University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 2

Eric Martin
Communication for Project Managers: ENCE424
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
October 31, 2020
Introduction
Project managers typically work in teams to help facilitate a project from start to finish.
Teams have their benefit as not all of the work is placed on one person, but they can also have
disadvantages such as conflict. Sometimes, teams do not work well together due to conflicting
personalities or too many people having similar personalities. It is important to address conflict
in a healthy way. Being aware of your conflict management style helps you address the
unhealthy ways you might resolve conflict. The Jung Personality Assessment reveals one’s
personality types and is an important tool to creating effective working groups. Good
communicators are also well-versed in storytelling.
Telling an effective story helps to advance your career and get people to listen to what
you are saying. People connect with a story and place themselves in your, or the character’s,
shoes. Carmine Gallo defines seven elements of a good story and outlines each story in a three-
part structure. These elements and methods can be used to formulate stories that stick with a
potential employer and put you at the top of their hiring list.
In my second pearl diving assignment I will reflect on how I manage conflict, my
personality types as defined by the Jung Personality Assessment, and tell two stories pertaining
to overcoming adversity and problem solving.

Conflict Management
Everyone reacts to conflict in a different manner. The Conflict Management Style
Assessment breaks people into five responses, Collaborating, Competing, Avoiding,
Accommodating, and Compromising. After completing the assessment, it was determined that I
react to conflict by competing with the other person. I am likely to value my goal more than the
relationship I have with my opponent. I am also most likely to force my point of view on the
other person by overpowering them and taking control of the conversation. Now that I am aware
of how I react to conflict instinctively; I will try to be more compromising. I can achieve this by
valuing portions of my opponents point of view and our relationship more than my goal. All
mannerisms have the ability to enhance and detract from effective communication.
Being confident in your ideas is important for persuading others to agree with you.
However, too much confidence can detract from mutual purpose, resulting in domination and an
outcome that hurts both parties. In Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are
High, Kerry Patterson and his colleagues outline three steps for keeping a conversation safe to
discuss. They direct readers to “apologize, contrast, create a mutual purpose” (p. 61). As
someone who tends to compete when it comes to resolving conflict, I think it would be best if I
begin to focus on the mutual purpose and mutual respect that helps people to communicate in a
safe manner. By ignoring the other person’s point of view and not trying to reach a conclusion
together I am not only hurting the other person’s feelings but also hurting relationships that I
may hold in high regard. How I react to conflict is part of my personality.

Jung Personality Assessment

An individual’s personality determines how they work within groups or on a team. The
Jung Personality Assessment details how one interacts with others and their environment. Once I
completed the Jung assessment it was “revealed” that my personality type is Introvert-iNtuitive-
Thinker-Judger (INTJ). Introverts rely on their own thoughts and time spent alone to reflect and
rebuild energy. People that are intuitive look towards the future and focus little on their current
reality. Thinkers are analytical and unbiased when making decisions, thinking on what they
know rather than what they believe. Those who are judgers gravitate toward order, meticulously
organizing their life and environment.
Earlier I used quotes around the word revealed when saying what the Jung Personality
Assessment told me. I used quotes in this case because everything that was described by the
results, I see in myself on a daily basis. I am introverted in all regards. I prefer to be on my own
and thrive in an individual environment. Due to COVID I am all alone in a house meant for five
people. I am finding it hard to focus on school and work, not because I am by myself but because
of how large the space is for one person. Following graduation I plan on living on my own for
the first time but in a space that is better suited for an individual. I hardly ever focus on the
present. I am always looking ahead to the next week, month, or year, trying to make plans and
set myself up for the best future possible. If something does not go my way, I switch course and
adapt my plans accordingly, but I do not dwell on the issue. My day-to-day life is very
calculated. If something is unknown to me, I make every attempt to learn more about it before
making a decision. I am not afraid to say that I do not know about something, as I believe it is
better to be unsure about something than talk nonsense and make the situation worse.
Both personality assessments I have taken this year gave shockingly similar results. The
DISC Personality assessment showed that I have a dominant personality type. Many of the
characteristics of the dominant personality type, such as direct and decisive, organized, and
future-focused, overlap with those shown in my Jung Personality Assessment results. The main
difference between the dominant personality type and the INTJ personality type is the ability to
listen. Dominant people are more likely to be poor listeners as they spend a majority of the time
talking. I am not much of a talker unless it is required of me. I would much rather listen and gain
insight from others than make them feel excluded.

Storytelling
Good persuaders are able to tell a story that compels the reader to see their point of view
and empathize with the storyteller. Carmine Gallo (2018) outlines seven elements of a story in
Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get From Good to Great, “It’s a story…It’s
intriguing…It’s authentic…It includes details…It reveals a surprise…It introduces empathetic
characters…It has conflict and tension” (p. 160). Utilizing these seven elements help to make
your story stick out among all of the stories a potential employer might hear in a single day.
Gallo (2018) also details the concept of “The Three-Act Storytelling Structure” which includes
“The Set-up…The Confrontation…The Resolution” (p. 165). Combining the three-act structure
with the seven elements of a good story helps to enhance your marketability and propel you to
the top of any potential employers hiring list. Two personal stories that can be told using these
methods describe overcoming adversity and problem solving.

Overcoming Adversity
I struggle immensely with mental and financial adversity. Before the current pandemic I
had a routine of going to class, work, the gym, and hanging out with friends on a regular basis.
Many of these things have been taken from me due to COVID-19. Classes are online, gyms are
either closed or extremely unsafe, and visiting friends needs to be carefully planned and
distanced. Even my place of business, the University of Maryland Golf Course, was closed for
two months from March through May.
I was unable to work and since I only make minimum wage at a part-time job, I did not
make enough money over the previous year to qualify for unemployment insurance. I am a
second-generation college student born into a lower middle-class family, having paid for 85-
percent of my education with private student loans. Missing out on these two months of income
at the beginning of the Maryland golf season has set me back considerably in paying off those
loans.
Over the summer of 2019 I worked for Whiting-Turner Contracting as a field engineer
intern. At the conclusion of the internship I was offered to come back the following year,
summer 2020. I happily accepted their offer and soon started the Fall 2019 semester. In that
moment, I was not aware that position could be in jeopardy. Graciously, Whiting-Turner brought
on 700 interns for the Summer 2020 season. I was one of those 700 interns, returning for my
second year. I was aware that many of Whiting-Turner’s new-hires were former interns.
Therefore, I worked even harder this summer in hopes of getting that full-time offer to help give
me some financial stability. My hard work paid off as I was offered a full-time field engineer
position, pending graduation from the University of Maryland. This offer has also given me
some mental relief during the Fall 2020 semester as I do not have to worry about my plans after
college and I have gotten into a better routine than Spring 2020.

Problem Solving
As an engineering student I am continually tasked with solving real-life problems. These
problems are technical in nature and require extraordinary focus and commitment to finding a
solution. At Whiting-Turner as a field engineer intern I was required to perform quality control
checks. I found that the best way to reduce the number of non-conforming QCs was to help the
subcontractors out as much as possible prior to installation so that the work was done correctly
the first time. Often you could find me doing layouts of walls or electrical boxes, gathering
materials and placing them near their installation point, or lending a hand with framing, drywall,
and acoustical ceiling tiles. My innate ability to look at the architectural drawings and build the
project in my head helped me to get ahead of the subcontractors and any potential issues. One of
the biggest problems that occurred frequently was the difference between the architectural
drawings and the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing drawings.
My supervisor, a senior superintendent at Whiting-Turner, and I were constantly
reminding our subcontractors that they need to have a set of architectural drawings that relate to
their trade. We also made a point of scouring the drawings for any discrepancies and made these
differences evident to the subcontractors. One day while reviewing the architectural and
plumbing drawings I noticed that the position of the ADA water fountains conflicted. In the
architectural drawings it called out the higher fountain to be on the left but on the plumbing
drawings it called out the higher fountain to be on the right. Immediately I realized that this
would be an issue when the plumber went to install their water lines and the hole in the drywall
would be at the wrong elevation.
I made a note of the conflict and continued searching the drawings for any other
discrepancies. When it came time to frame the wall on which the ADA water fountains were to
be mounted, I laid out the location of each fountain, the elevation of the bracing, and the
elevation of the water line. This proved to be a major help as the framing, bracing, water lines,
and drywall were all installed correctly on the first try. Because everything was installed
correctly in the first place it eliminated potential costs of having to rip out the drywall, the water
lines, and the framing and reverse them. These changes would have cost both subcontractors and
the owner for both labor and materials.
Conclusion
I have told two stories that describe times when I have solved problems and overcome
adversity and reflected on my Jung personality type and how I resolve conflict. Collaboration
between design teams can be poor and leads to discrepancies on their construction documents.
Recognizing these conflicts and relaying them to subcontractors helps to reduce the number of
non-conforming quality checks on a project. In a time where all you can do is wait, it is
important to be looking out for your mental and financial health. I have had the opportunity to
create my own path to financial stability over the past two summers and it has helped to keep me
mentally stable. It has been corroborated that I am organized, direct, and focused on the future.
When dealing with conflict I need to focus more on the relationship I have with the other person
and focus less on dominating the conversation. Continued introspection will help me to become a
better communicator and improve my relationships with colleagues.
 Works Cited
Gallo, C. (2018). Five stars: The communication secrets to get from good to great. St. Martin’s
Griffin.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., and Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools
for talking when stakes are high. McGraw Hill.