Personal Leadership Development Portfolio for Sara Hess

PSY 368
Elon University
May13, 2014

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Executive Summary
The purpose of this project is to help develop and improve personal leadership qualities
by taking into account individual values, strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development that
will enhance leadership capabilities. The outcome will be a specific and concrete development
plan that will help the subject to target and improve certain competencies related to leadership
that will help in her individual leadership endeavors.
The process of this project involved completing self-assessments that helped to identify
personality traits, values, strengths, and weaknesses that hold implications for leadership. The
outcomes of these self-assessments are described and helped to provide the subject with specific
skills to develop. Second, the subject reflected upon previous leadership experiences and
opportunities to help identify what went well and what could have been improved upon. The
combination of the summary assessments and the personal reflection gave the subject a
foundation from which to establish certain areas to develop to enhance their leadership skills.
The subject then had to use the Successful Managers Handbook to identify specific leadership
competencies that were important to them and that would help them in future leadership
opportunities. In order to give the subject a specific idea of how to develop these competencies,
they had to brainstorm behaviors and specific concrete suggestions and examples of how they
could go about improving upon those competencies. Finally, the subject completed their own
Development Plan, consisting of two of the most personally salient competencies that they had
selected to try to enhance. The subject chose one competency that was a strength and one that
was a weakness, in order to help them play upon their strengths and improve upon something
that they felt was a personal weakness. Completion of this project should give the individual an
effective and personally-relevant plan for developing their leadership competencies

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Summaries of Assessment Results
Big Five Personality Inventory
My scores on Big Five Personality Inventory indicated that I am high on the traits of
agreeableness and conscientiousness, moderate on the traits of openness and adjustment, and low
on the trait of surgency. I scored a 33 on agreeableness, 30 on conscientiousness, 22 on openness,
21 on adjustment, and 15 on surgency. All scores were out of a total of 35.
My high score on the trait of agreeableness suggests that my social relationships are
important to me, I am sensitive to the feelings of others, and I have fairly high Emotional
Intelligence. I would have expected his result; I think of myself as a friendly person and I always
try to be diplomatic and take others feelings into account. I think that I am fairly good at
detecting others emotions and I feel that I work really well with people.
My high score on the trait of conscientiousness implies that I am responsible and honest.
I would have expected this score because I always work extremely hard and prioritize my
responsibilities. I devote a lot of time to my academics and always try to make sure that I am
working at the best of my ability, in all aspects of my life. I like knowing that people can depend
on me. I also think that honesty is always the best policy and feel that I have a strong moral
compass.
The trait of openness refers to adaptability, locus of control, and critical thinking and
decision-making skills. I was fairly surprised at my results because I thought I would score high
because I feel like I keep a very open mind. However, my score makes sense when considering
the facets of openness. I can be flexible and adapt to change in some situations. However, I tend
to stick to my conventional methods of dealing with things when I can. I definitely have an
internal locus of control; however, I think that I developed an internal locus of control once I

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came to college, and I had had an external locus of control before. This is most likely because
before college, I had never had to make any large decisions that would greatly impact my life,
the way my decisions do now. Either way, my locus of control has shifted. I feel that I am also
mixed on the intelligence facet of openness. While I feel that I am good at thinking critically and
solving problems, I am extremely hesitant when it comes to making decisions.
My moderate score on the trait of adjustment reflects my emotional stability and selfconfidence. I was not surprised at my score because while I feel that I am emotionally stable and
am very able to self-control, I am vulnerable to stress. I am generally a very positive person, but
if I become too stressed out I become slightly more negative. Similar to openness, I feel that my
self-consciousness changes based on situation. For example, while I am confident in my
academic capabilities, making decisions makes me nervous.
My low score on surgency did not surprise me. I have never been a very dominant person
and my friends and family have often told me in the past that I need to be more assertive. I have
also always thought of myself as an introvert; I am very quiet and shy. However, I believe that I
tend to have a strong sense of determination and I do not give up easily when I feel strongly
about something.
I think that my high level of agreeableness helps me in leadership positions because I am
able to get along with others easily. I also think that my high levels of both agreeableness and
conscientiousness help me in leadership positions because I am friendly and ethical and I work
hard. I think this is why people in organizations that I am involved in feel comfortable depending
and relying on me. I believe that my internal locus of control also serves me well in leadership
positions, because I know that in order to get things done, I need to take initiative and that my
actions are what will produce results. However, my indecisiveness and lack of surgency hinders

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that because I am hesitant when making decisions and I often second-guess myself. I think that
my combined high agreeableness and lack of surgency also hinders me in leadership positions
because I am not assertive and I want to maintain positive relationships with everyone, I am
extremely non-confrontational. Although I am usually able to control my emotions, which helps
me to be diplomatic in difficult situations, confrontation stresses me out. This could be a problem
because confrontation is usually necessary at some point in leadership positions. Furthermore, I
feel that my combination of scores on this inventory explains my leadership style and why I
prefer to lead by example. I do not want to overly assert myself by telling people what to do and
therefore upset people. I also feel that my conscientiousness and self-control generally provide a
good example for followers.

Servant Leadership Orientation

I scored a 50 out of 65 on the Servant Leadership Orientation assessment, indicating that
I have strong servant leadership characteristics. This means that as a leader and co-worker, I
value my relationships with my followers and co-workers, I value trust and honesty, I listen to
the opinions of my colleagues and try to empathize with their situation when I can, and I put
others before myself and try to promote their personal growth. I feel that these results are
accurate, in the sense that I do value the relationships that I have with my followers and coworkers, and want those relationships to be open, trusting, and honest. I always make a point of
listening when others want to talk to me, and try to put others before myself. However, while I
do value personal growth and love to help promote others personal growth when I can, I often
do not want to tell others what to do. If I am invited to assert my advice or opinion, I feel that I
can offer valuable insight for development. However, I do not want to give my opinion if not

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asked for it, or if it seems like the person does not want it. I think that my high concern for my
relationships with my co-workers helps to foster trusting relationships. My co-workers and
colleagues generally respect me, which helps us to be more effective as a team.

Motive Profile
My scores on the motive profile suggest that I have a high need for achievement, a
relatively low need for power, and a very high need for affiliation. I scored 30/35 on the need for
achievement, suggesting that I am goal-oriented and have a high concern for excellence in my
accomplishments. I think that this is accurate and is displayed in my determination and the large
amount of time and effort that I put into my schoolwork. I am also not surprised by my relatively
low score (15/35) on need for power. I am not a competitive person and do not feel the need to
control situations or exert power over others. I scored 33/35 on need for affiliation, suggesting
that I care deeply about developing and maintaining close personal relationships. I enjoy helping
people and I want people to like me. Interestingly, according to Lussier and Achua (2013),
people high in need for affiliation often pursue a career path in human resource management,
which is what I plan to do after graduation. I feel that my high score on need for affiliation is
very accurate. I think that the implications that my motives have on my leadership are similar to
the implications that my personality traits have on my leadership. I believe that my need for
affiliation and my lack of need for power lead me to be very non-confrontational, and that my
need for achievement drives me to work hard, which helps me to effectively accomplish tasks
and also allows others to rely on me.

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Theory X and Theory Y
I scored a 20/50 on the Theory X and Theory Y assessment, indicating that I tend to hold
a Theory X attitude in relation to followers. This indicates that I tend to hold a negative view of
employees and think that they need to be closely supervised, and am likely to adopt an autocratic
leadership style when working with followers. I was surprised about this result, because I
generally think very positively of my coworkers and followers, personally. However, when I was
completing the assessment, I hesitated on answering many of them because I believed that many
of them depend on the different workplace or situation. Ultimately, my answers reflected my
leadership experience as a snack bar manager. Most of the employees that I oversee are high
school or college students who need a summer job and so they do not care about what they are
doing. In that case, I believe that more supervision is necessary. However, in other situations,
where employees are doing a job that they care about, I feel that leaders should adopt a more
participative style, and depend on the employees having internal motivation. Because of my
results and my analysis, I feel that my Theory X/ Theory Y attitudes shift based on situation. In
context of my summer job, specifically, which I will be returning to this summer, I do adopt
more of a Theory X attitude and feel that I need to make sure that everyone is staying on task.

Job Motivation and Maintenance Factors

My results on the Job Motivation and Maintenance Factors assessment indicated that I
am more motivated by motivators (intrinsic factors) than by maintenance (extrinsic factors). I
rated motivators 24/30 and maintenance 20/30. This suggests that I am motivated for personal
opportunities for achievement, recognition, challenge, and advancement, more so than for pay,
job security, working conditions, fringe benefits, and relationships. I am not surprised by this

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result because it has always been extremely important to me that I am always challenging
myself, and also that I am able achieve success. Additionally, I would much rather have a low to
moderate-paying job that I love than a high-paying job that I hate. I believe that my intrinsic
motivation is beneficial for my leadership because I do not aim for adequate results; I strive for
achievement and my personal best. I take my leadership roles seriously and want to make a
positive impact.

Influencing Tactics, Power, and Personality Traits

According to the Influencing Tactics, Power, and Personality Traits assessment, I tend to
lead using rational appeals and ingratiation. This implies that when leading, I tend to try to
explain the situation fully, and encourage others to cooperate and work with me using sincere
praise. I rely on my relationships with others to help me get things done. I think that this is
completely accurate. I believe that in order for people to identify with you and see your cause as
worthy, you need to fully explain it to them. Additionally, I feel that people are much more
willing to help you out if they like you, and feel that they would be a valued asset, and sincere
praise can help to make them feel that way. I have found myself using these tactics in previous
leadership roles that I have held.

Personal values
According to the Personal Values assessment, I value my family life more than anything,
scoring a full 200 on the element of family on the assessment. It is very important to me that I
have a good marriage and time to spend with my family. I also value and care about my
professional life, scoring 160/200 on the professional aspect of the assessment. I want a

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challenging but satisfying job. I know that much of ones adult life is spent working, so I think it
is essential that one feels that their career is personally fulfilling. I also feel that ones social,
spiritual, and intellectual lives are enriched as well. I scored a 140 on the spiritual element of the
assessment, and a 130 on both the social and intellectual aspects. I have found that having a solid
foundation of good friends helps people to get through challenging times. I have also personally
found that it is important to keep oneself intellectually engaged, and take time out to reflect. I
was not surprised about my especially high score on family and professional aspects of the
assessment. Throughout the past year, I have faced a series of circumstances that has brought me
much closer to my family and having h time with my family as recently become much more
important to me. I have always valued my academics and I believe that may transfer over to my
high value on my professional life. I was slightly surprised about my high score on the spiritual
element of the assessment, because I am not a very religious person. However, I think my score
resulted from the importance that I place on personal reflection. My score on the social element
of the assessment made sense because my friends have always been very important to me, and as
stated above with my high level of agreeableness and need for affiliation, it is very important to
me that I maintain my close relationships and friendships. Additionally, I think that the
importance that I place on academics and also personal growth from intellectual endeavors
explains my high score on the intellectual aspect.
I think that the value that I place on family will help me to understand when individuals
who I work with have difficult family circumstances and therefore cannot devote as much
attention for the organization. However, because of the high value that I place on the professional
aspect of my life, I will take my job and leadership role seriously and work hard at it. Also, I

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believe that the combination of my values will help me as a leader to encourage well-rounded
value development in my co-workers and followers.

GAPS Grid
I am motivated to excel and do well at whatever I am doing, regardless of what it is. I
always strive to do my personal best. I am also motivated by others happiness. I am happy when
those around me are happy. I work hard to try to make other peoples day better every day. I
value honesty, respect, integrity, kindness, my family, and my academics. In order to feel good
about myself, I need to know that I am doing my personal best, have close friends to confide in
and also to provide reassurance when I need it, and I need to know that I am making a positive
difference to others. I think that these qualities and values affect my leadership in the sense that
they encourage me to lead ethically, treat co-workers and followers with individual respect and
consideration, and try to do everything to the best of my ability.
I define myself as an Elon University student, a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a friend, a
Kappa Delta, and a role model, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. I believe that this
reflects my focus on academics, the value that I place on my close interpersonal relationships,
and my hometown. These things help to keep me grounded. In my leisure time, I enjoy dancing,
eating, spending time with friends
I am extremely proud of myself for holding a leadership position in my sorority last year.
I am an extremely quiet person and never thought that I would make a good leader. However, my
term as my chapters PanHellenic Delegate went extremely well. I am also extremely proud that
I made it into the Disney College Program for Fall 2014, because it is such a competitive
program to get into. Additionally, I believe that it will be beneficial to me in the future, by

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building my resume and giving me experience working for such a renowned company and
helping me to see how Human Resource Management functions in such a corporation.
My current personal goals involve graduating from Elon in May of 2015 and pursuing a
career in Human Resources, possibly with Disney. More specifically, in one year, I hope that I
will have had a valuable experience with my Disney internship, making me more marketable in
the HR field. In five years, I hope that I have a career in HR, or am maybe in graduate school. I
believe that these goals will help to keep me driven, and my leadership will reflect my
overarching goals.
I believe that my natural strengths are that I am caring, hard-working, and diplomatic in
difficult situations. My main weaknesses are that I am extremely non-confrontational, indecisive,
and I become stressed easily. I also am not good at public speaking. I think that my caring nature
and ability to be diplomatic help me in leadership positions because people feel that they can
trust me and I have been an effective mediator in many situations. Also, because I am hardworking, I am usually able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, and I think that this
helps me to be a relatively effective leader. However, my non-confrontational nature may be a
problem for my leadership capabilities because confrontation often becomes necessary at some
point in leadership positions (as mentioned above). Similarly, being indecisive can hinder me in
leadership positions because I hesitate and might not be able to make an instant-decision, which
is sometimes necessary, because I feel that I did not have time to think through all of the
possibilities. My vulnerability to stress exacerbates both of these issues and may make it difficult
for me to cope when I am under pressure. My anxiety when it comes to public speaking is also
an issue because public speaking is often necessary in leadership roles. If I cannot manage to
speak effectively, it will probably decrease the respect that my followers have for me.

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Despite my weaknesses, I still believe that I am very good at listening, empathizing, and
keeping peace in a group. I think that these interpersonal abilities are all important for a leader to
have because they may help to make followers feel more comfortable with the leader, which will
in turn make their working relationship more effective. Furthermore, I feel that I expand on these
skills because I tend to be able to remain neutral and diplomatic more so than many people do.
This may help in calming any tensions that may arrive in an organization that I am involved in.
However, I know that I need to learn to stick up for myself when necessary, to
communicate more effectively, to make decisions without going back and forth for hours, and to
stress less about small, unimportant things. All of these hinder my leadership for reasons
mentioned above, as I mentioned in my weaknesses. Improving upon them will help to make me
a more effective leader, by not allowing others to undermine my authority and hopefully bringing
my followers to respect me more.
I have received a lot of great and effective feedback throughout my life. However, I
cannot identify one particular instance of feedback that I would say is the best feedback I have
ever received. However, I can think of two particular examples of important feedback that I have
gotten that have been really meaningful. The first was in the form of constructive criticism; the
second was praise. I usually always respond best to praise; I tend not to respond to criticism
unless it is clearly constructive. The constructive criticism came from a dance teacher in high
school who noticed that I always looked at the floor when I danced, showing that I lacked
confidence, although I had always been more confident in dance than in other aspects of my life.
She constantly instructed me to keep my head up and eyes forward, not paying attention to
anyone else. My dancing improved dramatically as did my level of self-confidence. The second
piece of meaningful feedback that I can think of was during a time that I had a leadership role in

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my sorority. Other chapter leaders and chapter members told me that I was the best person to
represent our chapter to the rest of the PanHellenic community, and many people encouraged me
to run for a higher leadership position for this year. I felt extremely honored, and proud of myself
for doing so well, making me more confident in my leadership abilities. Both examples of
feedback served as reassurance, helping me to feel more confident in myself. I believe that selfconfidence is essential for a leader.
Others whom I do not know well would probably describe me as quiet and awkward. I often
do not speak up in groups of people, because I do not want to be the center of attention.
However, this may be bad as a leader because leadership positions often put you at the center of
your followers attention. The fact that I am a quiet person may allow louder and more outgoing
followers to feel that they can step in and take more control. However, I speak much more in
one-on-one settings and my close friends describe me as kind and hardworking. They sometimes
say that I am too nice. However, this is sometimes beneficial in organizations where I hold
leadership roles, where I know everyone extremely well. Because they know that I am kind and
hard-working, and have their best interest in mind, they trust me to lead and make decisions for
them. I feel that this is the case in both my sorority and my summer job. Given these
implications, I think that it is very important for me to establish close personal relationships with
my followers and co-workers.
The type of feedback that people usually give me varies by my different relationships
with the people giving feedback. Professors typically give me positive feedback and good
grades, and sometimes tell me to participate more because I am remarkably quiet in class. My
friends often give me praise but tell me that I need to stress less. My family often reminds me of
how successful I am, and tell me that the most important thing is to always try my best. Each of

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these types of feedback are valuable to me in that they are constructive and do remind me that I
am doing well, which I need to hear sometimes. However, feedback telling me to speak up more
and to stress less help to identify areas that I need to focus on and develop.
I feel that others expectations of me also vary by my relationships with people. My
family expects me to be responsible, to get good grades, act as a role model for siblings, and do
my own personal best. My friends expect me to be empathetic, kind, and understanding, be there
to listen, offer advice and support. In my leadership positions, my followers have expected me to
keep them in mind when making decisions, to be there for them as a resource, and to help guide
them in the organization. I think that being able to identify others expectations of you is
beneficial to leadership in the sense that as a leader, you are working to serve others, and you
must keep your followers expectations in mind in order to be an effective leader.
If I achieve my own personal goals, I expect to feel a sense of accomplishment and
personal satisfaction. In order to help the organizations that I lead reach their goals, I probably
need to put the organizations goals ahead of my own personal goals and take into account the
skills of the people in the organization. The actions that I need to take in order to help my
organization reach its goals will depend on the organizational needs, which may change over
time, and the people involved. Therefore, it is important for a leader to be adaptable, which is
something that I probably need to improve upon.

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Leadership History and Opportunities
I have held four leadership positions in the past. The first leadership
that I held was Vice President of my Class Senate, my sophomore year in
high school. However, the position did not come with much responsibility. I
simply ran Senate meetings when the President could not attend and aided
in decision-making. Although I had an official title, and was elected to the
position by my classmates, I did not have much authority and I do not feel
that my role as Vice President of my class helped to give me any valuable
leadership experience. I debated running for the position again the next
year; however, I felt that although I was contributing a significant amount of
time to the organization, I was not getting much from the experience
personally. I decided instead to devote more of my time to dancing, which I
loved doing.
I began dancing when I was three years old and continued until I was
eighteen. I danced with multiple recreation programs and one dance studio.
After I decided not to run again for Vice President of my class, I decided to
become involved with the theater program at my high school. When I
auditioned for the school musical in my sophomore year, I got the role of a
featured dancer. After playing the part of featured dancer in my sophomore
year, I was selected to be the featured dancer captain in my junior and
senior years. As featured dancer captain, I was responsible to demonstrate
the dances for the choreographer and the rest of the dancers. I was also in
charge of making sure that all of the other dancers knew their parts, meeting

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with them outside of rehearsals if necessary. Before and during show nights, I
was responsible for making sure everyone was ready and for giving
motivational pep talks. I sometimes struggled with the pep talks because I
am not good with public speaking. However, I knew all of the featured
dancers well and knew everyone in the theater program at least vaguely. I
tried to make my speeches personally relevant so that they would be
meaningful, and to use humor to lessen the pre-performance tension.
One high school organization that I wish I had pursued a leadership
position in was National Honor Society. I was very involved in Honor Society
and close friends with the people who ran for executive committee during my
junior year. We worked for good causes and much of the work that we did
fostered personal development of everyone involved in the organization. I
think that it would have been a valuable leadership experience and that I
would have been an asset on the executive committee.
When I came to college, I joined a few organizations early in my first
semester. I went through sorority recruitment and joined Kappa Delta in the
spring of my freshman year. Because I am such a shy and quiet person, I was
extremely overwhelmed at first, being in an organization of over 150 girls
who I did not know. However, I found that my values aligned well with the
organizations values, and I made a lot of friends and quickly grew to care
about the organization and Greek Life as a whole. In the fall of my
sophomore year, I ran to become my chapters Panhellenic Delegate, and I
was selected. My responsibilities included attending chapter council

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meetings, aiding in decision-making, and attending meetings with
representatives from all of the other sororities on campus to tell them about
what we were doing, and to report back to my chapter with what the rest of
Greek Life was doing. I served as a representative for my chapter on campus,
and in the summer I was selected to represent my chapter at Kappa Deltas
National Convention in Boston with the chapter President. I was honored to
be chosen as such a representative and I believe that my diplomatic skills
helped me in the position. The rest of the sorority seemed to respect and
support me in the position, and many people were very willing to help when I
asked them to.
Toward the end of my year as Panhellenic Delegate, I debated running
for another leadership position within either my sorority, or within Greek Life.
However, I decided not to, in order to pursue a semester with the Disney
College Program instead because I believed that doing so would be more
beneficial to me in the future because it would add to my professional
resume. During my time in the Disney College Program, I will be working 3550 hours a week and completing a course in Human Resource Management. I
will have a Human Resources Internship through Elon while I am there, and I
hope that the program and the internship will help me to develop
professionally and to determine if I definitely do want to pursue a career in
Human Resources.
In addition to my leadership positions in my extracurricular
organizations, I have held a leadership position at my summer job for the last

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three years. I have worked in the Valleybrook Country Club snack bar for the
last six years, and I was promoted to Senior Snack Bar Attendant, the
summer before I came to college. In addition to my previous responsibilities
of preparing food and serving customers, I then became responsible for
taking inventory and restocking every morning, taking orders, running the
cash register, handling money, overseeing and directing other employees,
and acting as a liaison between management and the rest of the employees.
I will be returning to Valleybrook this summer and I feel that I can develop
my leadership skills in order to become a more effective leader in the snack
bar.

Focus on Areas for Development

This summer, I would like to improve upon my leadership
competencies in the snack bar, because I feel that doing so will improve my
confidence as a leader and help to increase my leadership effectiveness in
general. As mentioned above, my responsibilities as Senior Snack Bar
Attendant include taking inventory and restocking every morning, taking
orders, running the cash register, handling money, overseeing and directing
other employees, and acting as a liaison between management and the rest
of the employees. Specifically as a leader, I am required to tell the other
snack bar attendants what food to prepare and who to serve it to. I have to
delegate the snack bar opening and closing procedures to them, and assign

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people to complete tasks assigned by the country club managers. Lastly, I
have to mediate any interpersonal conflicts that arise between employees in
the snack bar.
While I do not mind the responsibilities that come with my position, I
have struggled in the past by becoming stressed out due to rude customers,
shifts that have been uncontrollably busy, and indifferent employees. Most of
the snack bar employees are high school or college students who do not care
at all about the work they are doing; they are only there to make money. I
want to be better able to motivate the co-workers that I oversee, manage
execution for better results, become more adaptable to changing conditions
and situations, and improve my analytical thinking skills in order to possibly
improve my decision-making skills. Becoming a more effective leader in the
snack bar may help me while I am working in Disney, and in any leadership
opportunities that I choose to pursue in the future. More broadly, I would like
to improve my public speaking skills, which are essential not only in
leadership positions but in life in general.
Factor: Personal Leadership Factor: Competency: Show Adaptability
Behavior: Adapt appropriately to changing demands
Suggestion #1: Change your expectations. When you go to work,
expect to have a
fast-paced workday, rather than a more slow-paced
relaxing

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workday. That way, if work is extremely busy, it is less
likely to take
you off guard and stress you out.
Suggestion #2: Try to avoid snap reactions. When there is a long line at
the register
and customers are rude and co-workers are moving
slowly, dont
raise your voice. Think about the impact of such
reactions and
develop a new method or strategy. Perhaps talk to coworkers when
a rush is first starting, and tell them that they need to be
putting
forth extra effort later, but remind them that they can
relax and slow
down after the rush.
Suggestion #3: Act resourcefully. Try to use old skills in new ways so
that you dont
somehow get stuck in a rut. For example, try to use
diplomatic skills
in the snack bar as suggested above in suggestion #2.
Also try to be

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thinking about other skills that would be useful to
develop and
target those (as this project is doing).
Behavior: Maintain a positive outlook
Suggestion #1: Focus on the positive side of things, try to assume the
best, and be
thankful for what is going well. Specifically, be thankful
for coworkers who do put forth effort and appreciate the fact
that the job
is fairly low-stress and that the Valleybrook managers
cooperate
with your schedule.
Suggestion #2: Use humor to put yourself and others at ease when
work is stressful.
Humor generally makes people happier, and having
happier
employees would improve the overall work environment.
Make light
of the more negative aspects of work (the rude
customers, the lack
of air conditioning, the hornets, and the managers policy
on leftover

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food) in a comical way, rather than complaining about
them.
Suggestion #3: Try to avoid personalizing. If things go wrong, dont
blame yourself,
which is hard to do with an internal locus of control.
Remember that
some things are out of control. Additionally, if a customer
complains

about some aspect of the country club or the

snack bar, do not

assume that they are targeting their complaint at you to
blame you.
Behavior: Show self-confidence
Suggestion #1: Use good posture and smile. Standing up straight and
keeping your
shoulders back rather than slouching shows an air of
confidence,
and even if you are stressed, that may help to hide it
from others,
and give you more authority as a leader. Smiling also
helps to show
self-confidence. Although smiling all the time does not
come

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naturally, your normal bored facial expression looks sad
or angry.
Smiling will give off positive vibes, making it look like you
enjoy
what your doing and maybe the positive attitude will
spread to
others.
Suggestion #2: Try to focus on others instead of yourself. If you spend
too much
time analyzing yourself, it will probably make you
second-guess
your actions and stress out unnecessarily. However,
focusing your
attention on others will probably enhance both your
leadership
skills and your customer-service skills, which will be good
for
Valleybrook and your job during the Disney College
Program.
Suggestion #3: Analyze how and when you currently show confidence
and write it
down. Ask yourself how to expand this confidence into
other aspects

24
of your life. Because you already know that you tend to
be more
confident when surrounded by your friends, family, and
other
people close to you, possibly try to expand your
confidence to other
horizons by getting to know co-workers and colleagues
better.
Factor: Results Leadership Factor: Competency: Manage Execution
Behavior: Use a specific delegation process
Suggestion #1: Choose a specific person to complete a task. In the
snack bar, instead
of asking, Can somebody mop the floor? direct the
delegation to a
specific co-worker by name, and specifically ask: Katie,
will you
please mop the floor? Asking a specific person to do
something will

be more likely to get a job done,

because if the request is not

directed toward someone, it is possible that no one will
step up.
Suggestion #2: Observe the completion of the delegated task when
possible. Do not

25
watch over their shoulder, but periodically check to make
sure that
they are using the correct procedure, and are not
somehow
confused about an element of the task.
Suggestion #3: Give immediate feedback regarding the task. If the
task was done
well, give them praise. However, if something could have
been
improved upon, let them know kindly but privately, so as
not to
embarrass them in front of other co-workers. This will let
them
know what to do differently the next time you delegate a
task to
them.
Behavior: Hold people accountable
Suggestion #1: First, establish the difference between holding people
accountable
and micromanaging. In the snack bar, holding co-workers
accountable means holding them responsible to follow
your

26
managers policies and also to do what you ask them to
do, as Senior
Snack Bar Attendant. Micromanaging would involve
closely
observing co-worker behavior and correcting any time
they make a
minor mistake, in a controlling manner. Holding people
accountable
involves a degree of trust, whereas micromanaging
implies that
there is a low level of trust in the relationship.
Suggestion #2: Make sure that co-workers are aware of your
expectations. Make it
clear in the beginning of the summer that you expect
them to do
what you ask them. To address specific problems from
previous
summers, tell them that things will run much more
smoothly if they
do what you ask the first time that you ask them,
because we will be
able to serve guests more quickly. Also let them know
that it is

27
unacceptable for them to be on their cell phones when
there is a
rush, because it looks unprofessional and employees have
gotten in
trouble for that in the past and you do not want them to
get in trouble.
Suggestion #3: If your co-workers are not meeting you expectations,
address them
directly. Although this may seem confrontational, it is
necessary in
order to make sure that things are being done well and to
ensure
that your co-workers respect your expectations. When a
difficult
employee would does not follow instructions, or texts
during a rush,
it would be more productive to address the problem
directly, rather
than acting passive aggressively toward that employee.
Behavior: Develop thorough plans that achieve organizational goals
Suggestion #1: Meet with your managers and the country club owner
early in the

28
summer to discuss their goals for the country club this
summer. Also
talk about what they think went well last summer and
what they
think we need to work on. Use this discussion to build a
plan with
them, so that you have a common and direct set of goals
to work on
this summer, that your managers can hold you
accountable for.
Suggestion #2: Talk with other co-workers about the organizational
goals and the
plan that you and your managers come up with. Ask
them for any
suggestions and feedback they might have. With your coworkers,
brainstorm possible obstacles that may come up and
think of
strategies that may help you to overcome those
obstacles as a group.
This may help you and your co-workers to hold each
other more

29
accountable, and also give employees an idea of a larger
goal that
they are working toward, rather than simply prepping
and serving
food and keeping the snack bar clean.
Suggestion #3: Start working toward your work goals, using your coworkers and
managers as resources to check in with periodically to
get external
feedback on your progress.
Factor: Thought Leadership Factor: Competency: Analyze Issues
Behavior: Take other points of view into account
Suggestion #1: When analyzing an issue and trying to make a
decision, do not
always feel pressure to make the decision completely on
your own.
Ask others for feedback, they might introduce a
perspective that you
had not considered.
Suggestion #2: Start by looking at the big picture instead of at the
smaller details of
the problem. This may help you to put things in
perspective, and

30
help you to see the underlying issue; whereas only
focusing on
smaller details and symptoms of the problem might not
help you to
correctly identify the cause and decide on a way of fixing
the
problem. Likewise, looking at the big picture might help
you to
prioritize which aspects of the problem to address first.
Suggestion #3: Try to think of new, innovative ways to address the
problem. The
problem may have arisen because your typical method of
addressing
problem could not effectively address it. While it may be
difficult to
brainstorm and come up with an innovative way to
manage the
problem at hand, it has the possibility to be effective.
Behavior: Recognize the broad implications of the issue at hand
Suggestion #1: Take into consideration all people and processes
involved in the
issue, and how it is affecting them. For example, if
someone who you

31
supervise does not show up for the shift they are
scheduled for, first
call the co-worker. If they do not respond (which has
happened a
few times), take into consideration who made the
schedule, when
the schedule was provided, who the employee is, their
attendance
track record, how they get to work, and how long the
snack bar can
function while missing a person. Taking all of these things
into
consideration can help you to make decisions regarding
the issue.
Suggestion #2:Listen carefully to people to try to understand the
underlying issue. If
you only vaguely listen to random details, you will not
understand
all of the information that you will probably need to
handle the
issue. Listening carefully to how others have been
affected by the

32
issue can give you additionally insight. Also, listening
carefully is
important for problem-management in general, because
many issues
arise from miscommunications. Therefore, listening
carefully may
help to avoid some problems in the first place.
Suggestion #3: After looking at the big picture, as mentioned above,
break the
problem into smaller, more manageable parts. Doing so
will make
tackling the issue seem less daunting, and most people
work
effectively by taking tasks one at a time, rather than
trying to
address multiple things at once.
Behavior: Define reasonable alternatives to your decision and form back-up
plans
Suggestion #1: Brainstorm and list all of the ideas that you and your
co-workers
have for resolving the issue and consider the implications
of all of

33
your options. Write down the implications as well. From
there, select
your best option.
Suggestion #2: Take into further consideration the possible
implications and
problems that might come from your decision. Come up
with ways
to address those issues, before they arise, as this will
help you to feel
more in control of the situation.
Suggestion #3: If your original plan fails to effectively address the
issue, you should
be ready to adopt one of your alternatives, or ask your
co-workers
for ideas and or help resolving the issue.
Factor: People Leadership Factor: Competency: Motivate Others
Behavior: Convey trust in others abilities to do their jobs
Suggestion #1: Choose specific people who you trust for certain, more
complex
tasks. Make sure that their skills align with the
requirements of the
task. Explain the task and tell them why you chose them
specifically.

34
Doing so will raise their confidence and most likely
motivate them to
put forth extra effort when addressing the task, while
enhancing
your working relationship with that person at the same
time.
Suggestion #2: Check in with the co-worker that you delegated a task
to
periodically. Act as a resource for them if they have
questions or
need help with something. However, do not step in and
try to make
decisions for them and micromanage. Give them time to
complete
the task on their own.
Suggestion #3: Resist the urge to take over if things go wrong. If an
employee is
completely unable to perform a task, you may help or
delegate
someone else to help. However, if they simply do
something wrong,
you may let them know in a constructive way, but do not
step in and

35
actually complete the task yourself. Doing so will
decrease the coworkers confidence and may make them less likely to
help you in the
future.
Behavior: Inspire action without solely relying on your authority
Suggestion #1: When asking your co-workers to do something, make a
personal
appeal; avoid simply telling them what to do. Ordering
others to do
things will probably make them resent your authority,
and while
they might do what you tell them, they will probably not
put much
effort in.
Suggestion #2: Persuade people by using things that are important to
them. For
example, for an apathetic employee who never wants to
help with
closing procedures, remind him that helping to complete
the closing
procedures will allow him to leave earlier.

36
Suggestion #3: Try to inspire people by conveying your trust in their
abilities. When
someone asks for a chicken caesar wrap, you can say,
Matt, you
make great wraps, will you make this one? Addressing
co-workers
like this will show them that you have noticed their
efforts and help
them to feel like a valued employee, and hopefully make
them want
to do their best work for you.
Behavior: Celebrate and reward the achievements of others
Suggestion #1: Recognize food performance quickly. This positive
reinforcement
will encourage the employee to behave similarly in the
future.
Waiting longer may lessen the effect because the action
would not
be as relevant or salient in their memory.
Suggestion #2: When complimenting co-workers on a job well done, be
specific.
Dont just say Good job! Instead, be specific about
what they did

37
and explain why you appreciated it. For example, you can
say
Thank you so much for taking the initiative to take the
trash out
without being asked, that was one less thing that I had to
worry
about during the rush!
Suggestion #3: Make your followers success visible. Tell your
managers about their
good performance, in front of them, so they feel that
their efforts are
not only appreciated by you, but by those higher up than
you as well.
Also, praise them in front of their other co-workers in the
snack bar.
Doing so will help to give them a sense of pride in their
work and
also encourage other employees to behave similarly.
Factor: People Leadership Factor: Competency: Speak Effectively
Behavior: Manage Anxiety Effectively
Suggestion #1: Concentrate on your message and on your audience,
not on yourself

38
and your performance. You are going to analyze yourself
much more
than your audience, and you will definitely be a harsher
critic. Your
harsh criticism will give you even more anxiety, and
therefore
hinder your performance. However, if you concentrate on
your
message and relaying that message to your audience,
you will
probably give a more effective presentation.
Suggestion #2: Visualize what you think a perfect presentation looks
and sounds
like, and practice your presentation that way. Practice
does make
perfect, and practicing will help you to feel much more
prepared,
which will make you feel less anxious.
Suggestion #3: Change your thinking habits. Rather than thinking I
am so bad at
public speaking; this is going to be terrible, alter your
thinking and

39
remember that other people are not going to criticize you
as harshly
as you do, and your presentation is probably going to be
fine. A more
positive outlook will lessen your anxiety.
Behavior: Actively engage audience interest
Suggestion #1: Speak enthusiastically. Usually when giving
presentations, you are
nervous and your voice and tone tend to show that.
Instead, try to
smile and use a more enthusiastic tone. Doing so will be
more
effective at grabbing your audiences attention, and also
make you
sound more credible.
Suggestion #2: Use humor at the beginning of your presentation. This
will help to
lighten your own tension, as well as get the audiences
attention and
interest in a positive way.
Suggestion #3: Ask questions at the end of your presentation. This
necessitates

40
audience attention and will also help to also give you
external
feedback on your presentation, by showing you if your
audience did
understand the points that you were trying to make.
Behavior: Get your point across in a concise manner
Suggestion #1: Before your presentation, make note of the most
important points
that you want to get across during your presentation and
write them
down on an index card. This may be beneficial to you if
you ever find
yourself rambling, because you will have solid points that
you know
that you will need to return to and emphasize. Hopefully
this will
help you not to stray too much.
Suggestion #2: Make the points personally relevant to your audience.
Use real-life
examples and anecdotes, whether they are yours or
others that you
have heard. Ask your audience to share examples as
well.

41
Suggestion #3: Speak concisely. In order to speak more concisely when
you are
nervous and ramble naturally, practice speaking
concisely in your
daily life. Always be sure to avoid saying like, and
um. Try to
always get your points and ideas across in as concise a
manner as
possible.

Development Plans
I would specifically like to focus on developing my abilities to motivate
others and to manage execution. While I feel that in the past, I have been
fairly effective at motivating people because I like to build others up, I would
like to expand upon this because I feel that motivating others at work is
important because it makes the work environment more enjoyable. However,
I have never been great at managing the execution of tasks, probably due to
the fact that I dislike confrontation so much and if a follower or co-worker
does not respect my authority, I do not address it effectively. Improving both
of these competencies might help me to make the snack bar more enjoyable

42
for my co-workers, while increasing our efficiency and pleasing customers
and my managers.
I. Focus on Priorities
Developmental priorities:
1. Motivate others
Rationale: I have always admired people who motivate others, and
I like to build people up. I think that this is an important competency
for any leader to have, in any work environment, in order to
increase the job satisfaction of the employees and make coming to
work more enjoyable. Also, motivating others is a positive and
effective way to encourage employees to put forth a significant
effort at work.
2. Manage execution
Rationale: I feel that this is one of my weakest leadership
competencies, yet it is very important for my role as Senior Snack
Bar Attendant. The most important part of my job is to make sure
that the other snack bar employees are working efficiently to serve
customers. However, sometimes I have a hard time doing so
because I have had a few co-workers that do not always listen, and I
have had a hard time confronting them about it. Therefore, I am not
very effective at managing execution, and have much room for
development in that area.

43
II. Implement Something Every Day
Development priority #1:
1. Think of things that others do that motivate you and write them
down. Try to find ways to implement those things when you are
leading the snack bar.
2. Get to know your co-workers better. Learn what is important to
them, outside of work. Use this knowledge to help motivate them.
3. Look for ways to boost confidence. For example, in the beginning of the year,
choose specific people to train the new snack bar employees. Before sending them to
train the new person, tell them that you are confident in them and that is why you
chose them to train said new person.
4. Make an extra effort to reach out to and be kind to the new employees. After they
are trained and seem to have all of the necessary skills, encourage them to step up and
complete certain tasks. It is easy to rely on the co-workers who you have been
working with for years and it is easy for the new employees to let the other more
experienced employees do most of the work; however, the new employees need a
chance to be able to prove their competency. Encouraging them to complete tasks will
show them that you think that they are just as competent as the workers who have
been there for a longer time, thereby increasing their confidence.
Development priority #2:
1.

Use the specific delegation process listed in the section above. Always select a
certain person to complete tasks, so that your co-workers will simply assume that
someone else will respond to your request for someone to go do something.
Supervise the execution of the task, but do not step in and micromanage. Give

2.

feedback immediately after the task is completed.

Address people directly when they do something wrong. Although this may

44
seem confrontational, it is necessary in order to make the snack bar more efficient.
Try to give criticism in a clear but constructive way, so that they are not confused
about what the problem was, and they know how to fix it. Also, be sure to give
criticism away from other employees, so that the employee does not feel that you are
embarrassing them. However, if you have already corrected the same person three
times for the same thing, call them out in front of other people, because it may get
3.

the message across more clearly.

Act confidently. Maintain good posture, smile, and speak clearly. If you appear
to be more confident, co-workers may be less likely to disregard your authority. If
they can sense that you are slightly unsure of yourself when telling them what to do,
they are probably less likely to act upon your requests.

III. Reflect on What Happens

After a month of work (around the end of June), reflect upon how things
are
going. Do you feel that you have been able to effectively motivate people?
Do people seem to appreciate when you compliment and or praise them?
Does this affect their performance? Does your new delegation system work
better than last year, when you did not direct specific tasks to specific
people? Are their any employees who still do not do things when you ask?
Does privately confronting people when they are doing things wrong
encourage them to improve their performance? Reflect on these questions
and write down your reflections in a journal. Reflect on your progress again at
the end of July and before you leave for Disney.

45

IV. Seek Feedback

In order to determine if you are effectively motivating others, pay
careful attention to their attitudes at work at the beginning of the summer
and try to assess how they are after a month of working with you. Try to
remember how they performed last year and watch to see if their
performance improves this year (Are they taking initiative? Are they
completing their tasks faster? Are they displaying better customer service?)
The direct emotional effect of motivating others may be difficult to measure,
because you cannot directly ask your co-workers if you are effectively
motivating them.
To determine how well you are managing execution, first tell your
managers in the beginning of the summer about your personal development
goals, and ask them to keep that in mind. Then ask your managers at set
intervals if they feel that the snack bar is working more efficiently. Ask them
at the end of June, at the end of July, and again before you leave for Disney.
This will provide you with feedback that will confirm or refute your thoughts
of your execution management. You can also measure your progress with
your co-workers in the snack bar by paying attention to how performance is
affected after you confront an employee when they have done something
wrong. If their behavior changes, your confrontation method was effective. If
not, you may need to adopt another strategy.

46
V. Transfer to Next Level
If you feel that you have successfully improved upon these targeted
competencies, go back to the other competencies that you highlighted in
areas to focus on for development. The next objective that you might want to
focus on is speaking effectively, because this will help you not only with
leadership, but with life in general. Basically any career path that you choose
will require you to speak in public at some point, so it is a good skill to have.
The most important part of public speaking that you need to address is your
anxiety that comes with it.
Carry what you have learned and developed with you to your
experience at Disney. Expand upon your skills, so that they will be even more
developed in the future. Always continue to try to motivate others, not just in
work or organizations, but in all aspects of life. And if you see an opportunity
or meet a person who wants advice or some sort of coaching and you feel
that these competencies may benefit them, teach them about what you did
so that they may be able to reap the positive effects as well.

Reflections

47
I actually enjoyed doing this assignment. I think that personal
reflection is extremely important for personal growth, and while I reflect a
lot, I had never reflected much on my leadership. I realized that although Id
had this idea that I would never be an effective leader because I am such a
shy and quiet person, I realized that I have been successful in multiple
leadership roles. Reflecting upon my positive leadership experiences helped
me to realize that I am a very diplomatic person, and now I think of that as
one of my greatest strengths, which I will be sure to play upon in the future.
Doing this project has also helped me to realize that my two biggest
weaknesses when it comes to leadership are that I stress out so much (I have
anxiety) and that I am extremely non-confrontational (which probably stems
from my anxiety). However, if I force myself to confront people (in a
diplomatic way and only when necessary), I may become more comfortable
with confrontation. Also, I believe that if I actively try to engage in more
positive thinking and hold more positive expectations, I may be able to lower
my stress level. I may be able to enhance this also by acting more outwardly
confident, by showing good posture and smiling, in a sense faking it until I
make it.
I think that the project was fairly easy, because I am a person who
really enjoys personal reflection and trying to find new areas for personal
growth, and also because I am currently in a Personality Psychology course,
in which we have had to take many personality tests and engage in a lot of
self-reflection. I plan to actually use my plan to develop my leadership

48
competencies in the snack bar, and I hope that they will help me in the
future as well.