
learn that how you are coping with the pressure.If you wish to handle the pressure in a business
ready fashion then in this case you can always do it by following the fundamental of plan A, Plan
B and Plan C. Prepare three plans, first plan with an optimistic outlook, second plan with an
anticipation of moderate success and third plan where you will lose the game. This switching
over from one plan to the other will act as a confidence booster for your team. They will get the
impression that you are in control of the things and you are aware that what is happening. It is a
great confidence building measure as well.
(Botha, 2014)
How the art of handling pressure will help me in future
When you are acting like a team member and feeling the heat, then again you can handle this
condition with the help of a plan. This plan will start with your interpersonal behavior. Try to
maintain an interpersonal behavior with some of the team members where you can take support
from them during the crux hours. One of the primary objectives of interpersonal skill also says
that you should have a set of interpersonal skills that can make you a team player. Some experts
believe that acting like a team player is a different interpersonal skill. In our views, it is a set of
some adequate interpersonal skills that makes you a team player in its true sense.
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Reflective Statement 4
The interpersonal skill of Critical thinking
Critical thinking is an interpersonal skill, which can change the course of an organization. In
normal terms, critical thinkers are the thinkers that see certain issues and things related to the
organizations. Critical thinkers are out of the box thinkers and perform the job of reinterpretation
of regular things taking place in an organization.
Importance of the skill of Critical thinking
Organizations spend heavily in order to develop a think tank, it is believed that think tanks have
the power to change the course of business and market. The biggest asset that a think tank may
enjoy is the critical thinking of various teammates participating in process of policymaking.
Critical thinking of an individual thus emerges as an important asset for the team.
My competence level with the interpersonal skill of critical thinking
I am a learner on this track because right now I am learning the ropes and basics of various
systems. Critical thinking is an advance level skill, however, while crossing the river we cannot
ignore it because once we will be on the other side of the shore then situations can demand
critical thinking.
Contradictions related to the critical thinking
Now let us treat this critical thinking process as an interpersonal trait and rethink about it. The
biggest of the findings of any critical thinking exercise may fail in bearing some fruits if an
individual is thinking in an alignment with the team. Some of you may argue that any restriction
on thinking process can put a full stop on out of the box ideas. Let us now convert this phrase
"out of the box" from an adjective into a verb for the time being. It is an adjective when we are
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appreciating something; however, it becomes a verb when we try to execute it. For an efficient
execution of any idea, you always need a team and this is where the things can become
impractical.
(Botha, 2014)
How critical thinking can help in my future course of career
If you are thinking it in a business ready environment then first check your position, what kind of
an organization you are connected to, if your organization is on a verge where they are starting
something new and ready to search out for the resources then out of box thinking can be a good
option. Direct them into a new universe where the rules are different. However, if you are
boarding an already running bus then think about channelizing existing resources and come up
with new permutations and combinations for the same. This mindset and this perspective will
make you more business ready and it will increase your acceptability many folds. If you are
thinking well within the resources, then your management and your team can also support you a
great deal and together you can realize the dream to touch a new horizon.
The development plan in a bird’s eye view
Here we can jot down some very important points related to the interpersonal skills and explain
that how they can be considered an important element of a bigger plan or a development plan
precisely.
 Time management in the terms of team dynamism is very important, it works on two
levels first it binds the team in a process where everybody knows his job well. Now let us
move back to the basics of the planning if you have a process in your hands then it is
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easier to translate it into a business model and churn out profit from it. If it is not a
process then the sustainability can come under the scanner. Time management is an
interpersonal skill and the contribution of each employee and team member is very
important.
 Make sure that your communication channel is fine; this again is a very important part of
any sustainable operation. Communication gaps can sometimes block the flow of the
functions. Check it out on the assembly line of nursing staffs or paramedics. They do a lot
of paperwork, which is their official channel; however, they never forget to share
important tidbits while changing shifts because interpersonal communication underlines
certain issues. The interpersonal skill of communication should be fostered on both
official and unofficial levels. Paperwork is fine but unofficial communication remains
fresh in the memory of an individual.
(Goldberg, 2014 )
 Handling the pressure in a business ready environment is very difficult. It is an
interpersonal skill where you are required to come up with plan A, Plan B, and Plan C, it
means to be ready to face every situation which is coming your way. Come up with some
confidence building measures. As a leader it is your primary responsibility to share the
pressure of your teammates and if you are acting as a component of a team then develop
an interpersonal interface with other employees where you can take their support in order
to finish the tasks.
Problem-solving and decision-making are two important processes that an organization has to
face on a day-to-day basis. When we act in a business ready environment then quite often
training manuals and practical wisdom becomes insufficient for us. This is the time when our
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training with the interpersonal skill comes in to rescue us, during the course of this study we
jotted down reflective statements on four interpersonal skills, these skills along with a healthy
sight for conflict resolutions can do wonders for any given business and make it shine. During
the course of the development of this reflective statement, I also figured out that Johari window
is not all about communications alone. It also deals with certain other interpersonal traits as well,
it means that skills like critical thinking or time management also leaves an impact on your
personality when others judge you in the framework of Johari window.
The current development plan that we have introduced here is an ideal plan for small
organizations where people work in close quarters. Bigger organizations can also employee these
practices in their day to day business if they are working in small teams. It will be pertinent to
discuss the example of Google here, Google works in small teams and follows some of the
practices that we have mentioned here. It gives a kind of personal touch to all their operations. It
also keeps every department separated from each other. Considering the wide spectrum of small
solutions, that Google is providing it is a great way to work.
(Schmidt, 2014)
Bibliography
Arnold, E. C. (2015). Interpersonal Relationships: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses.
Botha, A. (2014). Coping with Continuous Change in the Business Environment.
Goldberg, D. M. (2014 ). People-Centric Skills interpersonal communications skills for auditors
and business personal.
Schmidt, E. (2014). How Google Works.
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Vence, A. (2016). How Australia’s Ruslan Kogan Built an Off-Brand Online Retail Empire.
BloombergBusinessweek .
Williams, K. (2011). Time Management.
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