Knowing yourself
Featured in the Partnerships at Work training manual
By Ken Birkett & Val Rowland
Category: Performance Management
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
Most people have general aims in life. Perhaps we want to be happy, secure and successful. Or we may desire to contribute to life in general and to humanity in particular. Some people focus on family whilst others pursue career ambition, or a mixture of the two. Many of us may be quite content with just living in accord with our general aim, taking each day as it comes and doing our best from morning till night. For many people, acting in this way may not be sufficient, in these times, to ensure fulfilling and continuous work. This is because work is usually arranged on a team basis – even if it’s only a team of two (you and your boss). Once your endeavours are combined with those of another, attention has to be paid to harnessing skills and attitudes for a common purpose. A starting point for effective teamwork is a stocktaking of what each person brings to the partnership. And it begins with yourself. You need to consider your personal characteristics; your work performance; and your work and career objectives. Having taken stock of what you are, and comparing that with where you’d like to be, a plan for getting from here to there becomes possible. And even if you’re already where you want to be, you can become more sure of staying there by reinforcing present performance on the basis of what you’ve discovered from the exercise. The boss, too, has responsibilities for assessing themselves and all those within the work-section, to be able to combine the skills and efforts available to the best effect. But it’s probably true to say that the person best placed to look to an individual’s total well-being, is that individual.
This training activity begins with a brief introduction to the topic of knowing yourself. Participants work privately on a questionnaire, analysing their personal characteristics, after which they pair up and discuss some implications. There is a discussion on the relevance of those characteristics at work. Participants privately assess their performance in their present job. This is followed by a discussion relating present performance to future career. Participants respond on their own to a questionnaire on their priorities and ambitions in respect of their work. There is a discussion on the relationship between the person and the job. Finally, there is a round-up session.
Who is it for: This training activity is intended for use by trainers to help participants recognise that one way to a future is to understand where they are now.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 6 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:45:00 |
| No of Pages: | 25 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This activity is for use in team building, leadership and personal development training and career counselling.
Download the training activity, Knowing yourself as featured in the Fenman training manual; Partnerships at Work