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My Self-Assessment

Callie Van Neste

MGT 302
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My personal mission is to develop the proper abilities to become a skilled

professional. Whether that is a middle manager, or top manager, I am determined to

be the best that there can be. I hope to acquire as much knowledge and experience

as possible to be a manager as well as a leader that employees can look up to. I hope

that other workers are able to follow as I do, not just as I say. I plan to develop the

tools to become an honest, hard working, organized, and successful manager.

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My Self-Assessment

After the completion of this class, I found that the major question at hand was

very easy for me to answer. Coming into this class I was unsure of what I wanted to

do with my future. And though I still have a year left of school, I have found it

apparent that I would in fact make for a good manager. This class brought to light a

lot of the tools that it takes to become a good manager. Each class, we would break

down how to organize, lead, control and plan from the perspective of a manager. I

put myself in the exact situations we discussed in class, which really put in

perspective for me the functions of a manager. I can now understand what it takes

to be a good manager, and the mistakes that managers can make. In each chapter,

the understanding yourself sections helped me realize what would make me a good

manager.

Beginning with chapter 3, “Understanding Yourself”, “Am I a Deliberate

Decision Maker?” I scored a 30, meaning that I am a deliberate decision maker. From

what we learned in the chapter, this means I can follow the rational model very well.

I am able to define the problem, identify what criteria are significant to decision

making, consider the importance level of the criteria, develop alternatives, and

evaluate the best alternative. This seems like a demanding process, however once a

person develops the skills to use the rational model, better decisions tend to be

made. I feel I already have this skill set to be a good decision maker in life and be

able to someday apply that in my career.

Another “Understanding Yourself” section that helped me feel confident in

my want to become a manager was “How Confident Am I in My Abilities to

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Succeed?” This helped me realize my motivation to become more than just a person

sitting in a cubicle all day. I scored a 37, meaning that I have confidence in myself to

become successful. I wasn’t always successful, or confident. Straight out of high

school I went to Central Michigan University, where I felt lost in a big campus, and I

felt I had no purpose to go to school. However, after moving back to Lansing, and

starting classes at LCC, I began to make connections with instructors, due to smaller

classes. I found a purpose again, and knew that I was smart enough to do something

big with my life. I didn’t realize I had my confidence back until I took this

assessment. The book stated that confidence transforms into better performance.

The book also suggests that successful people set more goals for themselves, are

committed to their goals, and can persevere through failure to become successful

again. This really put into perspective my experience in life, where I gained my

confidence back. I went to Central, and faced “failure” as I wanted to leave the

University and transfer to LCC. However, at LCC I was able to set up my EDP,

complete it, and now finish out my degree at Siena Heights.

In the “Understanding Yourself” section of chapter 8, I realized a few new

things about myself. The section covered the Big Five Model of Personality, which

pairs personality traits with people’s ability to be a manager. I scored a more

favorable score to be a successful manager. For the “Extraversion” part of the

analysis I scored in the middle range, between extravert and introvert. This was not

surprising to me, because at first, I am not the most outspoken person. I am very

sociable once I get to know a person, but I’m not usually the one to begin a

conversation, unless in a work environment. In the “Agreeableness” category, I

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scored in the mid to low section. I do value harmony, however, I prefer being able to

speak up on issues, or “have my way” as the book described it. For

“Conscientiousness” I realized that I would be persistent, because I scored higher it

means that I pursue fewer goals in a purposeful way. People who rank higher on the

conscientiousness scale tend to have higher job performance. For the “Emotional

Stability” section I was higher on the score, meaning in general, I have a more

positive emotional stability. And lastly, on the “Openness to Experience” scale I

scored more in the middle of the spectrum, this means that I am comfortable with

the familiar but I also have interest in innovation.

Another positive trait in management is trustworthiness. I have always felt I

am a trustworthy person. In chapter 11, I discovered that I actually am, I scored high

on the “Do Others See Me as Trustworthy” section. My overall score was a 50, which

is pretty high on the scale. The analysis told me that I am open, speak my feelings,

tell the truth, show fairness, and follow through. Though I already knew these

things for my personal life, these are all strong signs of a trustworthy person, which

is a strong trait to have in management.

After completing this class I have discovered my traits appear more favorable

to a management position. I didn’t think this would be the case coming into the

class. Through group discussions, full class discussions, as well as reading the

chapters, I feel very positive about my future as a manager. I am glad I have been

able to learn so much in this class and be able to apply these concepts in my life to

better myself skills in terms of management.