BLOG POST 3 "CONFLICT"

Conflict is something that we have all experienced and has always carried a negative stigma. What sparked an interest with me is why has it gotten to the point where all conflict is seen as a negative connotation? In the book it talks about the benefits of conflict and how it “prevents stagnation, stimulates curiosity and interest.” Although I have never seen it that way, this book made me realize the importance of conflict and its role in improving several different aspect in life. Whether it’s our social, political, religious, or business, having conflict allow us to work through our problems, get rid of old ideas and promote new ideas in the field of work.

As humans, we naturally want to get along with everyone, through evolution, having relationships can help us survive through natural disasters. Having conflict between one another can potentially mean losing an individual within our circle, potentially making our community weaker. Even though we try and avoid any type of conflict, conflict is still unavoidable. Conflict can either be positive or negative, conflict tends to create tension, which allows both party to come to an understanding where each perspective is respected. Understanding conflict resolution is important for the workplace. Knowing how to use the mediation process can be extremely beneficial in the work place.

Being able to use this process, clearly addresses the problem, and expresses how it directly affects us. Allowing the other individual to see that whatever they did isn’t as simple as they thought it was in their head.  These conflicts are created through different values, beliefs, and opinions. Conflict resolution is a key to a successful workplace, knowing that conflict is practically unavoidable; having these sets of skills allows us to work through certain situations.

References:

Bolton, Robert. People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986. Print. 

                                                                                                                                                             

Rec Blog 2

To be a true leader it’s a necessity to maintain and develop your interpersonal skills. Genuineness, empathy, and unconditional positive regards are just a few that you should excel at. When we talked about what we felt was easiest for us immediately thought that genuineness was the easiest. Having the ability to be genuine with someone allows you to be in an environment that is open and honest. According to Chris Hammer the The Benefits of Being Real, he addresses the problem with how hard it is to “show up as our authentic selves”, and how it’s difficult because we often need to “adapt our styles to suit our audience and the purpose of our interaction.” As much as I would like to think I am being genuine this article and the book challenges my beliefs. I do find myself acting as how society expects me to act rather than to be 100 % true to myself.

 My theory is that we all have different type’s genuineness. The situation that we are in determines which slice of the cake you will receive. As society molds the norms, we adapt to “our styles” and express the traits that fit the audience. Carl Rogers plays an important role in these three core conditions. He believes that people learn from their experiences and mistakes, which is the reason why they choose to act the way they act in certain situations. This theory is confirmed through our group meetings and how being genuine can really make an environment feel safe and secure, especially hearing the personal stories that we've all heard within our meetings. We can’t necessarily choose one over the other, it’s a balance between all three core conditions that makes us a strong leader, facilitator, teacher etc...

Citation:

"Carl Rogers, the Unconditional Positive Regard Guy." Squidoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

Hammer, Chris. "The Benefits Of Being Real." Http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Benefits-Of-Being-Real&id=5338685. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

Blog Post 1

Personality and Behavior can be so similar yet so different in many ways. Your personality is a trait that remains stable throughout your life, and behaviors are our way of expressing our trait in context. So depending on how our personality is, it has the potential to impact the way we interact and react to certain stimuli. Both inventory/assessments reveal how an individual may act in an environment but doesn't necessarily reveal their core traits. Both models aim to place individuals in universal categories; these categories are defined by the traits an individual may carry.  

In the Bolton/Bolton inventory, results are based on the perceptions on how you think others perceive you. Depending on your levels of assertiveness and responsiveness will determine where you are placed on the graph. This self-awareness can influence others and how you may approach certain situations. I've noticed that my trait is pretty on point with what Bolton/Bolton came up with. The benefits on knowing who you are can be useful in future interactions that you may encounter. Having this knowledge can help improve day to day interactions with a certain co-worker or even your significant other. “It’s useful to determine your own influencing style so that you are more aware of yourself when going into certain situations and likewise, it’s useful to try to predict the preferred style(s) of the person/people that you are aiming to influence so that you can adopt the best approach to get your message across." By honing these set of skills can even get you to manipulate others to act the way you want them to. But too much manipulation can set an individual into double backup. 

Given that there are no real ways to determine if these assessments are fully reliable, we can either agree to disagree on which spectrum suits us the best. In another article by Sharon Penn, she categorize the types of organizational behaviors into Extroverts, Agreeable, Conscientious, Cautious, Self-Conscious, and Adventurous. It allows us to gain “insight into how well the individuals themselves may fit into the organizational structure” which can benefit the employee in a more comfortable environment. I personally agree with Bolton/Bolton’s to an extent. I believe that traits are something that we cannot change and are with us our entire life. 

Reference:

"Effective Influencing – Bolton and Bolton Personality Types." Highheelstothetopcom. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

"How Personality Styles Influence Coaching Advice." How Personality Styles Influence Coaching Advice. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.