16 personalities

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Leadership Skills Analysis

NAME SURNAME

(1111111)

University Canada West

MGMT 601: Leadership in the Global Context

Dr. Oleg Naumenko

May 11, 2021

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Introduction

Human nature is dynamic, ranging from quirky and introverted to boisterous and bold. Human

nature is generally defined by the "personality," which refers to an individual's unique ways of

thinking, feeling, and acting. It is a combination of natural dispositions and environmental

experiences. Although personality can evolve throughout a lifetime, one's core personality

characteristics appear to remain relatively stable throughout adulthood. Therefore, Self-awareness

is vital for leaders as it makes them aware of their identity and objectives. Rather than becoming

defensive about their shortcomings, they embrace them, transform themselves, and flourish as

leaders (Showry & Manasa, 2014, p.23).

To determine my personality type, I took the MBTI test. As per the MBTI test result, my

personality is called 'The Executive' or ESTJ-A. There are two types of Executives, Assertive and

Turbulent Executive. I am an Assertive Executive. The five areas of personality traits for me are

as below-Extraverted (E)- 59%, Observant (S)- 69%, Thinking (T)- 59%, Judging (J)- 65%, and

Assertive (A)- 75%.

New Revelation from Personality Test

MBTI personality test results reasonably describe my personality the way I thought. Still, there are

some new revelations about my nature, and upon closely looking back into my life, I can trace

events that are synonymous with these personality traits. The result reveals that I come under the

Observant category, but my perspective was opposite as I considered myself to be Intuitive.

Whenever I encountered any problem in my life, I always try to figure out a unique way to solve

the problem but fail to find a solution using an intuitive mindset. Then I switch on to familiar ways

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of solving problems and often got an answer. When I look back into my thought process, I could

point out that my perspective was wrong. I was fascinated by the idea that problems solved

uniquely will bring greater satisfaction to me but, it is not the case. When I could find the solution

and apply it effectively, that brings happiness in me. First, try to think Intuitively was just a way

of aligning with my fascination, but it yielded no result for me. Now I fully understand that I should

not force myself to become a person I am not and only try to think of a unique solution if I fail to

solve the situational puzzle with my observant mentality.

Another revelation was an insight into one of my weaknesses which is being Judgmental.

I always thought that I am uncritical about the different opinions held by other people around me

because I listen to people. However, when I closely looked into my past, I got clarity that my

perception was wrong. I always listen to the opinions of others but readily neglect other's ideas,

which is different from mine. I try to give myself a reason that my way of thinking is the only right

way, and others might not know the gravity of the situation; that is why their opinion is different

from mine. Now I realize that why I always neglect other's ideas with some reasons and not think

from other's perceptive because I Judge their opinions against mine. These new revelations will

help me better understand myself to correctly apply my personality to different situations rather

than just falling into the trap of perception about myself.

Defining My Personality

ESTJ-A reflects my personality, as I am constantly motivated to seek new thrills and achievements.

I intentionally engage with situations to obtain satisfying rewards, especially social rewards such

as friendship, respect, power, reputation, excitement, and romance. Onboard, I relish the

opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues and derive greater satisfaction and energy from

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collaborative work. I quickly establish rapport with my colleagues, and my outgoing personality

often results in better group work. As a project manager on the ship, I completed several tasks due

to my ability to take command and collaborate with various people. As an extrovert, I am an

enthusiastic person who enjoys socializing and collaborating with others. While working as a

leading engineer on board, I used a participative leadership style, which entails decision-making

collaboratively.

I do not lose my focus until I have achieved my objectives. In my college days, I had

a goal to take placement from college before passing out. Keeping this objective in mind, I have

improved all my skills related to the marine field, which ultimately got me selected for India's top

shipping companies. I always take care of all the minor details required to complete the complex

task and often find errors in the planning stage due to my observant skill set. I always try to

understand expectations from me and deliver using my proven skills to solve problems.

I give preference to reasoning while evaluating and responding to situations both in

personal life and the workplace. My approach for all the activities is to complete work and then

relax. My self-assurance and strong convictions enable me to thrive at putting plans into motion,

but I can come across as critical at times, particularly when other team members fail to meet my

expectations. As an older child, I always have a sense of responsibility towards everything I do in

my life. In a nutshell, I am a practical, strong-willed individual known for my dependability and

administrative abilities. I am skilled at establishing and preserving a safe and stable atmosphere

for myself and my family.

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Key Strengths and Weakness with my personality Type

Every person in this world has some key strengths and weaknesses. By recognizing my strengths

and weaknesses, I will begin to associate them with behaviours and habits. I will also start to

discern which personality traits are advantageous and contribute to my desired self-identity and

which ones are not. In this section, I will discuss some of the past events in my life which reflect

these Strengths and Weaknesses of my personality.

Dedication and Strong-Will Power – My commitment to work led me to finish all my projects

within the deadline throughout my life. Sometimes when I meet with some adverse circumstances

during my projects, I still complete my projects on time by putting in the extra effort. This high

level of determination is possible because of my strong willpower. I do not abandon my

convictions in the face of simple opposition. On the contrary, I am a persistent defender of my

ideas and values, and individuals seeking to change my position must present compelling and

convincing evidence to support their claims. I chose to attend MBA school over a year ago and

have only recently begun my program. I knew it would take years to complete, but I am committed

to my one-year-old decision.

Direct and Honest- I feel happy from inside that I am honest with myself and towards other people

around me. Honesty empowers me to approach challenges more comprehensively and

courageously because I have a strong connection between what I think and what I do. I take a

direct approach towards people and often tell them about their shortcomings straightaway.

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Patient and Reliable – Onboard, my job requires me to repeat tasks very often. Completion of those

tasks with the same dedication repeatedly is a sign of me being a patient individual. In addition,

being consistent and deliver on time what I promise makes me a reliable person.

Enjoy Creating Order and Excellent Organizer - I always possess a clear picture of all the processes

that should be followed chronologically to complete projects onboard. While working as team

leader, I provide proper instructions to every team member on what to do and when to do to avoid

any misunderstanding between the team. In addition, I always distribute tasks to team members

depend on their ability and expect them to work according to the safety standards set by the

company. Due to my ability to organize the teams to complete the various tasks simultaneously, I

got promoted from Junior Engineer to the Second engineer within a short time.

Some weakness of my personality traits that negatively affect me in different situations are as

follows: -

1. Due to placing high reliability on the proven methods of completing tasks, I sometimes neglect

new ideas and techniques which can be helpful and improve the efficiency of the team members.

For Instance, during overhauling of the Auxiliary Engine, one team member suggested a different

method of overhauling the Engine than what the machinery manual tells. Unfortunately, I

neglected his process, leading to extended hours of working to conclude the work

2. I give too much focus on what others think of me in my social circle, which leads me to fulfill their

expectations so much that I fail to address my own needs.

3. I occasionally become so absorbed in the statistics and the most successful approaches that I lose

sight of what makes people happy or their sensitivity. For example, at work, I am direct in my

rejection of others' proposals, which might sound harsh.

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4. Most of the time, I remain busy at the workplace and see it to maintain my dignity at work. The

only issue is that I fail to unwind after a tough day, and as a result, the tension becomes a significant

factor in my life.

5. I do not handle criticism positively, be it at the workplace or from friends. On the contrary, I always

try to defend my stance aggressively, even if I am at fault.

6. I tend to be excessively critical of myself. For example, whenever I complete a project, I cannot

help but feel like I should have accomplished more, even though the outcome was favourable. This

always results in my overwork and burnout.

My life has been a saga of triumphs and setbacks. Dedication and strong-will power led

me to excel in my life. I became the second engineer within five years of starting my career in

shipping which is my biggest accomplishment. As a leading engineer on the ship, I have planned,

organized, and completed many projects under different circumstances due to my ability to create

a perfect working plan. For my consistent contribution to improve the company's safety standards,

I was awarded the best employee of the company in 2018. However, I have a fair share of setbacks

in my life as well. My friend had suggested opening the first biodiesel petrol pump in partnership

with him in my area, but I have neglected his idea since I thought that pertinent facts do not back

his vision. Now I realize my mistake as this biodiesel pump is much more profitable than the others

in my area. Too much relying on facts and paying less attention to the vision has made me lose a

golden opportunity. Also, paying attention to others thinking about me in society and proving

myself in front of them has harmed me in my life. I recall an incident when my college friends

made fun of me for being skinny. To show them my strength, I overdid leg exercise on the first

day at the gym that led to the extensive soreness of my legs, and I could not get up from my bed

for that whole week. Now I understand that cultivating our self-worth when we are questioned or

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dismissed requires deliberate practice, and we must demonstrate our worth to ourselves, not to

others.

Capitalize on my Strengths to compensate for weaknesses

Separating good decisions from bad decisions is one of the most complicated aspects of

acknowledging success and failure. To know if we are making the right choices in any given

situation, we must learn from both successes and failures. For developing my personality, I should

enhance and exploit my strengths and recognize and mitigate the effect of my weaknesses. First,

my firm determination and dedication towards achieving my goals in life will help me be a strong

leader in the future. Secondly, I will use my extroverted nature to rapidly establish close relations

with others and create new connections in Canada, enabling me to get a recommendation for my

first job in Canada. Thirdly, I will organize various tasks according to my teammate's ability, which

will help them gain autonomy over their work and perform better and, as a consequence, increases

my team's efficiency. Finally, my focus on fact-based decisions leaves little space for

interpretation, which increases my belief that I made the correct choice, which is the first step

toward practical implementation and success in life and the workplace. It will also enable me to

make the tough decision for the organization's significant benefit and establish myself as an

effective leader. Like most managers, my decision-making is based on logical analysis rather than

values, which will help me adapt quickly to a managerial role (Carr, 2006). I have already taken a

courageous decision to resign from my marine engineer job a while ago and take an MBA course

to establish a new career path from scratch.

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Communication Methods that Suit my Personality

As an extroverted thinker, I am decisive and action-oriented, and when interacting with

others, I prefer to take a formal and rational approach and give explanations freely. I am regarded

as a communicative person who has established an excellent rapport with others. I can listen

intently to others, assisting them, and sharing my experiences with them. I always consider the

perspective of others, and gauging other's opinions based on facts rather than any vague

preconception helps me take a firm stance on other's ideas. In this way, I bring clarity to my

decisions and stand firmly with them while communicating, which is essential for an effective

leader. I typically talk gently as a kind gesture towards the listener. I appreciate my teammates for

their efforts, and my smiling face signals openness to engaging in a fruitful conversation. I

maintain eye contact with the person to demonstrate my respect and interest while talking face to

face. Assertive communication work for me as it enables me to share my emotions, feelings, and

needs openly and honestly while still standing up for my beliefs and respecting others.

Suitable Occupations Associated with my Personality Type

My personality enabled me to be an outstanding administrator by delegating tasks and

responsibilities to others reasonably and impartially. I thrive on creating order by following rules

and structures. I can organize people and processes according to the project demand, which is the

requirement in administrative positions. I work hard to ensure that my team's work meets the

highest expectations, as well as mine. At work, adhering to specified obligations and performing

duties is always my top priority. I am also open to the opinions of my teammates that brings more

efficiency to the tasks.

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I was fortunate to be employed in a position that suited my personality and required me

to effectively lead a team of engineers and crew members on board. But because of my job, I was

required to be away from my family and friends for several months in a row, and I began to feel

homesick and lonely onboard. My life on board became more miserable due to a lack of human

contact and physical activity restrictions. To lead a stable life with my family, I decided to change

my field. As people with executive personality can become effective managers, and my past work

experience also demonstrates my ability to become a successful manager. Therefore, I plan to get

my first part-time job in Canada as a sales associate in the superstore and then climb the path one

by one to become a district manager.

Work Culture Preference

Employee efficiency and job satisfaction are significantly impacted by organizational culture

(Stephen & Stephen, 2016, p.44). Organizational culture significantly affects motivation,

encourages individual learning, influences communication, and enhances corporate values, group

decision-making, and conflict resolution. Therefore, working in preferred work culture will

increase my efficiency, motivation, decision-making and job satisfaction. To determine my

preferred work culture that aligns with the employer's values and priorities, I took a Self-

assessment at Connect platform on Corporate Culture Preference Scale. The following are the test

results: - Control culture- 2/6, Performance culture-2/6, Relationship culture- 5/6 and Responsive

culture- 4/6.

As indicated by the result, I prefer to work in an organization that provides a stable work

environment with equal learning and career growth opportunities. In addition, a workplace that is

responsive to innovation and experimenting with new ideas aligns with my preference. In my

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previous job, I used to work in a team, and a healthy relationship with the team is of utmost

importance to complete the projects on time. Moreover, the problem associated with tasks was

comprehensive, and we had to adopt new ways to solve the issues regularly. Therefore, I like the

work culture of my previous organization as it aligns with my preferences, and it helped me

perform better in the organization.

As I have decided to change my field, I started searching about various company's work

culture that aligns with my preference. Walmart fits into the criteria of my preferred work culture

because Walmart's immersive training curriculum is connected to a functioning supercenter,

enabling employees to undergo sales floor training in specialized retail skills and soft skills such

as communication and change management. Walmart also emphasizes employees to become

creative and take intelligent risks, which suits best to my personality. In addition, their work culture

is focused on assisting and empowering associates to represent customers daily. Therefore, I want

to start my career in Canada as a part-time sales associate in Walmart and eventually become a

District manager by following the career path.

Future aspirations and a strategy for success

I am a tenacious individual who believes in working diligently and strategically to

accomplish tasks and objectives. I prefer a participative leadership style, but according to Hersey

and Blanchard situational leadership model, since followers' abilities and willingness to perform

tasks vary so as a leader, I will also adapt my leadership style in response to followers

(Administrator, 2020). I like to maintain a prosperous environment around me in which everybody

can succeed and grow. A motivational environment encourages followers to reach success levels

that exceed the expectations of leaders (Isaac et al., 2001). Therefore, I will foster an inspirational

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work environment for my team members to succeed as a leader. At the workplace, I will use the

Johari Window method to improve my leadership skills because it allows a leader to recognize

where they need to improve and their blind spots (Labrie, 2017). It is perfect for getting people to

have honest discussions in the workplace and learning how to build confidence – two factors that

cannot be overstated in a productive workplace. I have a self-motivation factor which is the driving

force behind my accomplishments in life. I consider myself a lifelong learner who is eager and

capable of learning from experiences. I also excel at applying what I have learned to succeed in

new and challenging situations. To continuously improve my leadership effectiveness, I will use

the After Event Review strategy, which entails reflection and discussion on personal leadership

experiences (Hughes et al., 2019, p.52).

This exercise aided me in eliminating my perceptions and provided a chance to

reflect on myself. The result from the MBTI test has shown me my overall personality, strengths,

and weaknesses, which will help me analyze myself better. I will make a genuine effort to build

on my strengths and try to improve on my weaknesses. For Instance, by applying my extrovert

nature, I have made two critical connections at Walmart on LinkedIn to get my first job as a sales

associate in Canada. As part of my future planning, I have developed a roadmap of some career

objectives to accomplish.

➢ Complete the MBA degree with an area of focus on Marketing Management with good

grades.

➢ Earn Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) certification along with MBA program.

➢ Make more connections on the LinkedIn platform, especially at a higher management

level.

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➢ Develop my leadership skills by becoming more situationally aware.

➢ To get a position as a Sales Associate and show my dedication towards work by

accomplishing all tasks assigned to me.

➢ Make a senior manager at Walmart my mentor and follow his guidelines to improve myself

at the workplace.

➢ Make use of all the training provided by Walmart to the sales associate to align my skills

for climbing the career path.

➢ After graduating from UCW, get a permanent job at Walmart as an Assistant Manager.

➢ Following the development planning process to improve my behaviour while performing

daily work activities (Hughes et al., 2019, p.64).

Conclusion

This is the first opportunity for me to delve deeply into my personality, recognize myself better,

comprehend the qualities that have formed me into the person I am today, and prepare me for

achieving a vital future mission. This exercise also reveals my preference for a work culture

where I can thrive for the rest of my life. Now I have a clear picture in my mind about the short-

term tasks which I must complete to achieve my long-term goal. Furthermore, by remaining

rooted with my strengths, interacting effectively, and maintaining a healthy work environment,

I can inspire new ideas in those around me and develop into an effective leader.

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References

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Performance and Job Satisfaction: A Case Study of Niger Delta University, Amassoma. Higher

Education of Social Science, 11 (5), 36-45. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/236306004.pdf

- Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2019). Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of

Experience (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

- Showry M, & Manasa, K. V. L. (2014). Self-Awareness - Key to Effective Leadership. IUP

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02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=20942472&db=bth

- Administrator. (2020, April 18). Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership Model: Adapting

the Leadership Style to the Follower. Business-to- U. https://www.business-to-you.com/hersey-

blanchard-situational-leadership-model/.

- Labrie, P. (2017, February 27). How to See Your Blind Spot. Art of Leadership.

https://artofleadershipconsulting.com/blog/leadership/how-to-see-your-blind-spot/.

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