Personal Learning Journals - Literature review Example

rsоnаl Lеаrning Journal Name Institution Date Section 2 Summary and Exploration There are two journals that will be discussed in this section 1. Rego, A., Machado, F., Leal, S. & Cunha, M. (2009). Are Hopeful Employees More Creative? An Empirical Study. Creativity Research Journal, 21:2,223 — 231 DOI: 10.1080/10400410902858733 2. Wegner, D.M. (2009). How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion. Science, 325, 48-50. The journal written by Rego, A., Machado, F., Leal, S. & Cunha, M. (2009). Are Hopeful Employees More Creative? An Empirical Study. Creativity Research Journal, 21:2,223 — 231 DOI: 10.1080/10400410902858733 expounds on the importance of creativity at work. Rego et al (2009) wanted to explain whether employees who are hopeful tend to be more innovative. According to the study, the researchers revealed that employees who have a sense of hope usually have more creative output in the workplace. From this study, it is evident that hope in employees is usually a prediction for creativity. According to Boyd & Goldenberg (2009), hope is a motivational belief that is positive in a persons’ future. It is a feeling that what a person requires can be achieved and that all things will work out for the best. The journal of Rego et al (2009) helps me understand that hope is an important part of a human being. The reason is that without hope, many activities cannot be undertaken and innovation would be difficult to occur. Boyd (2013) argues that hope is an important aspect of innovation in the workplace. This is because creativity usually requires one to challenge the situation as well as have a willingness of trying something out and the possibility of failing. For a person to have hope one needs an internal force that is sustaining and pushes the person to persevere in the presence of challenges that are evident in creative work. The topic of “Are Hopeful Employees More Creative?” is one that I have done well in the past. Hope is one of the strengths that give me the motivation for creativity while at work. As a leader, I have observed the purpose of hope during my practice. Six months ago, I was facilitating employees within a division that was intended for sell to another company. The employees came to a realization of the plan as the workshop was progressing. This affected their morale and participating to the systematic techniques of innovation became a problem. The employees became unresponsive as they lacked hope for their future employment as well as personal achievement. Creativity was a necessary intervention to increase the motivation of employees in that scenario. As the team leader, I had to reframe the information to the employees so as to save the workshop. This required me to set a meeting with the employees and address them about the workshop. In the meeting, I told the employee that their innovativeness during the workshop will be perceived as a good value to the new owners of the company. To add on, I explained to the employees that their innovativeness will put their new company at the edge of competition in the market. This is something they were struggling with the present owner of the business. This advice gave hope for the employees and they immediately started with an innovative mode in the workshop. To my realization, I can say that it was one of the most successful and creative workshops that I have ever experienced. The topic of hope and creativity of employees in the workplace has made me realize how creative I am in the workplace. There are many challenges that come my way while I am working. Hopefully, I usually go through these challenges by finding solutions to the challenges. Being hopeful as an employee and a team leader enables me to realize my potential to achieve my best through innovation in the work place. Bronk., Hill., Lapsley., Taliba & Finch (2009) argue that hope plays a big role in human thriving. This notion can be related to my experience in reality. Making employees see that they have a purpose in life greatly contributes to their optimal human development. According to Peterson & Seligman (2004) having positive psychology as a leader is a character strength. Self efficacy is very important for a person with hope. The will and the way in hope promotes self efficacy for a person. Snyder (2002) argue that the theory of hope and self efficacy have a central perception of goals. With hope I usually set a goal to achieve in a defined situation. Through self efficacy, I realize my potential to perceive myself as being able to act effectively in different situations. The topic of hopeful employees as being more creative reminds me of what is required to inspire hope. The model of hope presented by Darren Webb provides five types of hope that a leader or any other person must have to inspire hope to others. The five types of hope by Webb (2007) are; patient hope, critical hope, estimative hope, resolute hope and utopian hope. These are types of hope that I need to incorporate more in my life in future. As a leader, even though I try my best to exercise hope and be creative in my work, I am not always patient in many situations that I encounter. In future, I would like to be more patient and also stand firm in trusting others when facing an unforeseen future. I need to be more passionate in suffering as well as restless to achieve what I am missing. I need to have the desire of knowing that what I hope for is achievable and that I have the control to make it happen. I need to be more optimistic in viewing my possibilities and the degree of control that I can exert the control in my life. I need to incorporate more of utopian hope with confidence that is profound in my destiny for creating a new as well as a better future. Being more hopeful will help me increase my creativity at the workplace. The second journal written by Wegner, D.M. (2009). How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion. Science, 325, 48-50 explores about the errors that people make as a result of mental processes that are ironic. These errors are evident in peoples’ lives as they try to be watchful of these errors in their speech, action and thoughts. This helps people avoid worst situations that may have occur if mental control was eliminated. Wegner (2009) argues that errors in peoples’ lives have a possibility of increasing when our minds are loaded due to stress, pressure, distraction as well as time. In his study, Wegner revealed that errors related to attention as well as memory ironically occur with brain activity that is identifiable. They also occur due to unwanted thoughts that recur in people’s lives from negative experiences, social prejudices, being attracted to desires that are forbidden and production of movement errors. Negative experiences like stress, tension, pain, anxiety as well as mental load influence the brain activity of a person. When a person is able to overcome these ironies, then minimization of mental load can be achieved. This can be attained through deploying control strategies that are effective. The topic of “How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion” is an topic that reminds me of my experience in the work place. How I relate to coworkers, employees and customer. Generally I am a good communicator when it comes to addressing people. I am very clear at giving instructions and implementing decisions. I am not easily distracted by outside movements or external influences when working. I fully concentrate on my work and make the best decisions to my knowledge as a leader. On the other hand, the topic of “How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion” is one that gives me a lot of trouble in my life. Specifically when it comes to mindful listening as a leader, I sometimes find myself not listening to employees suggestions in the workplace. On many situations, I come up with the decisions to implement. I talk more to employees than I listen to them. An employee may be having an important suggestion to make. However, many are times when I don’t give them an opportunity to explain themselves. This reminds me of the argument made by Fallon (2014) on one of the stumbling blocks for leaders are their behavior of failing to listen. This study coincides with the findings of Wegner (2009) that stated that people cause ironic errors due to social prejudices. Leaders have a likeliness of acting as if they have every answer to a situation. However, they should not act in such a way to avoid quick decisions before listening to their team members. In the theory of Homoeconomicus, human beings are described as irrational beings. They have unbounded rationality which comprises of self interest and free will (Shermer, 2007). This theory explains to me my selfishness of not giving employees to contribute their suggestions in making decision that concern the organization. As a leader, I have a character of self maximizing and a thinking of being efficient in the decisions as well as choices that I make. However, just like Shermer, it turns out that I am an irrational creature who is driven by emotions that are deep as well as unconscious. Leaders should posses the character of logic as well as conscious reason to be successful in leadership. Failing to listen to employees is irrational and a behavior that I need to change in future. This is a good initiative that will help in my mental control as well as avoid worst situations that may occur as a result taking irrational actions by not listening to employees. I need to change my leadership style and learn more leadership skills that enhance my listening. Hewertson (2015) presents four types of skills that a leader must have so as to be successful. A leader must have personal skills of self awareness, interpersonal skills for effective communication, team management skills to harness group dynamics and culture or system management skills for organizational assessment. Among the four types of skills, the core tenet of leadership that leaders are required to have a major focus on is personal mastery. This helps a lot in avoiding leadership failure in many aspects. I need to have all the above skills to ensure effectiveness of leadership in the workplace. Personal mastery will be the first skill that I must poses first before the other. The reason is that without having a self awareness of my strengths as well as weaknesses, it will be difficult for me to manage my behavior. It will also be difficult for me to be aware of other people’s behavior and how to effectively manage relationships in the team. I need to know my purpose, vision as well as values and how other people in the organization perceive me (Hill, 2014). I also need to identify what is working and what does not work for me. This will help me in gaining knowledge about my capabilities and apply them to increase as well as enhance the skills that are required for me to become an effective leader. The topic of “How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion” by Wegner (2009) is one that I need to incorporate in my future life as a team leader in my organization. I need to improve my listening skills by listening more and talking less. I need to do enquiries for employees so as to understand their perspectives on what can be improved in the organization. To achieve my goals I need to change of approach when addressing employees. I need to be mindful of them by paying attention. I should show them that I am listening and provide feedback to employee suggestions. I should respond appropriately and defer judgment. Section 3: Vision for the Future Based on the analysis, I see my future looking bright if the recommended items are incorporated. This is to say that in relation to topic of hope, if I incorporate all types of hope in my leadership, I will be able to create hope at different levels so as to strengthen innovation in the organization. Galinsky & Kilduff (2013) argue that a leader needs to make new influences through hope and see what the company is doing to make the world a better place. In the next 12 months I see myself being able to create an utopian view of why everyone in the workplace should believe that the company is contributing in ensuring that the world is a better place. In the next one year, I will be able to help employees in calibrating the possibility of success. This will be achieved by setting goals that are clear and achievable. I will be able to help employees in calibrating the likelihood of success. I see myself empowering more people to have a feeling of a sense of control when working towards achieving goals. I see myself building more trust with the employees in the work place for them to view innovation as something worthwhile. I see myself fueling critical hope among employees to have the desire of getting rid of any obstacles on their way of being competitive in the market. With regard to listening and being mindful to employees, I see myself becoming a better leader in the next 12 months than the way I am today. I see myself being able to listen more to employees in the workplace. I see myself incorporating the suggestions for employees during decision making. I see myself being able to avoid worst situations that may occur as a result of not listening to employees. I see myself changing my leadership style and adopt one that takes employee participating in decision making a priority. I see myself improving my leadership skills and gaining more of personal skills that enhance my leadership. I see myself achieving leadership success by gaining personal mastery skills that are important to me as a leader. I will become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses in managing my behavior. In the next one year, I see myself being more aware of other people’s behavior with good relationship management in the team. I see myself being perceived as a competent leader by other workers in the organization in the next twelve months. In future, I see myself addressing more of my weaknesses and improving on my strengths as a leader while retaining what works for me and doing away with what does not work for me. I see myself being more rational in making decisions and choices. I see myself avoiding the mentality of being efficient as a leader and allow other people to contribute to decisions. I also see myself working more with the employees and doing away with the self maximizing mentality. I see myself becoming more logical and conscious in my emotions and actions as a leader. References Boyd, D., & Goldenberg, J. (2009). Hopeful Innovation. The LAB: Innovating a Credit Card with S.I.T. Retrieved from http://www.innovationinpractice.com/innovation_in_practice/2009/06/hopeful-innovation.html Boyd, D. (2013). Where There Is Hope, There Is Creativity. Psychology Today. Bronk, K., Hill, P., Lapsley, D., Talib, T., & Finch, H. (2009). Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6):500 — 510. Fallon, N. (2014). Leadership Failures: 5 Stumbling Blocks for Bosses. Business News Daily. Retrieved from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7293-why-leaders-fail.html Galinsky, A., & Kilduff, G. (2013). Be Seen as a Leader: A Simple Exercise can Boost your Status and Influence. Harvard Business Review, 91:127-130. Hewertson, R. (2015). Lead Like it Matters, because it does. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Hill, L. (2014). Becoming the Boss. Harvard Business Review On Point, Sieze Your Leadership Moment, 34-43. Rego, A., Machado, F., Leal, S. & Cunha, M. (2009). Are Hopeful Employees More Creative? An Empirical Study. Creativity Research Journal, 21:2,223 — 231 DOI: 10.1080/10400410902858733 Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. New York: Oxford University Press. Rego, A., Machado, F., Leal, S. & Cunha, M. (2009). Are Hopeful Employees More Creative? An Empirical Study. Creativity Research Journal,21:2,223 — 231 DOI: 10.1080/10400410902858733 Shermer, M. (2007). The Prospects for Homo economicus. Scientific American 297:40 – 42. Snyder, C. (2002). Hope theories: Rainbow in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249–275. Webb, D. (2007). Modes of Hoping. History of the Human Sciences, 20(3):65-83. Wegner, D. (2009). How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion. Science, 325, 48-50. Read More

Bronk., Hill., Lapsley., Taliba & Finch (2009) argue that hope plays a big role in human thriving. This notion can be related to my experience in reality. Making employees see that they have a purpose in life greatly contributes to their optimal human development. According to Peterson & Seligman (2004) having positive psychology as a leader is a character strength. Self-efficacy is very important for a person with hope. The will and the way in hope promote self-efficacy for a person. Snyder (2002) argues that the theory of hope and self-efficacy have a central perception of goals. With hope, I usually set a goal to achieve in a defined situation. Through self-efficacy, I realize my potential to perceive myself as being able to act effectively in different situations.

The topic of hopeful employees as being more creative reminds me of what is required to inspire hope. The model of hope presented by Darren Webb provides five types of hope that a leader or any other person must have to inspire hope in others. The five types of hope by Webb (2007) are; patient hope, critical hope, estimative hope, resolute hope, and utopian hope. 

These are types of hope that I need to incorporate more in my life in the future. As a leader, even though I try my best to exercise hope and be creative in my work, I am not always patient in many situations that I encounter. In the future, I would like to be more patient and also stand firm in trusting others when facing an unforeseen future. I need to be more passionate about suffering as well as restless to achieve what I am missing. I need to have the desire of knowing that what I hope for is achievable and that I have the control to make it happen. I need to be more optimistic in viewing my possibilities and the degree of control that I can exert the control in my life. I need to incorporate more utopian hope with confidence that is profound in my destiny for creating a new as well as a better future. Being more hopeful will help me increase my creativity at the workplace.

The second journal written by Wegner, D.M. (2009). How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion. Science, 325, 48-50 explores the errors that people make as a result of mental processes that are ironic. These errors are evident in peoples’ lives as they try to be watchful of these errors in their speech, action, and thoughts. This helps people avoid the worst situations that may have to occur if mind control was eliminated. Wegner (2009) argues that errors in peoples’ lives have a possibility of increasing when our minds are loaded due to stress, pressure, distraction as well as time. In his study, Wegner revealed that errors related to attention as well as memory ironically occur with brain activity that is identifiable. They also occur due to unwanted thoughts that recur in people’s lives from negative experiences, social prejudices, being attracted to desires that are forbidden, and production of movement errors. Negative experiences like stress, tension, pain, anxiety as well as mental load influence the brain activity of a person. When a person is able to overcome these ironies, then minimization of mental load can be achieved. This can be attained through deploying control strategies that are effective.  

The topic of “How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion” is a topic that reminds me of my experience in the workplace. How I relate to coworkers, employees, and customers. Generally, I am a good communicator when it comes to addressing people. I am very clear at giving instructions and implementing decisions. I am not easily distracted by outside movements or external influences when working. I fully concentrate on my work and make the best decisions to my knowledge as a leader.     

On the other hand, the topic of “How to think, say or do precisely the worst thing for any occasion” is one that gives me a lot of trouble in my life. Specifically, when it comes to mindful listening as a leader, I sometimes find myself not listening to employees' suggestions in the workplace.

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