-You will turn in both the list and Worksheet and they will be returned to you with a critique of your efforts and, hopefully, some useful comments and suggestions concerning areas in which you should concentrate and why.
-While this effort serves to provide a partial grade for the course, there are no right or wrong answers. You are evaluating yourself. Your grade will be based on the amount of commitment to the effort that you display, as illustrated by the length and detail of your list, and the apparent degree of introspection and analysis that you demonstrate.
-Feedback can be provided by the Professor or other qualified advisor.

To maximize the benefits that you get from the effort and your grade you may want to follow the more specific guidance provided below. 

Preparing for the Self-Assessment Process

As a result of exploiting those materials, you should have a long list of words or phrases that describe the characteristics of your MBTI-indicated temperament and personality type. But, remember, not all of those characteristics necessarily apply to you as an individual. No person is the quintessential example of any temperament and personality type. Characteristics resulting from certain "preferences" (those indicated by your 4-letter type) dominate, but each person also has some of the opposite preferences as well. To determine your own individual temperament and personality it is necessary to analyze your list introspectively. So go through your list

-and considering each entry, introspectively decide whether it really applies to you, if not, cross it off. (You can also cross off true duplicates but don’t cross off similar characteristics even if they seem like redundancies.)
-Remember, the more introspective your cross-offs, the better you will underestand your own characteristics as an example of the type. No one person will have all the characteristics of a type.

Having done that, you now know the characteristics of your individual temperament and personality. Some of them provide considerable strengths for Leadership and others could cause weaknesses in your leadership efforts. So go through your list again

-and indicate for each word or phrase, whether or not you crossed it off (except true duplicates), whether you think it is a strength (S) or weakness (W) for Leadership; if it could be either or you can’t decide (X).
-also, as you mark each word or phrase with an S or W, try to discern if it suggests a strength or weakness for a "core trait". If you think that it does, indicate in some way which trait it may support.

--Most of the words or phrases on your list will not be specific statements of the five core traits in themselves. Rather, you will have to infer the core traits from some of the strengths or weaknesses on your list. For example:

---About the ISTJ it is said that "The idea of dishonoring a contract bothers an ISTJ...their word is their bond." If you are an ISTJ, you may infer that Integrity is one of your strong core traits.
---About an ENTJ it is said that they "...have the ability to visualize where the organization is going and they seem unusually able to communicate that vision to others." If you are an ENTJ you may infer that having or being able to develop a Vision is one of your strong core traits.

Now you have a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses for Leadership that you believe you have, and those that you think that you do not have (those you crossed off). You will be able to identify the stronger core traits and weaker core traits that a person of your type has, but you will also be able to see how strong they are for you personally (by the number of S for that core trait that you retained versus the number of S for that core trait that you crossed off and perhaps by some W for that core trait that you retained.) This can be enlightening for you.

-Somewhere on your list, write down the 2-3 stronger core traits and 2-3 weaker core traits for yourself and indicate in some way how strongly you think that you have them.

Now you have worked up a list of your personal strengths and weaknesses for Leadership.  You don’t need to copy it over. Hand in the raw version along with your Worksheet.

NOTE: Again, please do not mark on the copies provided. They must be returned to be used again. Make a copy of the 3 answer pages to mark up and retain.

If you want to learn more about these styles you can consult Leadership and the One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and The Four Windows of Leadership by John D.W. Beck and Neil M. Yeager. In those materials you may find additional strengths and weaknesses for Leadership to add to your lists

Now, having identified your personal strengths and weakness for Leadership based on your temperament and personality and you past leadership experience, you are ready to compare them to those that you will need to be the type of Leader you expect to have to be to handle the challenges that you see facing you in the future and to the use the styles that you expect to need to Lead the people you expect to Lead.

-To do so, just fill out the Worksheet provided. Hopefully, the logic is clear. (If you would prefer not to hand-write on the Worksheet, you may follow the same logic in textual form on your computer. The form is on the website.)

Completing the Worksheet

At the top of the Worksheet, you must state your personal and professional goals. These should be both near and longer term military/government professional career goals and longer term personal-professional career goals. This is a critical part of the effort because it will shape the type of Leader you will often have to be and the style of Leadership you will have to use most frequently. So, if you have not yet given some thought to your career goals in terms of career path and ultimate type of position, you should do so now.  And, remember, life does not end with retirement from the military or government service. Give your goals some thought. As you do so, this is also an opportunity to talk about them with your spouse, mentor or trusted advisor.  What do you want to achieve in your career and be doing 10, 20, 30 years from now?  Be as specific as possible.

Having given some thought to those goals you can now think more concretely about your future. Your goals will shape your choice of the kind of positions you will seek both in your current career and beyond and will, thus, determine your leadership requirements.

-Will you seek leadership positions?
-What kind, level, in what kind of organization?

That probability of having to Lead certain kinds of organizations and the timing of your ascent to Leadership will give you some ability to think in advance about the challenges that those organizations might face.

-What will they be; responding to crisis, restoring morale/stability, introducing change

--For example, think about what the role of a junior or mid-level Leader is when Leading an element of a larger organization that is in a crisis mode or undergoing dramatic change.  Or, what is the leadership role of an expert Leader working with a group of analysts.  Or what is the leadership role of a staff Leader.

-The major task you may have to undertake will determine the type of Leader you may have to be most of the time.

--Will it be Charismatic, TransActional, TransFormational, New type? You can indicate more than one using numbers to indicate sooner and later.

Based on the prospect that you may have to be a certain type of Leader, you should know which of the 5 core traits that you will need to emphasize. (Consult the topic text for "Leadership Types and Styles" if desired.) The question is: Are those needed core traits your current stronger core traits? What other(s) do you need? 

To find out, first, indicate your 4 letter MBTI results (If any of your 4 letters were close in score it you may want to attach your test results or make a comment on them here.) Then

-list your personal stronger core traits and other qualities that you inferred from your analysis of your list of personality and temperament characteristics
-also list your weaker.

To see if you have the traits and qualities that you will need for the leadership positions you expect to fill:

-in the left column, list your strong traits and qualities.
-in the right column, list the core traits that the type of Leader you expect to be normally must emphasize to succeed (Recall Topic 3) and other qualities you think that you may need to do the job.
-compare your current stronger core traits and qualities to the core traits and qualities that you will need to emphasize if you become the type of Leader you expect to have to be.

Do they match? Which do you need that you don't have now?.

Now, given the leadership positions and kinds of organizations that you aspire to Lead, think about the kinds of people you expect to Lead. (Situational Leadership from topic text "Leadship Types and Styles.)

-What styles do you think will be most appropriate to Lead those people?

Referring to the Hersey/Blanchard Lead test instrument that you took, check your preferred and backup leadership styles

-Do they match the ones that you think you will need?

For each style there are certain inter-personal and professional skills that you must have to execute that style in the best manner.

         -For the style(s) that you expect to need, what are the skills that you believe are required? 
         -What are your stronger and weaker skills now as indicated by your lists? 
         -How do these compare to what you expect to need ?

Given all that, by now you have a good bottom line idea of which core trait(s), other qualities and skills are your strongest and you need to keep and which ones are your weaker and you will need to develop or improve.

-List them.

Before you finish, go back to the pamphlet Introduction to Type in Organization (blue spine) to the page for your personality type. At the bottom note "Suggestions for Development". Add any that you believe are appropriate.

You have now identified some traits, qualities and skills that you may want to work on as part of a Personal Leadership Development Plan.

Those students following this guidance as an exam or class exercise should turn in your WORKSHEET with your MARKED-UP LIST attached.  Feedback will be provided as the basis for developing a Personal Leadership Development Plan. 

Those students who have followed this guidance on their own and do not expect to get any formal feedback can go to the Suggestions for Personal-Professional Development page of this website.  Based on the stronger and weaker "core traits" which were identified on the Self-Assessment worksheet, they can several of the suggestions there as the basis for their Personal Leadership Development Plan. To do so, go there   _____.    

• Student Comments or Constructive Criticism
  Student Comments or Constructive Criticism