Developing Core Skills: Teamwork, Assertiveness, Resilience, Negotiation

This paper discusses the importance of developing core skills such as teamwork, assertiveness, resilience, and negotiation. It explores how these skills can be applied in different environments and their impact on personal and professional growth.

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Executive Summary
The aim of this paper is to analyze and understand core skills such as teamwork, resilience,
negotiation and assertiveness. These skills and expertise are helpful in knowing and oneself and
others and building relationship and trust with others. They need to be developed to reflect on
one’s own thoughts and ideas and evaluation of self assessment and behaviour to certain
situations. It is necessary to identify the strengths and weakness to identify the position of an
individual in the workplace and improve his performance and productivity. A simple and helpful
instrument used for improving mutual understanding, self awareness between individuals as well
as groups. It is a commanding message skills model used to improve relationship among others
and also assess the hidden or unknown area of an individual. This paper discusses on the
characteristics of the skills and how they can be applied in wok or university environment and
what is its impact.

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ENTRY- TEAMWORK
What is the core skill to develop?
Team work is vital part of every successful business or organization. It involves people
working together in a group trying to come up with a constructive solution regardless any
conflict (Kliegl and Weaver 2014). Relationship is a crucial part of an individual’s life and so,
social interaction is necessity in life of every human being which cannot be separated.
Employees in an organization need to work together and coordinate to achieve success
towards the common goals and objectives.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
It is obvious that individuals working together on a subject will come up with better results
than a person working alone. It leads to enhancing of efficiency and satisfaction of individuals
as well as groups (Eliasa 2014). Teamwork has led to more improved and positive results in
performance. It is important to express opinion and thoughts of an individual for different
alternative solutions that will boost the confidence and self esteem of employees. Without
teamwork, job will not be done in an appropriate way leading to discrepancies and
demotivation. It makes all members happy, satisfied and do not feel ignored.
Reflect on your current competence regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to answer this question)

According to the feedback of my supervisor or my colleagues, I am good team player as I
tend to help and coordinate with others when I or they need help. I tend to discuss things with
my team mates before coming on a conclusion. I feel when everyone put their effort on
particular task; it delivers positive and alternative options that will not be done alone.
Communication is an effective tool and by using johari window the effective outcome will be
achieved (Saxena 2015). I tend to believe that through communication and interaction with
others leads to uncommon results, therefore, teamwork is the biggest strength of mine.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
Initially, I do not tend to open up with others and converse with them and therefore, people
think me to be an introvert which is my weakness. However, I think once I get comfortable
and get to know the person, I discuss and try to solve each others problem and discuss things
without hesitation. People tend to have a wrong idea about me at first which changes later.
However by communicating and maintaining a daily tracker, it has helped me to achieve
desired results.
How might this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
The core skill of being a team player has helped me achieve performance in my career and
will help in the future no matter where or with whom I am (Krumm 2016). This skill will also
help me in my personal life to cope with friends or my family or outside my family as no
results are achieved without cooperation. Organizations look for well team player and unique
in their job to achieve uncommon results and achieve mission and vision of the company

which I already have embedded in me.
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ENTRY-ASSERTIVENESS
What is the core skill to develop?
Assertiveness is one of the qualities of being confident and self-assured without being violent.
It enables an individual to act in his or her own best interest, stand up for themselves and
expresses their feelings with honesty and confidence (Alberti and Emmons 2017). It adds to
the satisfaction in job as well as in personal life leading to build healthier relationship with
others. Studies have revealed that individuals have improved their level of understanding and
reduced anxiety and depression and ability to intact more efficiently.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Assertiveness is important in a workplace as it has helped me to improve my self-belief, my
personal happiness and positive influence on the workplace environment. It has helped me to
earn respect, because of my sincere and honest attitude towards my boss, control my
emotions, improves my personality and body language (Alberti and Emmons 2017).
Therefore, assertiveness is crucial to set the phase for behaviour.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers

and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to answer this question)
According to the feedback received from my peers, I tend to have low confidence and behave
emotionally around others. However, I need to be more competent on this skill by using
toolkit of assertiveness test to improve my assertiveness by effectively listening to others and
respecting their feelings without judging them (Eslami 2016). I tend to be happier when
around people rather than being alone. By working on this skill, I will be able to achieve my
goals in no time.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
People tend to see the way I look at myself as I have less of control on emotions which is very
crucial in a workplace which is valid because it makes no sense as long as it is based o facts
and logic. Therefore, I need to work on my areas of development and be more assertive and
not be intimated and controlled by my supervisor of colleagues or my family. I tend to say yes
in every situation if someone asks me for help without thinking twice and so people also look
at me the some way.
How might this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
The core skill of being assertive will be helpful for me in my personal and work life by having
a full control over my emotions to handle any kind of situation. Employers tend to hire people
with high self esteem and confidence and ability to work under pressure without being too
stressful and spread the positive impact on others in the workplace. It will help in self

development as well as growth of the organization by leading the mission of the company in a
positive and improved productivity (Shapiro 2014).
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ENTRY-RESILLIENCE
What is the core skill to develop?
Resilience is the ability or capacity of how fast an individual can recover from difficulties.
Humans tend to face challenges and toughness in their daily life which needs to be overcome
to continue life with the normal phase as life is not a bed of roses. There will be ups and
downs in work life as well as in personal life. This skill is crucial for smooth running of every
business or organization or an individual (Woods 2017).
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Being resilient is the secret behind being happy and less stressful and depressed leading to
more positive outcomes on time. It enables me to become tough and learn in every difficult
situation for protection against experiences which is very overwhelming. It helps me to
maintain a balance between my personal and work life and remain calm during stress.
Therefore, this skill is important to help me recover from temporary setbacks.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers

and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to answer this question)
I do not tend to be resilient according to the feedback from my peers. I tend to become
stressed and puzzled when under pressure that leads to negativity in me and failure in
achieving the desired result. I need to develop this core skill and be competent in my area so
that I can bounce back by using this toolkit of vark by resetting my goals as failures are the
pillars of success and is totally normal. I can become more competent by following this
strategy.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
I tend to feel that I am not resilient and am vital to embed this skill in me and the people
around me also tend to think this way as I become too stressed and just become blank without
coming up with a solution. This is my weakness in accordance with being resilient. I end to
compare my ability with others which should never be done to achieve success in life.
How might this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
Resilience is an important characteristic in an individual as well as in a leader to maintain
appositive attitude during the time of turbulence that is required by most of the employers.
This skill will help me to stay calm while working under pressure or any problems or
challenges that come in the way. Therefore, being resilient in nature, I will be better in
handling individuals and situations after adversity as loss is an expected piece of life.

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ENTRY-NEGOTIATION
What is the core skill to develop?
Negotiation is a process to reach an agreement to avoid dispute or disagreement between two
groups or parties (Goldberg 2014). They tend to achieve the top possible result that is
beneficial for both the parties. It is done to resolve matter of mutual apprehension to seek a
common ground without any argument. It leads to contribution of success in business and
build strong relationships that will be also helpful in future as it builds a sense of mutual trust
and faith.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
A person with good communication skills is required to work with others and getting the
work done on time to achieve the desired result. Negotiation skill is vital in any business to
deal with clients and bigger projects for the success of the deal made with other companies.
Negotiating will be a win-win situation for everyone that will be beneficial for the employees
and the clients. It will improve the bottom line of the organization and helps to develop
confidence while negotiation with the client.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess
your competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers
and your tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and

behaviours to answer this question)
According to the feedback from my peers, I do not possess good negotiation skills. I lack
confidence and knowledge to negotiate with others and come up with a common solution. I
need to improve this area by using this toolkit of personal competence model and asking
relevant questions and offering multiple solutions to the party. I need to be smart to negotiate
by increasing my level of learning and building rapport with the client that will lead to
become a good negotiator.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
From my behaviour and actions, I tend to believe that I am not a good negotiator, the way
others also feel. Therefore, I need to be prepared to handle more responsibilities and consider
alternatives keeping in mind the organisational goals. By applying the toolkit in my strategy,
it has helped to achieve positive results and valued and respected more than before. I can take
now more responsibilities and negotiate with clients.
How might this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
I have some long term goals that need to be achieved in the near future and handle bigger
projects and make bigger decisions in the desired position. Being a god negotiator will help
me to achieve my goals and become successful and also set an example to others in my and
other department. It will help me to resolve any kind of dispute without reaching an argument
in workplace as well as in personal life.

Summary and Action Plan:
It will be a good idea to assess my strengths and weakness for my career and life that will be
easier to focus on the correct things in an optimal way. Assessment of the weakness will help me
to gain necessary support in my areas of development to accomplishment goals. I need to list my
strongest attributes and talents and ask certain questions to myself that what strengths have
helped me the most, what I can do well, what qualities I cannot do without and then apply in the
situations I have faced. For assessing my weakness, I need to recall my past experience and
analyze what went wrong and how could those have been improved and note it down for future
reference. It will help me to save my time by focusing on the right things and making better
decisions in life, improve my self confidence level and improve my performance result.
Strengths
My areas of strengths are that I am a good team player and tend to believe that positive and
better results can be achieved through coordination in team than working alone. I tend to talk to
myself and motivate and analyze things that went wrong and how can it be improved. These are
my strengths as I always tend to motivate others also guide the way to success.
Weaknesses:
My greatest wariness according to me is breaking the ice. I do not tend to take the first step to go
and talk to someone else and discuss the things to resolve the issue. Communication is the key to
success of any organization and I need to work on my communication skills to enhance
performance and efficient way of working and planning. Lack of communication leads to
discrepancies and disruption in work progress and become nervous and cannot work in that
situation.

Personal Development Plan
Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely
Developmen
t Area 1
social skills
I want to
work on my
interaction
skills to
communicate
with others
that will make
me feel happy
around others
and result into
positive
outcome.
I am going to
measure by
maintain a
note that each
day with how
many people I
have talked to
and take
others
feedback if
they noticed
any changes
in me.
Yes, this will
be realistic in
my life and
going to
action on it as
soon as
possible for
better results.
By enhancing
my
communication
skills I will
gain more
confidence and
resolve issues
quickly with
the help of
others.
I will set a
deadline of
one month
nearly to
achieve this
skill
Leadership
skills
I want to
work on my
assertiveness
skills by
being
confident and
work under
pressure
This can be
measurable by
taking
feedback from
my peers and
putting myself
in pressure in
situation and
Yes this is
attainable and
going to act
on it as soon
as possible for
positive
results.
These skills are
relevant in real
life as these
will help to
improve my
leadership
qualities and
level of
I will set a
deadline of
two months
to achieve
this skill.

without being
stressed
analyze how
much the
stress has
reduced
understanding
and analyzing
Management
skills
I want to
work on my
resilience
skills to
improve my
capacity to
recover after
any small
setback or
failure.
This can be
measurable by
making a note
of it and
taking
reviews from
my peers that
how much
time do I take
to get back
from the
failure.
Yes this is
definitely
attainable and
will help me
to achieve
success.
Yes, this is
relevant and
will act on it to
get positive
results and
better
performance
I will set a
deadline of
nearly 45
days to
achieve the
desired result.
Appendix
Johari window Vark Personal competence
model
Assertiveness test

Tool for improving self
awareness and shared
understanding between
individuals
Tool used for reflecting
experiences of students
and professors
Tool used for review of
strengths and weakness
and sharing the learning
with others
Tool user for evaluating
assertiveness,
communication skills
and self-confidence
Figure 1
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/Prakash97/assertiveness-skillsbasics
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