Discuss being an Independent Thinker

Requirement

Discuss being an independent thinker with confidence in their own potential and values, and the ability to express their views sensitively and effectively.

Solution

1. INTRODUCTION:

It is a personal reflective journal that I am presenting here, this journal is an outcome of an exercise where I retrospect my personal growth under the framework of Johari window, Kolb cycle, and Gibbs cycle. Most of the reflections presented in this journal are based on active experimentation, where I tried to develop my own coaching cycles to attend certain issues.

Core Skill One 

The first core skill to be discussed is Time Management. Personal time management is a skill that allows us to plan the events in the optimum fashion so that we can attend all the important works and give them their quality time. For me, the main purpose of time management skill is to introduce effectiveness. The definition is given by management experts also teaches us the same thing (Croft, 1996)

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Why is this core skill important

In my views, time Management is a vital key to success as this provides a strong foundation to succeed in all of the life's aspects. During the phase of my introduction to the skill of time management, I realized that time management is much more than following a schedule. Time management is equally about spending quality time with the task that you have in your hands (Grissom, 2015).

Figure 1: The diagram of Pareto Principle, it describes the essence of time management, how selection of effort levels can change the efficiency levels
Pareto Principle a universal principle where one can learn to increase his or her efficiency by first breaking down the tasks on the merit of utility and then fix the amount of time that he or she wants to allocate for that.  It clearly states that spend quality time with vital tasks and try to accommodate trivial tasks with the flow of the events. On a personal level, I am adopting this practice in order to improve my time management skills.

How competent are you currently? 

In a recent Peer-to-Peer survey done in my additional classes for the management suggested that I am a punctual person and I can be trusted for deadlines. When I measure up the projection of this skill in Johari window then I find that I am in an open arena because everybody is aware of my trait of punctuality. 

Figure 2 My standings in the Johari window for the skill of time management
From my first experience, I feel my time management competency has improved drastically. Even though I may have learned this way through my life it was only when I was introduced to Kolb's learning cycling (Kolb's, 1984) I was made aware of my learning style. My peers have also noticed how I well I manage my time and always approach me for support as they know that the chances I am up to date with my work very likely.

 Figure 3 My standing in the Kolb learning and reflection cycle
Gibbs reflective cycle also treats me at the level of feelings in the terms of standing, the reason is very simple, I have made some action plans for effective time management. Now I am in a course of implementation, where good and bad experiences are coming my way.  
 
Figure 4  my standing in the Gibbs Reflective Cycle for Time management

Contradictions or allowable weaknesses in my analysis 

My learning cycle taught me that the concept of quality time as the most important feature for any type of time management. Quality time demands complete focus on the task and sometimes it can become a tough job to stay focused on the task that you are dealing with. This is my weakness, probably with a passage of time, I will train myself in this art of staying focused and setting up deadlines for the simplest of the tasks.  

How will this skill help me in the future? 

The art of time management will help me a great deal setting up an example for others; in future, I can also expect that it will become a leadership trait for me. The art of proper time management can help me in becoming a well-organised professional.  

Core Skill Two

The essence of second core skill is related to “handling the feedbacks.” Feedbacks are an essential part of the official life of an individual. Providing a sensible feedback and handling criticism and appreciation coming in the form of feedback is an essential quality and it helped me a great deal in growing up as a human being and as a through professional.  

The importance of this core skill 

A feedback is a communication with a purpose, every check and balance exercise is a form of feedback.  Last year during the month of June I attended a Webinar on the topic of “how to receive and prepare” feedbacks, this Webinar provided me with a better understanding of my personality. The tests conducted during the webinar suggested that primarily I am an extrovert who can put his thoughts with great ease. Being an extrovert can be considered as the first step towards being a person who can deliver feedbacks (POPESCU, 2016). 
My standings in the Johari window for the core skill of “feedback” keep me in open arena. Where my peers can see a great possibility for me in the terms of giving away feedbacks and receiving them.
  
Figure 5 My standing for the core skill of feedback in the Johari window. 
When I talk in the terms of improvement of this skill then ideally I can say that I am on the stage of action plan where I am learning about new words and methods to communicate my feelings to others. My seniors and peers are helping me a great deal in improving this skill and their feedbacks are giving me some new additions in my action plan. 
It is a phase of active experimentation for me in the Kolb framework. I am making some notes that can be termed as Reflective observations.  These observations are bringing in the real fruits of my active experiments by contributing to my learning curve largely.  

Figure 6 My standing for "handling the feedbacks in Kolb cycle 
My current competence levels with the skill of receiving and giving feedbacks
I must say that I need to rework on my dictionary of the words. It is very important because sometimes-crude words can spoil many things for you. Now I also make it sure that rather than talking in the tone of a critic I should talk like a person who is more interested in reforms. I am also learning this art of alienating my emotional baggage while giving feedbacks. I am a human being in the end and may have likes and dislikes for people, however, it is my attempt to remove the shadows of these likes and dislikes from the feedbacks that I am producing. 
Contradictions or allowable weaknesses in my analysis 
It is very difficult to draw a line between honesty and cruel honesty, sometimes feedbacks can become a tool of reform for an adamant. It means they can be very cruel and unpleasant. Sometimes situations demand a bitter pill like treatment, this is one area where assessments of the events fail.  

3.4 How will this skill help me in the future

Coming up with nice feedback is a leadership trait that has the power to change the dynamisms of a (Adair, 2013). I am polishing this skill because it will help me in acquiring the position of a leader in the team. After a point of time, it becomes a managerial trait.  I am also studying the list of Johari adjectives because they form the standards of the feedback in various institutions.

Core skill Three 

The third core skill for which I went for a retrospect is leadership skills. Leadership skill is a set of traits that allows an individual to lead a team and help them in realizing their objectives. 

Importance of leadership skill 

Leadership skill is very necessary to have a steady career graph, leadership has the power to increase your efficiency and give a justification to your experience that you are gaining in the field of job. Leadership skill is all about taking and sharing the responsibilities.  
My Current Competence level with the skill of leadership 
During the course of my personal reflective analysis, I went for many online tests where they try to search out the presence of leadership traits in you. My score in most of the tests was average, it is a matter of worry, because getting an entry in any trade is an easy task, sustaining yourself in the same trade under the pressures of job can be difficult if you do not have a set of leadership qualities in you.  
I must say that I have a long road ahead of me when it comes to leadership skill because it requires an experience of life clubbed together with a positive and progressive outlook towards the future.  
In the Johari window analysis I find myself in the blind arena of the windowpane, I failed to perform better in the leadership skill tests it clearly indicates that in the Johari window I fall in an unknown area or the second pane because I am not aware of my own limitations and talents.

Figure 7 My status in the Johari window for the skill of leadership 
 
Kolb framework also finds me on the beginning stage of abstract conceptualization. I can put myself on this stage because currently, I am clueless about certain leadership traits. Reading them in a book of management and acting upon them in the real world or in tests conducted by websites is a different ball game.  

Figure 8 My standings in the Kolb learning and reflective cycle for leadership skills 
Contradictions or allowable weaknesses in my analysis
Study of human character and coming up with strategies to keep them on a positive note is a very important trait of a leader, I am certainly lacking far behind in this trait. For this, I am also planning to consult some books on psychology and motivational self-help books as well.  
How will this skill help me in the future? 
Johari Framework strongly talks about a therapy where a person can enter in the right windowpane by dong some exercises. As a leader, it is very important for me to see myself in this framework, go for a therapy and then move on to other subjects for the same. The skill of leadership can increase my growth opportunities a great deal and provide sustainability to my career graph quite effectively.  

Core Skill Four 

In order to write this reflective journal, I studied my personal behavior under the framework of "teamwork" as well. Teamwork is a combined action of a group of people heading for a unified set of goals and objectives (Parker, 2011).

Importance of Teamwork as a core skill

The formation of a correct team can multiply the output of the endeavor. While going out for a personal analysis for the purpose of a reflective journal I benchmarked myself under the guidelines of the Belbin’s theories, as the first step I tried to figure out my personality traits and once I figured out that then I tried to know about the perception of the others about me. It is very important to understand the fact that what others are thinking about you, otherwise the things can go in a wrong direction for any individual.

My competency level with the skill of teamwork 

Recently I participated in a poster making competition, it was more of a management game, where I was required to ideate a poster with my team members, one of them was good at copywriting skill, and one member was good at the skill of drawing. Just like some other members of the team, I was not having any core competence to participate actively in the process. However, I figured out a role for myself when I became the bouncing board of the team and started reacting from the point of view of a team.  I got this reflection that even in the absence of a proper set of skills I am willing to act like a true team player at times.  

Figure 9: My standings for the skill of teamwork in the Johari Window

Contradictions or allowable weaknesses in my analysis

It is true that I am a team player and I try to figure out a role in the team, however, this is a lenient approach and it brings me into a zone where I can become a burden on any given team where the numbers of the players are restricted. My thought process of thinking, doing and linking suggests that I need to polish this skill of being a team player more effectively. 

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How will this skill help me in the future? 

Working with teams is an essential trait because in the end of the day it is a team that wins or loses a game. I am a team player, this I can say based on my performance in the management game where we were supposed to make posters, in the absence of a definitive role for me I tried and figured out a role for myself. This shows my keenness and I find myself standing at the stage of evaluation in the Gibbs Reflective cycle, I evaluated myself very rapidly and fixed a role for myself, it was a good experience for me, in the similar fashion, I would like to go for some more good experiences.  

Figure 10 My  Standings in the Gibbs reflective cycle for the skill of teamwork

Summary and Action Plan:

The selection of Teamwork, feedback, and leadership as the primary skills was deliberate. On a reflective note, I would like to share my bigger purpose behind the exercise. I want to emerge as a successful leader in the industry circles. My knowledge or my core competence will definitely play the key role or the major role in the process, but the importance of above-mentioned skills cannot be declined in the process. Leadership skills sometimes guarantee a long lasting career and when I look at myself in this area then I find that I have to develop a set of skills that can help me as a potential leader of the future. 
I have some elaborated plans for the second year of my studies. My retrospection exercise for this particular assignment suggests that apart from the above-mentioned traits I should also focus on the core skills of critical thinking and communications. They also have a role to play in my development as a leader.  In the coming year, I want to see my growing in the positive direction on the scales of Johari, Kolb, and Gibbs.   
I can also share it in the form of an objective, during the next year I wish to see myself growing with these skills on three levels. First, I want to attain the efficiency of an executive, and second I wish to attain the status of a professional, these skills become a behavioural trait once you join the league of a leader and this is the place where I want to see myself in the coming future.

REFERENCES

  • Adair, J. (2013). Develop Your Leadership Skills. 

  • Croft, C. (1996). Time Management . 

  • Grissom, J. A. (2015). Principal time management skills: Explaining patterns in principals’ time use, job stress, and perceived effectiveness. Journal of Educational Administration , 773-793.

  • Parker, G. M. (2011). Team Players and Teamwork: New Strategies for Developing Successful Collabration . 

  • POPESCU, A. M. (2016). FEEDBACK AND EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION. Univers Strategic .

  • Russell, T. (1998). Effective Feedback Skills. 

  • tracy, b. (2014). time management. new york: gildan media.

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