MODULE 1: PERSONAL GROWTH AND INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Module 1 : Personal Growth 3rd Semester, MBA, VTU Prepared By : Pallabi Mund

WHAT IS PERSONAL GROWTH

Personal Growth refers to self development of an individual towards the actualization of his potentialities. Personal growth transforms an individual from : - dependence to self direction - impulsiveness to self discipline - ignorance to knowledge - incompetence to competence - immorality to morality - self confine to concern for self and others.

PERSONAL GROWTH DEFINITION

Something which opens within you is to be known, the process of knowing it is called personal growth. Personal growth is a process that produces personal change and progress. ---Antoine De Saint

PERSONAL GROWTH DEFINITION

Personal Growth means the movement of a

person toward better Psychological health - Abraham Maslow

NATURE OF PERSONAL GROWTH

It is the movement of a person towards good psychological health. Certain people are identified to have attained highest level of personal growth (Self actualization), like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, Einstien, Etc. It is a lifetime process which happens continuously , Improvement in totality of the individual, It is a generic process that has got to do with the personality, It is always judged in terms of values.

KEY INGREDIENTS TO ACHIEVE PERSONAL GROWTH

Ability to learn (reflect and learn from your own experiences; Adult learning theorists stress that self reflection is the core ingredient in conscious personal growth). Know your own Strengths (discovering and using your Strengths as well as identifying your weaknesses). Mapping of Adult Development (predictable stages of development as people mature provide a roadmap to grow personally - moral, spiritual, intellectual, emotional). Understand your personality dimensions (core personality traits remain relatively stable throughout your personal development. These core traits generally influence the way you "show up" in the world). Self Motivation (the drive deep within you to grow for self and for others).

SELF AWARENESS AND SELF ESTEEM

Self-awareness can be an understanding of one's own knowledge, attitudes, and opinions. Self-esteem means a persons overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as despair, pride and shame. The self- awareness concept is what we think about the self; whereas self-esteem is the positive or negative evaluation of the self, or it is how we feel about it.

SELF AWARENESS :

Self-awareness is the first step in the creation process & is the foundation for personal development. As you grow in self awareness, you will better understand why you feel, what you feel and why you behave as you behave. Concept of Self-awareness includes recognition of our personality, our strengths and weaknesses, our likes and dislikes, our priorities, our values, attitudes and beliefs. Developing self-awareness can help us to recognize when we are stressed or under pressure. It is also often a prerequisite for effective communication and interpersonal relations, as well as for developing empathy for others.

Role is defined as: A character or part played by an actor in a dramatic performance. The characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual. A function or position. - (The American Heritage Dictionary, 1976).

LIFE ROLES:
1.

2.

3. 4.

5.

6. 7.

8.

Son or Daughter : Time and energy spent throughout life in relating to parents. Student : Time and energy spent in learning. This role is heavy while in school as it is full-time, gradually it becomes part-time or none at all. Worker : Time and energy spent in paid employment. Partner/Spouse : The time and energy spent in developing and maintaining a satisfying relationship with another person. Homemaker : - The time and energy spent in caring for the place in which we live. Parent : The time and energy spent in parenting Leisure : The time and energy spent in leisure activities, including sports, reading, TV, travel, etc. Citizen : The time and energy spent in volunteer service in the community (NGO, church, Nurse/Doctor in the hospital, etc)

MEANING AND CONCEPT OF SOCIAL ROLE

A social role is a set of connected behaviors, rights and obligations as conceptualized by actors in a social situation. It is an expected behavior in a given individual social status and social position. (Example : Accident). People spend much of their lives in groups. Within these groups, people often take distinct positions. Each of these positions can be called a role with a whole set of functions that are molded by the expectations of others. (Example: Family as a group)

SOCIAL ROLES :

Home & Neighborhood roles : Tenant or home-owner , host, cook, house cleaner, handy-person, gardener, decorator, etc. Good neighbor, neighborhood watch member, participant in neighborhood clean-up or other improvement projects , etc. Family & Friends roles : Wife, husband, son, daughter, father, mother, brother sister, grandson , granddaughter , uncle, aunt , cousin, friend, soul mate, buddy, etc. Work Roles : Receptionist, clerk, machine operator, Co-worker , union member, owner, Intern, trainee, Trainer, Supervisor, Employer, employee. Learning Roles : Student, Learner, Teacher, instructor, trainer, mentor, tutor, guide, scholar. Spiritual & Religious Roles : Member, trustee, choir member, reader, server, greeter, religious education students, religious education teacher, committee member, etc. Community Association Roles : Member, office holder, committee and task group member ,voter , tax payer, etc. Sports & Fitness Roles : Athlete, player, champion, competitor. Creative Expression Roles : Artist, actor, musician dancer, viewer, poet , writer, coach, teacher, director, producer, promoter, collector, critic, etc.

ORGANIZATIONAL ROLE

The term Organizational Role has ranged in definition from the acting one does in role as if to play a role and not be real or true to oneself, to the description of what one does on paper. However, role is more complex and is a necessary organizational component. The organizational role of an individual is only one amongst the many roles that together form a pattern called the role space. Ones behavior and personal style does not have to match or mirror the organizations behavior and culture but the two needs to coexist; the differences and similarities must be understood and negotiated. Hence , an organizational role is a function or position that has a set of parameters within which it must complete some set of tasks.

ORGANIZATIONAL ROLES ARE CLASSIFIED INTO THREE WAYS:

Expected role: refers to the expectation of supervisors towards their subordinates on the type of behavior or actions in their job. This expected role can be specified by giving a detailed job description. Perceived role: this concerns the set of activities or behaviors of the group that an individual believes he or she should do. Most of the times, the perceived role corresponds to the expected role. Enacted role: this refers to the way in which the individual group member actually behaves. The enacted role is generally dependent on the perceived role.

ORGANIZATIONAL ROLES CAN BE :

(A)

Managerial roles

Managers must wear many different hats in formulating and implementing task activities related to their positions. Henry Mintzberg examined managerial activities on a daily basis and came out with ten roles that can be separated into three general groupings:
:

a) b) c)

Interpersonal roles :
Figurehead - The figurehead role is enacted when activity of a ceremonial nature is required within the organization Leader - The leader role, involves the coordination and control of the work of the manager's subordinates Liaison - The liaison role is enacted when managers obtain information or resources outside their authority.

a)

Informational roles :
Monitor - To identify opportunities or threats to the functioning of the work unit. Disseminator The information collected as Monitor must be evaluated and transmitted as appropriate to members of the organization. Spokesperson - by speaking on behalf of the work unit to people inside or outside the organization.

b)
c)

a)

Decisional roles:
Entrepreneur - The entrepreneur role comes into action when the manager seeks to improve the work unit. This can be accomplished by adapting new techniques to fit a particular situation or modifying old techniques to improve individual or group activity. Disturbance handler - the disturbance handler role establishes the manager as a responder to change, required to act quickly to bring stability back to the organization. Resource allocator - having to decide to whom and in what quantity resources will be dispensed, the resource allocator role is assumed. Resources may include money, time, power, equipment, or people. Negotiator - as managers move up the managerial hierarchy and obtain control over more resources, they become more involved in the negotiator role.

b) c) d)

(B) Team Roles:

Unhelpful individual blocker roles : Benne and Sheets, identified a number of

ways in which individuals will try to disturb the effective functioning of group, they are : Dominator The team members try to takeover a meeting to assert authority, to exercise undue influence over group decisions or to manipulate the group. Blocker or topic jumper The members or leaders stubbornly disagreeing or rejecting others views and raising petty criticism or points of order. Aggressor - this refers to criticizing other members personally, disagreeing aggressively with reasonable arguments put forward by others, ready for a fight. Recognition seeker - The members try to show their own importance by boasting or excessive talking, being unduly conscious of status, Special Interest Pleader - The members show some bias towards some special groups such as their own community, etc and speak for their own cause. Self Confessor - The members take unique advantage in expressing their personal, non group oriented ideas, feelings and insights etc in the group meetings. Playboy - The members waste the groups time in showing off, telling funny stories, making a fun of the situations etc Withdrawing - Members may be present physically, but not in mind by indulging some activities such as reading papers without looking up, refusing to participate in discussions, or carrying on private conversions within the group Help seeker - This type of members attempts to call for sympathy response from other members or whole group, through expressions of insecurity,

a) b) c)

d)

e)

f)

g)
h)

i)

TEAM ROLES CONTD..

Group building and maintenance roles : Benne and Sheets identified kinds of behavior necessary for group maintenance and for ensuring effective working as team. Encourager - The team members agrees with and accept the contribution of others by expressing warmth, solidarity in their attitude towards other group members, Harmonizer The team member ensures effective relationships among members by mediating differences between other members. Compromiser - The team leader admits the shortcomings or limitations to maintain group harmony Gatekeeper-Expeditor - The team leader keeps the communication channel open by encouraging or facilitating the participation of others regularly. Standard setter - The leader fixes certain limits as standard or benchmarking and effectively applies those standards in evaluating the quality of group process. Group observer - The leader keeps a record on their achievements, difficulties, shortcomings etc. Feeding such a data will be of much help in assessing the overall growth of the group activities. Follower - Sometimes, the leader move along with the group by accepting the views of others and serving as audience in group discussion Group task roles : These are related to some of the activities relating to achieving the goals of the team, facilitating and coordinating the group problem solving activities. They are : Initiator-contributor Leader takes initiative in proposing new procedures or ways of handling some difficulty in the organization. Information seeker - The team leader solicits more information from the group members to ensure the accuracy of factual information, and those relevant to the problem and also seeks clarification on some critical issues. Opinion Seeker - The team leader is seeking some critical suggestions and clarification from all the members or outside groups members relating to the group task.

a)

b)
c) d) e) f) g)

a)

b)

c)