PSY3541: Psychology of Leadership

Running head: AMANDA GOBLE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL 1

Amanda Goble

Leadership Journal

PSY3541: Psychology of Leadership

Fall 2017

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Journal Entry 1: Best Leader I Have Ever Experienced

One person in my life who really stands out as a model person for leadership would have

to be my father. I know it is not a previous boss, but my father was the very first leader I ever

had in life. Of course, my father shared that leadership with my mother, but I have always looked

up to and admired my father. He taught me all the basic core values such as respect for my elders

and anyone for that matter, manners, how to carry myself, work ethic. Life lessons were a huge

part of my raising, he taught me that if I work hard, I can achieve anything I want. He raised me

to not give into peer pressure, to be a leader, not a follower. Even if the path was easier, take the

harder path because less people will choose the harder path. He influenced me in all aspects of

my life to be the best version of myself, and I influenced him to be the best version of himself for

me. Kids change people, we change lives. My dad planned every aspect of our lives, and that’s

fine because it provided stability. Which is needed for a kid to really harness and develop certain

skills. As a parent you deal with change on a daily basis, kids are never transparent or the same

day to day. Other people also played a role in helping my father be the best father he could be to

me and my siblings.

My dad taught me two very important lessons in life that I have carried with me into my

adult life, and I will carry into my child’s life, as I start my journey of becoming a parent. The

first lesson was saying no. Simple lesson, yet so effective. Saying no to things I did not agree

with morally, such as drugs, or being pressured to fight, or when I am on a date. Just simply

understanding that I can control any aspect of my life and stand up for myself. I was told to say

no, and I wasn’t perfect in high school, I partied like the next kid, however I have never once

even tried a drug a day in my life. A day where marijuana and other recreational gateway drugs

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are gaining popularity, I am proud to say that the lesson of saying no, has stuck with me in that

aspect majorly.

The second lesson he taught me was to never give up. That is another aspect you can use

in many places in your life such as sports, academics, goals, and marriage. I have had to use that

lesson countless times in my life. I played varsity sports in high school and as any athlete knows,

there are many times after struggling with a certain aspect of the game for so long that you just

want to quit, but those are the times you force yourself to push through. College is not easy, as

anyone can attest to, but you work hard to achieve what you want in life. Marriage, I am married,

and very young. It is not easy, it is not all sunshine. Marriage is hard work and I have had to use

this lesson many times, you can feel like you want to give up sometimes, but love pulls you

through.

A parent is one of the best leaders you can have in your life, unfortunately not everyone

is as fortunate, but I am. I am so thankful to have my father, my leader and supporter in my life

and honored to write about him.

Journal Entry 2: Assessment Number One

In our reading this week, there were two assessments. The first assessment was

Leadership Potential. We answered statements and used a number system to base which

statement was most and least like us. I scored a 34 out of 50. Definitely not perfect, but it does

show that I am on a good track with room for improvement. It just motivates me more to better

myself in that aspect. I agree with my score, I feel like this is completely accurate. I know there

are parts of leadership that I am not super comfortable with, and there are some I feel I excel at.

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Areas I could improve on are things like offering ideas and suggestions, I feel like I lack

in that area depending on how long I have been at a certain job, that determines how comfortable

I feel speaking out. I need to get more comfortable at taking initiative and speaking out. I

struggle badly with change as well, so I feel more comfort in a job that is generic, the same day-

to-day versus and job that is constantly changing. I definitely need to become more comfortable

with change.

Journal Entry 3: Assessment Number Two

The second assessment we did in chapter one was Managerial Leadership Skills. This one

was very interesting and my favorite of the two. It showed me out of all three skills, what my

strengths and weaknesses were. I scored an 18 out of 20 in technical skills, which I feel is very

accurate as I am a Tech Support Agent for a cable company, and I have used technology most of

my life. I feel the most comfortable with the technical skills. I scored a 15 out of 20 in

Interpersonal Skills, which again I agree with. I am good with people, I can get along with just

about anyone. People don’t bother me at all. Lastly, I scored a 10 out of 20 on the decision–

making skills. I agree with that as well. I worked with a coworker that told me I was good at my

job but I second guess myself way too much, and that is so true. I am so determined to do my

best that I often worry I haven’t done my best.

My biggest area for improvement is in the decision-making skills department for sure. I

need to learn to be more confident in my abilities. I need to be better with things that involve

critical thinking, I have always tested low in the critical thinking category so that is definitely my

weakness. I feel like I have great potential to be a leader though with continued improvement in

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the decision-making skills department, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable until I improved in that

area first. My preference of the three skills is definitely the technical skills.

Journal Entry 4: Self-Assessment 2-1: Big Five Personality Dimensions

In this assessment, there are five different dimensions that you are going to get a score

on. Those include surgency, agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness, and openness to

experience. I scored highest in Conscientiousness with a 30, then a three-way tie between

surgency, adjustment, and openness to experience with a 27 score for each of those categories,

and lastly, I scored lowest in agreeableness with a 23 score.

The scoring says the highest you can score in each category is a 35, and the higher the

score, the better. I agree with conscientiousness being my highest, I feel like I am a very

dependable employee, I come to work every day and do my job as I am supposed to. They can

count on me to get my work done, and to do it right. I also agree with the three way tie scoring as

well, I feel like I am level headed and a good mixture of all of those traits, but there is always

room to improve. I disagree with agreeableness being my lowest score, I am a very sociable

person, I am not quiet or afraid of crowds and I am emotionally smart, I have been taking psych

classes for two years now, so maybe that’s why I feel so partial to this trait.

I consider my strengths to be conscientiousness and agreeableness, I feel like those two

really highlight who I am as a person and employee, I am dependable to anyone who knows me,

but I make sure not to let my emotions get the best of me. I also make sure I do everything with

integrity; I make sure that I do things the right way and not just the easy way. For anyone in

general, emotional intelligence is something that always needs to be taken seriously, if you let

too many emotions get in the way, it makes it hard to do your job. I can use this information

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from this test to realize my strengths and weaknesses and to pay special attention to my

weaknesses so that I may turn them into strengths.

Journal Entry 5: Online Jung Personality Profile

This assessment is one we are accessing online and I find it really interesting, it is

different from the assessment in the textbook. My Jung typology is ISFJ which stands for

introvert, sensing, feeling, and judging. I got 9% for introvert, 34% for sensing, 16% for feeling,

and 22% for judging. It says that I have a slight preference for introversion over extraversion, a

moderate preference of sensing over intuition, a slight preference of feeling over thinking, and a

slight preference for judging over perceiving. ISFJs are characterized by their desire to serve

others and their need to be needed.

This score I feel implies that I operate and function more with emotions than logic, which

I would agree with. I normally do follow my heart more than my head. I have been known for

that. I agree with most of the characteristics that I listed above, but not all of them. I do agree

that I have a slight preference for introversion, and that is because as much as I like to be social, I

also like to be alone, it is comforting and relaxing to me. I don’t believe that the preference for

sensing over intuition is moderate, I would say that would be slight, I use my intuition every day

at work on each call I take to make sure I handle each customer issue appropriately.

Once again I can use this information to recognize my strengths and weaknesses and to

focus on those weaknesses to turn them into strengths. It will also help me choose a career based

on my profile.

Journal Entry 6: Self-Assessment 2-3: Motive Profile with Socialized Power

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In this assessment, it expands on the big five personality traits and gives us our motive

profile. Need for achievement is at a 30, my highest. Need for power is at a 27. Need for

affiliation is at a 23. Lastly, socialized power is at a 27. This assessment implies that overall my

need for achievement is most important to me and that my need for affiliation is still important,

just not on the same level of importance as my need for achievement. My need for power and

then my socialized power score are both at 27, that is on the higher end of the scale, but not

something I feel is super important to me. Being in a position of power would be nice, but I do

not feel it is relevant to do my job, I will do my job completely and fully no matter what position

I am in. I can use this information to help me better understand the different job settings I can