University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 3

Kyle Shalit
ENCE 424 Communication for Project Managers
Dr. Shana Webster Trotman
October 26, 2019
Introduction:
As the semester continues to go on, I am more able to apply concepts from class to real
situations. Outside of the class I have already seen how I have made some small changes to how
I interact with others in predominantly professional settings, but also personal settings. In the
following essays, I will be applying the skills and concepts I have learned in class to some
hypothetically situations that are typically difficult conversations to have. Thinking through how
I would react and act in these situations will allow me to better navigate the situations in real life.
Additionally, I will take another personality test to get a more complete understanding about
myself.

Email to Team:

Good Morning Team,

I am writing to you all today to address the current progress of the repair project and overall
performance of our team. I just got finished a meeting with the client, Dr. Smith, and my
supervisor, Jim and wanted to share some of the highlights of the meeting. Dr. Smith shared that
every day that the facility is shut down for us to do repairs, the company is losing a potential
revenue of $50,000. This makes it critical for us to complete the project exactly on time or the
client, and it turn Jim, will be very displeased.
When looking at the original schedule, I can see we are a couple days behind on the critical path
items. While this may not seem like a lot of time, it represents a big loss for our client. I have
covered for the team so far and explained that we are working hard and plan to complete the
project on time, but this is not totally true. I have noticed some members of the team are not
giving the same effort that they once had during the first week of the project. I have noticed
some people showing up fifteen to twenty minutes late, sitting around for times far longer than
normal breaks, and generally be uncollaborative and lazy.
This behavior is unacceptable will need to change in order for the project to be completed on
time. If we do not finish everything by the deadline, Jim will primarily be looking towards me
for answers but may loom beyond into some of your work as well. I expect this lackluster
performance from the team to turn around and return to where it once was. I also have requested
an extra member to join our team to make up for lost time and ensure we complete the project on
time.
I hope to see an improvement his upcoming week.

Sincerely,
Kyle Shalit
Project Manger

Important Thing I learned this Week:

This week we learned a lot about influence. During the group activity, I was tasked into
looking more into reciprocity. While I generally knew what this meant, I didn’t fully understand
its ability in creating influence. I learned that it is the most dominant influence skill presented by
Dr. Robert Cialdini. In short, people feel obliged to give back in the form of gifts or services
when someone has first done something for that. In one restaurant study, researchers found that
when waiters left a single mint with the bill, tips increased by 3%. When the waiter left two
mints rather than one, the number increased by 14%. Lastly, when waiters left a mint and walked
away, but turned back around and said something like “for people as kind as you, here’s
another,” tips increased by 23% (The 6 Principles of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini). This
shows that no matter how small the initial gesture, people feel like they should return the favor.
Going forward, it shows that stepping up and doing small acts of kindness or showing
appreciation can go a long way in getting something in return. Showing others that I care for
them first can benefit me latter if I needed something in return. One great example mentioned in
class was the comment about letters of recommendation. Sending a short email wishing your
professor a speedy recovery could be the difference in them agreeing to write a letter of
recommendation or not. I hope to try to help others as much as possible to have the opportunities
to cash them in and to build stronger relationships.

Response to Being Called an Idiot:

If my boss had called me and “idiot” in front of the entire team, I would be very bothered.
This would certainly be a difficult situation to navigate and discuss considering his position
above me and the audience that is present. The steps explained in STATE are certainly
applicable in this situation. In order to feel more comfortable and not have a major conversation
Infront of the team, I would ask if the boss would like to move to another room to talk privately.
This will make everyone more comfortable to freely share their thoughts and opinions.
To address the direct issue that had caused my boss to call me an idiot, I would try to use
some sort of contrasting statement to clarify where everything went wrong. If I can properly
explain what I had intended to accomplish with whatever action I had completed before and
show how that’s different from what my boss had perceived or interpreted, perhaps he will calm
down some and realize that his comment was out of place and unwarranted. Even if I had made a
mistake, if I show the reasons why it was not as bad, the boss will understand. I would also
directly address the name calling he has begun. By explaining that those words are hurtful and
can negatively impact future performance within the team. If the boss does not respect me how
will the team? Inversely, this could affect how the team perceives him as a leader and a boss.
Showing how these strong, aggressive words affect not only myself, but also the entire team and
the boss, I could potentially push the boss into a more apologetic state. If he addresses the
situation to the team or apologizes, everyone will be better off and be more motivated to work
better in the future.
During the entire conversation, I will constantly monitor the overall safety of the
conversation. In this situation, I will predominately have to watch for my boss becoming
increasingly angry. This could show in how he tenses or raises his voice. If it every felt like his
top was about to blow, I would have to remove myself from the room entirely and return to
speak to him some other time when he has cooled off.

Big Five Personality Test:

The results of this personality test were not at all surprising when I read through the
descriptions of each trait. My high scores in conscientiousness and agreeableness are accurate. I
like to think through any decisions rather than act more impulsively. My organizational skills are
great, and I rarely lose focus on the task in hand. I also like to think of others and how they will
react a great deal. I am always looking to make sure others are doing well and are happy, even if
that means sacrificing something from myself. When I compare these high scores to the results, I
received in the previous two personality tests, they generally line up. The Jung personality test
told me that I am someone who prefers logic and reason and likely am very organized. These two
statements are line up with the conscientiousness portion of this test. Additionally, my highest
scoring Disc trait is steadiness, which agrees with a lot of the agreeableness results of this test.
When looking deeper into openness and extraversion, I am also not to surprised. I have
much more moderate feelings about abstract thoughts and creativity. While I try to care about
these things, I care more about relationships. The more moderate score on extraversion is exactly
in line with the previous two tests. My second highest Disc personality trait was influence, so it
shows that I do enjoy interacting and speaking to others. Additionally. The Jung personality test
also described me as an extravert. I am not strongly leaning towards complete extraversion
because I do enjoy some time to myself. I have not thought about Neuroticism much at all until
reading about this test. I am not at all surprised. I don’t let things bother me at all and am always
remaining positive. I try to surround myself with people who will help bring me up rather than
down and have an incredibly optimistic view on life.

Conclusion
These hypothetical situations that I worked through are very real. Often times people
have to work with others who aren’t as motivated to the common goal or work with a boss with
poor leadership skills. Thinking about how one would navigate these tricky situations better
prepares them for future applications. There is only so much practice I can get in real situations,
so this extra practice helps. Additionally, the addition of a third personality test only gives me
more insights about myself. I am getting similar results for each test which show some that the
tests are likely accurate. The more I know about myself, the better I will be able to apply the in-
class concepts.

References:

“The 6 Principles of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini.” INFLUENCE AT WORK,

www.influenceatwork.com/principles-of-persuasion/#reciprocity.