According to the critical incidence technique, I have a variety of strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses observed have been affecting my interaction with people, and I need to work on them. My language, which affected by my Chinese origin has affected my communication with other persons. I will work on it by engaging myself in learning both spoken and learning English. I with a language barrier, expressing my ideas during group meetings have been significantly impaired and thus require my quick action. I also noted that I had a problem in adapting to other people's culture. This is because of my Chinese background. Culture shock makes my judgment impaired in some cases leading to lack of coordination between me and my group members. I have been having problems in my social life. Lack of proper social skills makes it hard for me to lead a group of people who by default have different personalities and characters. Positive social skills are critical to the formulation of strategies to lead a group of people and in the communication process. The MCI still helped in discovering my strengths. During the Residential Weekend in Newcastle, a group meeting brought out positive qualities from within me. The group leader pointed out that I was keen on ensuring that everything was done to perfection while pushing the whole team in doing things entirely. With such remarks, I understood that I had good interpersonal skills and that I was good at motivating my colleagues. My desire to learn coupled with my passion for dealing with stressful situations; give me an upper hand in leading as a manager.
In the group meeting we had in Newcastle, I was applauded because of my interpersonal skills. Despite this recognition, it is still clear to me that I need to work on my social skills. This entails my interaction and communication with others. Proper communicating requires persuasion, active listening, delegation, and leadership. These are essential requirements for my future leadership position as a manager.
In analysis, there is a clear indication of high leadership potential in me. However, I still need to work on a negative behavior pattern that arose from the Critical Incidence. Culture shock, as I see it, has significantly affected my confidence, communication skills and my judgment based on culture. A new way of life, including culture and language need somewhat a high level of flexibility and adjustment. In the coming year, I will work on my adaptation by learning this new way of life thus approaching my weaknesses from this angle (Marx 2001)
PART 2(1)
Through the self-analysis, I have realized that lack of self-confidence and a distorted self-image have made me not realize my true potential. After the group forum we had, the responses about my participation made me realize that there was a lot in me that I had not yet known. I now know that I have a significantly high leadership potential and the key to unlocking it is first having a positive attitude about my abilities (McGraw, 2001).
PART 2 (2)
With my future managerial position, I will build on the strengths identified as I still work on my weaknesses. I will explore the new culture including their beliefs and language. This will help me become a better leader in the society. My poor social skills which have been further worsened by the culture shock are also an area of concern. I will participate in more forums to build on my interpersonal skills. This will be easier with my great desire to learn and my zeal in exploring new fields. In my self-analysis, I realized that my self-esteem was wanting. I will engage myself in activities that build on my self-confidence which is important in general social interactions and in leading form a managerial position (Tang 1994).
References
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