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University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 1

Edmund Lee
Communication for Project Managers: ENCE424
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman
September 25, 2021
Introduction:

Communication is a very important skill that everyone must have, employers are
constantly hiring the candidates who can communicate effectively. Communication for Project
Managers focuses on how to communicate effectively in a professional setting. The topics and
concepts that are covered throughout the course have taught me a lot about proper
communication and networking. This essay will highlight the concepts that I have learned in the
course and how I will use them to change my approach and practice of communication.

Concepts from Readings:

One interesting concept was from one of our in-class sessions, in this class session
nonverbal communication was brought to our attention. During the in-class session our professor
Dr. Webster-Trotman continuously drove home the importance of how we constantly
communicate nonverbally. Our class had discussion about how body language can tell other
people a lot about how you are feeling and how others are able to read these cues all the time.
Following this discussion, a series of statistics were brought adding emphasis to the importance
of nonverbal communication. From the PowerPoint slides it stated that “55 percent of your
audience’s impression of you is based on body language” (Webster-Trotman). This statistic
shows how important it is for people to present confident and good body language when
engaging in anything. After learning about this statistic, I have begun to really focus on my body
language. One area of body language that I want to get better at is my posture, sometimes I find
myself slouching and this would present myself as unconfident or some may even say lazy to
other people. This improvement in posture will help me have a more confident and positive look
to other people, which would be crucial for me since I am currently looking for full time
opportunities. Another statistic that was shown was that it “takes 7 seconds for someone to make
an impression of you” (Webster-Trotman), this drives home the importance of nonverbal
communication. Which is why I have made an extra effort to have good posture and as well as
make myself presentable each day. The concept of non-verbal communication is an important
thing for me to remember, focusing on my body language will allow me to effectively network in
the future.

The next interesting concept is from, Networking for College Students and Graduates.
The concept comes from chapter 2 of the book where it goes over the concept of positioning
yourself and your brand. This is a very important concept because networking is a form of
marketing yourself, and to successfully network and make string connections you must be able to
show off your brand. Networking is a very important skill, and this concept teaches how to sell
yourself and what steps should people take to sell their brand. One of the topics in this concept
talked about changing your mindset when it came to networking, it stated that “changing your
attitude to a positive one is the first step to success” (Faulkner). Having a positive mindset is key
in everything you do, and if you think positively good things will happen. Bringing this type of
mindset to networking will allow people to network more effectively as well it will show other
people the type of mindset you bring to the table. This concept is something so minor but can
have the biggest impact, by changing your mindset it can really make you successful in the
things you want to accomplish. After learning this I want to have a better mindset when it comes
to networking, I will try to practice having a positive mindset when it comes to networking. This
mindset will help me be able to not feel as intimidated when it came to going up to people I
didn’t know or sending emails to recruiters.

The final concept that I found interesting is the concept of pooled sharing. This concept is
from Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, the section that this
concept is in covers how powerful dialogue is and gives examples as to how dialogue can be
used in conversations. What really stuck out to me was the concept of pooled sharing, pooled
sharing happens when a collective of people share their opinions. This give people better insight
into the issue before making the decision and it also is a “measure of the group’s IQ” (Patterson).
This I thought was very true, no one person is right about anything but when you combine people
of different thinking processes you often will come up with the best decision. This is because
people will hear other peoples thought process and can either agree or challenge that thought
which would allow for discussion of it and hopefully working out any possible issues with the
solution they come up with. After learning about this concept, I realize that it is crucial for me to
take more initiative on speaking my opinion when it come to group work. I could be right or
wrong but either way it will benefit the group as a whole and allow us to work more effectively. I
think that this concept will be really important for me in my career, as an engineer every project
we work on will be with a team and it’s the teams responsibility to come up with the best
solution. With pooled sharing we can be confident that the solution we decide will be the most
effective one, which encourages me to speak my thoughts more when I work in groups. I want to
start doing this now so I will have practiced speaking my opinion so it can better the group.

Networking:

Throughout the course I have learned a lot about networking, I have learned many
concepts that change the way I think and approach networking. The term networking to me
always seemed like a side task that could some what benefit me in the long term. But after
learning more about networking I realize how important networking is for me to be able to
secure a career in the industry I want to work in. One thing that I found interesting was how
many job positions are filled through a networking opportunity as opposed to a job application
online. This fact really opened my eyes up and put an emphasis on how I should be more
proactive in networking. One thing that I did in this course to grow my network is exchange
contact information with other students in the class. Although this was required it really showed
me how easy it is to network and lessen the anxieties that I may have about it. This combined
with using yellow dig to connect to other students has really built up my network within the
class. By having done these two things other students will remember me because they have my
contact information and I have communicated with them about the course and sharing a common
background of being interested in project management. These are things that I have done within
the class to expand my network, but I have also taken the concepts we went over in class and
applied it to networking outside of class. One of the concepts that I have applied recently is the
concept of having a positive mindset when it comes to networking (Faulkner). I applied this
during the University of Maryland career fair, where I spoke to many recruiters so I can expand
my network. As well as gain information about the companies I want to work for and show them
that I am interested, having this positive mindset has really helped me going into these events
less scared and timid about the conversations that I’m about to have with people. There have
been many opportunities in communication for project managers course for me to grow my
network and improve my networking abilities.

Disc Personality Assessment:

The DISC personality test was an interesting assessment, the questions that were asked
really got me thinking about my personality and who I was as a person. There are some instances
where it was hard to choose which situation best represented me and I think these types of
questions will really tap into my personality. After completing the test, I looked at the results and
I agree with the results that I got back. First, I find it interesting how the results are broken down
into four categories and with explanations of them, it allowed for me to better understand what
the results meant and how accurately it represented me. The most eye-catching result to me was
that I was 36% steadiness, at first, I did not know what the DISC test meant by steadiness but
after reading the description it meant patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness. These three traits
are ones that I feel I have and often try and practice them, which is why I agree that most of my
personality is steadiness. With persistence there have been many instances where I wanted to
reach a certain goal and I have worked as hard as I could to reach this goal. An example of this is
when in high school I wanted to play for my school’s basketball team. I tried out for the team
when I was sophomore and I got cut, the following summer a worked on my basketball skills and
played AAU. When junior year came around for tryouts I was cut again, this did not stop me
however, I continued to work on my skills and played basketball constantly, and finally senior
year I made the team. This story shows my persistence which is why I agree that 36% of my
personality involves persistence. Looking at the other sections of the pie chart I agree with the
results, the second largest portion of the pie chart is compliance. I would say that this is fairly
accurate, most of the time I am an unconfrontational person and often try and stray away from
argument.

These results I felt were pretty accurate of my personality, however there was one thing I
found interesting. The lowest portion of my personality was influence, I would say this is pretty
accurate, but it provided me insight into how little I try and influence. This is important because I
feel as I get older there are going to be instances where I need to influence, and it can benefit me
as well as other people. This recognition of having low influence has made me self-aware of the
strengths and weaknesses of my personality. Understanding where my personality lacks will
allow me to work on these areas so I may become a better communicator. Thinking about
communicating in a networking setting I need to be more influential in my networking, being
more influential will make a more memorable experience when networking with people. This
could be positive for me because the people I have networked with will remember me better.
Keeping in mind my personality type it will allow me to understand when I should be more
assertive compared to passive, it can be beneficial in reading the room and how I should change
the way I communicate depending on the situation. Understanding my personality will help me
in the classroom as well, from my results dominance and influence are the lowest portions of my
personality. By keeping this in mind I should try to push myself to ask more questions or
challenge classmates to though provoking conversations. This will help me be a more effective
communicator. Finally, being self-aware of my compliance trait will be important as well, since I
am a non-confrontational person there have been many instances where I agree to things that
may not be the best for me because I don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings. By keeping in
mind that my compliance trait is most of my personality according to the DISC test I should
learn and practice speaking up for myself more. But doing this in a polite manner, this will help
me become a better communicator so I can have my thought and opinion be heard, even though I
may not always be right it will show that I am a confident communicator and can bring
something to the table.
Conflict Management Styles Assessment:

Conflict Management Styles Assessment

Please CIRCLE ONE response that best describes you. Be honest, this survey is designed to help you
learn about your conflict management style. There are no right or wrong answers!

Name: Edmund Lee Date: 9/20/21

Rarely Sometimes Often Always

1. I discuss issues with others to try to find solutions that meet everyone’s
needs. 1 2 3 4

2. I try to negotiate and use a give-and-take approach to problem situations. 1 2 3 4

3. I try to meet the expectations of others. 1 2 3 4

4. I would argue my case and insist on the advantages of my point of view. 1 2 3 4

5. When there is a disagreement, I gather as much information as I can and


keep the lines of communication open. 1 2 3 4

6. When I find myself in an argument, I usually say very little and try to leave
as soon as possible. 1 2 3 4

7. I try to see conflicts from both sides. What do I need? What does the other
person need? What are the issues involved? 1 2 3 4

8. I prefer to compromise when solving problems and just move on. 1 2 3 4

9. I find conflicts exhilarating; I enjoy the battle of wits that usually follows. 1 2 3 4

10. Being in a disagreement with other people makes me feel uncomfortable


and anxious. 1 2 3 4

11. I try to meet the wishes of my friends and family. 1 2 3 4

12. I can figure out what needs to be done and I am usually right. 1 2 3 4

13. To break deadlocks, I would meet people halfway. 1 2 3 4


14. I may not get what I want but it’s a small price to pay for keeping the
peace. 1 2 3 4

15. I avoid hard feelings by keeping my disagreements with others to myself. 1 2 3 4

Source: Reginald (Reg) Adkins, Ph.D., Elemental Truths.


http://elementaltruths.blogspot.com/2006/11/conflict management-quiz.html

Scoring the Conflict Management Styles Assessment

As stated, the 15 statements correspond to the five conflict management styles. To find your
most preferred style, total the points for each style. The style with the highest score indicates
your most commonly used strategy. The one with the lowest score indicates your least
preferred strategy. However, all styles have pros and cons, so it’s important that you can use
the most appropriate style for each conflict situation.

Style Corresponding Statements: Total:

Collaborating (questions 1, 5, 7): 6

Competing: (questions 4, 9, 12): 4

Avoiding: (questions 6, 10, 15): 11

Accommodating: (questions 3, 11, 14): 12

Compromising: (questions 2, 8, 13) 9

My preferred conflict management style is: Accommodating

The conflict management style I would like to work on is: Collaborating


How can I practice this conflict management style?
Whenever there is a conflict that arises, I will force myself to voice my opinion
and work to reach a compromise. I will ask for what the other person wants and
how we can reach an agreement.
After completing this assessment, it really opened my eye as to how I deal with conflict.
From the assessment there were face different conflict management styles, looking at the scores
for each style I concluded that my most common forms of conflict management are
accommodating and avoiding. This means that when in conflict I do whatever I can to either get
out of an argument or just end it without resulting in further conflict. I believe that this hinders
my ability to communicate effectively. In most conflicts that arise I often just accommodate with
what the other person is saying so no real argument occurs, whenever an argument occurs it
often makes me feel uncomfortable. However, this conflict management style really hinders my
communication ability. Because of this it doesn’t allow for me to voice my opinion or to allow
other people to know how I am feeling and can often result negatively for me. In these situations
where there is conflict and I do not stand up to my side and accommodate it often leads to further
argument because the initial argument wasn’t resolved.

Avoiding is the other conflict style I often use; this form of conflict management has also
hindered my ability to effectively communicate. With avoiding it either means that I change the
subject right away when there is conflict or just not bring up something that is bothering me.
This form of conflict management is not effective at all and is even detrimental to myself,
because it can make me angry because the conflict was never resolved. When it comes to
avoiding conflict most common is when I am bothered by something and do not bring it up at all,
this form of conflict management has made my communication skills very poor. This practice
doesn’t allow me to voice my opinion or make me feel that my opinion matters. With this many
issues will get brushed under the rug and cause me to feel negatively. After taking this
assessment and realizing that my forms of conflict management is not the best, I want to try to
change which type of conflict management I do. I would like to work on being better and
compromising or collaborating because this seems like the style in which both parties will be
pleased. Using these two management styles it will allow me to voice my opinion without
making the other person feel bad and reach a compromise in a peaceful manner. I think that this
form of conflict management is the most effective because you can hear the other persons side
and work through the issue which caused the conflict.

To fully achieve this form of conflict management I would like to take techniques from
Crucial Conversations and apply them. One of the topics that is covered is “focus on what you
really want”, this topic focuses on how focusing on what you want to come out of a conflict can
hopefully end it (Patterson). In the book it talks about how Greta realizes what she wanted, and it
allowed for to resolve the conflict (Patterson). I want to take this approach to conflict
management so I can voice my opinion but also try and diffuse a conflict in a quick and
reasonable manner.
Jung Personality Test:

The Jung Personality test gives insight into what personality types we have, the questions
ask give insight into how we operate as people and how we handle various situations. After
answering these questions, a four-letter code is the result of this test, and each letter has a
different meaning about your personality. For my result I got INFP, which means I have
personality traits of being introverted, intuitive, feeler, and perceiver. These all have a different
meaning and make up my personality.

After looking at the results I was labeled as an INFP, I feel that this is a pretty accurate
representation of my personality. First, I will start by what I disagree with, the only letter that I
slightly disagree with is “I” which represents introverted. My personality type I would say is that
I am outgoing and friendly guy, but I will never go out of my way to do crazy things or approach
random people. I would say that I am a good mix of being introverted and extroverted which is
why I do not necessarily agree with being labeled an introvert, however since there is no real
label for being in between an extrovert and introvert I will accept this. For the rest of the letters, I
agree that these all represent my personality, I am a thinker when it comes to solving problems
and I feel that I am often intuitive about the decisions I make. When under pressure I won’t
decide unless I know that I am certain that the outcome will be positive because of it. Next is
feeler, this personality trait I would agree fits me well, other people as well myself believe that I
am an empath because other people’s emotions often affect me. The last trait of perceiver I
would say is pretty accurate because although I like to follow a routine, I often will be excited to
participate in any unexpected opportunity that may come up with my friends. Seeing that most of
the personality traits are reflective of me, I didn’t find anything surprising when looking at the
results.

Comparing my results of the JUNG and DISC personality tests I would say that they are
both like each other. For my DISC results I received that steadiness and compliance were most
of my personality, I feel that these two traits coincide with the fact that I received feeler and
perceiver in my JUNG personality test. My ability to feel other people’s emotions and change
my communication according to that. This plays into the trait of steadiness and how I am often
patient with people and work to help and accommodate their needs. My two lowest portions of
the DISC personality results are influence and dominance, which coincide with my JUNG
personality traits of introvert and intuitive. I feel that being sort of introverted not being assertive
or overpowering is a product of that, I often find myself trying to be lowkey in some instances
rather than trying to get my way. Also, with being intuitive I often try and look ahead which is
why I do no try and influence that much. I always assess how necessary is it for me to impose
my opinion and whether this will matter in the long run, these two personality traits accurately
describe why dominance and influence are low in the DISC results. I feel that my results were so
similar because the questions asked from each personality test are similar in trying to see how
people will react to certain situations and what resonates with them.

Conclusion:

The content I covered in this essay covers concepts that I have learned in the course
Communication for Project Managers and the required readings. Combining these concepts with
analyzing my personality traits has really opened my perception as to how I can effectively
communicate. After analyzing the results of my personality tests, I see where I lack in my ability
to effectively communicate. I will take this information into account and use the concepts we
covered in this course to help me improve as a communicator.
References:
Faulkner, Michael, and Andrea Nierenberg. Networking for College Students and Graduates.
Pearson Learning Solutions, 2017. Print.
Patterson, Kerry, et al. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes Are High.
McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Webster-Trotman, Dr. Shana. “Communication for Project Managers Week 3.” 22 September
2021, https://umd.instructure.com/courses/1308666/files/64118313?module_item_id=10936104

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