MS Paper

Pre-Stress Management Scores

Skill Area Your Norm Group

Score Mean

The pre-stress management assessment is designed to measure one’s level of competency in stress management. Managing stress effectively is important to maintaining a high performance level. The three main drivers in the managing stress model are eliminating stressors, developing resiliency and short-term coping.

The eliminating stressors category measures an individual’s ability to create favorable environmental circumstances in which to work and live. Some examples are effective time management, delegating, collaborating and team building.

The ability to develop resiliency is the capacity of a person to withstand or manage the negative effects of stress, to bear through difficult situations and to bounce back from adversity. An important key of resiliency is having a healthy life balance. We should have various areas of development in which we are involved.

Short-term coping is the ability of a person to “press through” and endure stressors for a short period of time using effective strategies

My post-stress scores are shown on the next page and are actually a little lower than the pre-scores. I think it is because I better understood the questions in the post-test and what all was involved. The numerical difference in the score wasn’t great but it was enough of a drop to move me from the first quartile to the second quartile in scoring.

According to both the pre-test and the post - test, I scored below the mean in resiliency. I do actually consider myself a very resilient person and able to push through anything; however, I do believe that I need to achieve a better life balance. In particular, my life balance has too much focus towards work at this time. There is a definite lack of physiological resiliency, which comes from physical conditioning. This weakness will be discussed more in the Conclusions section of this paper.

Post-Stress Management Scores

Skill Area Your Norm Group

Score Mean

MOGISH PRE AND POST STRESS MANAGEMENT SCORES

Time Management Scores

This test is designed to measure how effectively you measure time personally and at work as stated in the chart above.

I scored in the second quartile of this test. I was not surprised by the result and was generally pleased. I have been aware that I need to manage my time more effectively. Studying this topic in our text has made me realize this even more. I tend too much of my time on urgent matters, responding to events. In addition, I sometimes fall into the typical patterns of time use as discussed in our text where I do what is easiest first such as routine or easy tasks.

I plan to focus on more efficient and effective time management. In particular, I plan to schedule “important” task time each day so that I am addressing high level tasks and setting aside time for them. I definitely try not to overschedule the day that is another challenge that I constantly face. I am working to determine what meetings that I truly need to participate in vs. attending all those to which I am invited. I believe I need to delegate more meetings and get my direct reports to give me the needed feedback. This will take training and coaching so they know what information they need to share with me. Finally, I’ve stopped allowing myself to spend 30 minutes doing a variety of easy tasks when I could be tackling a more important task that could be accomplished in those 30 minutes but which requires more concentration and focus.

MOGISH TIME MANAGEMENT SCORES

Type A Personality

This test measures an individual’s tendencies towards a Type A Personality by means of four criteria which are as follows: Extreme competitiveness, a significant life imbalance which is typically coupled with high work involvement, strong feelings of hostility and anger and an extreme sense of urgency and impatience. A score of “12” in each category indicates a measured tendency toward a Type A. The above chart shows my score in the blue and the red represents the “gap” or difference between my score and “12” or Type A personality. My overall score of 38 is considered to be in the bottom quartile. I was pleased with my score but a little surprised by how close I veer to a “12” in three of the categories. I need to work to improve my life balance as well as not having such a sense of urgency all the time. The diagram below outlines the behaviors that can lead to a Type A personality. This personality type is the most damaging to personal health.

Social Readjustment Rating Scale

The social readjustment assessment is a measure of stressful factors in your life. Based on the level of stress, it can be a predictor as to how likely you are to develop sickness or disease. I was happy to see that I scored low on this assessment. I feel very thankful for the low stress level. Due to the low score, I don’t believe there are any actions that I need to take with respect to this score at this time.

MOGISH Social Readjustment Rating Scale Score

PRE & Post Problem Solving, Creativity, & Innovation Scores

This instrument is designed to help discover a person’s level of competency in problem solving and creativity so they can tailor their learning to their specific needs.

I was fairly pleased with this score. I was above the group norm in all three categories in my post scores but still enough under the maximum score to clearly see that I have room for improvement in this area. In particular, I believe that I need to improve in the rational problem solving area based on its’ definition. This is consistent with my desire to operate more in the knowing realm of my cognitive style.

In addition, I plan to work more on my creative problem solving skills and this will be discussed in the Conclusions Section of this paper.

Mogish PRE & Post Problem Solving, Creativity, & Innovation Scores

“How Creative Are You?” Assessment

Creativity Score – 67 – Very Creative – Range 65-94 Top Quartile Score

This assessment is designed to determine if a person has the personality traits, attitudes, values, motivations, and interests that characterize creativity. It is based upon several year’s of study of attributes possessed by people in a variety of fields and occupations who think and act in a creative manner.

I was pleased with the results of this assessment. I do believe that I enjoy thinking outside the box and sometimes in an abstract manner. I would like to see my score go up in this category as I think creativity is very important. I tend to thrive most in the creativity type of investing and incubating.

Although I scored high overall, some of the other assessments that measure creativity were not as strong and I plan to work on developing different areas of my creative and problem solving skills. This will be discussed in more detail in the other sections dealing with results in this area as well as in the Conclusions section of my paper.

Innovative Attitude Scale Scoring

Skill Area: Innovative Attitude – Mogish Score 77.00 – Second Quartile (73-78), Norm Group Mean 73

This assessment measures how a person intends to or either does behave on the job. Twenty questions are used in measuring innovative attitude. Questions relate to a person’s openness to trying new things on the job, taking situations apart, tolerating people who deviate from routine, avoiding jumping to conclusions about other’s proposed ideas, demonstrate originality in work and a number of other questions.

Mogish Innovative Attitude Scale Scores

I was fairly pleased with the results of this assessment and my score did fall as expected. I consider myself open to new ideas, flexible and always willing to consider new ideas. I tend to be a leader in our group who is always suggesting and proposing new ways of doing things. However, I need to extend this to all areas of my job as I tend to compartmentalize this. I am strong at looking for innovative ways to empower others and manage the team but I’m not as innovative in looking for ways to do things differently within the technical aspect of our jobs. I plan to focus more on taking apart and examining the technical aspects.

Creative Style Assessment

Overall my scores are inconsistent and generally below the mean. The discussion below evaluates each category and the chart on the following page further graphs the results.

The imagine category relates to behaviors such as being willing to experiment, take risk, exhibit transformational thinking and exhibit unique visions. I also scored under the mean in this category. I think it is due to my tendency to want to not make mistakes and to be accurate in whatever I undertake. My Kiersey temperament survey indicates that I am one who likes to safeguard and protect the structure and system. I think that part of my temperament may be a factor in my reluctance to take risks.

The incubate category is correlated to empowering people, building trust, coordinating, involving and capitalizing on teamwork. In this area, I scored closer to the mean. These are areas in which I am comfortable and that I scored high in the PAMS area.

In the “invest” category, I scored very high and significantly above the mean. This is the “be first” category and defines quick response, competitive approaches and attaching problems directly. This does describe my behavior pretty well and is something that has served me well in a fast paced industry that rewards quick thinking and problem resolution.

I scored very low in the “improve” category and was very surprised at my results of this test in the improvement category. I believe it shows some real weakness. Improvement is defined in our text as “be better”. Behaviors that align with this are: incremental improvements, process control, systematic approaches, careful methods and clarifying problems.

As noted above, this chart shows the data in a little different format and provides a different perspective.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS TESTS

Building Relationships by Communicating Supportively,

Gaining Power and Influence,

Motivating Others, Managing Conflict

PRE & Post Communicating Supportively Scores

Comparison Data: Compared to approximately 6,000 psychology students, business students, practicing managers.

MOGISH PRE & Post Communicating Supportively Scores

This instrument is designed to measure an individual’s level of competency in communicating supportively so that they can design and tailor their learning to specific areas of need. I was pleased by my overall score and was not surprised by the results. I consider supportive communication one of my strengths both personally and professionally. I was pleased by the results and will continue to focus on maintaining and further building my skills in this area. Attending DBU and focusing on being a servant leader will make a significant difference in continuing to develop and hone these skills.

Mogish Breakdown of PRE and Post Communicating Supportively Scores

Communication Styles – Part I

The purpose of this assessment (part I) is to determine how an individual typically responds in supportive listening. The most skilled supportive communicators score 9 or above on Reflecting responses and 6 or more on Probing responses. They score 2 or less on Advising responses and 4 or less on Deflecting responses. My scores are generally in line with the most skilled supportive scores. Below is a table that shows my scores.

The graph below shows how my scores compare to the norm group mean and to the most skilled supportive communicators. My scores generally pleased me; however, there is room for improvement, particularly in the probing area. This will be discussed in more depth in the Conclusions section of this paper.

The table below provides the definitions of each of the four categories of communication.

Communication Styles – Part II

Part II of this assessment is based on a series of four questions which one answers. The answers that the most skilled communicators select are then provided. The alternatives that I selected in each case were aligned with the responses of the most skilled communicators. I was pleased by the result of this communication style assessment.

The most skilled communicators select alternatives 1a, 2b, 3a, 4b and 5a.

PRE & Post Gaining Power and Influence Scores

This assessment instrument is designed to help an individual determine their level of competency in gaining power and influence so they can adapt their learning to their specific area of need. I was not surprised at these scores. I anticipated being fairly low in this category, as I don’t think that I am particularly good at gaining power and influence. I don’t mind being a “background” person and don’t particularly like the concept of gaining power although I understand the necessity. The concept of influence is something that I can understand better and I know that a leader must possess influence in order to lead. I believe my post-test scores went up because I actually started incorporating some of the concepts into my work routine. How I am using these results will be discussed in the Conclusions section of this paper. These results show that I do score right at or slightly above (post score) the norm group mean in this area.

Using Influence Strategies Scores

This assessment is designed to measure your primary and secondary influence strategies. My primary influence strategy is reason and my secondary is reciprocity. I am lowest in the area of retribution. These three influence strategies are grouped into these three broad categories that represent the three common strategies used by managers to obtain compliance. I am pleased that I scored highest in the area of reason.

The influence strategy of reason involves showing others that it makes sense to do what you say. The direct approach to this is to present facts or needs. The indirect approach to this strategy is to appeal to personal values or goals. I do agree with this result as I believe in an open and direct approach to issues and I like to present people with the facts.

The influence strategy of reciprocity is one of exchange and ingratiation. It helps other want to do what you say. I do use this strategy a lot. I try to help others see the benefit of positive actions or the negative impact of unsatisfactory action.

The other strategy of retribution is the strategy that forces others to do what you say. The direct approach to this would be to use coercion and the indirect approach would be to use pressure or intimidation. This is my least favored approach although there are times that this approach has to be used. This is the “last resort” method for me though after the other two have failed or in a crisis situation where a critical issue has to be addressed immediately.

There is not a “right” or “wrong” strategy, as managers must use all of these at different times although each does have pros and cons. It is noted though that those who use the reason approach primarily tend to be rated as more highly effective by their managers and report lower levels of job related stress as well as higher levels of job satisfaction.

PRE & Post Diagnosing Poor Performance and Enhancing Motivation Scores

This instrument is designed to help an individual determine their level of competency in motivating others. A key component of being able to motivate others who aren’t motivated is that a manager must be able to identify the source for their lack of motivation. It could be related to ability or it could be another factor such as health, work schedule, etc. Thus, enhancing motivation is more than just keeping motivated employees motivated. It also related to determining how to diagnose poor perform. This test assessment was comprised of 20 questions that measured one’s skill in this area.

I was pleased that in both the pre-test and post test that I scored in the top quartile. I think the reason that I scored well on this is that I understand and look beyond surface actions and behavior, in order to diagnose poor performance. It is very important to me so that I accurately address performance issues appropriately. As a manger, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having to let an employee go who did not have the ability to do a job. This assessment and action came after careful evaluation. Other times, I’ve identified poor performance due to a variety of factors. I think I am pretty skilled in this area although I definitely learned some helpful techniques and strategies in our text regarding this topic.

I’ve also given additional attention to this topic due to the fact that all three of my raters scored me lower in the area of “motivating others” than I scored myself and their scores were perfectly consistent. I have found a weak area in my motivating skills and that is in dealing with dysfunctions in the team. In our lecture for the chapter on motivating others, an article by Patrick Lencioni was referenced in which different team dysfunctions are discussed. I identified Dysfunction #4 in one of my teams and have addressed based on the steps outlined. I will further detail this in the Conclusions section.

Work Performance Assessment Scores

This assessment involved answering 14 questions related to one’s current job position or recent position . Measured were one’s thoughts related to each of the areas indicated on the chart below. Any individual score greater than 7 is considered an obstacle to performance. Total Scores over 50 represent significant and broad-based motivational deficiencies.

My highest score (which is a “low” score) is in the area of resources. I wear two hats in my region. I directly manage individual contributors and I manage leaders. I am the only regional in my peer group who manages both of these groups. Due to this, I am stretched and feel that sometimes I don’t keep all the “plates spinning” as well as I should. Due to phenomenal growth in our region this past year, we have outgrown our physical space and have no room to put any more employees. Although I have a need to hire at least one more person and possibly two, I am unable to hire due to resource constraint. In addition, I probably need to hire a manager in Texas instead of continuing to directly manage this team. I can’t address these issues though until the Fall of 2013, when we move into our larger space.

My scores are in the third quartile that is a good score. The most favorable score would be to score in the bottom quartile, which would be 23 or below.

Pre & Post Managing Interpersonal Conflict Scores

This instrument is designed to help an individual discover their level of competency in managing conflict. I did score above the mean on both tests. I was generally pleased with the results. A series of 24 questions were a part of this assessment. I scored higher on the pre test (quartile) than the posttest. I believe this is because I better understood the questions after studying the text on this topic. I clearly identified some weaknesses in how I manage conflict. Because of my tendency to gravitate to an accommodating and compromising style, I discovered that I was actually masking over some conflict that has been ongoing in one of my teams. In applying principles directly from our text and lecture materials, I confronted the problem/conflict and am seeing very positive results from it. How I plan to approach conflict and overcome weaknesses in this area will be discussed in more depth in the Conclusions section of this paper.

Strategies for Handling Conflict Scores

Forcing – this style is a “get your own way” style. It is a very authoritative style. This is the style for which I scored the lowest. I don’t like this quality in others and would never want this to be a part of how I treat others.

Accommodating - this is the style in which I scored highest. I am a person who likes to maintain harmonious relationships. This definitely “hits the nail on the head” in many cases. I can see that I have sometimes done this even at the expense of accomplishing team goals. This is an area in which I want to improve and I will discuss in the Action section of this paper.

Compromising – I scored fairly high in this area also. I definitely see myself falling into this behavior at times, in some ways, even more than the accommodating style. I have a tendency to get to the point and directly attack an issue, which leads to my thought of “let’s just resolve this and move on”. This can actually prevent a person from finding real solutions to problems.

Avoiding – I scored low in this area. I don’t tend to avoid conflict. I’m not afraid to deal with conflict or to take responsibility and don’t like when things are not addressed. I wasn’t surprised that I scored lower in this area.

Integrating - I was pleased that this is one of the areas in which I scored fairly high. This is the best approach of the five outlined here. This is where you collaborate and seek to find solutions together by truly trying to solve the problem. I do use this approach a lot but sometimes fall back to accommodating or compromising in order to get to a quick solution or to maintain harmony. How to develop more of an integrating style will be discussed in the Action section of this paper.

GROUP SKILLS TESTS

Empowering and Delegating

Building Effective Team and Teamwork

Leading Positive Change

Personal Empowerment Assessment Scores

The mean scores, top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 scores reflect scores from approximately 3,000 middle managers in manufacturing and service organizations .

MOGISH PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT SCORES

Please note that in the above chart, the top 1/3 and the bottom 1/3 values are the plotted values and then > than.

The purpose of this assessment is to help identify the extent to which an individual is empowered in his or her own job. I was pleased by my results. I enjoy my job and have a lot of autonomy in my position. My manager is several states away and the most senior manager in my group/business line. She trusts me and I am expected to do my job with very minimal guidance. I like working this way, it allows me to be independent, creative and innovative at times with how I mange my team.

PRE & Post Team Development Behaviors Scores

POST - Team Development Behaviors Score

This This asse MOGISH TEAM DEVELOPMENT SCORES

This assessment is designed to help an individual discover their level of competency in building teams. My score does exceed the group norm. I was pleased with my score. I scored above the mean in both the pre and posttest and in the top quartile. A big part of building effective teams involves supporting, harmonizing, confronting, energizing, developing, empathizing, relieving tension and consensus building. These are all behaviors that I consider myself to be able to perform in the “unconscious skilled” area. These areas are highly developed for me. I did, however, learn several things in this chapter, particularly in the realm of setting SMART goals and Everest goals for the team. I work closely with individuals and other leaders who report to me in helping them set their personal goals but only recently have I begun to be more focused and communicative about team goals.

Diagnosing the Need for Team Building Score

The mean score was derived from a comparison of 5,000 students

This assessment involved answering 20 questions about team dynamics in an organization in which we are participating or have participated. Some examples of questions were: output has declined, complaints are increasing, lack of clear goals exists, people work too slowly, there is redundancy, etc.

I did “pick” a current day example. I choose to diagnose my Texas team. This team is compromised of 6 individuals who are highly experienced professionals with many years of experience. All of the team members have worked together at least three years. They work fairly independently as well as interdependently. They exhibit many if not all of the attributes of a highly performing team.

I was pleased with the outcome of this score and that the team scored in the bottom quartile, means that the team is a high, developed and well functioning team.

MOGISH TEAM BUILDING SCORES

PRE & POST - Leading Positive Change

Breakdown of Leading Positive Change

The purpose of this assessment is to help one discover their level of competency in problem solving and creativity so that learning can be tailored to the need. The assessment consisted of 20 questions. Some of the questions asked where about creating positive energy in others when interacting with them, forgiving them for mistakes, express gratitude frequently, keeping track of positive actions and not just negatives one, using more positive than negative feedback, modeling integrity and taking advantage of the small wins strategy in change initiatives.

The questions in this assessment are areas in which it was relatively easy for me to answer with definitively affirmative answers. I was not surprised at my results as I consider myself an energetic person who is able to encourage and motivate others. I scored above the mean in all three-competency components. My score did drop slighty from the pre test to the post-test but I believe this is as with some of the other assessments, I understood the questions better on the post-test. Being aware of these questions will be how I will manage these test results. I will embrace the behaviors listed in this assessment and seek to always incorporate them into my daily activities.

Machiavellianism Scale – MACH IV Scores

This scale measures a person’s general orientation toward dealing with other people, especially the extent to which they tend to manipulate others in interpersonal situations. High scores on this scale are the opposite of the qualities needed for effective leadership of positive change. That is, authenticity, genuineness, optimism, gratitude, humility, and emotional sensitivity are all characteristics of effective leaders of positive change, but this scale measures the extent to which people are cynical, distrustful, and manipulative.

Lowest possible score is -60, and the highest possible score is +60. A score of 0 is a neutral point. An average overall score would be 10.6.

I am pleased with my score in this area. I really didn’t know what to expect when taking this test. I believe it is a pretty accurate assessment of my values and beliefs in these areas. I am an individual who likes forthrightness, optimism and I believe in believing the best of others – trusting. This is one score that I’m glad to be in the bottom quartile.

OTHER TESTS

Kiersey Temperament Report,

Role Relationship Exercise

And Listening Skills

KIERSEY

Custom Keirsey Temperament Report for: Susan Mogish

Your Keirsey Temperament Sorter Results indicates that your personality type is

that of the Guardians (SJ's) are the cornerstone of society, for they are the temperament

given to serving and preserving our most important social institutions. Guardians

have natural talent in managing goods and services--from supervision to

maintenance and supply -- and they use all their skills to keep things running

smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and

businesses.

Guardians can have a lot of fun with their friends, but they are quite serious

about their duties and responsibilities. Guardians take pride in being dependable

and trustworthy; if there's a job to be done, they can be counted on to put their

shoulder to the wheel. Guardians also believe in law and order, and sometimes

worry that respect for authority, even a fundamental sense of right and wrong, is

being lost. Perhaps this is why Guardians honor customs and traditions so

strongly -- they are familiar patterns that help bring stability to our modern,

fast-paced world.

Practical and down-to-earth, Guardians believe in following the rules and

cooperating with others. They are not very comfortable winging it or blazing new

trails; working steadily within the system is the Guardian way, for in the long run

loyalty, discipline, and teamwork get the job done right. Guardians are meticulous

about schedules and have a sharp eye for proper procedures. They are cautious

about change, even though they know that change can be healthy for an

institution. Better to go slowly, they say, and look before you leap.

Guardians make up as much as 40 to 45 percent of the population, and a good

thing, because they usually end up doing all the indispensable but thankless jobs

everyone else takes for granted.

As a Protector (ISFJ), you offer a high level of commitment and stability to

support the organization. You provide comfort gently and helpfully, and see to

others' well-being. You are likely to work quietly in the background assuring that

procedures are followed and details attended to. As a Protector, you are willing to

roll up your sleeves to help the team and follow through until the task is

complete. Protectors can be the hardest workers doing tasks nobody else will to

do.

The purpose of this test is to provide insight into your personality type and define what areas and jobs that you are most likely to feel comfortable. I felt that the results were very accurate for me. I am a person who likes to keep things running smoothly and keep the system intact. It portrayed me fairly accurately in saying that I am generally not comfortable with blazing new trails although I have been involved in several start up businesses/offices and some ministries as well. However, I am not a big risk taker. I do like to work quietly in the background and don’t seek a lot of recognition or attention although I do appreciate and value gratitude and encouragement very highly.

I was a little disappointed by the results although I feel it represents me. I would like to be more of a “blazing trails” type person and not be so meticulous and steady at times. I think that these qualities suit me well for my job and are probably one reason that I’ve been successful in it. I am seeking, however, to become more comfortable with ambiguity and to not be so uncomfortable with uncertainty. I don’t mind being a Guardian but would like to be an adventurous Guardian!

It was encouraging to me that Mother Teresa is identified as the same personality type as me because she is one of my heroes and I definitely consider her a trailblazer.

I probably won’t use these results to change anything that I am currently doing now but it has deepened my self-awareness, which is a positive and important part of leadership.

ROLE RELATIONSHIP EXERCISE

Role Relationship Exercise

The following are several roles that I interact from personally on a regular basis: Wife, Mother, Friend, Manager, Employee, Sponsorship Coordinator, Trip Leader, and Church Member

Some phrases that describe what I am and what I am not: I am easygoing, optimistic, hard worker, loving, caring, honest, direct, diplomatic, kind, fun, sometimes silly, Bible reader, studier, reader, learner, and creative. I am not lazy, skinny, tall, shy, timid, opinionated, and unhappy.

The following people are those with whom I "identify" as a "hero"; they are people who were instrumental in the shaping and forming of my "frame of reference"...values, beliefs, aspirations, life style, goals. My mother, my grandmother and my great Aunt Irene are all heroes to me. My mother for all the Christian values she taught and lived, my grandmother for her generous and forgiving spirit, my Aunt Irene for her patience and love for everyone, my Uncle Roy, my childhood friend, Susie for her pure faith, my pastor growing up who taught the Word so eloquently and inspired me to faith, Leslie Jones (as a mother and wife), my mother-in-law for her commitment and servant spirit that she shows to family and others and my husband for providing a living example of a servant’s heart.

Following is a list of people who weren’t necessarily acquaintances or even alive during my developmental years...but I have identified with them by reading a biography or seeing a film, etc. Mother Teresa’s life has influenced me greatly. I admire her very much.

Roles and Relationships with Others – “Power” structure of relationship

Personal Relationship with: Mom – Subordinate in Childhood – Equal in Adulthood – Friends

Husband – Equal

Children - Superior as parent but shifting to equal

Daughter – Subordinate

Daughter in Law – Equal – Friends

Manager - Subordinate

SELF-DESCRIPTORS

LIFE INFLUENCES

Reflections - Collective Gains Chart

Influences Role Models:

The primary influences in my life are represented above by a chart that conceptually shows the amount of influence that the various role models have had in my life. My mother has been the primary influence.

Negative Role Models:

The most "negative" role model in my life whom I would not want to be like is a co-worker who is a manager in a different division. The person is deceptive and manipulative and looks out only for only their interests.

LISTENING SKILL EXERCISE

This assessment measures one’s effectiveness in listening skills. I was not surprised at my score; it was about where I anticipated. This is an area that I most definitely want to improve. In order to be a more active listener, I am working to maintain more eye contact with the person when I’m talking to them. My biggest weakness though is to jump to conclusions and not listen to the entire message. Either my mind wanders or I “jump” in and say that I know what they are talking about. I am working to be more deliberate and methodical in my listening.

Written Communication Style

I am a strong communicator both in written communication and in verbal communication. During the basket exercise I didn’t have any difficulty writing the memos, responding to e-mails or with any of the written communication. My struggle was more with the decision-making and prioritization of how to manage the situations but not in how to communicate. I believe I have strong written communication skills and I tend to be careful with written communications. I tend to read over significant e-mails before sending them out. In addition, I always proof any papers, letters or more formal communications that I send.

SECTION III

CONCLUSIONS AND PLAN OF ACTION

My communication style is supportive and I rely almost equally on the cognitive styles of knowing, planning and creating. I consider myself strong in my management skills and three people whom I respect have given me strong results in this area also. All scores consistently place me in the top quartile. I am a fairly creative problem solver and innovator although I am strongest in creativity in the area of investment. Investment is a behavior characterized by rapid and strong decision-making and action. I am effective with supportive communication and score well in all four-communication styles of deflecting, probing, advising and reflecting. With respect to overall communication styles, I scored consistently with the strongest communicators. I don’t score as strongly in the area of gaining power and influence as I do in the other areas. I have some strength in this area but also have some definite areas that need improvement. I tend to rely most on reason as my influence strategy although I also rely heavily on reciprocity. I score high in the category of motivating others and managing interpersonal conflict. I tend though, to rely too much on an accommodating style and even compromising style at times in dealing with conflict. I enjoy empowering others and am very strong in this category as well as in the delegation category. I am fortunate to feel personally empowered in my current position. I enjoy leading positive change and score very well in this area. I score low on the Machiavellianism scale that is a positive for strong leadership. Overall, I scored very highly in almost all the areas of communication. I am a guardian and protector type person who enjoys supporting others and being in the background. I am a rule follower and tend to support values that support the law and order of society although I recognize at times that there is a higher moral order that must be addressed. I am a committed and stable individual and willing to work hard to accomplish a task. In the area of listening, I am a fairly good listener.

Overall, I have been satisfied with many of my scores on most of the assessments in this course although not all. I have been a manager in the corporate world for eight years and manage individual contributors and leaders. In addition, in my corporate capacity, I manage remotely and lead several teams that have specialized goals and functions. Finally, I lead teams of people to Russia on short-term mission trips. I enjoy working with people, helping them succeed and achieving positive results. I am regularly assessed within my company as to managerial effectiveness and score well. My skills results overall are consistent with those of a skilled and professional and manager. Although they are strong overall, there are, however, definite areas in which I need to improve. Those areas that are strong can also be strengthened to “top box” scores. This is my goal.

I have created a table below which shows the quartile in which I scored for those assessments measured by that methodology. I will be primarily addressing the lower scoring areas in this section as part of my plan of action. An asterisk in the table marks the primary items for discussion. In addition, I will be addressing other skill assessments that aren’t outlined on the chart due to their measurement method.

Generally speaking, with respect to the PERSONAL skills area, My PAMS results were strong and in the top quartile. I also scored high in the area of emotional intelligence and self-awareness. I think this is partly due to being a more mature individual with many years of experience in the business world. I also attribute it to how I was raised in my home growing up and to the Christian values that I was taught. I generally handle stress well, manage time fairly well and scored well in the area of creativity. I am, however, addressing the area of Motivation for which my PAMS scorers scored me lower than I scored myself.

With respect to the INTERPERSONAL skills area, I score well in the communicating supportively category. My weakest scores in this area are with respect to the influencing others. I am fairly skilled and scored well at managing conflict. I have addressed some additional skill development strategies in the area of Motiviation.

Regarding the GROUP skills, I scored highly in all areas within this category. The skills within this area are those that are the most natural and easiest to me to practice. I have had a lot of practice in this area as everyday I work to empower others and delegate work to them. Delegation is something that I have learned to do over the years as a manager. I used to take on a lot more myself but have learned to release tasks to others.

Finally, regarding the OTHER skills and the listening skill area, in particular, I will be working to be a more active listener.

MOGISH GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF TEST RESULTS

*Areas of primary discussion

Plan of Action for Improving Skills

PERSONAL SKILLS

I will focus on the five main areas as outlined in the chart below for the improvement of personal skills.

LOCUS of Control

I scored below the mean in this area. My main area of concern with the lower score is that there is a strong correlation between highly effective managers and high scores on this assessment. I think that in part that I need more confidence in myself. I don’t want to lose my perspective on faith and that I believe that God is ultimately in control. I think this external focus partially attributed to my lower score. I do think, however, that a realization and belief that more things are within my realm of control will help me to be a better leader. I plan to pay more attention to the things around me with the intention to improve my recall of facts and to become a better “storyteller” so that I can recap important facts and information to people. This is a quality of people with a strong locus of control. I have already begun to be more self-aware of my confidence level and of paying attention to certain information so that I can recap it more effectively and be a better storyteller.

I also plan to do some more research and study on the LOCUS of Control so I can understand it better. Specifically, I will read an article recommended by my professor in the British Journal of Psychology related to this topic. I plan to read this article over the summer.

Tolerance of Ambiguity

Although I have taken risks a few times in my career (such as my move to my current job), generally, I am not a risk taker. I am very analytical and like to have all the facts in order before I act. I do get uncomfortable with ambiguity. I am going to make a concerted effort to be less uptight about change and uncertainty. There is a project going on within our business line right now that initially caused me to feel very uncertain. In studying this issue during this course, it made me realize that this area of weakness was causing me additional stress. I determined to consciously let go of my fears and stresses regarding that situation. Although the situation is still pending, I am not experiencing fear and uncertainty. I am approaching it with a healthier attitude and hope to contribute some good ideas to a major process change that is possibly underway. Thus, the timeline on this is immediate and ongoing.

Managing Stress

I scored well in this area overall, however, I have one specific area that I am seeking to improve which is the area of resiliency. In this category, I scored below the mean. I know this is due to my lack of regular physical exercise. Over the past year, I have begun working longer and later hours. By the time I get home, I don’t want to take a walk or do anything that requires physical exertion. I need to discipline myself to get at least a few minutes of exercise in the morning and in the evening when at all possible. I had already started to work on this aspect of resiliency earlier this year and will continue to pursue more regular and disciplined physical exercise. Thus, the timeline for this is immediate and ongoing.

Creativity

An aspect of creativity is generating additional solutions. I applied this concept to a difficult situation with an employee who is a high performer but is chronically late to work. The person gets their work done but has health issues and they lean heavily on this as their reason for being late. I know that the health issues are genuine but the lateness is still a problem that needs to be addressed. It has been a touchy issue for me to work through; especially considering the person does quality work. I have worked with this employee for months to try to correct the problem. I’ve used every conflict and motivating strategy available to a manager. Finally, after reading the chapter on creativity, I decided to generate a new proposal/solution. I suggested that the employee target two days a week to be in at a certain time (required time) and gradually work up to every day. We also generated requirements and expectations for certain meetings. This solution seemed to give “hope” to the employee that it was something obtainable. It was also partly an application of the “small wins strategy”. I know the employee can do this but to them, they are overburdened by the health problem and couldn’t see it. Thus, I’ve already begun applying some of the concepts from our study on Creativity and am having some positive results.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS