Professionals, such as SMT members in this study, need to understand themselves on a personal level in order that they may better understand how other people perceive them and why people respond to them in the manner that they do during moments of change. Understanding oneself on a personal level includes but is not limited to:
• developing self-awareness; • using emotional intelligence; • applying assertiveness; • examining one’s assumptions; • clarifying one’s values; and
• developing a personal mission statement.
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Figure 5.1 Framework for personal development (adapted from Casini, 2010; Goleman, 2005; Haber-Curran et al., 2015; Hunsaker & Hunsaker, 2009).
Figure 5.1 above indicates some essential aspects that SMTs need to be engaged with continuously throughout their professional development to better understand themselves on a personal level. Enabling SMTs to better understand themselves on a personal level could assist them to better deal with themselves, staff, parents, learners, and professional issues and challenges that confront them.
Developing self-awareness involves becoming aware of one’s personality, emotions, likes and
dislikes, things that bring joy, motivations, and important challenges. These are all important aspects of understanding oneself and other people. If individuals know and understand themselves, they are better able to manage themselves and, in turn, better able to understand and manage others (Goleman, 2005). According to Hunsaker and Hunsaker (2009), the best way to enhance self-awareness is for individuals to develop a process of honest reflection about their own experiences. This may include scheduling time each day to reflect honestly until it becomes part of a daily routine and applying the lessons learnt. Another aspect is keeping a journal of lessons learnt that can assist in developing the reflection process. It is also important for
Developing self- awareness Using emotional intelligence Clarifying one's values Applying assertiveness Examining one's assumptions Developing one's personal mission statement
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individuals to regularly assess progress towards goals they have set for themselves to gain a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and using their strengths to develop their weaknesses. It is necessary for them to find someone who can give regular and honest feedback, in order to gain perspective on their experiences and learn from them.
Using emotional intelligence means the ability to monitor and work with one’s own and others’
emotions (Goleman, 2005). Emotional intelligence includes the ability to understand and interact with others and becomes more important the more an individual has to work and deal with people. Emotional intelligence should be seen as a capability (group of competencies) that can be developed over time and can be improved through training and, if necessary, therapy. Engaging with emotions, rather than being at their mercy, makes individuals more capable of dealing with the stress and demands of the context and situation in which they find themselves. Engaging with emotions enables individuals to control impulses and solve problems, and helps them to perform more competently. Personal and social competencies are central to emotional intelligence. Personal competencies encompass self-awareness and self-management, while social competencies encompass social-awareness and relationship-management (Goleman, Boyatzis, & Mckee, 2013). The four common competencies of emotional intelligence are tabulated below in Table 5.3, illustrating the skills associated with them.
Table 5.3 Four common competencies of emotional intelligence (Goleman et al., 2013)
INW ARD F ACI NG A S P EC TS Self-awareness
Emotional self-awareness; self-respect; self-confidence; self- assertiveness.
Self-management
Emotional self-control; trustworthiness; conscientiousness; achievement-orientation; adaptability; optimism; initiative; intuitive; reflective. O UT W ARD F ACI NG AS P E C T S Social awareness
Empathy; organisational awareness; service orientation; context.
Relationship management
Concern for development of others; inspirational leadership; influential; open communication; change agent, catalyst; conflict-resolution management; teambuilding; teamwork and collaboration.
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Table 5.3 above indicates a set of skills and competencies that individuals need in their personal lives when engaging with people and situations. Individuals need to be able to access these skills and competencies from within themselves when engaging with individuals, groups of individuals and various situations. These competencies and skills can be used to set and achieve desired personal goals. These competencies and skills can also be developed and revised over time. The four emotional intelligence competencies in Table 5.3 above have inward and outward facing aspects. The inward facing aspects of emotional intelligence are individuals’ emotional self-awareness and their ability to manage their own emotions. The outward aspects of emotional intelligence are their degree of empathy or awareness of others’ emotions, and their ability to productively manage relationships with others (Goleman et al., 2013). Both inward and outward facing aspects of emotional intelligence are made up of skills and competencies, as indicated in Table 5.3 above.
According to Casini (2010), applying assertiveness means individuals’ ability to make clear statements of what they want from people in any given situation, without being misunderstood, disrespectful or demeaning. It is also the ability of individuals to express to people what they are thinking and feeling. Once they have expressed what they mean and want, others are able to act on that in order to complete what is necessary. This is crucial for effective leaders and managers.
Examining personal assumptions is important as many individuals treat people according to their
personal assumptions about what motivates people. Challenging their own personal assumptions can be a step to better understanding themselves and others. Through better understanding themselves, they will also be able to better understand why people respond to them in the manner that they do. Prominent management theorist, Douglas McGregor (Kopelman, Prottas, & Davis, 2008), identified two management styles, namely, X and Y, based on personal assumptions held by most people. The X- and Y-style assumptions are illustrative examples to identify which style best describes individuals’ personal assumptions. Understanding which style best describes individuals’ personal assumptions can assist them to make the necessary adjustments to be aligned with a style that can enable change as indicated in Table 5.4 below.
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Table 5.4 Management style assumptions – adapted from Hunsaker and Hunsaker (2009)
X-style management Y-style management
Employees inherently dislike work and will attempt to avoid it.
Employees enjoy work and view it as natural to them as rest and play.
Employees must be forced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve goals.
Employees will exercise self-direction and self-control if they are committed to the goals behind the tasks they are
performing.
Employees will shirk responsibility and seek formal direction.
The average person can learn to accept and seek responsibility.
Most employees place security above all other factors associated with work and will display little ambition.
Most employees place job satisfaction and career fulfilment as a priority.
Table 5.4 above illustrates that having X-style personal assumptions makes people operate in a very strict and controlling manner. They see little point in employees having autonomy, because they think that the employees neither expect nor desire cooperation. Y-style personal assumptions reflect a more optimistic view of employees. Y-style personal assumptions also contend that employees will gladly direct themselves towards shared goals if their efforts are acknowledged, and assume a great deal of confidence in employees. Y-style managers believe that all people have potential and that it is their responsibility to find and utilise that potential. The assumption style can also influence the organisational environment. Y-style managers will decentralise authority and give more control to employees than X-style managers. The assumption style also impacts on the growth and development of employees, either negatively or positively. Personal assumptions also relate to values, as discussed below.
Clarifying one’s values is vital as it informs and demonstrates to people what one cares about.
Individuals’ values therefore become the stable and enduring beliefs about what they find valuable and worthwhile, and about the behaviour that is desirable to achieve what they perceive as good and worthwhile (Haber-Curran et al., 2015). Values are formed early in life and are influenced by parents, teachers, friends, colleagues and society. Some values may change as people engage with and encounter different people and situations. Values are manifested through
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everything that people observe and think about, and how they behave and communicate when they interact with people and situations. When individuals clarify their values, people with whom they engage are better able to understand and engage with them, as people sometimes do not mean what they say or do (Haber-Curran et al., 2015). It can be challenging when individuals’ personal values conflict with those of their organisation or those of individuals within the organisation. Having a clear understanding of their personal values will assist them to manage value conflicts at work or with people. Being clear about their own values allows individuals to act with integrity and ‘practise what they preach’, regardless of peer, social or emotional pressure. This will assist them to decide if the value conflict can be resolved, if it will require personal changes on their part, or if it will require compromise and adjustments to accommodate different perspectives and assumptions (Hunsaker & Hunsaker, 2009).
Developing a personal mission statement provides individuals with a long-term vision and
motivation to manage themselves and others according to their own values (Hunsaker & Hunsaker, 2009). It also allows them to establish their purpose and goals, and to engage in a regular evaluation of their performance based on their mission statement, which can motivate and inspire healthy self-management. Individuals can spell out their leadership philosophy, and define the type of manager they want to be, what they want to accomplish, which principles guide their behaviour and what the best use of their time will be by defining their future in their personal mission statements (Hunsaker & Hunsaker, 2009).
The discussion on personal development thus far has highlighted that it is a lifelong learning process encompassing vast and complex aspects which require continuous committed time and energy to address. “The key features of personal development, are diverse, varied and complex” (Senge, 2006, p. 69). Therefore, these features have been grouped together as they pertain to this study and are presented below. The main features of personal development as it relates to this study are personal mastery, mental models, fostering personal agency, capacity building and the personal and interpersonal dynamics of individuals engaging in personal development, as explained below.
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