• Erika Peterson

A Glimpse of • November 1st , 2020

•
Who I Am OGL 482
• Professor Andi Hess
 Introduction

Our decisions and actions are rooted by our core values. Our core values define who we are and are what drive us in
our lives; these values are learned throughout childhood and from personal experiences. The following sections of
the Thematic Analysis will explore 10 “themes” of both my personal and professional career.
Research Process and
Methods

• To begin my research, I reviewed all the data

sources.
• I then read through my Life Story Personal
Narrative and highlighted key pieces of
information and began coding each highlighted
section.
• I continued to review the other assessments
provided during this course and other courses
following the same steps.
Research Process and
Methods
• I then began to place data found in the
different assessments and began grouping
them into groups based on their similarities.
• Once I completed the process of coding and
grouping by similarities, I was able to identify
my top 10 themes.
This process was quite challenging and required
many nights of analyzing all the data sources.
There were many themes that were changed
throughout the process to find the top ten.
 My Data
Sources
The data used in this Thematic Analysis is
taken from courses taken at ASU in the
Organizational Leadership program and from
past experiences in my personal and
professional life.
 • Three Questions (3Qs)- The three questions for this
assignment were created by Fr. Himes, he asks questions
that made me think about what gives me joy, what I am
good at, and what the world needs me to do.

Data Sources • Identities Exercise (IE)- The identities exercise made me

think about my primary sources of identity from both my
personal and professional roles.
Legend
• Values and Dreams Checklist (VD)- For the values
checklist exercise I was to select my top 10 values and
after reviewing them I was to cross them off until only
leaving one value. During the dreams and desires exercise
I was to create a list of dreams and desires and then
prioritize with my top “5”.
 • Life Story Personal Narrative (LSPN)- During this assignment I
was to create a personal narrative providing details of my life
from birth to present day. Additionally, I was to identify a
major theme that has existed throughout my life.

• Kuder Assessments, which include:

Data Sources o Kuder Career Interests Assessment (KCIA)- This

assessment uses a series of statements to
identify my highest career interests
Legend con’t
o Kuder Skills Confidence Assessment (KSCA)- This
assessment uses a series of statements to identify
my strongest skills and the highest areas of interests

o Super’s Work Values Inventory-revised (SWVI)-

This assessment uses a series of statements to
identify my top work values .
 • Career Anchors Assessment (CAA)- This assessment
asked 64 questions which help identify factors which
we many not be able to live without. Furthermore, it
helps identify appropriate career choices and what is
most important in my work life.

Data Sources • Interest Profiler Assessment (IP)- This assessment

asked questions about my interest and identified which
interest were part of my top list.
Legend con’t
• Big Five (BF)- During this assignment I was to answer a
series of questions that help define my personality across
five broad domains: openness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

• 16 Personalities (16P)- This assessment identifies my

personality type
 This section will
showcase my top 10
themes. These
My 10 Themes themes define who
I am and provide an
insight of what
motivates me.
10 Themes
2. I value the little 3. I enjoy
1. My life revolves things in life, that challenges that
around my family is what is push me out of my
important to me comfort zone

4. I enjoy learning 5. I enjoy working 6. I enjoy leading

new skills with others others

7. I enjoy having
8. Finding joy in 9. Helping others
direction when
life learn and grow
working

10. I enjoy working

in organizations
that value their
employees
 Theme statement:
• Every decision I make is focused
around my family in mind

Theme 1: My Supporting data:

life revolves - They (my family) taught me many

things in life, one of those was the
meaning of family and
around my unconditional love (LSPN)

family - I enjoyed nothing more than being

surrounded by family and learning
new things. (LSPN)
 Supporting data:
- Having family (VC)
Theme 1: My - My family is the most important
life revolves part of my life, without them I
would not be where I am today.
(3Q)
around my - I want to have more time to
family con’t. spend with my children (VD)
- Enjoy the small moments with
my children and husband (VD)
 Contradictroy Evidence:
I often work late and have a hard time
Theme 1: My focusing and engaging 100 percent in
family activities. (3Q)

life revolves Reflection:

around my My family is my priority. Every decision
I make, both in my personal and
professional life, is with their best
family con’t. interest in mind. They are the reason I
push myself to be a better person
everyday and the reason I have
decided to earn my degree.
 • Theme statement:
I appreciate the little moments life has to
offer and creating everlasting memories.
Theme 2:
• Supporting data:
I value the little • I was nervous about being so far away
from “home” and sad about not being
things in life, able to see my family like I was used to.
I could no longer hop in my car and
that is what is drive, I had to board a plane or a boat
and wait to see them. (LSPN)
important to me • Our calls were short and far from clear,
static and delays were the norm, I was
just happy to hear his voice even if it
was for a few minutes. (LSPN)
 Supporting data:
• Our wedding was nothing fancy, in
fact, we didn’t even have rings and
Theme 2: were married at the courthouse. My
family was in attendance and along
my side. We had a nice, small,
I value the little intimate outdoor dinner reception at
my parent’s house, in my opinion, it
was perfect! (LSPN)
things in life, that
• Friendships (VD)
is what is • I want to make others smile (VD)

important to me • Most interested in ensuring that I

have a life balanced among various
con’t. interests such as family, friends,
hobbies, recreational and leisure
activities, study and learning other
than work-related subjects, and so on
(CAA)
 Contradictroy Evidence:

Theme 2: In some of the assessments to include

the Dreams and Desires Worksheet I
found that worry/stress about having
I value the little clean home. Reflecting on this I feel
that I let the little things in life pass with
my family and others instead of being
things in life, that more engaged with those around me.

is what is Reflection:
Looking past the things that are in plain
important to me sight are important to me. Appreciating
and recognizing others and the
opportunities given to me have always
con’t. been important. Valuing the little things
in life continue to give me purpose in
life.
 Theme statement:
I have found that if I am not challenged or find
Theme 3: something boring, I quickly begin to loose
interest. Although, I feel comfortable in areas
where my skills are the strongest, I recognize
I enjoy the importance of being challenged in order to
grow.

challenges that Supporting data:

• Interest in activities that include the creative
push me out of investigation of physical or biological, or
cultural happenings. (KCIA)

my comfort • One of the occupations in the in the Kuder

Career Interest Assessments was: Computer
Network Architect (KCIA)

zone • In the Values Checklist I selected growth

growth as a value (VD)
 Supporting data:

• Wisdom (VD)

Theme 3: • After my resignation on base, I received a

job offer working at our local high school
I enjoy district in the Business Office. My new
position was completely different, I was
now in charge of the multiple budgets for
challenges that one of the high schools, the high school I
graduated from. (LSPN)

push me out of • Over the years I have had the opportunity

my comfort to learn different skills and have different
careers. I have worked in the medical
field, education, finance, and currently, I
zone con’t. work in the planning and development
field. (LSPN)
 Contradictroy Evidence:
In the 16 Personalities assessment one of
my weaknesses identified was my ability to
be reluctant to Innovate or Improvise –
Theme 3: “Just as they can be critical of others’
“unusual” behavior, Consuls may also be
I enjoy unwilling to step out of their own comfort
zones, usually for fear of being (or just
appearing) different” (16P).
challenges that
Reflection:
push me out of I have learned that in order to grow I
need to step outside of my comfort
my comfort zone and allow myself to take part of
new challenges and learning
zone con’t. opportunities. This is important to me
because I value learning new things.
 Theme statement:
One of the many things I enjoy in life is
learning new skills. I believe there is always a

Theme 4: skill to learn and room to perfect that skill. In

my opinion, it is never too late to learn if you
are willing to.
I enjoy
Supporting data:
learning new • Over the years I have had the opportunity to
learn different skills and have different
skills careers. I have worked in the medical field,
education, finance, and currently, I work in the
planning and development field. (LSPN)

• My work ethic was strengthened more and

more each day. I was responsible for myself
and I was determined to succeed. (LSPN)
 Supporting data:
• Enterprising (E)
Interest in activities that include working to
achieve economic gain as well as personal
or organizational goals. Confident in
persuasive, leadership, sales, and
entrepreneurial skills. Solves problems by
Theme 4: using social influence, control, and
traditional beliefs. (KSCA)

I enjoy • Conventional (C)

Interest in activities that include
learning new ordering data, keeping records, and
applying established guidelines.
Confident in computational, clerical,
skills con’t. and business system skills. Solves
problems by following established
rules, practices, and procedures and by
looking to authorities for advice and
counsel. KSCA)

• I enjoy working with others, I think

that I can always learn something
from people that I work with (BF)
 Contradictroy Evidence:
In the Big 5 Personality assessment, I
scored low on openness to experience.
However, this does not mean that I
have not open to new experiences and
Theme 4: learning new skills. (BF)

I enjoy Reflection:

learning new I seek learning opportunities in

everything that I do. There are times
when I don’t realize a learning
skills con’t. opportunity is present because of the
challenges but when I reflect on the
situation most often, I can identify a
new skill learned or reinforced.
 Theme statement:
Collaboration is very important as a
leader. Understanding how others think
Theme 5: and working effectively with others is a
prime example of a good leader.

I enjoy Supporting data:

working with • I scored in the middle in the Big 5
assessment; in I enjoy working with others
(BF)
others • I score high in the Big 5 assessment; I
prefer cooperation versus competition and
conflict (BF)
 Supporting data:

• Throughout the different places of employment, I

have met passionate, intelligent, committed,
honest, and humble leaders. (LSPN)
• My passion for learning new things continued to
Theme 5: grow. I made friends quickly with other Marine
wives and ventured out off base and registered
for school and found a job. I would say I
adjusted very well to our new life and began
I enjoy enjoying the new experience of living on the
island and being a Marine spouse. (LSPN)
• Living on a military installation you experience

working with many deployments and rely on other spouses to

lend a listening ear, provide words of comfort,
and help when needed. You share so much with
each of them that they already know what you

others con’t. are feeling, the bond created between each is

incredible and the memories will be long-lasting.
(LSPN)

• Looking at the Holland Occupation codes and

comparing them to my skills and interests I
found that they were similar as well and the
occupations identified and suggested were
oriented towards my strongest skills, working
with others. (KSCA) (SWVI)
 Contradictroy Evidence:
After completing the Big 5 assessment,
my results for extraversion were in the
middle. This indicates that although I
Theme 5: enjoy working with others, I also enjoy
working alone. (BF)

I enjoy Reflection:
Working with others not only allows me
working with to learn new skills but understand and
see the perspective of others. Working
with others does not necessarily mean
others con’t. in a work setting but also means
solving problems and being there for
others outside of work.
 Theme statement:
Whether it is at work or in my
personal life I enjoy leading others,
Theme 6: this is a part of who I am.

I enjoy leading Supporting data:

• In my values check list I selected
others leadership as a top value (VD)
• In my values check list I selected
responsibility and accountability as my
top values, these values are part of
what I believe a leader should be (VD)
 Supporting data:

• I want to help others grow (VD)

Theme 6: • Managerial competence was tied with my

second career anchor during the Career

I enjoy leading Anchors Assessment (CAA)

• Technical or functional competence may

others con’t. lead to a managerial position (CAA)

• Enjoys direct leadership roles (BF)

 Contradictroy Evidence:
Although I did not specifically talk about
leading others in my LSPN, leading
others is important to me. I find joy in
Theme 6: leading others and making everyone
feel part of the team.

I enjoy leading Reflection:

others con’t. Whether I am a leader at home or at
work I value my role. I try to set an
example for others to follow. I try to
remain humble and lead with integrity.
 Theme statement:
Knowing my role and what my
responsibilities are is important, to me as
a leader. I must stay organized and aware
Theme 7: of the goals and vision to achieve
success.

I enjoy having Supporting data:

direction • Consuls are comfortable, even dependent
on clear hierarchies and roles (16P)
• While Consuls may struggle with too much
when working freedom and improvisation, they thrive in
workplaces with structure, safety and
guidelines. (16P)
• Conscientiousness (Work Ethic)- “Likes
precise detail” (BF)
 Supporting data:
• I am organized, methodic, and
thorough (BF)

• I am good at keeping things

Theme 7: organized and flowing. (3Qs)

I enjoy having • I am a person that enjoys learning

new things, I enjoy thinking about
direction when things even though at times I struggle
to figure out the process (3Qs)

working con’t.
 Contradictroy Evidence:
Looking over the data sources provided
I could not find evidence that was
Theme 7: contradictory to this theme. I have
always enjoyed organization and
having direction when working.
I enjoy having
direction when Reflection:
When I know and understand what I
am doing I feel that I have a better
working con’t. sense of my role; I am able to focus on
others and make decisions more
accurately and quickly .
 Theme statement:
Life is more than just earning a paycheck.

• Supporting data:
• Technical or functional competence may
Theme 8: lead to a managerial position, but these
people are only satisfied if they can manage
within their discipline and would avoid a

Finding joy in promotion if it meant leaving their specialty

and losing their connection with that field.
People with this anchor are seldom satisfied
in a generalist position. (CAA)
life • The person anchored in technical or
functional competence is most motivated
towards being very knowledgeable and
producing highly effective work in some field
of specialization. They are primarily
motivated by the content of the work they
perform. These people tend to identify
strongly with their expertise, and their self-
concept is dependent on their ability to
succeed and be recognized in their area of
specialty. (CAA)
 Supporting data:
• For people whose anchor is life-style
integration, work is not the major vehicle of
self-expression. They are most interested in
ensuring that they have a life balanced among
various interests such as family, friends,
hobbies, recreational and leisure activities,
study and learning other than work-related
subjects, and so on. (CAA)
• I feel joyful when I see my children and
husband smile and when I help others. (3Qs)
Theme 8: • My family is the most important part of my life,
without them I would not be where I am today.
(3Qs)
Finding joy in • Learning also gives me joy. I am a person that
enjoys learning new things, I enjoy thinking
about things even though at times I struggle to
life con’t. figure out the process, find the right answer or
how to articulate my thoughts and feelings.
(3Qs)
• Family- Provides a sense of belonging (IE)
• Professional or vocational role- it strengthens
my desire to be successful by committing
myself to continue growing and learning
professionally. (IE)
 Contradictroy Evidence:
There is no contradictory evidence
on finding joy in life. I like to look at
Theme 8: life and find meaning in everything
that I do.

Finding joy in Reflection:

life con’t. As Fr. Himes states “happiness
changes but joy is much deeper,
coming from within.” My family,
helping others and doing the right
thing is where I find joy in life.
 Theme statement:
• As a leader I value what others have to
offer. Learning more about myself
Theme 9: allows me to better lead and help others
discover themselves and their
strengths.
Helping
others learn Supporting data:
• Extraversion- likes working with others
and grow (BF)
• Agreeableness- prefer cooperation (BF)
 Supporting data:

• Community memberships- makes me want

to focus more on collaboration and
Theme 9: teamwork (IE)
• Volunteer service/affiliations- makes me
think of how I can provide a service to
Helping others other, how I can help; it strengthens my
commitment to helping others (IE)

learn and grow • I enjoyed working with children and thought

about teaching preschool forever. (LSPN)
• I had many children who were struggling
con’t. and needed additional support; I was often
working late and bringing work home with
me . (LSPN)
 Contradictroy Evidence:
I was unable to find contradictory evidence
for this theme. I have always enjoyed
Theme 9: helping others learn and grow. Many of the
careers identified during the assessments
taken included working/teaching others.

Helping others Reflection:

learn and grow My personal life and careers have all

revolved around others. Whether it has
been raising my children, working with
con’t. preschoolers, or working with adults, I
hope that I have helped others along
the way and have been a positive role
model.
 Theme statement:
Theme 10: Having a sense of belonging in
the workplace is important.
I enjoy working
hard for • Supporting data:
• I tend to be a workaholic and have a
organizations strong sense of duty (BF)

that value their • I have a strong and disciplined work

ethic (BF)
employees
 Supporting data:
• I enjoy working in organizations
that value human relationships
and contributions of others
Theme 10: (KSCA)
• Recognizing the efforts of others
I enjoy working is important (KSCA)

in organizations • I value diversity (VD)

that value their • I like being part of a large
organization where my work is valued
(VD)
employees con’t.
 Contradictroy Evidence:
I worked for an employer that did not
Theme 10: value its employees. The turnover rate
was extremely high. (LSPN)
I enjoy working Reflection:
in organizations Being part of an organization that
recognizes and values their employees
is extremely important to me. I don’t
that value their need to receive awards, but it is always
nice to have your superiors
employees con’t. acknowledge your contributions. As a
leader, I try to let others know how
appreciative I am of their hard work and
commitment.
 My Personal Vision
Statement
“I will commit to setting a positive example in everything I do.
Through my values and actions I will exhibit outstanding
leadership in both my personal and professional life.”

Reflection:
• My family and those around me inspire me to be the best person I
can be. To create my vision statement I looked at the themes I
selected from my assessments. Through this process I learned
more about myself than I ever have. I used all of the sources from
this course, other organizational leadership courses, and life
experiences to really dig deep down and discover myself. For me,
talking about myself is not an easy task. I’ve learned analyze the
information provided in each source with greater detail to illustrate
my story.
My Personal Mission
Statement
To demonstrate that everything is possible if you set your mind
to it. The decisions I make in life are focused on my family,
whether I make personal life or professional career decisions. I
find the most joy in being with my family and working hard for
them. I recognize that maintaining a balance in my life is as
important as work ethic, integrity, responsibility, empathy, and
growth.

Reflection: Developing my personal mission statement was

harder than I thought. I looked through my 10 themes and found
my love for my family and others was important. When thinking
of them I realized that I have only made it this far in life because I
have created goals with them in mind. Sometimes I get too
focused on what I am doing that tend to forget about other
things that are important to me. Through this process I’ve
learned that having a balance in life is necessary.
 Conclusion

In conclusion, this assignment has been challenging but rewarding to me.

The process has allowed me to reflect on what is important to me as
mother, wife, daughter, co-worker, and leader. I have been able to think
about my studies and rediscover myself through this assignment and
selection of themes. I have found that my values are present in my
decisions and actions both in my personal and professional life. Family,
integrating a work life balance, and building positive relationships with
those around me continues to be my reason and drive.
References
Big five personality test. (n.d.). Retrieved on October 26, 2020 from
https://www.123test.com/report/BTOWYTHJYC3MPB77C9/free/

Career Anchors Assessment (n.d). Retrieved on October 26, 2020. https://journey.kuder.com/home/dashboard

Himes, M. (2016, April 20). The 3 Key Questions. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-4lKCENdnw&feature=emb_title

Kuder Career Assessments. (n.d.) Retrieved on October 26, 2020. https://journey.kuder.com/home/dashboard

Kuder Skills Condence Assessment. (n.d.) Retrieved on October 26, 2020.

https://journey.kuder.com/home/dashboard

Peterson, E. (2020, November 1). Life Story Personal Narrative.