summary of management

Self-Reflection Paper

When I first started this class, I remember thinking to myself “I already know all of this.” I was under the impression that this would be a walk in the park and that I would be hearing information that I was already aware of. However, I am glad to say that I have acquired new skills and knowledge through this course that I am confident will help me as I grow professionally. The concepts that I benefited the most from are how to become an effective listener, develop an effective resume and cover letter, compose business emails, and achieve your goals in communicating negative news.

Most of the concepts, if not all, presented in class have been used continuously in my workplace. Learning how to become an effective listener was definitely an opportunity for me. To my surprise, I related most to the barriers to effective listening. I realized that I especially had trouble with keeping an open mind, holding my “fire,” faking attention, and wanting to speak instead of listen. Often times we are so passionate about what we believe is right and wrong and we tend to shut down other people’s perspectives. I found myself doing this because I was convinced that what I believe to be right is right and vice versa. Additionally, I would have a difficult time allowing myself to listen to the other speaker’s argument, logic, or reasons if I did not agree with them.

Faking attention is something I would frequently do in the workplace. As a personal banker, you also become a therapist to your clients. There were times when I would have so much paperwork to get done and my clients would want to talk to me about their personal matters. During these times, I found myself pretending to listen by shaking my head or occasionally saying “mhm;” although I had no clue what they were saying because I was trying to get my work done in between. Other times, I would be having a conversation with a coworker and I would wait for them to finish their sentence so that I could jump in and share my story because I considered mine to be “better.” However, all of these barriers have led me to realize that I was not being an effective listener in the workplace. I was even able to apply these concepts to my personal relationships and I feel that I have become a better person through my improvement.

The concept of developing an effective resume and cover letter has helped me tremendously. I have been very successful in obtaining jobs that I am interested in. Therefore, I thought that my resume and cover letters were at their highest potential. However, I learned that both my resume and cover letter needed much improvement. Learning how to customize them for the specific job will help open more opportunities for me.

In the workplace, the most common source of communication is via email. Through this course, I have learned how to properly and effectively compose those business emails. I constantly have to relay information to my clients and I always use a formal approach. Before taking this course, I was under the impression that if I needed to compose an email to a colleague, it would have to be just as formal. Now that we have discussed business emails in class, I feel that my peers are able to better understand my requests, while keeping the email concise, direct and professional.

Lastly, we discussed how to convey negative news. Delivering negative news is difficult and happens quite often in my industry. As a personal banker, I must inform clients, who have applied for an account, credit, or loan, whether they have been approved or declined. Letting them know that they have been declined is challenging because the goal is to retain their business while still declining a request. This class has allowed me to develop skills that will help me achieve my goal of keeping that business relationship even though I must decline a service the client is requesting. In doing so, I have made it a point to use an indirect approach and offer the client alternative services as well as let them know what I can do for them.

Completing this course has been an immense advantage for me as I move forward in my career. I have learned new skills and have been able to enhance existing ones. Going forward, I will reference this class in my business practices and use the knowledge and experience that I have acquired. I am thankful for these past 10 weeks and I look forward to applying what I have learned as I advance in my career.