Personal Growth Analysis

Nina Smith
 I intend to apply all that I have learned throughout this course to developing effective

leadership skills that I can use through my leadership journey. All the theories and practices I’ve

learned in addition to the assessments I’ve taken, will help me discover my strengths as well as

my weaknesses. I am committed to applying all the tools I’ve learned through this degree

program to guide me to and through my career growth and goal.

When this program began, I had very limited leadership skills. I had management

experience but no leadership experience. Honestly, I didn’t even know there was a difference in

managing versus leading. I quickly realized my time management and communication skills

were not that great. But, that is something I had to fix fast to be successful in this program and

ultimately in my career.

I developed leadership skills throughout this program that I didn't have before.

Throughout this program I was able to develop better analytic skills and I learned that leadership

is about authority not power. Prior to this course, I thought otherwise because the organizations I

were once a part of were more power driven. Throughout this program I was able to develop

better analytic skills and I learned that leadership is about authority not power. Prior to this

course, I thought otherwise because the organizations I were once a part of were more power

driven. Which explains the high turn employee over rates and the miserable environments.

This course opened my eyes to the realization that my success as a leader is based on the

growth of others. I was always pretty open but probably not as much as an effective leader would

be. This course taught me to be more transparent. My ability to motivate comes pretty naturally.

I’ve always been a motivator. I believe this is a skill I picked up very young being on different
sports teams. This degree program forced me to develop better time management skills. I’ve also

learned better communication skills as well. I have the ability to make difficult decisions.

However, I learned to make those decisions more effectively without getting too worked up

and/or stressed out. I get clear ideas of where I want to go, how to get there, and what success

looks like. But, I still need work articulating my vision clearly so others can understand.

At the beginning of this degree program, my short-term goal was to develop better time

management skills. I knew time management skills would kelp me be successful in my degree

program but also in my career journey. Better time management will help me to better control

the stress as it will relieve some of the overwhelming feeling I get from meeting deadlines while

overcoming obstacles. I learned that I need to remain motivated and dedicated, putting my best

foot forward. Finding a balance is important to be effective and productive. I learned to do that in

this course by not waiting until the last day or two to complete assignments. I believe I need to

plan out my week and get my work done consistently throughout the week.

Out of the different assessments we took in this program, I believe the Myer Briggs

assessment and the DiSC assessment tools revealed the most about myself. The Myer Briggs

assessment tool measured my personality type which was “ISTJ”. ISTJ stands for introvert,

sensing thinking, and judging. My personality types are independent, responsible, and focused.

The Briggs assessment helped me understand my own leadership style which gives me the ability

to make use of my natural strengths and recognize my potential limitations towards being an

effective leader. I also came to the realization that I liked structure and set instructions or

procedures. As the program went on, I realized it is necessary for me to learn how to be more

open-minded to innovation and change. Being open to new ways of doing things can help me

grow as an individual as well as a leader. The DiSC assessment tool also measured my
personality style bin addition to my behaviorial style. This tool can be used to improve

productivity, teamwork, leadership, and communication. In the beginning of the program, I was

high in the conscientiousness dimension with the typical goal of achieving superior results. At

the end of the program, I was still high in the conscientiousness dimension but now also in the

Dominance dimension.

Within the first semester of this degree program, I had significant unexpected challenges

within my personal life that made the MAOL program very difficult for me to complete. Trying

to balance hard life changes, raising three young children alone, and working full time, this

course felt impossible to complete. It was very overwhelming but I overcame this challenge by

bettering my time management skills. This challenge forced me to quickly meet my short-term

goal I set in the beginning of this program. Another challenge I faced was understanding and

separating all of the different theories and different leadership styles. I over came this by doing

the extra research and through the different assignments. Lastly, my assumptions became an

issue as well. I had to set thoughts of how a leader should lead even if it wasn’t the most

effective way. It is what I was exposed to the most. I overcame this by understanding the why or

how so that I was able to challenge my assumptions of what a leader is or how a leader should

lead based on the organization I previously worked for or based on the leadership that was an

example for me previously.

To me, an effective leader has the following qualities:

 Promotes the well-being of others

 High emotional intelligence

  Effectively communicates

 Flexible and gives Freedom

 Leads by example

 Empowers, motivates, and inspires

 Ability to make difficult decisions

Compared to what I believe is an effective leader, I believe I have work to do to be that effective

leader. For example, I believe I promote the well-being of others but I do still need to work on

my emotional intelligence. I communicate pretty effectively but I also have room for

improvement in that area as well. I am a very flexible person and I am a firm believer in leading

by example. I’ve also been a motivator, even when I was not in a leadership or management role.

I am able to make difficult decisions. However, I am working on how to do that more effectively

and without getting too worked up and stressed out. As for shared vision, I get clear ideas of

where I want to go, how to get there, and what success looks like. But, I still need work

articulating my vision clearly so others can understand. I have a lot of growing to do still to be an

effective leader by my definition. However, this degree program equipped me with the

knowledge on how to get there.

Throughout this program I was able to develop better analytic skills and I learned that

leadership is about authority not power. Prior to this course, I thought otherwise because the

organizations I were once a part of were more power driven. Which I now realize would explain

the high turn employee over rates and the miserable environments. This course opened my eyes

to the realization that my success as a leader is based on the growth of others. I was always pretty

open but probably not as much as an effective leader would be. This course taught me to be more
transparent. My ability to motivate comes pretty naturally. I’ve always been a motivator. I

believe this is a skill I picked up very young being on different sports teams.

Post-graduation I plan to look for a job within Human Resources. I know I will need to work my

way up in the field. Ultimately my career goal is to be an HR business partner or director. So, to

start, I plan to apply for a HR Generalist position that will give me hands on knowledge of

different parts of human resources. Majority of my concentration has been within finance. Most

of my experience is within finance. So, I find getting my foot in the door of the human resource

field to be difficult. I plan to network as much as I can. I plan to join and utilize the Buffalo

Niagara Human Resource Association’s (BNHRA) In-transition program. I would like to obtain

my PHR and continuously grow my career in Human Resources.

In conclusion, I have a lot of growing to do still to be an effective leader by my definition

but I believe that growth comes from experience. My personal mission statement is: “Grow in

my career within Human Resources by taking the time to hone my leadership skills and develop

an effective leadership style that encourages, engages, and equips others to believe in the growth

and possibilities.” This degree program equipped me with the knowledge to follow through with

my mission statement. My vision is to be a leader dedicated to empowering employees and their

growth while bringing new and innovated ideas to the success of the company. To reach my

goals and carry out my vision, I am dedicated to improving my communication, listening, time

management and other leadership skills.