Personal Growth And Development: A Critical Introspection

Methodology

Personal growth is the ongoing process of realizing and developing oneself to attain the fullest potential of the individual. Personal development is identified as a fundamental part of an individual’s growth, maturity, achievements and contentment (Sharf, 2016). It is thus defined as a foundation of emotional, physical, intellectual as well as spiritual health. Kandler and Zapko-Willmes, (2017) have noted that personal growth tends to have a profound impact on every facet of an individual’s life. Personal growth and development not only provide individuals with both the inducements, motivation and means to develop as the most possible version of them. Personality development recently has emerged as a new catchphrase because of its significance, essence and truly possessing a well-developed personality which will facilitate individuals to attain set goals and objectives. Caniëls, Semeijn and Renders, (2018) further have claimed that any individual without an accurate vision in life not only shows incompetence to deliver desired outcomes successfully and further loses significance within the crowd.

The following paper will reflect three significant events of my life that has significantly shaped my life and aided me in reaching my desired aims and purpose of my professional life. In addition to this, the paper will evaluate three dominant values of my life which have been attained from a value profile to understand areas which require improvements and the way I can bring enrichment in my personality to gain a greater degree of professional achievements.

Teams are typically formed when individuals with common objectives establish a common platform and encourage each at every aspect of decision-making procedure. Effective and accurate communication serves as a vital factor to develop an effective leader or supervisor (Kandler & Zapko-Willmes, 2017). As communication plays a crucial role in team building, my communication skill has aided me in extracting the most fruitful outcomes of my team members with whom I was engaged during my tenure in Goldbell Equipment Vietnam of Goldbell Group in Singapore. Designated as a Marketing and Sale Strategy Supervisor from 2013-2015 for almost 2 years, my core responsibilities lied on efficiently managing production of marketing materials along with supporting preparation as well as rationale of the meeting framework which included kick-off events, monthly target of teams and proficiently managing internal communication to the sales team alongside associated activities and external communication. However, engaged in the role of a supervisor in the sales team, I employed a goal-oriented leadership style to successfully collaborate organizational aim with my teams’ skills and capacity.

Discussion

At this juncture, Menges, (2016) has claimed that as economic times encounter higher rate of uncertainty, companies have been increasingly seeking for improved proficiencies to amplify sales operations and aim to capture a more considerable amount of market share. Thus, efficiently executing a productive team necessitates exceptional leadership techniques. As a supervisor, I have spent my two years in this company by studying behavioural patterns of successful salespeople of my team. Such an evaluation has aided my understanding in realizing high-performance ability of some of my teammates who possess strong personalities. Thus to efficiently harmonize my managing techniques of communicating with internal associates, I used to express my vision and strategies to motivate my teammates and help them achieve them with maximum productivity. Team involvement, effective, responsive skills along with timely communication was the primary features of my goal-oriented leadership style (Cai et al., 2015). This style of my leadership has made my communication skill as a highly effective one and helped me to enhance my communication ability in prospective career choices.

Communication plays a crucial role in public relations. Thus it is essential to establish proper communication base between both agencies so that organizations can easily relate to each other. van Osch, Steinfield & Balogh, (2015) have stated the way domain of Public relations has received a substantial amount of success over the years and further shaped attitudes and perceptions of individuals. Such increasing growth in the field of Public relations has aided me to engage in the role of Film Marketing & PR Analyst, in my present company named “CJ CGV Vietnam Co. Ltd” where I develop vital media contacts and maintain improved association with several media personalities and work an integrated manner with journalists for media or film coverage opportunities and leverage the writing techniques of employees of my organization. Employed as a PR Analyst, I have often encountered challenges when clients alter their strategies without any prior intimidation. For example “While marketing a campaign a month before the actual event was taking place, our company was left with only two agencies. However, at the eleventh-hour withdrawal of one of the selected companies posed uncertain challenges to my company.” However, my flexibility and relationship building skill has helped me to efficiently handle that situation as I successfully gathered other agencies to attend our campaign and successfully generated desired outcomes and goals for my organization.  

At this juncture, I should delve into the initial professional experiences I have attained from my first job as a PR- Event Assistant in Golden communication Co. Limited, Vietnam. After the completion of my degree in International Business Management from Ngoai Thuong University in Vietnam as a fresher, I primarily developed an implementation of several media campaigns, media conferences along with other events which the company organized. Furthermore, the functional area which served a highly decisive role in shaping my attributes was proposing PR plans to clients of Unilever Vietnam, Orion, and Herbalife. Furthermore, my immense desire for personal development along with accelerated learning attained during my degree course has improved my ability to exhibit impeccable characteristics with considerate disposition. For example, my sincerity towards conflicting perceptions and accepting positive feedback reflected during a decision-making process between the assist project-leader of Friesland Campina who had a varied cultural view on endorsing their dairy products to aid young Vietnamese children to pursue their dreams. During this conflicting situation, I proposed to my client to explore the literacy rate and other statistics to help him obtain greater insights about the current status of education rate and availability of schools in Vietnam. Wang et al., (2014) have also stated similar considerations that cognitive flexibility and capability to amend one’s current knowledge in light of new ideas enables business enterprises to develop revolutionary change emerging within the business cycle.

    In modern organizations, supervisors or managers are typically seen in a unique position and serves a linkage between management and the employee base (Wang et al., 2014). According to Sharf, (2016), successful functioning of organizational strategy tends to hinge on the level of efficacy of supervisor’s capability to direct employees to involve an organization’s operations enthusiastically. As a supervisor, I have publicized a greater rate of inclination towards two-way communication model while sharing any insights about an organization’s growth and efficiency. Modern business enterprises reveal that two-way communication ensures a smooth process of information and further encourage relevant suggestions from team associates and elevate job satisfaction (Karanges et al., 2015). To my understanding, two-way communication will offer the employees with appropriate means to successfully convey grievances, emotions and interest of superiors. Furthermore, Caniëls, Semeijn and Renders, (2018) stated that as contemporary organizations tend to consistently transform their strategies and execute new projects to develop performance level, it is essential for employees to contest any forms of change management to adapt change occurring in the organization successfully.

Delving into the idea of change management, I developed the understanding that implementation of effective change management skills, organizations and leaders can proficiently respond to individual changes, resistance and transitions in a more competent way and further amplify their competence level to approach various changes. However, such synergy has been perceived negatively by few at my workplace. Their analysis of my flexibility and sincerity in acknowledging others knowledge have been considered unenthusiastically by others and believe I have the propensity to absorb other ideas rather than valuing my insights. In the globalized business era, employees and organizations often face tremendous hindrances while performing any business operation due to lack of focus on the solution and greater emphasis on the problem. They believe that as a leader I perceive an issue as a distraction rather than acting as a strategic enabler who seek continuous development and avenues which have been disregarded. At this juncture, Gebert, Heinitz and Buengeler, (2016) have noted that transparent and distinct communication requires supervisors to eradicate critical impediments and facilitate boundary-less organization whose cultural standards emphasize on the successful development of an improved whole. My high level of synergy has positively resulted in accomplishing my team’s goals and objectives. Through this high level of synergy I have attained competence to distinguish varied personality types along with their specific strengths, dedication and motivations. Being a supervisor my high synergy has helped me to understand ways to endorse various forms of skills and demand to individual perceptions of achievements to reduce boredom and increase the inefficacy in work. However, with the success rate being significantly low I must attain greater degree of skills and abilities to reach my desired goals in my career. Furthermore, on the other hand, authority and power of my workplace peers have often extracted my skills which consequentially resulted in a lower rate of sustainability and community belonging.

Further to this, such behavioural patterns of mine towards my work approach according to my workplace peers reflect an impression of cynicism (Mishra, Boynton & Mishra, 2014). This perception, however, poses an unconstructive impact on my career path and my outlook. Yet research by Theaker, (2017) has claimed that an elevating level of cynicism has been witnessed among managers and employees in developed nations like USA and Australia. Moreover, as per the view of Mishra, Boynton and Mishra, (2014), a high rate of present cynicism has been anticipated to continue in the following years. After obtaining information about my behavioural pattern which tends to reflect cynicism, I delved into understanding real insights of cynicism and its implication on an employee’s career path as well as the organization. Khan, Naseem and Masood, (2016) have stated that prospective business leaders and supervisors have immense propensity to reflect shades of cynicism through their behaviour.

On the other hand, studies conducted by Gebert, Heinitz and Buengeler, (2016) specify that among eight critical values of 49 million people between the ages of 18-29 focus on the importance of cynicism. Furthermore, millennials often tend to disregard the principles and values supported by baby boomers, and their fundamental attributes focus on evading any form of distress and rapid change. Though cynicism tends to result to a generalized mistrust of authority and ultimately advance towards denigration of the supervision as well as the aim of the business enterprise. However such forms cynicism directly counters to the requirements and demands of various aspects of productive organization development performance (Khan, Naseem & Masood, 2016).

Evaluating the results obtained from the Personal Value Profile, I discovered the most significant drawback in my professional conduct that is my highly impulsive decision-making approach.  According to Khan, Naseem and Masood, (2016), impulsive decision making our management have the propensity to lack focus. This lack of focus, however, can be contagious and can do for the impact an employee base under the supervision of the impulses manager. The lack of attention can further be consequential in the required competence to attain desired goals and also lose significance within the competitive crowd (Gillet et al., 2015). Being engaged in the role of a supervisor I often encounter challenges while guiding my employees to prioritise or entrust individual accountability towards their work efficiently. However, at this stage, I considered undergoing specific personality development session which would help me to mitigate any situation of destabilizing my organisation or role which I am engaged. Khan, Naseem and Masood, (2016) further claim that such impulsivity has been associated with several psychiatric as well as personality disorder which involves mania or antisocial personality disorder. Furthermore in pulses management of decision making main father result to unconstructive outcomes and can further be characterized by which are performed without adequate thinking.

At this juncture, to enhance my personal development, I consider Maslow’s theory of self-actualization to identify the real sense and the ideal self by understanding the hierarchy of my needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs reflects a linear outline of development that is depicted in a direct pyramid in order of ascension (Venter, 2017). Furthermore, it has been stated by Maslow, that self-actualizing individual can efficiently resolve dichotomies such as the ones reflected in the ultimate counting of free will and determinism. I further believe that self-actualised who can identify the essential needs psychological robust individuals. Cherry, (2014) claimed, that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, however, has been described in 5 stages such as the physiological needs which involves adequate food sleep in air, needs of security and protection specifically to the ones who image from social and political inconsistency, need for love and affection self esteem and dignity and lastly needs related to create a cell growth and attainment of potential, significant meaning of life (Khan, Naseem & Masood, 2016). Maslow to his self-actualisation theory believes that individuals can identify their own needs and potentials in life can quickly improve their personal growth and progress towards the success in life (Gebert, Heinitz & Buengeler, 2016).

The seminar’s I have attended has helped me to obtain insights how efficient leaders should set direction of the team he or she is leading. I have realized the value of being a self-regulated learner willing to proficiently reinvent time and again. One of the significant ideas presented in the seminar focused on the qualities of effective management which must be acquired principally through pre-work socialization such as high energy level and a crucial drive to lead efficiently. Furthermore, to develop as a proficient manager I must gather awareness of my strengths, limitations, desires and values to understand any conflicting situations within my team.

Conclusion

Hence to conclude, it is important to note that over three years of my professional experience have posed various challenges and opportunities to the pathway of my career which to a certain extent I have been able to contest with utmost efficiency. However, analysis of the value-driven profile has identified few areas in my professional conduct which need refurbishment. The most critical allergy can be considered as cynicism in the work that has resulted in the recurrent rate of misinterpretations. However, at this point, I must set-up an interpersonal session with my mentor who would understand my behavior and provide suggestions by shedding light on his experiences. Furthermore, these types of interpersonal conversation would encourage me to invest my ideas at all stages of business planning and advance me towards achieving the role of an artificial leader in my current organisation.

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