Self-Awareness for Personal and Professional Growth

The assignment delves into the significance of self-awareness for both personal and professional success. It analyzes the advantages of self-assessment, highlighting its role in enhancing professional competence and interpersonal relationships. The document then focuses on identifying personal weaknesses and proposes a structured action plan to address them, aiming for continuous improvement in all aspects of life.

Running Head: Organizational behavior
Organizational Behavior
Self-awareness analysis

Organizational behavior 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Findings of self-assessment activities: Brief review.......................................................................1
Critical analysis...............................................................................................................................2
Myers Briggs personality test......................................................................................................2
The big five personality test (Appendices 1)...............................................................................3
McClelland’s need analysis.........................................................................................................4
Thomas—Kilmann’s conflict mode instrument...........................................................................4
Future leadership skills................................................................................................................4
Action plan to overcome weaknesses..............................................................................................5
Conflict Management...................................................................................................................6
Practical Decision making...........................................................................................................6
Enhancing personal space............................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9
Appendices....................................................................................................................................10
Appendices 1..............................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Self-awareness is very crucial in order to become a capable leader and manager. Awareness of
self enables individual’s to gain a deeper insight on individual’s personality traits, strengths and
weaknesses. It is important that people are aware of their shortcomings as well as strengths
(Caldwell & Hayes, 2016). It helps people in overcoming their weaknesses, garnering new
experiences and highlighting their strengths to accomplish goals. This report throws light on the
analysis of four different personality tests that I took in order to understand my personality,
leadership traits and skills in a more profound manner. These four personality tests are world
renowned and often used in organizations to evaluate, judge and understand their employees.
Findings of self-assessment activities: Brief review
The Myers Briggs personality test is to identify our personality type from the predetermined 16
personalities. These 16 personality types have been concluded by a permutation and combination
of 4 personality dichotomies that range from person to person (Noecker, Ryan & Juola, 2013).
While conducting this self-assessment test I concluded that my personality type is ESFJ
(Extraversion, Sensing, Feeling and Judging). The attributes that reflect my personality include
that I am an actively social person who is warm, caring and enthusiastic. I am empathetic
towards others and establish positive relationships with people. I am highly appreciative about
the little things in life. I tend to be orderly and cooperative. As my basic nature, I am loyal in my
friendships, family, peers and other relationships.
The big five personality test is developed for people to see a connection between their
personalities and their behavior (Cobb-Clark & Schurer, 2012). This theory has identified the
five important factors of an individual’s personality. In order to be aware about one’s own
personality, it is important to analyze ourselves on these 5 personality traits. There are no right or
wrong rankings, just different personality types will showcase a different ranking. My rankings
in this test have been highest in extraversion, followed by openness, agreeableness,
conscientiousness and neuroticism. This reflects that I am a very social person who enjoys the
company of other people.

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McClelland’s need analysis determines the three factors that act as a source of motivation for
people. An absence of which can create demotivation in the individual (McClelland, 2013). He
stated that individuals are motivated when their three critical needs are fulfilled. Different needs
play a different role in different personality types. It is important to understand what motivates us
so that we can work towards fulfilling that need. When I analyzed the need theory in my own
personality, I came to realize that I tend to get motivated by achievement and affiliation. The
sense of achievement after completing a task is a big motivation for me to start and complete the
next task. Secondly, the need for affiliation also plays an important role in my life as I tend to
enjoy and appreciate being a part of a social group. My need for power is relatively less.
Thomas-Kilmann’s conflict mode instrument determines how we tend to resolve conflicts and
which state of mind do we present in the course of a conflict (Johnson, Thompson & Anderson).
When I took the activity, I was able to analyze that my attitude to resolving conflicts is different
in different situations. In either case, I hold a largely competing attitude towards resolving
conflicts and tend to be highly assertive. Very often it is difficult for me to comprehend the view
point of another person as I am very focused on my opinion. This leads to conflicts and I need to
therefore, put more efforts in being more collaborating.
Critical analysis
Myers Briggs personality test
This test judges an individual on four attributes of their personality (Furnham, 2017). The first
aspect determines whether the person is either an extrovert or an introvert. I am an extrovert. I
find it easy to communicate with new people. I have many friends and acquaintances in my
personal life. I find myself very confident while talking to anyone. The second aspect determines
whether a person focuses on basic information or puts efforts in interpreting and adding
meaning. I do the former. I have realized that I rarely have intuitions and I trust the reality before
me rather than intuitiveness behind anything. The third aspect decides whether a person takes
logic and consistency into account while making decisions, or reaches conclusions basing
decisions upon other people’s feelings. I usually consider other people’s feelings in this matter. I
do not believe that ends justify any means. Hurting others for my personal benefit is something I
would never do. The last aspect determined by the test is whether an individual is open to new

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things or closed for the same (Furnham & Crump, 2015). I have realized that I am a judging
individual rather than a perceiving one.
The big five personality test (Appendices 1)
The big five personality traits activity judges people on 5 major attributes (Judge & Zapata,
2015). These attributes are then ranked to analyze which factor is more predominant in a
particular personality type. My results for the same are as below.
Personality/ trait dimension Score Rank (1-5)
Openness to experience/ intellect 95 2
Conscientiousness 75 4
Extraversion 99 1
Agreeableness 85 3
Neuroticism 41 5
Extraversion has proven to be a highly influencing attribute of my personality. Extraversion in an
individual is characterized by the breadth of various activities that an individual wishes to
participate in. I possess a high group visibility and it is easier for me to be the center of attention
at parties. This is important to me because in any organization where I work, I will be required to
interact with a lot of people and this attribute will help me establish positive relationships with
them. When I lead the team I would try my best to make my team mates feel comfortable around
me.
The second more important factor is openness to experience. I am usually full of new ideas and
find it easier to understand new things. I have a great imagination and I don’t have a fear of

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trying out new things. This will help me in my professional career as I will be open to switching
roles to a new department and enhance my learning through this process (Leutner & Ahmetoglu,
2014).
McClelland’s need analysis
According to McClelland’s need analysis, I tend to get motivated by a sense of achievement as
well as affiliation. Every time I complete a task, I feel a sense of achievement. I like the feeling
of being affiliated in a group of people. This need for achievement consistently motivates me to
work harder and achieve more goals.
Thomas—Kilmann’s conflict mode instrument
While conducting the Thomas-Kilmann’s conflict mode of instrument, I have realized that I am
rather competing while resolving conflicts. This instrument helps people understand how they
resolve conflicts and is hence an important instrument in analyzing employee performance as
well (Monrouxe & Rees, 2017). It is very difficult for me to accept that I am wrong. This simply
implies that I am rarely cooperative and highly assertive with my opinions. This attribute will
make it difficult for me to learn new things from people. Such an attitude to conflicts will
hamper my relationships with people in my personal as well as professional life. Therefore, I
must work upon being more cooperative and compromising.
Future leadership skills
By conducting these activities I have come to understand various aspects about my leadership
skills. I have gained a deeper insight about my strengths and shortcomings that I will be facing in
a future leadership role. As a future leader, it will be easy for me to lead a team of new members
(Thomas & Cherenson, 2015). My ability to make people feel comfortable will help me attract
people in my team and get them to adhere to me. At the same time, my need for achievement
will enable me to accomplish organizational goals and set an example for my team members.
According to the results of the big five personality traits test, I will be able to lead a team better
since I am open for new ideas.

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I need to improve upon my ability as a future leader to resolve conflicts in an efficient manner. I
must not remain as competing as I am now. As such an attitude will lead to increased conflicts
and may even spoil my relationships with people in my personal and professional life. Hence I
will work upon being more collaborating and cooperative.
As an organization’s leader I also need to become more practical. While taking the Myers Briggs
test, I came to realize that between ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’, I tend to make decisions by keeping
‘feelings’ in mind rather than practical thoughts. This is important while taking critical decisions
in any business in order to ensure productivity and effectiveness of the firm.
Action plan to overcome weaknesses
In order to accomplish the above mentioned goals, I have realized that I need to overcome
certain weaknesses. I have been able to shortlist three of my personal and professional
shortcomings after personal analysis as well as detailed feedback from others. The three
weaknesses are as below:
1. Conflict solving skills: As depicted after the Thomas-Kilmann’s conflict instrument, I
resort to the competing style of resolving arguments. I have noticed this in my personal
life as well. However, I wish to change this and become more collaborating. This can
otherwise adversely impact my professional as well as personal relationships. Conflict
solving is an important part of every business (Wallensteen, 2015). Therefore, for a
successful professional career ahead, I need to work upon my conflict resolution ability.
The positive part is that I am very assertive in my opinion but for personal growth and
development, it is essential that I remain open to and respect other people’s opinions as
well. I have decided to follow to work upon this by first ensuring that the conflicts in my
personal life are effectively resolved. I need to make a conscious effort to make sure that
I am not as competing during conflicts and work towards resolving all the conflicts of my
life in a positive manner.
2. Practicality in decision making: As a future leader of a business, it is important that I
work towards being more practical in my decision making. This will help me in making
productive decisions which will lead to the fulfilment of organizational goals. Many
times, while working in any company, it becomes difficult to cater to the needs of

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everyone involved. It is important to understand formal rationality and substantial
rationality. However, it may be difficult to always be substantially rational, it is advised
to be formally rational (Grünig & Kühn, 2017). Hence, under those circumstances, it is
important to take the most practical decision which will contribute to the success of the
business.
3. Enhance personal space: I have always been a social person. But what I have realized is
that, I must be able to be comfortable with my own self and alone. Being around people
leaves me little personal space. Over a period of time, I have started neglecting my space
and focused on my social gatherings. However, spending time with oneself is also very
important and helps in contemplating various decisions and opinions. It is the time that
must be spent upon reflecting over the day’s activities and future goals. This would help
me analyze my areas of improvement as well as I will be able to plan my future better.
The above are the three important weaknesses that I wish to overcome. As this will have a major
role to play in my professional life. I have devised an action plan to eradicate these weaknesses
and become a better professional. The action plan for the same is given below:
Conflict Management
Short term
Sustainable Evaluate my behavior after every conflict. And
attend conflict management workshops.
Measurable Make note of all the conflicts which I faced.
Attend 6 workshops.
Time bound 6 workshops in 1 year.
Realistic One workshop every 2 months is realistic.
Apply the learnings of the workshops in real life

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conflicts.
Attainable Register for workshops in advance to make sure
they are attended. Take feedback after every
conflict.
Practical Decision making
Decision making process:
Step 1: Identify the problem
Step 2: Analyze the problem
Step 3: Develop alternative solutions
Step 4: Select the best solution (Practical, productive and effective).
Step 5: Convert the decision into Action
Step 6: Follow up on the action taken
Short Term
Sustainable Consistently make a conscious effort to
ensure effective decision making. Take time
before making an important decision.
Measurable Make a note of all the decisions that were
taken.

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Attainable Be prepared for taking decisions. Make sure
to follow the process mentioned above.
Realistic Consistently improve upon decisions
Time bound See the difference between decisions taken in
the span of one year
Enhancing personal space
Short Term
Sustainable Make sure to spend one hour of the day alone.
Avoid using electronic gadgets during that
time. Perform a social detoxification exercise.
Measurable Notice the productivity in that one hour of the
day. Make note of the changes instilled in
personality due to that one hour.
Attainable Spending one hour alone daily without
electronic equipment might be difficult
initially, but can be accomplished.
Realistic Must be performed ideally in early morning
or before going to bed at night so that no
important tasks are disturbed.

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Time bound One hour every day.
Conclusion
Self-assessment is extremely important for every individual. This helps people become more
aware and can identify and work upon their weaknesses as well as make effective use of their
strengths (Butler, Kwantes & Boglarsky, 2014). It is highly recommended to continue
performing some self-assessment activities every few days or weeks. This helps individuals
improve, grow and develop in their personal as well as professional life. During this course I
took up four such activities which have largely helped me gain a much deeper insight upon my
strengths and weaknesses. I have come to understand and learn the areas that I need to improve
upon. This course also helped me analyze my short term and long term goals which I aim to
accomplish by overcoming my weaknesses. In order to achieve the same, I have built an action
plan which I target to follow in my everyday life. Through this course, I have understood the
importance as well as the benefits of self-assessment. Not only does frequent self-assessment
helps individual become more competent professionals but also helps in improving their personal
relationships.

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References
Butler, A.M., Kwantes, C.T. and Boglarsky, C.A., 2014. The effects of self-awareness on
perceptions of leadership effectiveness in the hospitality industry: A cross cultural
investigation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 40, pp.87-98.
Caldwell, C., Caldwell, C., Hayes, L.A. and Hayes, L.A., 2016. Self-efficacy and self-awareness:
moral insights to increased leader effectiveness. Journal of Management Development, 35(9),
pp.1163-1173.
Cobb-Clark, D.A. and Schurer, S., 2012. The stability of big-five personality traits. Economics
Letters, 115(1), pp.11-15.
Furnham, A. and Crump, J., 2015. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Promotion at
Work. Psychology, 6(12), p.1510.
Furnham, A., 2017. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). In Encyclopedia of Personality and
Individual Differences (pp. 1-4). Springer International Publishing.
Grünig, R. and Kühn, R., 2017. Rational Decision-Making. In Solving Complex Decision
Problems (pp. 25-34). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Johnson, C.A., Thompson, R.C. and Anderson, M.G., THOMAS-KILMANN CONFLICT
MODE INSTRUMENT.
Judge, T.A. and Zapata, C.P., 2015. The person–situation debate revisited: Effect of situation
strength and trait activation on the validity of the Big Five personality traits in predicting job
performance. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), pp.1149-1179.
Leutner, F., Ahmetoglu, G., 2014. The relationship between the entrepreneurial personality and
the Big Five personality traits. Personality and individual differences, 63, pp.58-63.
McClelland, D.C., 2013. That urge to achieve. Readings and Exercises in Organizational
Behavior, p.70.

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Monrouxe, L.V. and Rees, C.E., 2017. Professionalism Dilemmas across Professional
Cultures. Healthcare Professionalism: Improving Practice through Reflections on Workplace
Dilemmas, pp.207-226.
Noecker Jr, J., Ryan, M. and Juola, P., 2013. Psychological profiling through textual
analysis. Literary and Linguistic Computing, 28(3), pp.382-387.
Thomas, M. and Cherenson, R., 2015. Importance of self-awareness in development of
veterinary leaders. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 247(10), pp.1093-
1094.
Wallensteen, P., 2015. Understanding conflict resolution. Sage.
Appendices
Appendices 1