Personal and Working Relationships Review PDF

Personal and working relationships review Week 1: Human relations: - The study of interactions among people - The study of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours can cause problems in personal and professional relationships Why study interpersonal relationships: - Helps you understand behaviour in group...

Personal and working relationships review Week 1: Human relations: - The study of interactions among people - The study of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours can cause problems in personal and professional relationships Why study interpersonal relationships: - Helps you understand behaviour in groups - Helps you become more sensitive to yourself and others - Provides techniques for solving people related problems - Helps you anticipate and prevent conflicts Types of relationships: - Relationship with ourselves - One to One relationship with other people - Relationships with others in a group Interpersonal skill development: - Requires a change in behaviour - Five step model (DuBrin & Geernick, 2015 p. 5) includes: ● Developing a goal – clearly stated ● Assess current reality – how far away from reaching goal ● Action plan – steps to achieve goal ● Feedback on actions – short and long term evaluation ● Frequent practice – becomes a habit Developing Interpersonal Skills on the Job: - It is important to keep in mind that learning opportunities exist both inside and outside the workplace through both formal and informal learning opportunities - Informal Learning - the acquisition of knowledge and skills that takes place outside of a structured learning environment - Takes place when an employee observes a co-worker, manager, or team leader deal with a situation. Formal vs informal learning: Formal: - Structured - Goal-oreinted - Instructor led - methods: ● Face-to-face: coaching, tutorials, group led etc ● Online: webinars, podcasts etc Informal: - Unplanned - No set goals Self-directed methods ● Unplanned: conversations, forums ● Personal research: books, research Week 2: Personality: - Refers to those persistent and enduring behaviour patterns that tend to be expressed in a wide variety of situations. - Your walk, talk, appearance, speech, inner values and conflicts all contribute to your personality. Eight Major Personality Factors and Traits 1. Extraversion - traits include being social, gregarious, assertive, talkative, and active. 2. Emotional stability traits include being calm, relaxed, and secure. 3. Agreeableness traits include being flexible, trusting, cooperative, and tolerant 4. Conscientiousness - traits include being careful, responsible,organized, and honest. 5. Openness to experience - traits include being imaginative, curious, broad-minded, intelligent, and artistically sensitive 6. Self-monitoring of behaviour - the process of observing and controlling how we are perceived by others. 7. Risk-taking and thrill seeking - sensation seekers who pursue novel, intense, and complex sensations. 8. Optimism - a tendency to experience positive emotional states and to expect positive outcomes The Four Cognitive Style: 1. Extraversion vs. Introversion (energy flow) 2. Sensation vs. Intuition (information gathering) 3. Thinking vs. Feeling (decision making) 4. Judging vs. Perceiving (lifestyle orientation) Cognitive Ability: - Also known as mental ability or intelligence - The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge, including solving problems. - Understanding the nature of intelligence contributes to effective interpersonal relations in organizations. Traditional Intelligence: - Evidence suggests that intelligence consists of a g (general) factor and s (specific) factors that contribute to problem-solving ability Practical Intelligence: - Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Intelligence is composed of three subtypes: 1. Analytical – problem-solving 2. Creative – imagination; new combinations 3. Practical – adapting environment to suit your needs Theory of Multiple Intelligences: - Individuals possess the following eight intelligences (faculties) in varying degrees: 1. Linguistic 2. Logical-mathematical 3. Musical 4. Spatial 5. Bodily/kinesthetic 6. Intrapersonal 7. Interpersonal 8. Naturalist Emotional Intelligence: - Refers to qualities such as understanding one’s own feelings, having empathy for others, and regulating one’s emotions to one’s own benefit. - Four key factors: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management Values As A Source of Individual Differences: - A value refers to the importance a person attaches to something. - Values are tied to the enduring belief that some modes of conduct are better than others - Values are closely related to ethics. - Ethics are the moral choices a person makes. - A person’s values influence which kinds of behaviours he or she believes are ethical How Values Are Learned: - One important way we acquire values is through observing others or modelling. - Models can be parents, teachers, friends, siblings, and even public figures. - Increased influence by television and Internet Week 3: Self esteem: - overall evaluation people make of themselves, positive or negative. - Self-concept is what we think about ourselves; self- esteem is what we feel about ourselves. - Positive self-esteem leads to a positive self-concept How Self-Esteem Develops: - Evolves during life based on interactions with people, events, and things. - Early-life experiences have a major impact. - Genuine accomplishment followed by praise and recognition is important. - Inappropriate compliments can turn person into narcissistic praise-junkie – leading to insecurity Consequences of High Self-Esteem: - Career success - Good mental health - Profiting from feedback - Organizational success - Potential negative consequences Enhancing Self-Esteem: - Attain legitimate accomplishments - Be aware of personal strengths - Rebut the inner critic - Practice self-nurturing - Minimize settings and interactions that detract from your feelings of competence - Get help from others - Model the behavior of people with high self- esteem - Create a high self-esteem living space - Manager can by rewarding accomplishment of challenging tasks and coaching to teach new skills The Importance of Self-Confidence and Self-Efficacy: - Self-efficacy is confidence in your ability to carry out a specific task. - Self-confident people set relatively high goals for themselves. - Self-confidence contributes to leadership effectiveness. - Positive thinking helps attain goals Sources of feelings of self-confidence: 1. Actual experience 2. Experience of others 3. Social comparison 4. Social persuasion 5. Emotional arousal Week 4: Stress: - An adaptive response that is the consequence of any action, situation, or event that places special demands on a person Stressor: - The external or internal force that brings on stress. - Stressors can be both positive and negative Symptoms and consequences of stress: - There are physiological changes that take place in the body in response to stress that are responsible for most stress symptoms. - The battle against these physiological symptoms is referred to as the fight-or-flight response. Symptoms and consequences of stress: - Physiological reactions ● increases in heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose and blood clotting. - - Job performance consequences ● Performance tends to be best under moderate amounts of stress. Job sources of stress ● Role overload ● Role conflict and role ambiguity ● Adverse environmental conditions ● Adverse interactions with customers and others ● Environmentally induced attention deficit disorder ● Job insecurity Burnout and stress ● prolonged stress may lead to burnout Burnout: - is a condition of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion in response to long-term stressors. Burnout and stress: Causes: - Limited autonomy or control - Insufficient recognition - Limited advancement opportunities - Poor co-worker relations - Incompatible organizational culture Personality factors predisposing people to stress: - Low perceived control - Low self-efficacy - Type A behaviour - Negative affectivity Methods and techniques for managing stress: - Build a support network - Practise visualization and meditation - Practise everyday methods of stress reduction - Eliminate or modify the stressor - Get appropriate physical exercise - Get sufficient rest - Maintain a healthy diet Week 5: Communication: - Sending, receiving, and understanding of messages. - Basic process by which managers, customer-contact workers, and professionals accomplish their work. - Importance of face-to-face communication has increased significantly due to electronic communication Steps In The Communication Process: For effective communication to take place there are 6 components that must be considered. - Sender (or source) ● ● - - - person attempting to send a spoken, written, sign language, or non verbal message to another person(s) Perceived authority/credibility is also a factor Message ● purpose or idea (impacted by clarity of message, receiver alertness & complexity/length/organization) Channel (medium) ● how the message is transmitted ● spoken, written, electronically ● non-verbal impacts on delivery of spoken Receiver ● communication event is only complete when received and understood ● factors impacting include tone of voice, delivery or written/electronic message Feedback ● messages sent back from receiver to the sender. ● Includes receiver reactions (Nod, saying okay or mmm). Environment ● in the workplace – it is the organizational culture ● classroom - it is the classroom environment ● attitude, trust & comfort affect message transmission Noise ● seventh component that impacts all 6 mentioned ● any distraction that influences the process ● attitudes, biases, emotions of receiver and sender ● stress, fear, negative attitude, low motivation transmission Of Nonverbal Communication: - Environment ● Includes elements such as room colour, temperature, lighting, furniture layout - Interpersonal Distance ● positioning of one’s body in relation to someone else (proxemics) is used to transmit messages. ● Important to remember personal boundaries ● Touching interpreted as sexual harassment by some cultures - Posture ● Communicates a variety of messages. ● standing erect conveys self-confidence. ● openness of arms indicates caring - Gestures ● Frequent hand movements suggest a positive attitude, while infrequent gestures indicate dislike or lack of interest - Facial Expressions ● Using your head, face and eyes in combination provide clear indications of interpersonal attitudes - Voice Quality ● Often more significance is attached to the Way something is said rather than what is said - Personal Appearance ● Your external image plays an important role in communicating messages to others. ● ● - Well dressed neatly groomed for type of position Formal business attire – now the norm Attention Paid to Other Person ● The more attention paid to the other person, the more valued and important that person feels. Guidelines For Improving Nonverbal Communication: - Obtain feedback on your body language - Relax when communicating - Use gestures to enhance your speech - Avoid using the same nonverbal gesture over and over - Role-play to practise various forms of nonverbal communication - Use mirroring to establish rapport. 1. Understand the receiver: ● Develop empathy - imagine yourself in the other person’s role - (understand the other person and how they feel) ● Keep the receiver’s frame of reference in mind (the lens through which we view the world; point that causes them to perceive words and concepts differently) ● Motivational state – needs or interests operating at that time 2. Minimize defensive communication: ● Defensive communication is the tendency to receive messages in such a way that our self-esteem is protected. ● Overcoming this barrier requires the people to recognize the defensive communication and to avoid being defensive when questioned or criticized 3. Use multiple channels (within reason): ● Repetition improves communication, particularly when different communication methods are used in moderation ● Avoid information overload – occurs when people are overloaded with so much info that they cannot respond effectively to messages ● Many organizations use multiple channels to communicate messages 4. Check Comprehension and Feelings via Verbal and Nonverbal Feedback: ● Asking for feedback helps determine whether your message has been received as intended. ● Also provides reinforcement to sender ● Check for feelings 5. Positive Attitude: ● Being perceived as having a positive attitude helps melt communication barriers. ● Being positive makes you appear more credible and trustworthy 6. Use Persuasive Communication: ● Persuasion involves selling messages. ● Communicating persuasively allows obstacles to disappear and the receiver can “buy” the message. ● Ten helpful strategies for overcoming typical communication problems: 1. Know exactly what you want 2. Never suggest an action without benefit 3. Get a “yes” response early on 4. Use power words 5. Don’t raise your pitch at the end of the sentence 6. Talk to your audience, not a screen 7. Back up conclusions with data 8. Minimize “wimp” phrases 9. Avoid common language errors 10. Avoid overuse of jargon and clichés 7. Engage in active listening (listening intently with goal of emphathising with the speaker): ● Accept sender’s figure of speech ● Paraphrase & listen reflectively ● Minimize distractions ● Ask questions ● Allow sender to finish ● Use nonverbal communication ● Minimize words that shut down communication 8. Prepare for stressful conversations: ● Be aware of how you react to uncomfortable communication exchanges (do you get defensive, do you shut down) ● Practise different scenarios with people you trust to become more comfortable 9. Engage in metacommunications: ● To metacommunicate is to communicate about your communication. ● When a communication problem arises you can try one of the methods described ● Some individuals may just “take it or leave it” ● Another approach is to talk about (metacommunicate) 10. Recognize gender differences in communication style: ● Some examples: - women prefer to use conversation to build rapport - men prefer to work out their problems themselves - women more likely to compliment work of co-worker - men tend to be more directive in their conversation. ● General suggestion: - women can try be more direct - men can try being more empathetic Week 6: Interpersonal Skills for One-on-One Interactions: Positive Interpersonal Skills While Using Cell Phones and Text Messaging: 1. Use a standard ring tone 2. Inform the caller that you are using a cell phone. 3. Inform work associates ahead of time if you are waiting for a call from a medical professional or in reference to an urgent home situation. 4. Ask your work associate if he or she would like you to access an item of work-related information using your smart phone. 5. Inform your coworker that you are shutting off your cell phone or smart phone during your conversation. 6. For business purposes, use a fully functioning phone and stay current with your cell phone bill 7. When making calls from outside the office, search for a relatively quiet environment so your message will be clearer, and you will not have to ask the receiver to repeat information. 8. If absolutely necessary to take a cell phone call while interacting with a work associate, excuse yourself and move at least fifteen feet away to process the call 9. When you are the driver of the vehicle, explain to your work associates that for safety’s sake you are putting your cell phone away or hands free 10. When at work, make any cell phone calls on break, and away from your assigned physical location, such as outside the building or in an employee lounge (but not in the washroom!) Negative Interpersonal Skills While Using Cell Phones and Text Messaging 1. Accepting a call during a work conversation. 2. Wearing a cell phone earpiece in the presence of a coworker when not on the phone. 3. Making frequent personal calls on your phone in the earshot of coworkers. 4. Talking loudly or shouting on the cell phone. 5. ​Eating while making a phone call. 6. Constant handling or looking at the cell phone even when not in use. 7. Driving a work associate while under the influence of a cell phone including text messaging. 8. Accepting and sending phone messages from washrooms. 9. Walking in a crowd while text messaging. Interpersonal Aspects of Multitasking: - Multitasking and Positive Interpersonal Skills ● Can enhance interpersonal skills if you are helping another person. ● When two people are holding a conversation for joint problem solving, multitasking can help solve the problem. ● The result of the joint problem solving is an enhanced interpersonal relationship - Multitasking and Negative Interpersonal Skills ● Multitasking can trivialize person with whom you are interacting (the person becomes less important than your caller). ● When responding to electronic interruption, attention is sapped for more time than it takes to read the message. ● While you are in recovery mode, you pay less than full attention to other person Laptop and Personal Digital Assistant Use in Meetings: - Appropriate use of laptop or PDA depends on company tradition and why you are using it - Electronic devices enhance interpersonal skills when used with permission to gather information relevant to meeting