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Core Assignment #4: Qualitative Thematic Self-Analysis Research ProjectTaylor StearmanOGL498: Pro-Seminar IIArizona State UniversityIntroduction:Throughout OGL498: Pro Seminar II I have taken various assessments that have slowly empowered me with a better understanding of who I am. Utilizing the data I have gotten from these assessments, as well as others that I have taken in the past I have been able to develop a thematic self-analysis consisting of ten themes. The process in order to compile this data into themes was somewhat simplistic, but also a bit tedious. To begin this process I rewrote the results of all of my various data sources by hand. I decided to write them out, rather than print them as a method to better retain the data that I was working with. My next step was to code each data source for ease of citation and organization, which is observable in the table below. In coding each of these data sources I tried to make the abbreviations as straightforward as possible.Data Sources:Data Source:Data Source Citation Code:AzCIS Interest ProfilerIPAzCIS Skills AssessmentSAAzCIS Work Importance LocatorWILAzCIS Holland Personality TypesHPTDiscussion 2: Values WorksheetVWDiscussion 2: Dreams and Desires WorksheetDDCore Assignment 2: Personal NarrativePNDiscussion 3: Keirsey Personality TestKTSDISC Personality TestDISCDiscussion 3: Career AnchorsCADiscussion 3: 10 Years From Now10YCore Assignment 3: InterviewsINTDiscussion 4: Your Ideal OrganizationIOCareer Cluster InventoryCCIAzCIS Entrepreneurial Career Assessment FormEAJung Personality TypologyJPTAfter having these data sources written out into one continuous worksheet I began to read through all of the information and takes notes of the general results, as well as significant and contradictory information. After going through each data source and recording notes I then went through them and began to group all similarities and contradictions. I then analyzed these groupings, while referring to my notes to begin to develop some possible themes. At this point I had quite a bit of what I would call rough draft themes. Some of these themes had strong support, while others had relatively few. At this stage of the process I decided to categorize these themes in descending order from most supported to least supports. To narrow down my themes and strengthen the most significant, well-supported ones I then analyzed and compared these themes with my original worksheet comprised of all data source results.Themes:Family is my top priority.I enjoy personal development/growth and find it important.I am a competent worker, but can lack confidence.I am a social person.I enjoy and am competent at coaching/instructing others.Working for myself and owning a company is a significant desire and goal of mine.Life-style integration brings me satisfaction.I am an analytical thinker.I am open-minded and enjoy communicating/working with people who hold differing opinions/perspectives.I find joy in helping/caring for the people that I work with.In analyzing this ranked list of themes and comparing it to the original data sources I was left with the ten themes listed above. These ten items are all well supported and, in my opinion, are the most apparent from the collection of my data sources. In reanalyzing the data with the list of potential themes I was able to observe which themes were the most significant and supported. One extremely interesting and thought provoking aspect of this part of the process was being able to observe the contradictions and random stand-alone results. While analyzing this information I tried my best to take all of the information into account rather than ignoring things that could potentially be quite telling. I found this entire process of reanalyzing this information to be extremely beneficial. One reason as to why I feel it was so beneficial is because it enabled me to view my data sources as one large pool of assessment results. Being able to view the data from this perspective helped me to consider and understand things that I likely would otherwise not have. One of the more difficult aspects of going through these data sources and developing my themes was refraining from any sort of overlap in themes. In the end, I feel that the ten themes that I was left with are each unique in there and say something different about me.Theme One: Family is my top priority.Supporting Data:When visualizing my life 10 years in the future I envision having a family consisting of my wife and two kids (10Y).Going through both situations in which each of my parents experienced life threatening medical complications helped me to realize that my family is my greatest source of joy (PN).Meeting my girlfriend and building our relationship together has made me want and begin to plan for having a family of our own (PN).When listing out my most significant dreams and desires starting a family was the first things that I listed (DD).My Inner sense of purpose is to bring joy to those that I love (DD).When listing my top five values having a family was included (VW).Contradictory Data:Though family is extremely important to me, money is a value that often takes priority out of necessity (VW).Reflection:This theme is one that is quite apparent when observing the evidence, yet it is also one that I would not have considered prior to participating in OGL498: Pro Seminar II and taking the various assessments. Once I was made aware of just how important family is to me throughout these assessments I realized that it is likely one of the most significant themes in my life. The contradictory data is something that I find quite thought provoking. Though I perceive my family as a top priority, I often have to make choices that result in spending less time with them; the main one being work. On the other hand, I do these things with my family’s best interest in mind so things such as money are more of a necessity, rather than a priority. This theme’s impact on my life and influences almost all of my decisions and goals. Theme Two: I enjoy personal development/growth and find it important.Supporting Data:I like personal and work related activities that assist others and promote learning and personal development (IP).I included active learning as one of my five very satisfying skills (SA).When listing my top five values personal development was included (VW).My life-long interest in board sports has given me an appreciation for growth, self-motivation, and pushing myself with challenging situations (PN).When discussing my ideal organization I included details regarding fostering a culture conducive to learning and growth for both the employees and myself. In regard to evaluation methods for this organization I discussed conducting 360-degree, supervisor led, and self-assessments on a semi-annual basis (IO).Contradictory Data:N/AReflection:This theme is one that emerged at a young age, likely from pushing myself to excel in board sports. The persistence, self-motivation, and growth that I learned and experienced from these hobbies is something that is central to my life today. In both my personal and professional life I am able to find joy and satisfaction in learning and growing as a person and/or worker. One of the most significant reasons as to why I desire to work for myself and own my own company is because I want to challenge myself and grow in my abilities. When beginning the process of developing my themes this was one of the only ones that initially came to mind as a possible theme that would likely be well supported. Learning and progressing are two very significant elements of my life both personally and socially. This theme impacts my life by steering me toward new and challenging endeavors.Theme Three: I am a competent worker, but can lack confidence.Supporting Data:During my interview with an individual from my personal life it was suggested to me that I work on being firmer in my decision-making and communication (INT).During my interview with an individual from my professional life it was suggested to me that I work on being more confident in my ability to solve even the toughest problems and to not let the thought of a hard choice or situation hold me back (INT).My top results for a career assessment showed that my highest interests were in fields including science, technology, engineering, and math, but these are fields that I have not pursued out of a lack of confidence in my abilities (CCI).In my personal narrative I discuss how moving states near the end of high school had a significant effect on my social confidence, but I have also been progressively more confident as of the past couple of years (PN).A dream of mine is to own my own company, but I feel that I am not ready to pursue it yet, because of a lack of competence in my abilities (10Y).Contradictory Data:My personality typography is INTJ, which lists self-confidence as a competence (JPT).Attending and performing well beyond my initial expectations in my courses at ASU has built up my self-confidence a great deal (PN).Reflection:This theme was the one that took me most by surprise, because I have previously failed to observe this behavior how it affects my performance and actions. I would not consider myself to lack a great deal of confidence, because I am able to be firm in my decision-making, actions, etc., but my behavior is not consistent. Admittedly, I do tend to be a perfectionist and fear failing, which likely has a great deal to do with the lack of confidence that was pointed out to me during this process. This impacts my life by making me look less sure of my competence, which can negatively effect people’s perception of me and my work. Confidence is something that I have been working on for some time and will continue to work on indefinitely.Theme Four: I am a social person.Supporting Data:In discussing my ideal organization many of the elements from my description reflect my social nature including: the organization having an open and welcoming environment, the organizational culture emphasizing social bonds and interaction, the management style including participative management, and social values (IO).My experiences growing up in the relatively small town of Bend, Oregon resulted in my appreciation for social, collaborative, and reciprocal communities (PN).The KTS-II categorized me as a Guardian who as described has a great deal of fun with friends, but also is quite serious about their duties and responsibilities (KTS).In regard to work importance, relationships are my second most significant work value. The description associated with relationships states that people who value this like friendly non-competitive work environments (WIL).The results of rating my skill preferences show that I have a highly social personality (HPT).Working with the public is a skill that I ranked as moderately satisfying (SA).My secondary results when rating my interests showed that I have very social interests (IP).Contradictory Data:The results I received from the Jung Personality Typology (JPS) were 33% Introvert, 25% Intuitive, 1% Thinking, and 11% Judging or INTJ. The high rating for introversion is a contradiction to my otherwise social preferences (JPT).Reflection:In my opinion, this theme is the most interesting and thought provoking outcome of this assignment, because it made me consider my behavior and the changes that I have gone through in the last couple of years. In high school I was an outgoing and extremely social person. However, after moving to a new state during my junior year of high school I became much more introverted and shy. Since graduating, attending college, and working in the real world my behavior has slowly reverted back to my early years of extroversion. The contradictory data was collected from the Jung Personality Typography, which is an assessment that I took over 18 months ago. In this time I have experienced a significant change in my preferences toward more social environments. This impacts my life through the strong bonds, collaboration, and cohesion that I get out of my various relationships.Theme Five: I enjoy coaching/instructing others and feel I am competent in doing so.Supporting Data:My natural supportive, listening, and empathetic behavior makes me a good coach; someone people turn to for advice (DISC).When visualizing my life 10 years in the future I envision owning a company in which I can work with employees and help them to learn and grow (10Y).During my interview with an individual from my personal life I was given a 9/10 rating for coaching/instructing (INT).During my interview with an individual from my professional life I was given a 10/10 rating for coaching/instructing (INT).In describing my ideal organization coaching/instructing was emphasized in the organization’s values, evaluation methods, management style, and culture (IO).Contradictory Data:In regard to work importance and values I ranked somewhat low in the recognition category, which describes a preference to instruct others (WIL).Coaching/Instructing was not something that I included in my top five values (VW).Reflection:Coaching/instructing is a theme in my life that has only recently been brought to my attention. I began to notice my interest and skills regarding this topic when I participated in a training development course and became a trainer at my work. Going the process of analyzing my data a developing these themes was what really helped me to realize how this impacts my life. This theme impacts my life in that I tend to gravitate toward work activities and actions that entail coaching/instructing. Coaching/instructing was also something that I emphasized a great deal when discussing the organization that I would like to own. This shows me that though I have various goals the themes of my life are inevitably intertwined in my behavior, actions, and preferences.Theme Six: Working for myself and owning a company is a significant desire and goal of mine.Supporting Data:In discussing my ideal organization I described a company in which I own and manage. (IO).When visualizing my life 10 years in the future I envision owning and managing two coffee shops in the greater Phoenix area (10Y).Entrepreneurial creativity is my second highest career anchor (CA).According to an AzCIS assessment I have outstanding ability to be an entrepreneur (EA).Growing up in the relatively small town of Bend, Oregon gave me an appreciation for working for yourself and supporting local business (PN).Owning my own company and working for myself are both included in my list of dreams and desires (DD).Contradictory Data:I am currently not taking any active steps to pursue this desire/goal (PN).Reflection:From a young age I displayed a significant interest in entrepreneurialism. Some examples of this that I recall include setting up Kool-Aid stands and buying blank skateboard in bulk online to spray paint and sell for profit. Growing up in the small community of Bend, Oregon strengthen this interest in working for myself, because the city employed a large “Make Local Habit” initiative to help the local economy. It wasn’t until spending a significant amount of time working at low level of organizations that I realized just how important this theme was to me. Owning a company and working for myself has been a desire for some time now, so it has impacted my life in a number of ways the most significant being the pursuit of my Organizational Leadership degree. Though according to my contradictory data I am not currently doing anything to take this dream into reality, I am pursuing school in an effort to raise my overall leadership competence.Theme Seven: Life-style integration brings me satisfaction.Supporting Data:Life-style integration was my most significant career anchor (CA).Going through both situations in which each of my parents experienced life threatening medical complications has resulted in a new found importance on life-style integration (PN).When visualizing my life 10 years in the future I envision a very balance work and home life (10Y).In discussing my ideal organization I describe one that allows me the flexibility to balance my work responsibilities and home life (IO).Meeting my girlfriend and building our relationship together has made desire life-style integration in which I can have a fulfilling personal and professional life (PN).Support was one of my top two work values. The description states that people who value this prefer work environments in which the employer is supportive (WIL).Contradictory Data:The necessity of money is currently preventing effective life-style integration (VW). Reflection:Life-style integration and the importance I feel toward the topic are things that I was relatively unaware of or gave little thought to before participating in OGL498: Pro Seminar II and taking the various assessments. Once I gave more thought focus to this topic I noticed a great deal of evidence in support of it That being said, I have found the textbook and activities done in this course to be extremely beneficial. Life-style integration is something that I want to continue to learn about and effectively accomplish. This theme affects my life a great deal in that I am focused on finding a balanced personal and professional life. In my opinion, I will not be satisfied in a position that disrupts this balance.Theme Eight: I am an analytical thinker.Supporting Data:Ranking my interests revealed that I prefer investigative work activities that have to do with ideas and thinking. These individuals prefer to search for facts and figure problems out mentally, rather than to persuade or lead people (IP).I categorized analyzing as a moderately satisfying skill and it was a close contender for very satisfying skills (SA).Attention to detail was something that I also categorized as a moderately satisfying skill (SA).The results of rating my skill preferences suggest that I have an investigative personality (HPT).During my interview with an individual from my personal life I was described as being very analytical (INT).During my interview with an individual from my professional life I was described as being a problem solver and critical thinker (INT).Contradictory Data:N/AReflection:This theme is one that seems to be deeply engrained in my personality, because it has been apparent to those close to me since I can remember. For reasons unknown, I tend to analyze things in a odd/unique way that enables me to perceive and communicate things a bit differently than most. Though there are inherently some negative attributes to analytical thinking, as with most approaches, I feel that this is a significant theme in my life. That being said, I was pleased to see all of the supporting evidence from my data sources. Analytical thinking impacts my life in that I tend to perceive things and how the world works in a very analytical way that at times can be less effective than other ways of thinking. Theme Nine: I am open-minded and enjoy communicating/working with people who hold differing opinions/perspectives.Supporting Data:In discussing my ideal organization I describe a management style that emphasizes utilizing differing perspectives through participative decision-making (IO).Growing up in the highly liberal town of Bend, Oregon I learned to appreciate diversity and that there is a great deal to be learned from those with differing perspectives (PN).Growing up with highly cooperative and supportive parents who were divorced has taught me to be open-minded and also look for win-win solutions (PN).In a Guardian’s ideal job, coworkers would all share information so that everyone can remain on the same page (KTS).I am open to new ideas and procedures (DISC).I am very open-minded and communicate well with those who have differing opinions/perspectives according to both individuals from the interviews that I conducted (INT).Contradictory Data:N/AReflection:Discovering and developing this theme began with my analysis of my interviews conducted with individuals from my personal and professional life. Both individuals from these interviews emphasized my open-mindedness and competence in communicating with those who hold differing opinions. The fact that both individuals mentioned this led me to coding the data, which eventually resulted in the development of this theme. This theme impacts my life in that it enables me to collaborate and make decisions more effectively, because I am only searching for the best answers, rather than being correct.Theme Ten: I find joy in helping/caring for the people that I work with.Supporting Data:I like personal and work related activities that assist others (IP).I categorized assisting/caring as a moderately satisfying skill (SA).Guardians genuinely care about their colleagues and customers (KTS).I enjoy interacting with and helping people and am naturally supportive; someone people turn to for advice (DISC).During my interview with an individual from my personal life I was described as being considerate and empathetic (INT).During my interview with an individual from my professional life I was described as being kind-hearted and caring about those that I work with (INT).Relationships are my second most significant work value. The description associated with relationships states that people who value this like to do things for others (WIL).Contradictory Data:Helping/caring for others was not something that I included in my top five values (VW).Reflection:This is likely one of the most significant themes in my life and has a varied impact on my life. The reason that I say that the impact of this theme on my life is varied is because it is beneficial at times, but can result in negative effects as well if someone perceives the kindness as weakness. That being said, I still behave in a way that makes this behavior observable, because it is engrained in my personality and is a significant part of who I am. Being that this theme can have both positive and negative effects, it is important for me to practice self-awareness. This will ensure that I am truly helping/caring about others, rather than being taken advantage of. I also think that this theme is quite apparent in my descriptions of owning my ideal organization as employee benefits are highly emphasized. It is interesting, but likely a slight fault on my part for not including helping/caring for others in my top five values, because I do feel strongly about it. ................
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