EXAMPLE: Action Plan (You in a Team)

This page includes excerpts from two separate assignment submissions from Spring 2016. These excerpts showcase the most successful portions of each of these two students' work.

Notes: Don't expect this example to flow perfectly as the two students were very different and chose different assessments.

Introduction (J. Alba, personal communication, Spring 2016)

I am currently employed as an Internal Systems Manager for a behavioral health agency. As a member of this fifteen-member team, I function as both a leader and consultant. I value efficiency, clear direction, and fastened protocols, and although I spend much of my time organizing trainings and articulating main ideas in groups, I also lead through structuring from the bottom up. My approach to leading people and teams was partly due to my culture, which highly values emotional awareness. At the same time, the passive Type-B personalities I grew up with made want to take charge and carry an initiative. Finding a creative way to softly change my behavior from my family’s views fostered creativity. This creative side of me has been helpful in teams to both develop and quarrel job responsibilities that may not fit a traditional role. Altogether, the skills I have gathered have allowed me to remain open to change since much of my development has been due to constructive criticism and guidance. Below I mention several of my strengths and three areas of development.

Assessment Summary (D. Rodriguez, personal communication, Spring 2016)

1. Affective Assessment (Affective Assessment Scale, n.d.), I scored a 14 which means I how a lower affective commitment to my company (a score below 20). In taking this assessment I was conflicted in responses given. I personally do not care for my current profession, but do feel that some of the management and coworkers hold me in the regard as friendly, casual, and reliable employee. A coworker they show care and concern for. The results from this assessment portray me as a withdrawn team member that shows no initiative in aiding members or the goal of the project.
2. Helping Scale assessment (Helping Scale,n.d.), I scored a 30. This means that if a person scored below 40, they have a lower chance in demonstrating helping behaviors towards others. I can agree with this,especially at work. In my profession I am goal and task oriented and focus solely on getting the work done for the day. The results portray me as an individual who works alone with not aiding others or asking for help myself.
3. Emotional Intelligence assessment (Emotional Intelligence, n.d.), which I tested higher than the national average (19). My scores on the four categories are: Self-Awareness, 27; Other Awareness, 25; Emotion Use, 25; and Emotion Regulation, 22. I am aware of my emotions and sense others emotions which will be important in the work in a team project. This will beneficial as a contributing member, in that I am able to address team member’s emotions and have an understanding of the emotions or feelings they are exhibiting.
4. Trust Propensity Scale (Trust Propensity Scale, n.d.), scored me at an 18, which below a score of 20 shows that I don't trust others. This may conflict with my score on the Emotional Intelligence assessment in showing concern for others but I can concur with this score. I do have trouble trusting others whether in my personal or professional life because I have a natural attachment to people letting me down. Again this does conflict with the Emotional Intelligence score, but shows that as a team member I do not naturally trust others, which can undermine the success of the team if I do not address this issue.
5. Big Five Facets (Potter, 2015) results show that I tested high in openness and conscientiousness, and tested low in agreeableness, extroversion, and neuroticism. In taking my other test results and examining past and current experiences the results are not surprising to me. I am open to learning, drafting, and creating ideas and have a systematic or organized method approach to this. But at the same time I am really introverted towards others and [am emotionally stable except in very extreme circumstances]. These results indicate that I am organized and can offer ideas and suggestions to members, but may take it personally if people disagree with my ideas and may create conflict with team members.

Summary of Strengths & Areas for Development (J. Alba)

My strengths are supported by the assessments we did in class that I will now discuss in detail. I paired my areas of strength with an area of development as they have been interrelated in my experience, and I discuss how they interlock as a team member.

Initiative, Structure, and Listening Skills

In teams I take the lead when coordinating and facilitating meetings and it didn’t come to a surprise when I scored a forty on the Initiative and Structure Assessment; however, I was surprised to score a forty-six on Consideration (Stogdill, 1963). I interpreted the results to mean I may establish a job processes or duty on my own, but when it comes to deciding what processes stay I take a democratic decision making approach. This was interesting to see because according to my organization’s culture we are not innovative and are not formal; yet, I have been an advocate of structure from the beginning. Initially, the lack of innovation and formality made it difficult for me due to the limited communication between team members (Patterson, Shakleton, Dawson, Lawthom Maitlis, Wallace, 2005). However, it has since improved, and after taking this assessment I can confidently say I am not as stringent as I once thought since I am known to answer a question with a training module or a suggested reading.

The fact I was emphasizing on training was only a problem because I was citing my sources and we aren’t an academic agency. After some persistence and changing departments I was able to modify my job duties and make it work (Bauer & Erdogen, 2016). Still, I saw a need, took it upon myself to provide training, and was eventually promoted after some natural resistance (Hackman & Oldham, 1987). I look forward to taking a similar initiative as well as providing structure in our class teams...

Weakness Development (J. Alba, personal communication, Spring 2016)

As mentioned in my sections on emotional intelligence and overthink, I naturally tend to analyze more than I need to. This form of thinking has affected my communication style by sometimes blunting my countenance that in turn staggers a conversation prematurely. After watching the You-Tube Video on improving social skills, I plan to take action by focusing on what I can control, myself (Ramit, 2013).

Specific Goal and Completion Date (S.M.A.R.T. Plan)

• S & T: By July 1st, 2016 I will communicate my emotions and concerns using action-based words to express how I feel. For example, I am often frustrated by my supervisor’s lack of communication, she will often not assign tasks and instead expect others to “reason through” or “just know” what she means. In the past when this happened I would note how frustrating it was and expressed my concerns and feelings; I felt better and our relationship improved by communicating more often, but the behavior would reoccur. In a situation as such, I will describe the situation by elaborating on the barriers in order to execute a plan for overcoming a pothole (Holpp, 1999).
• M: I will measure my progress by journaling my interactions and noting the words I used or did not use in the transaction. If I did not express myself well or our discussion was purely emotional I will write down what I will do next time and practice it in a mirror to respond appropriately if it happens again.
• A: I can definitely achieve this goal because I regularly reflect and re-create my day mentally and often role-play multiple situations. The only difference being with this plan I would write out the interaction and the action words that should have been included.
• R: This goal would reduce the contemplation that often occurs before bed as my day unfolds and I reflect on my behavior. I won’t stay up at night thinking ‘what if’ considering I am acting on a plan.

Conclusion (J. Alba, personal communication, Spring 2016)

Overall, I think I will function as an active and engaged team member. By completing this assignment I realized I could provide structure while also being flexible and open to change. I also realized I prefer a creative environment while at the same time having clear direction and well defined job roles. I envision myself implementing defined tasks and roles in our class teams. The assessments were validating and the strengths and developmental needs put into perspective how I am in a team. Plus, completing the S.M.A.R.T Plan at the end connected everything while establishing something to work with. I look forward to putting the things I learned in place with our team and am excited to get started!

References (these are not perfect, but they are close enough)

Affective Commitment Scale [Survey]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://docs.google.com/a/email.arizona.edu/forms/d/1O671iBy09A7GlNmIbVKXfvOG7ROep6KF41_6iLaQh84/viewform?c=0&w=1

Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2016) Organizational Behavior, v. 2.0 [E-reader version]. Retrieved from http://students.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/27495#fwk-122425-chpr

Holpp, L. (1999). Managing teams. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Brett, J.F., & Vandewalle, D. (1999). Goal orientation and goal content as predictors of performance in a training program. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(6), 863-873. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://docs.google.com/a/email.arizona.edu/forms/d/1sKlXdRt6ogmKPv5jbGBeb3-lbbiNRVcYmc6hk9xiG5g/alreadyresponded?usp=mail_receipt_edit_response.

Emotional Intelligence [Survey]. (n.d.).Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2l3x2Wdq8h8YHdj

Hackman, J.R., & Oldham, G.R. (1974). Job Diagnostic Survey. PsychTESTS Dataset, 1-87. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://docs.google.com/a/email.arizona.edu/forms/d/1jeOlBEEnCgYWC7nDOPLPV4DzvI36oUXOcVrqAznli9A/alreadyresponded?usp=mail_receipt_edit_response.

Helping Scale [Survey]. (n.d.) Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://goo.gl/forms/4A9WLEbr5x

Law, K.S., Wong, C., & Song, L.J. (2004) The construct and criterion validity of emotional intelligence and its potential utility for management studies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(3), 483-496. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/CP/Report.php?SID=SV_2l3x2Wdq8h8YHdj&R=R_03dQ3DZkwaC5uwR

Litzky, B. E., Eddleston, K. A., & Kidder, D. L. (2006). The Good, the bad, and the misguided: How managers inadvertently encourage deviant behaviors. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1), 91-103. Retrieved February 15, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/stable/4166220?pq-origsite=summon

Mohr, T. (2016, January 14). Make peace with your inner critic [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/ideacast/2016/01/make-peace-with-your-inner-critic

Patterson, M.G., West, M.A., Shakleton, V.J., Dawson, J.F., Lawthom, R., Maitlis, S., & Wallace, A.M. (2005). Validating the organizational climate measure: Links to managerial practices, productivity and innovation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 379-408. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://docs.google.com/a/email.arizona.edu/forms/d/1XV8B_Fq4FEjcfR8RGS2Mtdit3-u9vmTQep7XIqAMSq4/alreadyresponded?c=0&w=1&usp=send_form

Potter, J. (2015). The Big Five project - personality test [Survey]. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

Sashkin, M. (1979). A review of Ralph M. Stogdill’s: Leader behavior description questionnaire—Form XII. Group & Organization Management, 4(2), 247-250. Retrieved February, 21, 2016, from https://docs.google.com/a/email.arizona.edu/forms/d/1IueEUz6s9UxbRjResJ6sXVp77Z8EXkEY4I37VsSMtWM/alreadyresponded?usp=mail_receipt_edit_response

Sethi, R. Improve your social skills in 30 minutes [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eOKwU0LLTE

Trust Propensity Scale [Survey]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://docs.google.com/a/email.arizona.edu/forms/d/187xzJarUZ11C9MfvWHuTRB7KxLrl-SnmrC9PR8fFk20/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=already_responded

Wong, C., & Law, K.S. (2002). The effects of leader and follower emotional intelligence on performance and attitude. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(3), 243-274. Retrieved from https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/CP/Report.php?SID=SV_2l3x2Wdq8h8YHdj&R=R_03dQ3DZkwaC5uwR