Organizational Skills Assessment - An Honest Self-Evaluation

INTRODUCTION

       When considering my organizational skill set, it was encouraging to think about the myriad opportunities in my personal experience, previous employment, and coursework, which all contributed to form the confident communicator I feel I am today.  I was fortunate enough to have incredible teachers in my family, and in my educational journey, who saw some ability in me, and encouraged me to work hard to develop my communication skills and style, both in the classroom and in front of an audience. Previous employment, which ranged from a gymnastics instructor to office manager, small business owner/manager to statewide outreach coordinator, has provided excellent vehicles to learn presentation and oratory skills, as well as a wide array of technical skills.

WORK-CONTENT SKILLS

       A few of the work-content skills I believe I possess are: the ability to listen (particularly to non-verbal cues), to facilitate group discussion and problem-solving, presenting program material, mentoring/training peers, and speechmaking.

       One area most would not consider as vital in the workplace, is the area of listening, both for information, in order to respond correctly, and to ensure the speaker feels their needs are being considered.  According to our textbook, “80 percent of the executives questioned rated listening as the most vital skill for accomplishing workplace tasks” (Trenholm, 2008, p.44). I feel it is a grossly underrated skill, and one which is of incredible value in my present career and any future endeavors.

With regards to listening, one key component of this is observing how “non-verbal cues regulate, or control, social interaction… (and) knowing the meaning of and abiding by these nonverbal as aspect of the important interpersonal skill called interaction management. People who are skilled in interaction management are considered highly competent communicators” (Trenholm, 2008, p.108).
        People often relate much more by their non-verbal cues (specifically body language and actions/reactions) than by the words they are speaking.  A client or customer may be saying one thing with their mouth, but their tone, body position, and movement, could potentially be relaying a very different story.  Developing this skill has enabled me to be successful as a case manager and outreach professional. 

       The team I work with is often presented with very challenging problems, to which no ready answer or solution is apparent. I seem to have a knack for finding creative solutions to problems, while considering other’s positions and the goal of a group, then facilitating productive discussion. This involves clearly defining the issue, parroting back some of the discussion in order to clarify people’s positions, and keeping the group focused and on track, while outlining suggested courses of action.

       Speechmaking, presentation, mentoring and training peers, group facilitator, and effective community outreach are my strongest work-content skill sets.  However, I am not a good debater and do not do well when confronted about ideologies.  Thankfully, I am able to communicate every aspect of our company’s program, even down to having solutions for various unusual scenarios, but that is mostly because our program is not ideological in nature, and has very well established parameters.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

       A few of my best personal attributes would be presentation and delivery, conversational repair, respect of another’s personal space, and a strong comfort level when speaking in front of others.

According to our textbook, “a …skill that communicators need is conversational repair. Conversational partners must be able to head off problems before they occur or, if these attempts fail, to repair misunderstandings” (Trenholm, 2008, p.83).  In some of my past positions (sales, marketing), as well as my present position as an Outreach Coordinator, I found myself frequently listening to clients or providers who may have been under a wrong conception of what they were being provided, or how we were able to assist them, and I had to talk them through the product and/or process, correcting any misunderstandings and elaborating on solutions, where necessary.  It was (and is) very challenging, but I enjoy helping someone understand things better.

       Respecting another’s spatial territory and/or barriers is another important communication skill, and one which I feel comes as second nature to me now. If one merely observes the person with whom they are going to be communicating, it is relatively easy to see whether they want more distance between the two of you, or if they want the intimacy of communication that implies familiarity and trust. In my present position, I have come to learn (99% of the time by visual observation) when certain co-works are welcoming conversation or need more space to complete their tasks, or when those close to me desire to draw closer for more intimate communication, which requires good observation and listening skills.

       With regards to personal delivery, from an early age, my mother (a school teacher), would have me help her with class preparations for her Title I students.  She would get me to record myself on cassette, reading a storybook or poem for her class and, in this way, I learned a rather captivating form of delivery not just for children, but also a way of speaking that keeps an audience’s attention, whether reading directly from written text, or extemporaneously. Due to my mother’s encouragement and coaching, I have very little stage fright, or speech anxiety, even when addressing people in political office (Governor, Senator, Mayor, etc.) or in influential positions in local agencies.  (I do, oddly enough, get horrible cotton mouth when preparing to sing and play my guitar in front of my peers.)  My mother also greatly encouraged my written communication skills by insisting we write and respond to letters in more than just a cursory way.

TECHNOLOGY

       Through my previous and current employment, I have been utilizing technological tools such as Microsoft Power Point and Publisher (beyond simple Word and Excel documents), online website and hard-copy promotional material design, as well as e-mail and online meeting sites. For the purposes of communicating with offices in other counties, I am often texting communication with other case coordinators and clients. It is a much more informal way of communicating, but effective when a short, concise response is needed.  When presenting our company’s program to collaboratives and resource providers, I often use an overhead Power Point presentation as a supplement to my verbal presentation of the material. Promotional items such as rack cards, fact sheets, and business cards have been designed by me on both Microsoft Publisher and Staples Online Copy and Print center, and are passed out to resource providers and stakeholders, as well as prospective clients.  Although I think I have been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21^st Century, with its use of technology in the workplace, I feel I have adapted well and am quite comfortable with a variety of technological media.  Having such experience, and relevant skill sets, has enabled me to obtain my current position, and are also helping me in wonderful ways in my studies at Ashford University.

CONCLUSION

       In conclusion, when I assess my organizational skills sets, I see where I have grown personally, professionally, and as a student, but I also see where there is additional room for growth.  Nowhere is this more obvious than in the evolution of technology and its application in communication.  I am excited to expand my repertoire of organizational skills and to apply this in both my current career and any future endeavors, in ways that will prove efficient as well as successful.

Reference

Trenholm, S. (2008). Thinking through communication: An introduction to the study of human communication. (6th). (P. Education, Ed.) Boston.