Choose 2 of the questions below and write 2-4 pages in total in response to those questions (1-2 pages per question). All of the questions can be answered by referring to your textbook. However, you m

Leadership Interaction

Jennifer Bacuylima

St. Thomas University

Psychology of Work INP-4105-OL1

Professor Scott Gillig

September 18, 2025

Leadership Interaction

As the enrollment season was in full gear at St. Thomas University, I was assigned the initiative to organize a small team of admissions counselors to make sure that prospective students were called in time. The number of queries was very high, and I entered into a leadership position to group the schedules of calls, offer motivation, and problem-solve issues. The experience showed my strengths and areas of development as a leader.

When examining the event based on the Big Five personality attributes (OCEAN), it is possible to gain insight into what took place. I was able to change with a change in call patterns and to adopt new methods of dealing with inquiries thanks to my openness. The issue of conscientiousness was especially noted when I took care of proper student record documentation and adherence to deadlines. The personal trait of extraversion contributed to the high morale since I was able to maintain clear communication and motivate the team. Meanwhile, my agreeableness created teamwork and minimized tension when situations were stressful. Lastly, a moderate degree of neuroticism led to stressful situations sometimes, in situations where call queues were very high, but I was able to control them and act professionally (Riggio & Johnson, 2022).

This observation will affect my leadership prospects in the future by enabling me to be more deliberate in my growth. Being aware that I have the qualities of conscientiousness and agreeableness will make me feel confident that I can be both ethical and cooperative as a leader. Nevertheless, being aware of stress reactivity helps me to develop more resilience and effective coping mechanisms. Knowledge of my dimensions of personality will enable me to utilize my inherent characteristics and be tactical in areas that are likely to make me be an ineffective leader. Leaders who match the personality strengths with the situational requirements prove efficient and flexible, as shown by research (Judge et al., 2002).

References

Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 765–780. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.765

Riggio, R. E., & Johnson, S. K. (2022). Introduction to industrial/organizational psychology (8th ed.). Routledge.