Reflective Portfolio: MBA Experiences in Career, Teams, and Leadership

This reflective report presents a student's analysis of various experiences during their MBA program. The report covers key areas such as career management, including the decision to pursue an MBA in marketing and the development of essential skills like communication and interpersonal abilities. It also examines the impact of student conferences on professional development, emphasizing the improvement of presentation and communication skills. The report further delves into team dynamics and teamwork, highlighting the challenges of conflict resolution and the importance of effective leadership. Additionally, the report explores personal leadership development, comparing transactional and transformational leadership styles and outlining strategies for self-improvement in emotional intelligence, adaptability, and problem-solving. The student reflects on their growth and the skills acquired, aiming to become a more effective leader in their future career.

Running head: REFLECTION
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Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Career management.............................................................................................................2
Student Conference..............................................................................................................4
Team dynamics and team work...........................................................................................5
Personal leadership development........................................................................................6
Self-selected report..............................................................................................................8
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................9
References..........................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Reflection refers to the activity of analyzing and interpreting past experiences for the
purpose of developing understanding and learning from the same (Williams 2018). Moreover
reflection helps individuals in improving themselves by identification of their strengths and
weaknesses. Reflection helps in preparing individuals to handle future situations in a more better
way by learning from their past experiences and activities. Self-reflection also helps in building
the self-awareness of individuals. Reflection helps individuals in challenging their assumptions.
It helps people explore new ideas for doing things (Thudt et al. 2018). Moreover reflection helps
individuals in improving their problem solving and critical thinking abilities. It also helps in
transforming individuals past experiences into learning. The main aim of the paper is develop a
reflective portfolio based on 5 different episodes. The paper will discuss about career
management episode, student conference episode, team dynamics and team work episodes, pan
for personal leadership development and a self-selected report.
Career management
Just after I graduated I decided to consult a career counselor because I was very confused
about which filed should I get into such as whether I should pursue MBA or not ( Kolts et al.
2018). The career counselor guided me properly on the basis of my qualifications and the marks
secured by me in my graduation. He explained me how I could improve my skills and knowledge
and also groom myself professionally by doing the course of MBA. Hence, I decided to do
MBA. However things were not very easy for me initially as it takes me some time to socialize
with others. However I was quick enough in selecting a mentor who could guide me throughout
my course of MBA. I decided to do my MBA program in marketing. My mentor guided me as

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to what could I do after MBA in marketer. He also helped me by giving tops on how could I
become a better marketer (Weldy 2017). The course of MBA helped me in developing my
overall personality as I gained a lot of skills from the program. Some of the skills that I learned
during the program included- communication skills, observation skills, interpersonal skills,
decision-making skills and even empathetic skills. These are some of the most important skills
that a marketer requires. Before I joined MBA I was not a very good communicator and it is only
after completion of my MBA that I became a good communicator. With the help of my
communication skills I feel that I will be able to perform my job in a better way. I have also
become a good observer that can help me in becoming proactive such that I can help my
organization in identification of problems and solving the same. I have become a more
empathetic person now which means that I am able to develop better relationships and networks
with others. I feel that I become a professional now and therefore I think differently than I used
to think when I was lacking any of the above mentioned skills as these skills have improved my
self-confidence (Tang 2019). I able to communicate with others in a better way, I tend to observe
others and therefore I have also become a good listener, I have developed my interpersonal skills
which means that I am able to enter into good relationships with others. I have also become a
good decision maker. Before undergoing the MBA program, I feel like I was indecisive and
could not take my decisions confidently and now having completed my MBA program I feel that
I have become a better decision maker. With the help of my decision making skills, I have
prepared a plan for my career as to which organization I want to start my career with and other
major decisions. I have become an empathetic person and therefore I am able to put myself in the
shoes of other persons for understanding that they are going through. Therefore I feel like all
these skills will help me in becoming a good marketing manager (Lippert and Schmid 2019).

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Student Conference
During or course of MBA we had to take part in a number of student conferences wherein
we were required to pitch our idea that could even be bought by the panelist. We had to organize
such conferences once in every 6 months. We were mentored by our program director and also
our teams responsible for organizing the business events (Lawson et al. 2019). There used to be a
conference committee which decided the theme and the title of the conference. The conference
presenters included- the pro-vice chancellor of our university, the industry experts, all the
students of MBA and also student guest from other colleges. The student conferences play a very
important role for professional development of individuals as we were required to present our
ideas in front of panelist who would be judging us based on our ideas and also our confidence in
answering the questions that are asked by them. The panelists asked questions related to our
business ideas and the way that will play an important role in the contemporary business. They
also checked our knowledge related to the contemporary business. We are already used to doing
a lot of presentations in our classroom and various workshop events and such student
conferences helps in boosting our self-confidence because in student conferences we need to
present our idea in from of a number of people. During these conferences we need to clearly
communicate as to who we are, what do we want, why do we think our idea is the best and why
the panelist invest into our idea and not that of others. Moreover all these information needs to be
given concisely and conversationally. Moreover these conferences help us in developing our-self
based of the real time feedbacks received by us from the panelist. Therefore it can be said that
the experience of student conferences have had a positive impact on me because I am able to
communicate more confidently in front of others. Therefore this ability will help me in future
while presenting my point in the organization where I will work in front of a number of people.

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Moreover I have learnt a lot from this experience of organizing student conferences. I have
understood that no event or program can be conducted without the help of a team of people. It
seems much easier to the audience watching and attending the conference however it is very
difficult for the organizers because there is a lot of pressure upon them. Therefore from this
experience, I have learned to work under pressure and also work in teams. My viewpoint is also
supported by (), who believes that our self-confidence enhances when we engage in activities of
public speaking or when we are required to speak in front of a large number of people.
Team dynamics and team work
We learned about team work skills in our MBA course by participating in different team
work activities such as for group discussions, for project work, for presentation and also others. I
had learned a lot about team work by participation in group discussions, project work and even
presentations. Although there are a number of advantages of working in team, it is very difficult
to overcome conflicts within a team and to arrive at a consensus. The first time I took part in a
group discussion, I did not think of it as a group activity and it was only after taking part in a
number of group discussion activities that I understood that in GD’s we have to think as a group
for the purpose of arriving at a conclusion to which all the team members agree. Further from the
team presentations I have also understood that being the team leader can become too difficult
because it team members may not take up responsibility due to which there can be unnecessary
delays and not everyone has the same level of confidence and therefore proper allocation of work
becomes crucial in such situations. Moreover there can be conflicts while assigning different
tasks to different team members as they may feel that there exists some type of favoritism due to
which some are given easier tasks than others (Lanaj, Foulk and Erez 2019). Then at that
situation it becomes necessary for the team leader to motivate everyone to think like a team as a

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whole and not individually. Moreover from team project work, I have understood that team
leaders need to adopt different styles at different times such as a leader cannot remain friendly
and focus on building relationships at all the times they also need to be assertive and goal
oriented otherwise they will never become successful in achieving the groups goals and
objectives. Moreover I have also worked in teams at my workplace. From the same experience, I
have understood that there can be different motivational factors affecting the performance of
different team members and kit becomes the duty of the team leaders to understand what
motivates each of his team member and work accordingly for the purpose of ensuring that all the
team members are motivated and the team achieves its objectives. Therefore from all these
incidents I have learned a lot about working in team. Therefore I also feel that I will be able to
become a good team leader in future and will be able to manage the team well. I have also
understood the fact that conflicts are a common phenomenon in teams and therefore the team
leader is required to maintain his/her calm in all situations. Moreover communication is the most
important skills that is important for overcoming the conflicts between the team members.
According to (), communication plays a very important role in development of team as a whole
and for improving the overall organizational performance.
Personal leadership development
From my past experiences, I have understood that I can become a good transactional
leader because I believe in group performance, supervising the work of my subordinates,
controlling the activities of my sub-ordinates through proper rewards and punishments.
However I need to develop my emotional intelligence skills, ability to solve problems,
adaptability and be open to others feedback and concerns such that I can become a
transformational leader (Serrat 2017). It is very important to become transformational leader in

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the present day such that I can ensure that my employees are not only achieving our goals and
objectives but are also motivated to do the same. I also need to ensure that I can support them
whenever they need me and not supervise them then they will be able to grow personally and
professionally. Therefore I need to improve and develop myself such that I can become a
transformational leader. I will develop these skills by indulging in a number of activities such as
brain storming activities, active listening activities, practising self-reflection that can be
understood from the leadership developmental plan given below. Moreover I need to develop the
skills of adaptability, problem solving, emotional intelligence and openness because of a number
of reasons. Adaptability is important for leaders such that they can think differently and look at a
problem from different perspectives than before. This will also help the leaders to easily adapt to
the changing business scenario and therefore gain a competitive advantage over other companies.
Moreover it is necessary for the leaders to develop their openness skills because it makes them
more approachable and that can help the employees in feeling that they are working with the
leaders and not for him (Nafukho et al. 2016). Openness on part of a lead can help in improving
organizational communication because people will feel more free to share information and ideas
that can also help the leader in avoiding problems. Emotional intelligence can help the leaders in
developing better relationship with his employees as leaders can understand how their actions
and emotions affects others. Problem solving skills is important for leaders because it helps the
leaders in identifying a problem before anyone else can and taking timely actions for solving the
same.
Skills required Activities that can help me
in developing the skills
Duration required to
acquire those skills
Adaptability and flexibility Overcoming rigidness by
developing a let go attitude
and risk taking ability
I will develop my adaptability
and flexibility skills within a
period of 6 months.
Ability to solve problems Carrying out brain solving I will improve my problem

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activities as that can help in
generating a number of ideas.
solving skills within a period
of 1 year.
Emotional intelligence I can develop my emotional
intelligence by improving my
self-awareness and empathy
by observing one’s own
behaviour and reflecting on
the same.
I will develop my emotional
intelligence skills within a
period of 6moths to 1 year.
Improve Openness I need to be a good listener for
improving my openness and
therefore I will practice active
listening activities and also by
taking parts in different
activities and games such as
fear in a hat and others.
I will try to improve my
listening skills within a period
of 6 months.
Self-selected report
The executive skills refers to all those self-regulation skills that helps us in better
planning and implementation (Dawson and Guare 2018). The two executive skills that have been
identified by me to be the most important includes- time management skills and planning and
prioritizing skills (Strait et al. 2019). Time managements skills includes the ability to make use
of time in an appropriate way such that all the tasks can be done on time. Moreover by having
proper time management skills an individual cab complete all their work on time, and also get
some free time to take advantage of different opportunities and it can also help in reducing the
stress of an individual thereby increasing the chances of success in career. During the 1st week I
was very poor at managing my assignments on time however by 5th week I have gave partially
gained time management skills and therefore I am able to manage different work at the same
time without becoming stressed about the same. Moreover the other executive skill acquired by
me includes planning and prioritizing skills. All tasks cannot be given equal importance because

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some are more important than the other and that is why it becomes necessary to develop the
same skills.
Conclusion
Therefore from the above discussion, it can be concluded that reflection is important
because it helps individuals in improving themselves by understanding their strengths and
weaknesses. Therefore reflection can help in both personal and professional development of an
individual. Reflection affects the thinking process of an individual because it helps people learn
from their past experience and it also helps people to be prepared to face similar situations in
future in a better way. Moreover reflection can help in identification of any gaps in the existing
skills of an individual and therefore plans can be prepared for overcoming the same. Therefore
reflection helps in the overall growth and development of individuals. From the papers, a
reflective evaluation of 5 main episodes have been done that includes- reflection related to career
management, related to student conference attended by me, related to the team work done by me,
panning for the development of my leadership skills and a self-selected report.

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References
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to assessment and intervention. Guilford Publications.
Kolts, R.L., Bell, T., Bennett-Levy, J. and Irons, C., 2018. Experiencing compassion-focused
therapy from the inside out: A self-practice/self-reflection workbook for therapists. Guilford
Publications.
Lanaj, K., Foulk, T.A. and Erez, A., 2019. Energizing leaders via self-reflection: A within-
person field experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(1), p.1.
Lawson, C., Gill, R., Feekery, A., Witsel, M., Lewis, M. and Cenere, P., 2019. Communication
skills for business professionals. Cambridge University Press.
Lippert, F. and Schmid, M., 2019. Read Thyself: Cultural Self-reflection and the Relevance of
Literary “Self”-labels. In Self-reflection in Literature (pp. 1-19). Brill Rodopi.
Nafukho, F.M., Muyia, M.H., Farnia, F., Kacirek, K. and Lynham, S.A., 2016. Developing
emotional intelligence skills among practicing leaders: reality or Myth?. Performance
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revised. Contemporary School Psychology, pp.1-11.

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Tang, K.N., 2019. Communication Skills of Business Leader. In Leadership and Change
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