Tyler Woodward

November 10, 2023

All About Me OGL482
Andi Hess
 Introduction
Each of us is defined by what we believe and value. This
document examines my writings and uses thematic analysis to
help find thematic values inherent to me.
 My research process was as follows:
1. Print Hard copies of each document that I was a data
point for this analysis
2. Read each document, highlighting and labeling various
sections based on themes
Research 3. As I was reading, I created a spreadsheet with the
various themes to capture where in each document
Process and each theme was present. I used this to codify my
themes
Methods
This process came pretty easy to me. For about 5 years, I
worked as a marketing analyst. This kind of work was like
much of the qualitative research. Narrowing the themes
down to 10 was somewhat challenging though. As I got to
this point, I analyzed similar themes and combined them.
My Data Sources

My data sources are primarily made up of 2 different categories. First, much of

them come from coursework relevant to my Organizational Leadership studies
here at ASU. The second set comes from documents or assessments in my
professional life.
 Data Sources

• Self Assessment Essay (SAE): This document is an essay that examines who I am as a person and leader. It
was completed as part of my coursework for OGL 482 in October of 2023.

• Leader Identity Narrative (LIN): This document is narrative that explores my personal leadership journey
starting from the high-school through the present day. I details the major turning points in my journey and
examines what I’ve learned from them.

• Kuder Assessments, including:

• Kuder Career Interests Assessment (KCIA): This assessment analyzes my personal interests and helps
map them to different careers
• Kuder Skills Assessment (KSA): Using the same categorization as the career interest assessment, this
assessment analyzes where my personal strengths and weaknesses lie.
• Super Work Values Inventory (SWVI): This assessment analyzes my top work values.
 Data Sources Continued

• 3 Questions (3Q): Three questions was an assignment as part of my OGL 482 studies, which asked me to
think about what brings me joy, what I am great at, and what the world needs me to do.

• Identities Exercise (IE): The identities exercise asked me to analyze how my various personal and
professional identities make up who I am.

• Values Checklist (VC): This exercise asked me to write down the things I value most and cross slowly
eliminate them until only one remained. Then I was asked to create a list of dreams and narrow them
down to the most important ones.
 Data Sources Continued

• Career Anchors Assessment (CA): This assessment asked me to rate the importance of over 60 different
career statements, bringing them together into “anchors” or values that I could use to examine various jobs
and companies.

• All Employee Event Speech (AEE): This document is a script that I created for a speech I gave to over 1,000
people at an All-Employee Event my company held in October of 2023. It detailed my journey to finding
my personal career purpose.

• Leadership Circle Assessment (LC): This assessment, which was completed in my work with an executive
coach in October of 2023, examines my reactive and creative leadership tendencies and compares them to
others who have taken this assessment to determine where I am a strong leader and where I still have
work to go.
 Data Sources Continued

• Predictive Index Profile (PI): Predictive Index is a personality test focused exclusively on how people get
work done. It’s made up of 15 different profiles and is based on a persons’ Drive, Extroversion, Patience,
and Flexiblity

• Work, School, Life Balance Plan (WSL): This was the first document I created when starting at ASU as part
of orientation and is focused on m work-life balance. I think about this document often because it helped
me put into perspective how I was going to complete everything and what was most important to me.

• Artificial Intelligence Paper (AI): This was the final assignment of my OGL 340 class focused on AI. It is
one class and assignment that really interested me as I took it and made me bring a tangible plan back to
my professional life.
 Data Sources Continued

• Future of Humanity Project (FOH): This project was part of an OGL 340 class on dialogue. I chose this
assignment because it was extremely reflective, as well as a course that was challenging.

• Work – Style Fit Assessment (WSF): This document was a short reflection on the results of an assessment
I took for another OGL 340 class, which examined my preferred profile at work.
My 10 Themes

This section highlights my themes, or core, which affect everything about me;
my identity, my behavior, my values, and my motivations
10 Themes Summary

My work must I greatly value Growth comes

My family comes
have greater independence and through reflection
first
meaning autonomy and self-awareness

I greatly value my
I’m my best self Taking Risks is I desire to be more
problem-solving
when I’m authentic important inspirational
ability

My leadership
journey is True Care Makes
something I’m all the difference
grateful for
 Theme Statement: I prioritize my family above everything else
in my life:

Supporting Data:
• I have consistently followed my plan to put my family first,
Theme 1: My ahead of both my professional obligations and my
schoolwork (WSL)
Family Comes • I value that my company allows me to balance my family and
work, often not requiring me to work excessive hours or
First make tradeoffs (SAE)
• When I was asked to write a speech about my journey to
finding purpose, I started by focusing on how I met my wife
(AEE)
• When examining my identies, I Father and Husband were
the first two identities I examined (IE)
• When documenting my personal plan around AI, I reflected
and determined I needed less of my identity tied to work (AI)
 Contradictory Data:
• While my career anchors do identify work-life integration
as important to me in a career, there were multiple other
anchors that scored higher (CA)

Theme 1: My Reflection:

Family Comes I have always and will continue to put my family first. Though
I’ve never been asked to make a tradeoff between them and
First my career, if I were it would be an easy choice. My challenge
is to remember that this is who comes first and ensure in the
challenge of the day-to-day that my behavior matches my
values.
 Theme Statement: While I value security and achievement,
my work must have personal meaning or fulfill a greater
purpose, or I will not feel fulfilled.

Theme 2: My Supporting Data:

work must • Dedication to a cause scored highly in my career anchors
and upon reflection I feel like it should have scored higher
have greater (CA)

meaning. • I chose to take a step back in terms of salary to take a job

that I thought would better align to what I wanted my
purpose to be (LIN)
• I’ve constantly reflected on what my career purpose is, and
striven to align my work and vocation to that (LIN)
• I felt called to work as a summer camp counselor in college
because I felt like the work was so purposeful (AEE)
 Contradictory Data:
• Sense of dedication to a cause is not something that scored
in the top 3 of my career anchors (CA)

Theme 2: My Reflection:
work must I have always striven to find purpose and meaning in my
have greater work. This has guided my choices in vocation and employer.
It’s also given me something to stive for beyond titles or a
meaning. growing salary. It’s focused my growth outside myself and on
the impact that I can make on other people and on my
community.
 Theme Statement: My personality type is such that a lack of
autonomy and independence are extreme demotivators for
me.

Theme 3: I Supporting Data:

greatly value • The biggest factor in my work style personality is
independence (PI)
independence • Autonomy is one of my top Career Anchors (CA)
and autonomy • I greatly value the amount of autonomy my leader has
given me to accomplish goals and strive to give others that
same autonomy (SAE)
• Independence was one of my top 10 values in in my values
checklist (VC)
 Contradictory Data:
• When starting to eliminate my values to a list shorter than
10, independence was one I was quickly able to eliminate
(CA).
Theme 3: I • I desire to work more closely with people in the future and
greatly value greatly value the relationships I’ve built and the opinions of
the people around me (LIN)
independence
and autonomy Reflection:
My natural work style is one of independence, but I’ve
learned how valuable collaboration and relationship building
are to getting work done. That said, I still greatly value the
level of autonomy in decision making that has been given to
me and strive to provide that to others in my life.
 Theme Statement: I believe that the path to personal growth
is to be self-aware and spend a lot of time in reflection
Theme 4:
Growth comes Supporting Data:
• Reflection on my journey as a leader led me to reevaluate
through self- what I thought my purpose in my vocation was (SAE)

awareness and • Almost every “turning point” in my career was a result of

learning something new about myself or significant
reflection reflection on who I was as a person (LIN)
• I’m an extremely self-aware leader, which has enabled me
to be able to rapidly grow (LC) (AEE)
• My favorite assignments across my studies were those that
required me to reflect on how I led or what I should do
differently in my life (AI) (FOH)
 Contradictory Data:
• I can not find a single time where I grew that did not
Theme 4: involve reflection or becoming more self-aware. I think
that growth is much like any other problem. If you don’t
Growth comes understand it, or take time to learn what’s happening,
there’s no way to solve a problem.
through self-
awareness and Reflection:

reflection My current leader has told me for years one of my greatest

strengths is my self-awareness. Though she’s worried I’m
hard on myself, this self-awareness has enabled me to quickly
adapt and change my behaviors. This in turn has fueled my
growth and allowed me to continually become a better
version of myself.
 Theme Statement: I’ve found that when I am authentic to
who I am, I’m the best version of myself. That includes as a
parent, and husband, and also as a leader.

Theme 5: I’m Supporting Data:

my best self • I’ve formatted my career around who I truly am and when
I’ve ignored who I am I’ve found careers or potential
when I’m careers draining (KCIA)

truly authentic • I ascribe to the Authentic Theory of Leadership (LIN)

• When asked to speak in front of 1,000 people, it wasn’t
until I edited the speech to make it authentically me that I
was comfortable with it (LIN).
• When I examined what the world needed from me, the
first thing I wrote was that it needed me to “be me”. (3Q)
 Contradictory Data:
• Who I authentically am can sometimes be arrogant, distant
or critical, and I do not believe this is my best self (LC)

Theme 5: I’m Reflection:

my best self It’s taken me a long time to be comfortable in my own skin,
both as a person and as a leader. I’ve tried too often to be
when I’m what others want me to be or who I “think” I should be, often
with sub-optimal results. It’s only finding a blend of being
truly authentic who I am and who others need me to be that I’ve been able
to truly unlock my potential.
 Theme Statement: I love being able to solve problems, see
the bigger picture.
Supporting Data:

Theme 6: I • My work personality is strongly rooted in my ability and

desire to solve problems (PI)
greatly value • I’ve always been a very strong and natural systems thinker
(LC)
my problem- • My career skills assessment profile is that of somebody
solving ability who is great at problem solving (KSP)
• My work values of variety, creativity and challenge make
solving problems something that I greatly enjoy (SWVI)
• I’m a natural innovator, which is why I so greatly enjoy my
job in corporate strategy (WSF)
 Contradictory Data:
• I could not find any contradictory data to this theme. I
believe that’s both my skills and my enjoyment are both
tied so closely to problem solving.
Theme 6: I
greatly value Reflection:
My problem-solving ability has always set me apart from
my problem- others. I’m a natural systems thinker and love solving
problems. In fact, problem solving has almost always been
solving ability part of my purpose. First, I was focused on solving big
problems. I then moved on to helping others solve their big
problems and challenges. Now, I’ve become a little more
focused on teaching others to solve their problems. While as
I’ve grown in my career, the types of problems that I am
solving have changed, I believe that it will always be
something I’m great at and enjoy doing.
 Theme Statement: I believe that you must be comfortable
taking risks to truly make learn, grow and make a bigger
impact.
Supporting Data:
• I am naturally comfortable taking risks if it will help get
Theme 7: results (PI)
• I believe that you cannot let fear stop you from taking a risk
Taking Risks to get to where you want to go (AEE)

is important • My career, family and life would be completely different if I

hadn’t taken a risk to move across the country from
Minnesota to Arizona (AEE)
• Many of my biggest career turning points revolve around
taking a risk (LIN)
 Contradictory Data:
• I also greatly value security and stability in my career,
which are somewhat at odds with risk-taking (CA)

Reflection:
Theme 7: When I look back at my life, it’s defined by my comfort with
taking risks. Whether it’s moving across the country to
Taking Risks Arizona, taking jobs where I had little/no experience, getting
up on stage in front of 1,000 people to speak, or being
is important comfortable being truly vulnerable and open with people,
I’ve always found that true growth and achievement both
require the comfort to take calculated risks.
 Theme Statement: I think the next step in my leadership is
to become a more inspirational leader.
Supporting Data:

Theme 8: I • I’ve identified and committed to becoming a more

inspirational leader, focused on mentoring and growth of
desire to be others, helping them find their purpose (LIN) (SAE)
• Never have I been more fulfilled than speaking in front of
more 1,000 people and inspiring them to do greater thing (AEE)

inspirational • I’ve been truly impacted by leaders, especially my direct

leader who have the ability to be inspirational (LIN)
 Contradictory Data:
• I have some protectionist tendencies, such as arrogance
and distance, that make being inspiration a challenge (LC)

Theme 8: I Reflection:
desire to be I recently spoke in front of 1,000 people at an all-employee
event my company put on, speaking about my journey to
more finding my purpose. The response was overwhelming, and
changed who I thought I could be as a leader. It made me
inspirational reconsider what people want from me and what kind of
impact that I can make. I want to intentionally carve out
more time to be inspirational and motivational, showing
people who they can be. Before that speech, there was a
mental block that doubted if that’s what people wanted from
me. To be able to accomplish this, I have to become less
distant and work on connecting with people.
 Theme Statement: I believe that leadership, more than
anything is a journey of learning and experience. I’m
Theme 9: My extremely grateful for that journey.
Supporting Data:
leadership • I believe that leadership isn’t something you’re “born
journey is with”, but rather something that comes with experience
and intentional effort (LIN)
something I’m • I can point out all the times in my career where failures
have taught me so much about becoming a better leader
grateful for. (AEE)
• I am extremely grateful for my journey and the people that
helped me along the way (AEE)
• I believe my school was an important part of my leadership
journey, and have from the beginning (WSL)
 Contradictory Data:
• While I am extremely grateful for my journey and those
Theme 9: My who have helped me along the way, I’m not always great at
showing gratitude to those who deserve it (LIN)
leadership
journey is Reflection:
I’ve been thinking a lot about my journey lately, mostly
something I’m because of this class and because of the speech I recently
gave about my journey. It crystalized for me how much we
grateful for. are shaped by our experiences, and how we’re never truly
finished products, especially as leaders. Throughout that
reflection, I’ve realized 2 things. First, how extremely grateful
I feel towards those who have helped me on my journey.
Second, since none of us are finished products, that means
that we have the capacity to continue to grow into something
that’s much greater than what we are.
 Theme Statement: I’ve been shaped by the people who truly
cared about me, my success, and my growth. I strive hard to
provide that same level of care to others.
Supporting Data:
Theme 10: • I can find multiple times in my career where people who
True care gave me the hard truth even when it was hard, specifically
because they cared about me, made a huge impact in who
makes all the I am today (LIN)
• I ascribe to the idea servant leadership idea that “leaders
difference eat last” (LIN)
• I’ve worked hard to become more empathetic more caring
(LIN)
 Contradictory Data:
• I’m not naturally empathetic (PI)
• I have some tendencies that make it challenging for me to
show caring connection (LC)
Theme 10:
True care Reflection:

makes all the As I think about my journey and what I’m grateful for, I’m
most grateful for the people who truly cared about me and
difference gave me the hard feedback I needed. I strive to be that
person as a leader that can connect with my team, that
shows that I care about them and their success. I still have
room to grow in this area when interacting with people who
I’m not as close with. For them, I can still come off as distant,
or arrogant. If I’m truly going to be more inspirational, I have
to be able to show that I care.
 To inspire and empower people
to find their purpose, helping
them to tackle the big
My Personal challenges they find along the
Mission way
Statement Reflection: My speech at our recent All-Employee Event
was a watershed moment in my career and life, one
which I don’t think I will ever forget. It reframed my
personal purpose and made me believe I could be more
than a problem solver. I feel extremely grateful to others
who have helped me find my purpose and feel it’s both
my mission and obligation to be that person for others,
both in my personal and professional life.
 Create an exponentially
growing community of people
who have found their purpose.
My Personal
Vision
Reflection: My vision statement is based completely off
Statement my mission. I believe that if I’m truly living my mission, I
will help others to not only find their purpose, but also to
teach them how to do that for the next group of people.
This will lead to a flywheel effect, an exponentially
growing community of people feel like they’ve found what
they were put on this earth to do and want to help others
discover the same thing.
 Conclusion
This assignment could not have come at a better time
for me. 3 weeks ago, I had a conversation with my
executive coach about how I felt my purpose and
passion changing in real-time. Before I even started
this course, I had begun to write a personal vision and
mission statement.
This assignment gave helped me to do additional
reflection on my personal, professional, and academic
journey, crystallizing my mission, vision, and value. I
feel like the work done here will serve me well going
forward.
 References

Career Anchors Assessment (n.d) Retrieved on October 25, 2023

https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/168316/files/73089077?wrap=1
Kuder Career Interests Assessment (n.d) Retrieved on October 23, 2023 https://journey.kuder.com/home/dashboard
Kuder Skills Confidence Assessment (n.d) Retrieved on October 23, 2023
https://journey.kuder.com/home/dashboard
Leadership Circle (n.d) Retrieved on October 16, 2023 https://leadershipcircle.com/
Predictive Index (n.d) Retrieved on October 25, 2023 https://www.predictiveindex.com/
Super Work Values Inventory (n.d) Retrieved on October 23, 2023 https://journey.kuder.com/home/dashboard
Values Checklist (n.d) Retrieved on October 25, 2023 https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/168316/files/73089122?wrap=1
 References

Woodward, T. (2021, November 9) Work Style Fit Assessment

Woodward, T. (2023, November 3) Leadership Identity Narrative
Woodward, T. (2023, September 30) All-Employee Event Speech
Woodward, T. (2023, October 27) Self-Assessments Essay
Woodward, T. (2020, September 9) Work, School, Life Balance Plan
Woodward, T. (2023, June 26) The Future of Humanity Project
Woodward, T. (2023, February 20) Planning to Address the Impact of Artificial Intelligence
Woodward, T. (2023, Nov. 7) 3 Questions Reflection
Woodward, T. (2023, Nov. 7) Self-Identity Assignment