MBA502 Emotional Intelligence Culture Intelligence and Diversity

Introduction:

In the introduction session, the topic of self-awareness would be defined and the views of the participants would be taken so that their views and knowledge on the topic can be gauged. It would be an interactive session wherein, questions would be asked to the audience to develop their interest in the workshop and the day’s activities planned. Along with this, the participants would be briefed about the objective of the workshop and the learning outcomes that they would take back with them at the end of the day. The participants would also be encouraged to ask questions so that if they have misconceptions on the idea of self-awareness and its significance in personal and professional lives, it can be cleared outright to set the pace going for the activities planned later in the day. At the end of this session, the participants would be divided into a group of four based on their familiarity level from the past.

Group meeting:

The group meeting is an important part and backbone of the session. The participants after being divided into groups of four would be left with each other so that they know each other better. Here, the participants would have to introduce each other, discuss their achievements and background. The session would the behaviour of the participants to each other based on which they would pen down the skills later. The groups would be encouraged to play some small games among each other like charades and even observe one another closely. The participants can even give extempore speeches and discuss their interest areas and future aspirations. The participants would be left in the activity area for the group meeting where several games and stalls would be set up for them to explore each other’s interests and skills.

Group activity:

The groups would be taking part in some competitions pitted against other groups, winning which would earn them some gifts. The first game would be a quiz round where the groups would be asked certain questions where they would have to press the buzzer and answer. The idea behind this activity is to open up the intelligence level of the team members and see the cooperation level. The team members would be able to understand if they are team players or not. As working in a team is an indispensable part of professional lives, the group activities would help the participants in discovering their team working skills and team spirits.

After the quiz, a sports-based game would be played. Here two teams would be competing against each other. As per the game rules, one member of each group would be tied down in a chair and the other members would have to untie him by finding the keys using some clues given to them. The other members would be blindfolded and the clues, set in form of riddles would be read out to them. The member tied down in the chair for the correct directions would guide them. The idea behind this activity is to let members discover the trust level, patience and cooperation of oneself and even other team members.

Discovery:

As the participants are familiar with the other team members from before and have discovered each other more from the earlier activities, they would be given a piece of paper where they would have to write down a positive aspect of oneself and others. For self-discovery, that is, noting down one's skill could lead to misleading results, the participants would be presented with certain questions that would help them to note down their skills. Examples of some questions are:

• What am I good at?
• What is that one skill that is my core strength?
• Am I a team player?
• What actions would I take to overcome a barrier that is obstructing my future growth?
• How do I treat criticisms?
• What kind of thinker am I – creative, habitual or guided?
• Do I have the skills to become a leader now?

The participants post answering these questions in personal context would have to answer the same set of questions for other team members as well in the third person.

Johari Window:

As briefed in the introduction session, Johari Window is a self-awareness test that allows the individuals to understand the skills that they and others know they possess and some skills that they do not know and others are aware of. Johari window is an extremely helpful and significant self-awareness tool because of which it has been included in the workshop. In this session, the participants would exchange the skills that they have penned down for other team members with the respective person. Based on the answers written for oneself and by others, the students would fill the Johari window framework provided to them where four quadrants would have to be filled by the – open, blind spot, hidden and unknown to all. This activity would help the individuals to understand the skills that everyone knows they possess, skills that only they know they have, certain attributes that others know but they don’t know they possess and skills no one knows they possess. This activity would help in discovering skills that individuals have and also in understanding what others think about each other.

Discussion:

This is the last activity of the session where the participants would discuss among each other their opinions and thoughts. The activity would be an interactive session where a moderator would also be present and would observe the discussion session and behaviour of each participant during the session. The team members would get the opportunity to ask each other questions on why they think that a member has certain skills or lacks certain skills. The discussion session would be enlightening for the members, as they would be made aware of their blind spots. The moderator would be noting down the discussion and behavioural attributes of members. His observation would be later disclosed to the participants so that they have a better understanding of their skills from an unbiased individual.

Part 2

Expectations from the workshop

The key purpose of the workshop was to shed some light on the individual's skills and attributes they possess and what others think about them. As the competition in every sphere is rising with each passing day, the hour demands that every person is aware of one's strengths and weaknesses so that they can make efficient use of them and even tackle the opportunities and threats accordingly. Hence, self-awareness is the key to confidence and success. Therefore, the workshop aimed at ensuring that people are aware of their skills and discover certain attributes among themselves that are hidden for them. The group activities planned was to throw light on the team player spirit and capabilities of the individuals, as teamwork is an indispensable part of a professional career.

The workshop also aimed at highlighting the weaknesses that individuals possess so that they can work on them and improve their personality. Self-knowledge does not only foster growth but also helps in self-improvement. Following this idea, the Johari window activity was planned. The role of the moderator was also important as the expectation is to provide the members with an unbiased opinion of their behaviour while they are putting across their views and having a group discussion.