Managerial Self-Readiness Analysis

Communication:

Communication is an integral part of life. It’s demonstrated within other animals

besides humans as a means of survival. Therefore, those with deficits in
communications suffer greatly.

Strengths: When I think of communication, I think about the way I talk with the
people I know. Often times, I may speak too quickly and produce an effect as if I
had a lisp. Sometimes people cannot understand me and other times, people hear
me mumbling. I tend to mumble a lot. Nevertheless, most of the time, I get my
meaning across. Like many people, I also get angry and may sometimes produce
an improper or proper tone for a situation. In addition, I can come to understand
others may face similar issues when it comes to communication and I am willing to
listen without a bias. In my own native language, Cantonese, I have a very poor
accent and I get ridiculed for it. Despite these setbacks, I more than often prefer
communicating through writing. Many times, I am articulate at what I write
especially online. I’m usually the one who likes to capitalize and put periods at the
end of sentences when I’m casually typing to someone through AIM. If there is a
word I do not know or want to use, but forgot, I usually check online. This comes
from the pressure that my mother has a degree in English even though we are first
generation immigrants. Back in first grade, I could not tell the difference between a
“yes” and “no,” but after much work, I began to aim and hit top marks when it
came to English in grade school. However, the way I talk online is usually different
than the way I talk in real life. I tend to talk the same way the other people around
me talk to me. This provides an understanding and a common ground I can share
with others that proves to be a great asset in communication.

Weaknesses: For each point in strength I may have in communication, I have more
weaknesses. For one thing, I am a very shy person even when I tend to not be. I
noticed that whenever I’m talking to a stranger, my voice gets low. For example, I
may be ordering some fast food and the volume of my voice decreases even though
I may have ordered the same thing over multiple times. I have tried raising my
voice in the past, but this was taken as hostile. This problem is even more
noticeable when I give large oral presentations. Oral presentations are one of the
things I try to avoid the most. Other times, I may hold back what I want to say in
order to not offend the other person. This can hurt me sometimes. Also, I may
think of things I could have said in one situation much later. When I look back to
the experience on what I could have said, it would have been much more beneficial
to me if I had thought and said it. When I took the Diversity Awareness
assessment, I realized I am often in contact with many non-whites. These are
usually Asians in particular because I am Asian myself. People find comfort in being
with people they are similar to as I do too. When I am around people I also notice I
often hear jokes or put downs of another group. I never act upon these things and I
am not one to say these things either. However, the assessment showed me that
even though other people may not hear these things, they are still harmful and
nothing good can come out of it. I should strive to help others by allowing them to
take note of their words and not only their actions.

Teamwork:

I once heard from somewhere that each individual is weak. However, when
combined, a group can produce and overcome boundaries individuals by
themselves cannot. Many activities such as sports rely on teamwork.

Strengths: When I am playing my game with my group of friends, there are many
times I feel we can accomplish anything. We realize the value of working together
is the only way we can win. We often have to make sacrifices. I find myself in
multiple situations where I have to play the most undesirable role for the team
when other people may be just as qualified to take this role. My friends do not take
it upon themselves to fulfill this role as they prefer the more glorified roles that gain
more phrase and attention. Despite their greediness, I take the undesirable role to
insure the success of my team. The success gained in teamwork interests me much
more than individual success. For one thing, one cannot share the positive
feedback of success with others when one is by himself. Another thing is that
teamwork is a hard thing to accomplish. One can be in charge of all his actions, but
not the actions of his fellow man. Thus, it never ceases to impress me whenever a
group accomplishes a task. When I used to be in high school, I was part of the
tennis team. I never made it into varsity, but senior year, I was nominated as the
most inspirational player on the team, but I never got the award. What brought me
to this place was the fact I would be the one cheering the loudest in our tennis
game matches. I would often cheer for my friends that would be playing to defend
our team’s position in the league. The reason I never got the award was the fact I
was a senior and not in varsity. I never regret it.

Weaknesses: Although I scored an 88.89% on the Are You a Team Player

assignment, I am still not the perfect person. No one is and the fact is there is
always room for improvement. For one thing, I am not always prepared.
Sometimes I am lazy while other times, I may have other obligations to fulfill.
Regardless of these things, I need to be dependable all the times. Furthermore, I
often never question anything when nothing is going wrong. I do not actively look
for problems because I do not want to bring the others I work with down. However,
by being an active seeker of problems, one is constantly improving. Finally, I am
not always nice when I disagree with others. Everyone gets angry and although I
tend to be peaceful when I disagree, it sometimes comes up. An example is when
my parents have noted this whenever they make me repeat myself. Even though
this may be a problem sometimes, it usually isn’t and I’m rather a passive person
when it comes to arguments.
Self-Management:

At some point in everyone’s life, he or she will have to live on his or her own. At
this point, self-management is critical. One most not consume all his resources at
once.

Strengths: When it comes to self-management, I’m pretty good. I am able to take

care of myself. On the Work Ethic assessment, I scored a 20 for strong work ethic
as well as a 14 on non-work ethic. I am generally a hard worker. When my mind is
set and in motion along with knowledge of what I have to do, I can accomplish
almost anything. I am Chinese and it’s in our nature to be hard workers. I was
raised up this way. My culture values education. In my culture, it is believed that
having a good education will allow one to do anything. Back when I was grade
school, I had to work hard at working in order to achieve high grades. Also, I
personally believe if everyone worked hard, there would be much less problems
than there are today.

Weaknesses: Although I have a strong work ethic, I can be lazy at times too. Being
lazy is easy and often times, I might struggle getting started. I think of myself like
the first of Newton’s laws. When at rest, I stay at rest, but when I’m in motion, I
remain in motion. In addition, I scored a 59 on the Tolerance of Ambiguity
assessment where 30 of the points came from complexity. There are times when
problems become too difficult where I tend to slack off because I cannot
successfully deal with it. I like being in control and when something comes up that
is not expected, I tend to be taken back and have my defenses lowered. Most of
the time, I don’t see it as an opportunity because I lose the chance to prepare. I like
being prepared; however, the world doesn’t always allow one to be prepared. Also,
I scored the lowest in Spiritual for the Personal Values assessment with a score of
45 while everything else was over 100. I do not value spiritual faith as I am an
atheist. I don’t have a religion nor do I rely on some invisible entity/entities to guide
me on my choices. If something is going wrong, I look at the facts and not on
something called luck.

Leadership:

Just like in self-management. One must not only manage himself, but also manage
others at times. There are always situations where others place faith in one to help
them. A good leader is always needed.

Strengths: A while ago back in World History class, our teacher had an ice breaker.
He asked what would you do if you were the king of the world. Many people had
their answer such as naming a nation or place after oneself. However, my answer
was to find an effective leader. The teacher replied it’s true that it’s difficult in
being a leader. So, if I had a choice between being a leader or a follower, I would
most likely pick the follower. It’s not that I cannot handle the responsibilities of a
leader nor do I not want to think for others, I just simply believe there are always
better suited people at being a leader than I am. On the Are You An Effective
Follower assessment, I scored a 14. I’m generally more committed to helping
others achieve goals than pursuing my own goals. I almost always place others
ahead of myself. As for leading, I find myself within that position most of the time.
When I play my game of League of Legends, I usually find myself directing my team
and giving orders. It’s not that I’m a good player, it’s just I am usually the one
thinking on my feet. No one else is giving orders either. They’re just blaming
others. In the end, my team usually wins despite our early game shortcomings.

Weaknesses: As for leading a team, I am generally not the most effective leader.
Many leaders are able to control their subordinates better than I can. I believe in
referent power as well as expert power. In the Personal Power Profile
assessment, I scored a 4.75 and a 4 respectively on these. People should follow
leaders because they like them or believe in their skills. This is how I follow others.
However, I scored a 1.75 on coercive power. I dislike ordering people around based
on my authority. Generally, I see less work done when a leader acts this way, but I
do agree it can be effective as fear is often a great motivator. Moreover, in the
Using Influence Strategies assessment, I found that would most likely employ
reason and reciprocity, where I scored 18 and 15 respectively, when it comes to
trying to use others. If I can get people to see things my way, then people will
agree with my actions and follow through on my intents better.

Conceptual Skills:

Everyone is faced with problems, everyday. Being able to solve problems is

essential. Thus, this is a highly valued skill to have.

Strengths: When I was taking Pre-Calculus, we had to learn about trigonometric

identities. It was around this time where I noticed my preference in problem
solving. I would love doing homework because I could easily solve and identify
trigonometric identities. Many of my classmates would go to me for help in this
area. One time, my teacher was going over a difficult problem and I volunteered to
solve it and we came up with two different solutions, but mine was easier to
understand. It goes without saying that math is also my favorite subject. I enjoy
problem solving when there are many rules as well as many approaches to solving a
problem. This is why I scored 5 points in the analytical category of the What is
Your Personal Decision Style category. Life isn’t always so simple and problems
can be very tricky. However as long as there is a way, it can be solved within the
confines of the rules and I can find it usually.

Weaknesses: Although I may be good at analyzing and solving problems with

knowledge of everything, I cannot solve problems that require looking outside the
box. This is the humanistic and artistic orientation I scored no points in. I am not
an artistic or creative person. So, I cannot visualize certain solutions to problems.
Furthermore, I may also get frustrated when I cannot answer something after
looking at it from any angle within the box. This is why I scored a 65 on the
Emotional Intelligence assessment which is the second quartile. Having a
problem I cannot solve is one of the most annoying things. I often feel like it’s a
challenge to me and it tells me I’m not smart or good enough to solve it.

Professionalism:

To be professional is something everyone should be striving for. It’s the standard

everyone expects from each other.

Strengths: When I am meeting important people or at a formal gathering, I try my

best to act as proper as I can. I was raised on a culture that viewed children as a
good representation of good or bad parenting. When my parents view bad
mannered children, they don’t blame the children, they blame the parent. I never
want to put my parents in the same position, so I try to act as well mannered as I
can be even if this means being shy or holding my tongue when something bad
happens. Moreover, I am an self-empowered person. On the Are you Self
Empowered assessment, I scored a 16. Even though I may not take advantage of
bad situations as opportunities, I still do enjoy taking advantage of opportunities
when they come at me in a foreseeable way. I am a person who does like challenge
even though challenges may frustrate me at times. I try not to blame it anything I
cannot clearly see. If something is my fault, I clearly state it and not look for others
as an excuse.

Weaknesses: Although I may be self-empowered as a regular individual, I do not

believe the same can be applied to the leadership position. On the Entrepreneur
Orientation assessment, I scored a 44. I’m an entrepreneur in the rough. I don’t
actively see risks just to take them nor am I who wants to be independent.
However, I do seek to accomplish difficult tasks as well as work hard at it. I would
like to say I believe in myself most of the time, but sometimes it’s impossible to
believe in myself when the most beneficial outcome of a situation is impossible.

Conclusion:

Even though I can say what I need to, I have to be able to speak up more. My timid
nature has a bad effect on my impression. If I can manage this, perhaps others will
perceive me as a strong person. In order to do this, I need to get out more, try to
join some organizations and meet new people. I need to also look for more
problems. By looking for problems, the problems will be easier to solve than when
they come at me. Although I’m a hard working person, I need to be an even harder
working person. I must not let my laziness get in the way at all and I need to be
more self-motivated. In addition, I need to be able to effectively manage others as
well as I manage myself. As for my conceptual skills, I need to expand my horizons
and not just limit myself. Consequently, I should also try to take more risks and
trust in myself in the best outcome. I never know what I may achieve just because
of my fear for the unknown.