ENCE 424, Section 0101

Third Pearl Diving

Assignment
Dr. Webster-Trotman

Grace Russell
1-21-2020
Introduction
Throughout this last section of the course, I have learned much more about effective
communication in the online realm. As COVID-19 continues to affect the world and limit our
interaction, this is an increasingly important concept to understand. Professional writing also
transfers over to teamwork abilities as information needs dissemination during the work day.
Understanding how to be clear and concise to ensure all team members are on the same page is
one of the most integral aspects to leading a group towards a goal. Without it, set objectives are
not known, and therefore cannot be met.

Team Leader Email

Addressing the team when they do not perform up to standards can be difficult and
uncomfortable sometimes. Luckily, through the lessons learned in this class and the readings,
this task does not have to be as hard. Ensuring to maintain clarity and using ethos, pathos, and
logos helps to get the message across accurately. Here is how I would draft an email to my team
when their performance is lackluster and needs improvement:

Good morning Team,

After careful review of your work on the project, it has been made clear that the necessary
progress has not been met to complete this project on time. I have not been contacted to provide
any possible reasoning for this delay or ask for an extension, so I can only determine it is due to
a lack of effort. We were given a set deadline of 30 days, and the work done so far is only
indicative of 6 days of hard work instead of two weeks. We should be at our halfway point
instead of barely 1/5 done. This is upsetting to see, as I know you all have the potential to create
an innovation solution to this problem on-time if you put in the work. According to the
objectives you signed off on before joining this team, you agreed to arrive at 8am and work your
full nine hours towards this project. Failure to adhere to this agreement and incompletion of the
job will result in a removal of position on this team and potential job termination. I have come to
enjoy working with all of you and know the high-caliber product you have the potential to yield.
I do not want to see this happen to any of you, but the lackluster performance so far provides
little option unless turned around.

I will be in the office at 7am tomorrow to get a head start on work. I am also willing to stay late
to answer any questions you may have in clarifying job duties, expectations, or project deadlines.
If you have an extenuating circumstance that has permitted you from performing on this project,
please let me know as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

Respectfully,

Grace Russell
gruss26@umd.edu
(407) 924-9518
Classroom Activity
In the classroom activity this week, we discussed effective business writing and business
meetings. Within these topics, we were given examples of poorly written business emails and
told to modify them effectively. Frankly, these emails were atrocious. It took heavy editing to
make them seem even somewhat professional and not completely disrespectful. I could not
comprehend people actually speaking this way to someone in a business setting. Through the
activity of editing these emails, I learned that respectfulness is key to professionalism. If there is
a serious issue that needs addressing, it does no good to let it go unnoticed and never bring it up
for fear of retaliation. It is much better to report these issues, but do so respectfully. This goes for
any type of issue, whether that is needing to reschedule an interview due to a conflict or
requesting the status of an application submitted awhile ago. This is only successful if you are
not rude or lack basic understanding of how to be professional. Otherwise, your superior could
decide to not help you out or give you the information you need to be successful.
It was so interesting during this activity as well to begin to discern what information
should be given in these emails. You need enough clarifying statements to adequately state what
issues you are having and what information you need. However, sometimes too much
information then becomes distracting and unnecessary. I think that is one main concept I could
work on in perfecting my business writing and interactions. Often, I can get caught up in giving
every detail that is not needed in a situation. I want the recipient to know where I am coming
from and exactly what I would like back. Having clarity is key to communicating effectively.

Scenario
In this scenario, my boss has just called me an idiot in front of my entire team of
coworkers. Obviously, I would immediately become extremely offended and want to tell my
boss off. When something that embarrassing and belittling occurs, it could be hard to reevaluate
and use tactics learned to communicate better. The first thing I would do in this scenario is
simply take a moment to think about what just happened. Did my boss have a reason to call me
an idiot? How did that make me feel? How do I want to respond, and is that response productive
to resolving my issue with the boss? Crucial Conversations focuses on “starting with the heart”
to understand how to even begin responding to a situation like this (Patterson, 22).
Understanding what end goals you want from the conversation is the first step. Once that is done,
I can focus on the real time conversation. I would start by asking to speak to them privately.
Having others intrude on a private crucial conversation can create more tension and render the
conversation ineffective with their input. Next, I would try to utilize the skill of “exploring
other’s paths” (Patterson, 57). Using this tactic, I would try to understand why my boss called me
a name in the first place. Did I do something to warrant that response? What was their thought
process in this? If I had done something wrong, I would own up to my mistake and apologize for
it, ensuring it does not happen again. Once I have done that, I would open up about how that
interaction made me feel. I would explain how I understand what I have done wrong, but calling
me an idiot in front of all my coworkers feels very demeaning and does not create an
environment conducive to productivity. I would continue to explain how I would not want to be
treated this way in a professional environment and its potential effects on other workers who
witnessed it. If my boss’s response is remorseful and understanding, I would ask to “retrace their
path” as Patterson mentions to recognize where I can do better and where they can act
differently, even in feeling the same frustration (58). We can find a mutual purpose in the
conversation by seeing the harsh words’ effect on workers productivity and respect as well as
how it makes them feel. Hopefully an understanding can be met and changes made so this does
not happen again to any of the workers.

Big Five Personality

Upon taking the Big Five Personality Test, I scored the highest on Conscientiousness,
followed by an almost equal score in Openness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness. My lowest
score was in Neuroticism. My highest trait, Conscientiousness, is described as, “A person’s
ability to exercise self-discipline and control in order to pursue their goals. High scorers are often
organized and determined, and are able to forego immediate gratification for the sake of long-
term achievement.” To an extent, I would agree with these statements. I am extremely organized
and am often willing to work hard instead of choosing the activities which would stunt my
growth. That being said, since I have come to college, I have become less similar to this
personality type. I definitely would put my high school self in this category but feel I am not as
self-disciplined anymore. This could simply be because I have learned better time management
skills and do not pack my schedule as much as before. Recently, I have found I still work hard
when it is necessary, but I typically find ways to still do well without overexerting myself. I
could probably achieve much more if I tried, and I have stopped trying in categories where I feel
my effort is not warranted. When reflecting on my work ethic, it is something I want to get back
to the level it used to be. However, it is hard to tell if part of growing up is figuring out which
areas to work hard in to be the most effective, or if I just need to stop being lazy in some areas in
my life. Balancing life could be difficult if I go back to how I performed in high school now that
I have to worry about much more as an adult.
My Big Five personality is actually surprisingly congruent with the previous tests we
have taken. My ISTJ Jung personality has very similar values to that Conscientiousness and also
displays similar traits to Openness and Agreeableness, which I also scored highly on.
Agreeableness and Extraversion are also very similar to my DISC personality of Influence.
Agreeableness is based on cooperating with others. Extraversion is engaging actively with others
for friendship, admiration, or status. Likewise, Influence is based in shaping an environment
through persuading or prompting others. These traits intertwine to create a level of openness and
communication with others that leads to social confidence to motivate others and gain attention.
My DISC personality does not necessarily relate heavily to my top Big Five of
Conscientiousness, but those second top scoring traits are very similar.
Conclusion
All in all, I continue to learn more about myself through this course and understand how
to better my skills for the future. Through professional writing, clarity can be met and hard
conversations can be had to strengthen a team. Differing personalities also contribute to
strengthening a team. Recognizing varying characteristics in teammates can lead to setting
people up in positions they will both grow and succeed to have a better outcome as a whole.
Using these skills, greater cohesion of a team can be met to ensure a fruitful outcome of a project
or job.
 Works Cited

Patterson, Kerry, et al. Crucial Conversations. McGraw-Hill, 2012.