Understanding Self and Others: Skills, Attributes, and Action Plan

This assignment is a reflective report focusing on the development of essential skills for understanding oneself and others within a professional context. The report delves into four key areas: negotiation skills, time management skills, public speaking skills, and team-working skills. Each skill is analyzed through a pro-forma, assessing its importance, current competence, potential contradictions, and future applications. The author reflects on personal strengths and weaknesses, providing self-assessments and identifying areas for improvement. The report emphasizes the significance of these skills for career advancement and effective leadership. The author utilizes reflective journaling and self-assessment tools, and concludes with an action plan for continued skill development. The assignment demonstrates the importance of self-awareness and the ability to work effectively with others.

Understanding Self
and Others

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART A...........................................................................................................................................1
Pro-forma of Negotiation skills...................................................................................................1
Pro-forma of Time management skills........................................................................................3
Pro-forma of Public speaking Skills...........................................................................................4
Pro-forma of Team working skill................................................................................................4
Summary and action plan............................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
It is very important for an individual to have good sense of understanding between about
themselves and with others as well because it shows the skills and knowledge that is required to
be present inside a person who is working at a particular place. According to Baron-Cohen,
Tager-Flusberg and Lombardo, (2013), if the senior people of the company are having
appropriate skills then they will be able to manage the whole organisation in an effective manner.
Through this all the activities will be controlled and work will be conducted smoothly. There are
various types of skills that are required to be present inside a person so that they perform their
part of work in an effective manner and have emotional intelligence as well so that they are
aware of all the happenings inside the work environment and also controls and monitors each
and every work. There are so many approaches that can be used by people so as to develop their
skills so that they are able to do their task in an effective manner. Their confidence and
independent thinking skills will define their ability. In this report, I will discuss about the skills
and attributes that are required to be present inside the person so as to understand theirs and
others emotions in a better manner.
PART A
Reflective Journal – It is a very important document that is required to be prepared for
maintaining the record of students which can be used in future as a reference and that will help in
achieving developed experience as well. According to Fisher and et. al., (2011), Journal will help
in developing self agreement which is based on various factors that are rising the learning
concepts in a well defined manner. This is very crucial to be prepared for developing the attitude
and attributes of people at particular workplace. Therefore, I also need concentrate on developing
my skills and abilities as I have the responsibility to manage all the important work of the
organisation.
Pro-forma of Negotiation skills
What is the core skill to develop?
The core skill that has been discussed here is Negotiation skill and it is one of the most
important ability that is required to be present inside the workplace. Negotiation skill as per
Salvatore and et. al., (2012), defined as a set of skills in which the person communicates,
persuades, influences other person in other person to agree at a particular event. All these skills
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can be learned by a person and applied by them in their organisation. Whenever a company
organises a training program they also make their employees learn negotiation skills so that
they do not make any kind of loss to the company.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
This skill is very necessary to be present inside the employees because of various reasons.
According to Derlaga and Berg, (2013), In a business if the workers know how to negotiate
with their employees then they will not cause any kind of loss to the company and will do
profitable deals only. As a negotiator, I will be able to change the attitude of customers towards
the products and services our company is offering. This will be very effective in gaining more
customer base and increase profitability as well.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you access your
competence?
Well, I think that I am having strong negotiation skill because I have always made my deals in
a profitable manner only and I make sure that the opposite party is also at profit only. While
doing negotiation, I ensure that I am having the minute details that are required to make this
deal in my favour because if I will not have proper information then I will not be able ton
prove my point to that person. So, I took the help of Jung personality Test (Described in
Toolkit) so as to check that whether I am having good negotiation skills or not.
Can you identify contradiction from your above analysis skill?
If I will have to compare my results with the suggestions given by my employees then I will
say then I would say that all my colleagues were not agreeing with me and they said that these
tests cannot prove anything as negotiation skills are required to be tested while cracking any
kind of deal and if I am able to get the deal without making the other party at loss then it will
prove that I am a good negotiator.
How might this skill help me in the future?
This skill will be very much useful for me because of I will gain expertise in this skill then
chances of loosing a deal will reduce in my case and I will be the most preferred candidate for
any marketing and sales company. According to Rochat, (2014), if I will have good negotiation
skills then I will be having all the detailed information about the matters that are related with
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the deal and no one can make me fool in any matter.
Pro-forma of Time management skills
What is the core skill to develop?
The core skill that is required to be developed here is Time management skills as managing
time is very essential for each and every person while performing each and every activity.
According to Foucault, Davidson and Burchell, (2010), It is a process in which the person tries
to perform their work on time and with efficiency.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
It is very crucial to have this skill inside every organisation because then only they will be able
to complete all their tasks on time . As per the views of Serrat, (2017), If the employees will
know how to manage their time then they will get to know that which work is needed to
completed on priority and which can be performed later on.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you access your competence?
I believe that I am having good time management skills because normally I am able to achieve
all my targets on time without any issues. I was able to gain this skill through experience at my
workplace because their they want all their work on time and earlier I was not able to do that
but then I learned it. To check it, I took help of MCI test so as to know that I am actually
managing my time in an effective manner or not.
Can you identify contradiction from your above analysis skill?
If I will compare the reviews that I got from my colleagues from the result I received from the
test conducted ten it can be concluded that their reviews were contradicting each other. As per
the test, I am very good in managing my time but my friends says that I need more
improvement as sometimes my projects gets delayed. So,
How might this skill help me in the future?
If I will know how to manage my time then it will be very effective for me because then I will
be able to complete all my work on time and will not face any issues regarding handling lots of
work. So, according to Cozolino, (2014), By having these skills, all the required working
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activities is properly executed for achieving potential targets and goals of an organisation.
Pro-forma of Public speaking Skills
What is the core skill to develop?
The skills that is required to be develop here is Public speaking skills because if a person is able
to speak in public in an effective manner then they will be able to communicate their views with
them easily. According to Sosik and Cameron, (2010), It is a kind of skill that is required to be
present in the employees in order to address the customers with confidence.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
This skill is very important to be present in a person because it tells that the person is having
confidence to address the large audience. This will be very useful for them in conveying their
views as well as information to the concerned person and therefore it is the most effective skill
which assists in conveying message in an easy manner between associates as well as managers.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you access your competence?
I think that I am having good Public speaking skills but I am not perfect in this. According to
van Dijk and et. al., (2011), it is said that if a person is having good listening skill or
communication skills then they will be able to communicate their ideas in an effective manner
and can address the public with confidence as well.
Can you identify contradiction from your above analysis skill?
Yes, I can see contradiction in the views because I thought that I am a good speaker but my
colleagues told me that I often forget to deliver the important information to the public which I
should give them. My this habit needs to be developed . So for this I can make speaker notes
before giving any speech so that I remember to cover all the details.
How might this skill help me in the future?
I am sure that if I will learn public speaking skills then it will be very beneficial for me as I will
be able to deal with all the issue in an effective manner and handle all the situation with
confidence.
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Pro-forma of Team working skill
What is the core skill to develop?
The core skill that I am focussing upon is the Team working skills and it is not required while
doing various kinds of presentations in the workplace but also while doing my work at office.
Team-working can be defined by Wiklund Gustin and Wagner, (2013), It is a process where
people work in a collaborative manner so as to achieve a particular goal. Baumeister, 2013,
also says that in teams every body is having a common goal and thus they work together to
achieve it which improves their mutual relationships and make them more effective in
achieving their goals.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
This skills is very necessary to be present inside every person because It helps in conducting
their work in an effective manner and completing it within time as well. According to the
research carried out by Maddux and Kleiman, (2012), if there is effective team working inside
the companies then they it will help in improving their performance and reducing the cost of
production as well. Also since many people will work together then it will help in improving
their product quality as well.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you access your
competence?
As per the current situation I am seeing myself as a competent member of the team as I am able
to contribute in all the activities tat are being done by the team members in the organisation.
When I applied the 123 test(described in Toolkit), I was surprised to find out that I passed with
a good percentage and it means that I am doing my part of work in a very effective manner and
I told all this to my team members and they were completely agreeing with this test.
Can you identify contradiction from your above analysis skill?
When I compared the results of my 123 test with the responses in received from my co-
workers, I could see some contradictions and it clears that one test cannot be considered as a
proof and various more tests will have to be conducted to achieve effective results. As per..., it
can be said that team working is a more complex process then just defining the roles of the
team workers and good cooperation is required to be done.
How might this skill help me in the future?
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This skill will is very effective and will be very useful in future because through this all the
activities will be conducted with high level of efficiency and will help in giving productive
results as well. So, according to Bird and Viding, (2014), It is said that If there is effective
team working inside the business organisation then there will be less conflicts and people will
try to listen to one another and will strive to achieve the goals of the organisation collectively.
Summary and action plan
If I want to make my position strong in the market then for that I will have to make sure
that all my skills and capabilities are properly developed. Various types of reflective journals
will be very effective in recognising appropriate and legal planning with aims therefore I need to
complete my target on time. For this, I will have to access the strengths and weaknesses of mine
so that in can bring improvements in it.
Strength- According to Crone and Dahl, (2012), It is very important for employees to
make sure that they are having appropriate skills so that they are able too conduct all their
operations in an effective manner. I have to make sure that I am able to communicate in a better
manner with all the other co-workers and have a better understanding with them. I will have to
develop my emotional intelligence skill so that I can be aware of all the happening that are going
on inside the company. If I will be able to achieve my strengths then it will be very beneficial for
the company in completing their goals and objectives.
Weakness- According to Gonzales and Hancock, (2011), it is very necessary for every
person to know their weaknesses because then only they will be able to overcome it. I believe
that I will have work on my people management skills as I face various difficulties while
managing people if they are in large no. Also, in need to develop my public speaking skills as I
forget what I have to say on stage.
There are some areas where I need to develop my personal skills that are discussed as under:
Increasing Problem solving skills – This is a very important skill and is required to be
present inside every employee since problems will be present everywhere and we can not escape
from it so it is better that we should learn to deal with it so that we can handle it in future. These
skills can be taught to the employees by arranging a training program for them in the company.
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Improvement in Communication skills- This is very important skill and I need to work
on it since I am not able to communicate with my co-workers freely. Also I think that my
listening skills are also weak due to which half of the information doesn't reach me. Sometimes it
is having a bad impact on my work as well as I don't have full information so it creates hurdles
while completing my work in the company.
Coordination skills- Since everyone in an organisation works to attain a common goal so
it is very important to have coordination and cooperation between them because then only they
will be able to achieve their goals of the organisation (Deci and Ryan, 2010). For this the
employees are required to develop team working skills so that they are able to work together. But
since I am having good team working skills so it will be very easy for me to deal with these
kinds of issues.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Baron-Cohen, S., Tager-Flusberg, H and Lombardo, M. eds., 2013. Understanding other minds:
Perspectives from developmental social neuroscience. Oxford University Press.
Baumeister, R. F. ed., 2013. Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-regard. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Bird, G and Viding, E., 2014. The self to other model of empathy: providing a new framework
for understanding empathy impairments in psychopathy, autism, and alexithymia.
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 47, pp.520-532.
Cozolino, L., 2014. The neuroscience of human relationships: Attachment and the developing
social brain (Norton series on interpersonal neurobiology). WW Norton & Company.
Crone, E. A. and Dahl, R. E., 2012. Understanding adolescence as a period of social-affective
engagement and goal flexibility. Nature reviews. Neuroscience. 13(9). p.636.
Deci, E. L. and Ryan, R. M., 2010. Self‐determination. John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
Derlaga, V. J. and Berg, J. H. Eds., 2013. Self-disclosure: Theory, research, and therapy.
Springer Science & Business Media.
Fisher, W. A and et. al., 2011. Understanding self-monitoring of blood glucose among
individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Educator. 37(1). pp.85-94.
Foucault, M., Davidson, A. I and Burchell, G., 2010. The government of self and others:
Lectures at the Collège de France 1982–1983. Springer.
Gonzales, A. L and Hancock, J. T., 2011. Mirror, mirror on my Facebook wall: Effects of
exposure to Facebook on self-esteem. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social
Networking. 14(1-2), pp.79-83.
Maddux, J. E and Kleiman, E. M., 2012. Self‐efficacy. The Wiley Handbook of Positive Clinical
Psychology, pp.89-101.
Rochat, P., 2014. Early social cognition: Understanding others in the first months of life.
Psychology Press.
Salvatore, G and et. al., 2012. Vulnerable self, poor understanding of others' minds, threat
anticipation and cognitive biases as triggers for delusional experience in schizophrenia:
a theoretical model. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. 19(3). pp.247-259.
Serrat, O., 2017. Understanding and developing emotional intelligence. In Knowledge
Solutions (pp. 329-339). Springer Singapore.
Sosik, J. J and Cameron, J. C., 2010. Character and authentic transformational leadership
behavior: Expanding the ascetic self toward others. Consulting Psychology Journal:
Practice and Research. 62(4). p.251
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van Dijk, W. W. and et. al., 2011. Towards understanding pleasure at the misfortunes of others:
The impact of self-evaluation threat on schadenfreude. Cognition and Emotion. 25(2).
pp.360-368.
Wiklund Gustin, L and Wagner, L., 2013. The butterfly effect of caring–clinical nursing
teachers’ understanding of self‐compassion as a source to compassionate care.
Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences. 27(1). pp.175-183.
Online
Top 10 Leadership Skills. 2017. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.thebalance.com/top-
leadership-skills-2063782>.
Personal Development and Self Development Skills. 2017. [Online]. Available through
<http://www.intelligenthq.com/education/25-self-development-skills-to-learn-for-free-
online-this-year/>.
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