One last homework assignment...

Before being admitted to the latest Green Team fellowship, applicants were asked some questions about themselves.  At the end of the class we were tasked to re-write one of our answers and post it on our blog.   While I was generally happy with my answers, I settled on this question's answer to edit:   What’s your story? Describe your unique skills, interests, background, and passions. What value will you bring to the Green Team class?

I bring to Green Team my desire to learn, to improve myself, and to stretch myself.  Growth makes life interesting. 

Learning has been part of two of my long-term hobbies – martial arts and roller derby.  Over thirteen years I discovered there is never an end to learning in martial arts but always continual improvement.  We were taught learning a martial art is not about gaining a belt.  It is a journey, not a destination. 

  

More recently I’ve been involved in roller derby, learning all aspects of off-skates officiating for more than 2 years and participating in the new skater program for the past year and a half.  As the sport grows and changes, so must my understanding of the rules to both officiate and skate.  I must continually practice to improve my skating skills so I can become a member of the team.

During my years at CAI, I have been a programmer, a data analyst, a collaboration enabler, a client trainer, and a quality coordinator.  I learned most skills and applications while on the job.  I have proven that I will do what it takes to get the job done, even if it takes me outside my comfort zone.

Green Team 2015 Kicks Off with Social Styles

     An all-day session on Friday, January 16th, kicked off the revamped 2015 edition of CAI's Green Team.  A good portion of the session was devoted to learning about Social Styles.  Everyone has a Social Style: a set of behaviors a person shows to the outside world.  Social style is determined by where one falls on the Ask/Tell spectrum and the Controls/Emotes spectrum.

Placement on the Ask/Tell spectrum is determined by a person's propensity for asking questions or speaking assertively.  Placement on the Controls/Emotes spectrum is determined by a person's tendency to control or display emotions.  Howevver, we did not know all this before our first session. Before the session took place, our first task as a newly-minted 2015 Green Team fellow was to take a survey of questions to determine our own Social Style.  We received the results of our surveys during the afternoon of the first session.  I found my results somewhat surprising but I've learned about myself because of them.

     Before receiving the results of the survey we took previous to the session, the facilitator, Dave Broderick, asked us to gauge where we thought we were on the each of the two spectra that determine Social Style based on the brief introduction he gave us.  He then showed us which style we fell into based on those quick answers.  So my initial evaluation found me in the Amiable quadrant because I felt that I ask more than I tell and emote more than control.

But after hearing the description of the Amiable style, I felt it was not like me.  I felt I was like the parts, that I ask and emote (sometimes more than I would like), but not really like the whole.  I do not feel I'm the "warm and fuzzy" person that the Amiable description described who is all about relationships and feelings.  Interestingly, another member of the group that I had never felt before felt I might be based on a brief conversation where I asked him about his background.

     Next we moved on to the official results produced by the questionnaire.  And according to my answers on it, I was right.  I was not, in fact, the Amiable style.  I was Expressive.

According to my survey answers, I leaned more towards the Tell end of the spectrum rather than the Ask end but I was still one who tends to emote.  Strangely, I didn't agree with that result either.  Again, I agree with the parts in that I feel I resemble them some of the time, but I don't agree with the detailed description.   As the session moved on, I did realize that, in group situations, I do speak up.  Some might say too much.  By the end of the Saturday session, I thought too much.  But at those times, I felt like I needed to do so. Sometimes it was because there was limited time and I wanted to get the ball rolling, so to speak.  Sometimes, it was because of that emoting part of me - I feel a certain way and thoughts pop into my head and they come right out of my mouth. So I still emote and sometimes I do talk but I don’t feel I am someone who seeks attention and is creative and flighty.    

  

     Learning about Social Styles is helpful in learning about ourselves.  It makes us think about how our behaviors can enhance or impede our ability to communicate with others.  We can also use the knowledge to figure out what someone else’s style is and modify our behaviors to make interactions with them smoother.  My take away from Social Styles is to try to be more mindful when I speak.  I should take a moment to think about when to speak, what I say, and how I say it.  One thing that would make this process more interesting to me is having someone else take the survey about my behavior.  I think that since we are trying to learn about the outward part of our personality that affects others, it might be interesting to learn how someone outside of ourselves sees our behavior.  I wonder how our self-perception gets in the way when we answer the survey.  I’d be curious to know what the result would be if someone who knows me and interacts with me took the survey.  Would I still be Expressive?      

      One of the over-arching goals of Green Team is to become an advocate, ally, and ambassador for CAI.  Knowing about Social Styles is a great tool to aid in that goal.  The key to becoming an advocate, ally, or ambassador is to build good relationships with others.  Social Styles show us how our style can affect others and how to more effectively interact with others in a way that works with their style.  If we cannot communicate effectively, we cannot deliver the message and build the relationship.