Leadership Assignment 2

Submitted by.
Nanditha Sivan
Sem-VII
BFT/18/137
 1. What are the triggers of your anger?
As a somewhat hot tempered person I would say that a large number of things could possibly
trigger my rage. Sometimes it maybe issues like discrimination based on gender , lack of
respect towards me as a person or seeing some news about cruelty to animals or even
sometimes just the general unfairness of life that angers me. However at times, even the
slightest of things that don't even matter at all can also trigger my rage although it leaves me
feeling uneasy and sometimes embarrassed later. For example , there was this one instance ,
when I had just woken up after an afternoon nap in the hostel.My two best friends had gone out
to buy some things they required. I saw them coming back to my room on the way to the
washroom to freshen up. They joked and told me that they had gone to my favorite shop and
eaten my favorite snack and hasnt got me any. I lashed out and snapped at them all of a
sudden. And then I walked away. As soon as I washed my face ,however, my mind cleared and I
kept asking myself why I had reacted like that because it was just such a bizarre thing to be
upset over and I wasn't even really upset. I was already feeling pretty embarrassed by the time I
returned to my room when it turned out that my poor sweet friends had actually got me that
snack too and were just playing around earlier. I ended up feeling so very sorry and also
thankful to my friends and also extremely embarrassed about the ridiculous way I acted.
However I have also had instances when I completely lost my temper and have never
regretted it one bit. Which brings me to a trigger that makes me so extremely angry that it
physically hurts in my head. This is how I feel when someone tries to control me or disrespect
my choices and decisions regarding my own life.In one instance , I had an argument with one of
my paternal aunts and she coldy told me that they( my relatives I assume) would be the ones
making important decisions of my future and NOT me.At that point, I felt so enraged that I
wanted to punch the despicable woman in the face repeatedly and scream at her till I knocked
some sense into her head.That its my life. How dare she think she has any right over it.Though
that was what went on inside my head, on the exterior, I somehow i maintained my composure
and explained to her that I ALONE would be making my life’s choices and decisions based on
my own happiness and well being and no one else would be having any say in it. I did not yell
even once but still I won the argument that day, leaving my aunt at a loss for words in the end.
And of course I was very pleased then but thoughts of this incident still make me so angry
despite knowing that she really can't do anything and I totally hate my aunt now. So that leaves
me rather confused as to whether I did actually succeed in controlling my anger or whether my
anger still has the upper hand over me.

In professional situations such as school or college however, no matter how angry and upset I
have felt over any unfairness or partiality I have almost always succeeded in maintaining my
composure and reacting calmly and remaining respectful.But as I mentioned earlier, when I do
control my temper externally I still tend to feel rather frustrated inside.This is something I feel
despite knowing I handled a conflict well and that actually losing my temper would not have
benefited anyone.To conclude, I am an easily triggered person and while I am able to prevent
myself from reacting on my anger and control my responses far better than I could when I was
younger, internally managing my anger is still a struggle .
 2. What are your ways of working out your anger or how do you work on your
anger?
I use four methods mainly to deal with my anger. Some of these were advised by my parents
and therapist but there are also some that I figured out on my own as well. Firstly , one method
that I use is to first take several deep breaths before responding in a stressful situation. If I
continue to feel my anger rising ,if possible, I try to excuse myself from the situation and drink
some water and go for a brief walk . Another method I use, this one to deal with the anger that
continues in my mind even after the situation that triggered it is over. I write about it in my
personal diary in as much detail and about how I wanted to react but didn't. I also try to explore
the reason as to why I felt so triggered by a certain incident as I write. This strategy has been
pretty useful in calming myself down and letting it go.Another method I use is to meditate(
guided meditation) .

3. Were the above strategies helpful?

Yes, to a certain extent. The strategies I use to manage my anger have been useful to help me
calm down and react more reasonably .The methods that I mentioned initially,ie, breathing
exercise and excusing myself ,helps me control my temper and calm down quicker and clears
my head in a situation I need to respond quicker. The remaining two methods help me stay calm
and help me move on from the frustration and stop holding grudges over it. The problem is that
these aren't always as effective.Sometimes when I write about my anger regarding something I
am able to calm down and let go of the issue. At other times the more I write about it , the
angrier I get.Therefore, I would conclude that I find my strategies mostly helpful and effective,
however I also see the need to improve upon them or come up with new ones to deal with my
longer standing grudges.

4. When you are building a team what things will you keep in mind and how
will you ensure the team reaches its goal on time?
A number of steps can be taken to ensure that the team reaches its goal on time.In order to
have an effective team there should be alignment between those of the organization, the
team's, and individual ones. Everyone should be working towards the same outcome and
understand how their work is contributing to the bigger picture.
● First the goal must be defined - I would set the goal and think about what I hope to
achieve from it.I would also consider the implications of the wider team goal being
completed and how it benefits us.An important part of goal-setting is measurement, so i
would first ensure the means to track and evaluate progress as well as completion, and
how this impacts what I want to achieve.
● The goal must then be communicated at the team level - When teams have
challenging, meaningful goals to work towards, they come together as a more effective
and collaborative unit. It helps them be aligned and have a common focus, rather than
trying to outperform each other. Of course, team goals can (and should) be broken down
into individual ones.
● Time management-One popular framework is the Eisenhower Matrix, which helps
prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance.

The matrix consists of four quadrants:

Quadrant 1 contains critical tasks that are both urgent and
important. Finish these as soon as possible to avoid
repercussions
Quadrant 2 contains tasks that are important but less
urgent and should be added to your calendar
Quadrant 3 contains tasks you can delegate because not
everything that’s urgent is important enough to require your
attention
Quadrant 4 are tasks you should avoid as they are simply
a waste of your time

● Setting Deadlines - Deadlines help the team develop accountability making the goals
more meaningful.A goal with no deadline won't serve its purpose as it could end up
constantly pushed back and never achieved. If people start to feel the goals aren't being
taken as a serious assignment, they will become discouraged and disengaged.
Commonly people work by quarters so you could set goals on a quarterly basis. This is a
relatively long period of time during which to run projects allowing you to set bigger
goals, yet short enough to change course if need be. It also means that you can work on
a bigger variety of initiatives throughout the year that support company objectives.
● Tracking progress of the team-goals should be tangible and measurable so you can
determine success.I would help my team stay focused by tracking progress. Checking in
would allow me to know where to course correct, which initiatives are going faster than
planned, and therefore help me re-allocate resources if need be.
Tracking goals also helps teams stay motivated when they see progress, and when
they're getting close to completion.Knowing what we achieved so far would give the
team a sense of accomplishment and motivate everyone.
● Providing any assistance to team members:As the team leader ,I would help each of
the team members with any obstacle that they are facing so they can be overcome
without any time being wasted and provide the team direction so the goals can be
achieved successfully on time.
● I would also learn from my mistakes and make sure the team understands it's ok to fail;
the goal shouldn't be the be all and end all, it's a way of guiding people's work. Being
open to the possibility of failure doesn't mean accepting mediocrity; or that goals don't
matter. It simply means no one can guarantee things will succeed. We would be able to
learn from our mistakes and do better, growing as a team.
● Throughout the entire process communication would be given key priority.