Personal effectiveness

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

According to Kolb, experience forms the basis for reviewing, drawing conclusions and planning. Experience can arise just as easily from lack of success as succeeding in activities. 

Using past experiences can be a valuable way of planning for the future and improving yourself. Learning from not just your successes but also your failures more so, can help you take control of your personal effectiveness. Linking failure to the learning process can bring out the best of any bad situation providing a positive learning curve. This can also form the basis of developing transferable skills. What you learn in one environment can be adapted and transferred to another.

In a practical aspect, the learning cycle is a simplistic model that without realising, I have incorporated into my life. The skills and knowledge I have acquired during this module has taught me how to learn from good and bad experiences to obtain the most positive results. Learning from my failures, such as not achieving the grade in a particular exam has enabled me to retrace my steps in areas such as my approach to revision and exam preparation. Establishing the best times in which I learn most have also had a positive impact towards the end results.

Personal development is thought to encompass the whole person. This is aided by the abilities that are to do with our sense of worth in relation to different and unexpected environments. This determines the extent to which we feel we have the power to drive our own progress and the ability to determine personal goals and confidence within the environments we choose to achieve them.

Communication is defined as the transmission of information (a message) and its receipt. It involves the exchange of data, opinion and or sentiment. C.Shannon and W.Weaver personify communication as a sequence of connections between inputs and outputs of information. However, this model was widely criticised as being a one-way process and did not embody the reality of communication processes. It was at this point Schramm (1954) amended the Shannon Weaver model to the one below.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                

Being able to communicate effectively can embody the skills and knowledge acquired through your self-development phase and can be incorporated effectively in your performance in social and work environments. Good communication encourages team spirit, higher performance and greater job satisfaction amongst employees.

There are three basic components of any form of communication: facts, emotion and needs.

Facts include subjective opinions and the parts of any communication that are based on the brains logic of activities.

Emotions are a very different type of activity. All emotion originates from the non-logical and non-rational area of the brain known as the limbic system. It provides the content, which is placed in our factual or desire statements.

Needs are logical in their origin and development. They are also termed as being ‘idiosyncratic’ and on many an occasion one person will not be able to see exactly why another is keen to follow a given line of action.                                 

There are many different forms of communication, such as verbal, non-verbal and written communication. Different aspects such as body language, tone of voice and the most prominent Listening are all key features of communication.

Incorporating what I have learnt throughout the self-development phase and relating this to communication, it is vital to know your own identity and your personal traits in order to communicate effectively with others.

Communication can be used for many purposes of which involve giving and receiving advice. Feedback on the effects of decisions with others you converse with is essential for effective communication. Some people are good talkers but poor listeners. They hear only what they want to hear and disregard all critical and hostile comments.

Feedback is just one of the factors used to ensure communication is transmitted effectively, individuals must be aware of other factors such as body language and perception that may influence how messages are interpreted.

Using the fact, emotion and need framework enables you to achieve clarity in the message you wish to send. It is only then that the schramm model can be used to its best purpose.

I personally feel this is the key to effective communication and eliminates unnecessary jargon and determines that the message has a key point and intended purpose.

Feedback consists of secondary messages sent by the receiver of information during or after communication, which may cause the communicator to change the message en route.

Movements of the body can assist other people in understanding the true meaning of the message that is being sent. For example yawns, facial expressions and eye contact.

Perception is vital and focuses on the tone of voice, silences between answers and the speed of delivery. To be positively perceived, pro-active behaviours are often required with an assertive and enthusiastic tone.

To be a competent communicator, the individual must acquire the knowledge and foundation of conversational management skills. This is used to create a balanced exchange of views, opinions and feelings with those you are interacting with.  

The communicator should carry a set of skills, which includes the ability to open question, revitalise conversations, initiate and encourage expansive answers. Presenting feelings, opinions and listening effectively are very important skills.

‘To be a good conversationalist you have to be a good listener.’ This simple quote creatively summarises that listening as a vital skill in the delivery of effective communication. The better you are at listening the greater interest others will regard you as being in conversation.

Reflective listening is an important and useful technique in assertive and effective interactions. The concept of reflective listening is to demonstrate in words and body language to the sender of a message talking to the receiver that you are listening attentively and understanding the underlying message, the emotions behind it.

An ideal response, in such a situation, must show that you appreciate how they feel and that you have heard the facts of the matter. It is at this stage the fact; emotion and need framework is exceptionally useful in the analysis an interpretation of such messages. This takes us back to the fact, emotion and need feedback and also collaborates with the on-going process of the learning cycle.  We can never anticipate when, where, what and how we will be faced with a new learning experience. Listening to others around you can ensure that you learn from mistakes instead of continuously repeating them.

Admittedly I do falter on this aspect. As I have mentioned in my logbooks, listening isn’t one of my strongest skills. However when I have practised active listening during my final year at university, I was able to learn and receive constructive feedback upon my study skills and improve upon this to achieve greater end results.

Powerful communication skills and an understanding of the differences in the manner people communicate are essential for career success and personal achievement to be proficient in all paths of life.

Both personal identity and effective communication influences the way in which one leads in any given environment.

Leadership is the ability to influence the thoughts and behaviours of others. A leaders position may be formal and result from designated organisational authority and or informal and depends on the individual’s ability to exercise power.

John Adair (1985), management theorists, separated the functions of a leader into three common organisational needs, the needs of a task, individual and of the team.

The way in which an individual attempts to meet these needs vary in leadership styles. There are three distinct styles: autocratic, shared and laissez faire. Each style incorporates different characteristics of leaders such as plants, shapers and investigators. These provide a generic description of an individual but cannot incorporate all traits and aspects of a person.

People’s behaviours vary accordingly towards the situation at hand. Most often at university in-group activities I have had to adopt an autocratic approach due to the unwillingness of people around me to be proactive in completing and finishing the task.

I can only recall one occasion whereby the leadership was shared amongst the group where all members worked consistently equal with each other.

Assessing the characteristics and styles of leadership is essential in relation to you. In relating this towards myself I ca see the downfalls of possessing   such an autocratic approach where it is questionable as to how much of the individual and team needs of John Adair’s model are met.

The key themes outlined within this review, self-development, self-understanding, communication, listening and leadership all influence each other to achieve the finest results.

Understanding yourself is the foundation, which must be set before you start building on top. As my mother once said, “you can never attempt to build a house without laying the foundations first, the same applies to a person.”

Determining beliefs, values and identity can install confidence and power in communication with others both verbally and non-verbally. Communication is not just about effective sending and receiving messages but also listening and decoding the message efficiently. It is only then one can progress further and formulate a role as an competent leader.

The role of a leader contains many different elements. An individual must be aware of the different styles and needs surrounding them. By being aware of the advantage and disadvantages of different leadership styles can enable an individual to critically assess their own and improve upon areas of weakness.

Through the review of literature about personal effectiveness, I now feel I have a greater understanding about this subject and can fully appreciate the practical aspects. I now have a clear overview and understanding how the key themes outline, work constructively within my own character. I have also been able to think deeply as to which elements of my character in relation to communication, leadership and self-understanding.

By incorporating the themes and transferring the skills and experiences gained from all situations an individual finds themselves in can formulate a good team member, employee, person and a great leader in all aspects of life.

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