When a group or an individual worker faces any unexpected issue or fomenting conflict, the leadership intervention comes into play to restore cooperation and improve performance. Leaders’ main task is to increase group cohesiveness, efficacy, conformity, and productivity (van Thiel, 2020). I worked as Purchasing Manager having two Assistants under my management. One of them could not follow a common timetable as she was a young single mother of two children. Thus, Assistant 1 often had to leave early or arrive late to fulfill her parental duties. Nevertheless, she had great time management skills allowing her to complete all assignments in time. On the contrary, Assitant 2 was a reliable single male without children, always on time and ready to work overtime if needed.
The Purchasing Director once demanded an explanation for the unusual schedule of Assistant 1. I explained that my own decision worked as a compromise for all sides, leading to the most effective cooperation. Assitant 1 was happy having extra free hours to pick up or drop off her children, while Assitant 2 enjoyed more time to work at the pace he likes. It was the solution that caters to the group members’ characteristics, making them more satisfied with working conditions. Both did all the tasks before the deadline but in a different manner applying their best personal traits.
According to OCEAN, I am closer to an “Empathetic Idealist” who always tries to help others creatively. The second-largest section of the circumplex is “Practical Caretaker,” indicating my inclination to overall stability and group members’ satisfaction. I scored 96% in “Agreemleness” and 60% in “Extraversion” in terms of the personality trait test. It means that I have compassion and empathy for others and do not need extra attention. What is more, I am a more determined and organized person according to a high “Conscientiousness” score.
The event presented earlier reiterates that I am an abstract thinker who seeks unique solutions to consider and satisfy others’ experiences/needs. On the other side, as a manager, I care about timely and duly assignment completion. The most critical Big Five personality traits for managers are “Openness,” “Conscientiousness,” and “Extraversion” (Riggio, 2017). I scored high in two of them, while Extraversion was close to the average. These results demonstrate my trait potential to become a successful manager who pursues collaboration in conflict management.
References
Riggio, R, E. (2017). Introduction to industrial-organizational psychology (7th ed.). Abingdon: Routledge.
van Thiel, E. (2020). Big Five personality test traits. 123Test. Web.