Pearl Diving Assignment 2

COMMUNICATION FOR PROJECT

MANAGERS ENCE614

FALL 22

Student:
Capellari, Pablo Leandro
SID: 059004771
UID: 119371169
pcapella@umd.edu

Teacher:
Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman

October 12, 2022

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 3
2. Email "lackluster performance" ..................................................................................... 3
3. Learning from group activities ........................................................................................ 4
3.1. Awareness of personality styles ................................................................................ 4
4. Adverse scenario management ........................................................................................ 5
5. Personal experience overcoming adversity .................................................................... 6
6. Big Five Personality Assessment ..................................................................................... 7
6.1. Comparison with the JUNG personality profile..................................................... 8
6.2. Comparison with the DISC assessment results ...................................................... 8
6.3. Benefits of taking different types of assessments.................................................... 8
6.4. Applying the personality test results ....................................................................... 9
7. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 10
8. Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 11
9. Personality test results.................................................................................................... 12

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 1. Introduction

During the first weeks of the "Communication for Project Managers" course, I have begun to
acquire knowledge about how to improve my communication skills, personal relationships, and
networking, among others. All are very important to complement my basic engineering
education. In addition, I have met many new people with different backgrounds and
motivations. And I have opened my mind to different aspects thanks to personality tests.
This essay will summarize some of the concepts and learning from the second stage of the
course, with personal examples of how I have been applying them. First, I will demonstrate my
email writing skills in adverse situations from the point of view of the team leader. Later I will
explain some of the concepts learned in one of the group activities and how I am applying those
concepts in my personal life. Then I will analyze an adverse scenario at work, I will explain
how I would face the situation and how I strengthen it with some of the concepts of the
readings. Additionally, I will tell a personal story of overcoming adversity using the seven
elements from chapter 10 of the book Five Star (Gallo, 2018) and appealing to ethos, logos,
and pathos. Finally, I will analyze the results of the Big Five Personality Assessment, I will
compare them with other tests previously carried out and will give some examples of how I
have been using the tests in my personal life.

2. Email "lackluster performance"

Requirement: An email to your team in which you address the team’s lackluster performance
and the need for improvement.

Hello team,

You have all been working incredibly hard over the last few weeks. Your effort is showing,
and I appreciate it. I know that these have been difficult times and that the challenges we have
experienced have been very important for the company and us as a team.

The main reason for this email is to tell you that the performance rates in our team have fallen
by 15% in the last month, according to official company reports. I understand that new projects
have been added and that the number of tasks has increased in each of you individually,
however, I have received a warning about this decrease in our performance and I would like to
ask you for some further efforts to improve it.

The measures to be adopted from next Monday will be the following:

- Our team will have the support of two new engineers from other areas, you can contact them
for help on new projects.

- The company has authorized me to allow you to work an extra hour each day, if necessary,
said hour will be paid as an "extra hour" which implies the ratio of the normal hour plus 50%.

- Our internal team meetings will go from being 3 times a week to every day. They will go
from 1 hour to half an hour (7:30 to 8 am) every day, with this I intend that you share your
progress and request the necessary help when you are behind in a task.

- In the case of reaching the deadlines for this month, all of you will receive a bonus of 10% of
your net salary.

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Once again, thanks to all of you for your hard work. You guys are an amazing team. Together
we will recover our performance indexes and make history in this company.

See you next Monday at 7:30 am in the meeting room,

Have a fantastic weekend,

Pablo.

3. Learning from group activities

3.1. Awareness of personality styles

In week 6, we worked in groups applying our awareness of personality styles in the writing of
emails to a supposed boss, to increase the likelihood of a favorable response. The activity has
been based on the DISC assessment that defines different types of personality, said personality
of the recipient of the message would affect the writing style in several factors. Taking into
account the type of personality of the person to whom we are writing an email or transmitting
any type of message is important to adapt to the situation and how we are going to perform, in
our group work we were addressing a person with a predominance of personality "I"
(influence), which are people who tend to fear being rejected and ignored, but are optimistic
and high-spirited. Therefore, we have mainly relied on making it clear that all their
recommendations and suggestions have been met during the process so that this person knows
that he has not been ignored, as well as several motivational elements have been added to the
email to balance the bad news that the project was going to be delayed 4 days.
In my opinion, it is a very interesting technique to be applied in real situations, even though
many times we do not have a clearly defined personality of the other person. In addition, I think
that it is something that we do naturally most of the time that we transmit a message, we adapt
it depending on the personality of the recipient. But it is important to consider these aspects
more in-depth because in certain situations they can define relationships or courses of action.
In the book The Essentials of Business Etiquette (Pachter, 2013), the author refers to many
recommendations when writing an email, mainly formal aspects such as "check if it is the
correct recipient", "choose a good subject line", "make sure the email is easy to read", among
others. But leaving out a very important aspect such as knowing the personality of the recipient
and adapting the message accordingly. Instead, in "Chapter 4: Characteristics Of Great
Networkers" of the book "Networking for College Students and Graduates” (Faulkner &
Nierenberg, 2017), the authors devote a section to the importance of personality style matching
entitled "Adjusting to the Personality Styles of Others". Beyond the fact that the focus of this
section is on networking, where situations of a business proposal presentation where the
recipients are three people with different personality styles are exemplified, the authors analyze
how to adapt to the different personalities in the same presentation. . They also promote the use
of empathy in this type of situation, and conclude that section by saying "to become empathetic,
you need to be aware of communication styles and personality types".
After that group activity I have begun to apply these concepts in my daily life, every time I
have to send an email I analyze the person who is going to receive it, I try to locate him/her
within the personality disc and get closer as much as possible to adequate result. If the topic of
the email is really important and it is a person I know little about, I ask other people closer to
the recipient to improve my email content. For example, in the last few days, I had to ask one
of my professors from Denmark to be my Thesis advisor, I had a course with him and I could
identify his personality. But to be sure, I've talked to another student who had done his thesis

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in his last year with him, and that student gave me a more accurate definition of his personality.
He has answered my email and we have coordinated a zoom meeting to finalize details for the
thesis.

4. Adverse scenario management

Scenario: Your boss called you an “idiot” in front of the entire team.
It is possible to analyze this adverse scenario as a rare event, at least in the environments where
I have worked so far, so I have never experienced a similar situation. In any case, I think it is
important to face the situation with patience and think about each one of the movements and
words to use. In chapter 10 of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
(Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, & Switzler, 2011), the authors encourage people to exercise
patience, not lose hope and turn the situation violent. In this example, a couple participates but
the same concept should be applied to a situation like the one being analyzed. The first thing
that comes to my mind is that at that critical moment many things can go wrong, which could
be characterized as an unstable situation. Earlier in chapter 8, the authors state "Start with an
attitude of curiosity and patience. This helps restore safety", it is also recommended to "ask" to
understand the other person's point of view, my boss in this situation, respectfully acknowledge
the emotions he seems to be feeling.
One of the important definitions of the moment would be, to face the situation in front of my
team or ask my boss to talk about it privately. And I think that this will depend on many factors,
the seriousness of the reason why he has called me "idiot", the personality of my boss, and my
relationship with him in terms of trust and mutual knowledge. In other words, facing the
situation in front of my team would show them that I am a person with character and
temperance to deal with all kinds of situations, which could improve my leadership position.
Of course, this implies, taking on all kinds of responsibility regarding the problem without
blaming anyone on my team. On the other hand, if I know that my boss is a very difficult person
to understand, with a very strong personality, I would ask him to continue that conversation in
private. Another of the repeated suggestions in the book is not to let serious problems go
unsolved. This means, starting a dialogue and reaching a common point of agreement as soon
as possible would be one of my main objectives in that situation.
Everything previously said, would be my behavior at the first moment, when this situation
occurs. A second stage would be how to handle the situation later with my team, it is clear that
after what happened I cannot let this situation go, they would be asking themselves many
questions, feeling insecure, perhaps afraid or displeased with what happened. One of the first
tools to use with my team would be “dialogue”, explaining to them what has happened and
apologizing on behalf of the company and personally. In several sections of the book, the
authors refer to "apologizing" as one of the first actions to take when we offend or embarrass
someone, even though in this situation my boss should apologize to my team, I would do it on
behalf of the company because it would make sure that they feel safe again and understand the
context. In chapter 5 of "Crucial conversations", there is a section of "Apologize When
Appropriate" where the concept of an apology and how and when it should be made is
explained.
The last stage of my course of action would be to decide to inform the company of what
happened, that is, someone superior to my boss. This decision will also depend on many factors,
such as my boss's behavior after the situation, the dialogue I had with him, and the certainty
that this will not happen again. In other words, if I have a good dialogue with him, and I feel
sure that the relationship has returned to normal and that it will not happen again, it would be
better to avoid informing the company of what happened because this could bring about more
future problems with my boss again. If these conditions do not arise, I would inform the

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company but warn him first. In this situation, it is important to analyze what is explained in
chapter 4 “Notice When Safety Is at Risk”. The authors motivate to analyze the conditions of
the crucial conversation and identify if it is a security situation or not. They also establish that
"When it's unsafe, you start to go blind" (Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, & Switzler, 2011), and
that is when you should step aside and analyze other solutions to the problem, from another
perspective.

5. Personal experience overcoming adversity

According to chapter 10 of Five Stars (Gallo, 2018) there are three types of stories that can be
told, personal experiences, real customers or clients, or signature events in the history of a
brand or company. In this section, I will tell the saddest story of my life, but at the same time
the one that has given me the most happiness and satisfaction.

Back in 2015, I was an average person in the city of Corrientes, Argentina. Graduated as an
agricultural engineer, in the first years of my professional career, gaining experience, and
working long hours but content to continue with the stereotype of life that my family had taught
me. I was in a relationship for several years, living with my girlfriend in our apartment, thinking
about our children and our house. My partner, a veterinarian, on my birthday that year opens
the apartment door and tells me:

"Happy birthday love, in this box is your gift"

When I open the box, there was a Yorkshire puppy. The most beautiful and adorable puppy
I've ever seen.
When I was a child, I used to be a person who had a distant relationship
with dogs, as was the custom in my family. Large breeds, usually living
in the backyard, which I rarely played with and more rarely bathed as I
promised my mother when she bought them. But this pup, "Gino" as we
had named him, had quickly earned a place in my heart. He accompanied
me to the office, he traveled with me on my work trips, and he slept with
me in my bed, I used to say, "he is my son".
One of the companies to which I provided technical advice was very
close to my hometown, therefore whenever I went to work there, I slept
at my parent's house. Gino always went with me, of course. I had given mom a "German
Shorthaired Pointer", a beautiful large breed that was used to hunt in its origins. He and Gino
seemed to be good friends regardless of the size difference, spending time together and playing
when I was there.

One morning in the spring of 2015, I was sleeping after a long day at work, and my mother
woke me up screaming:

"Pablo, Gino is dead…Pablo, Gino is dead"

When I got out of bed desperately, I have seen in the kitchen the most painful scene of my
entire life, Gino lying motionless with a single bite on the head from mom's dog. Without a
doubt, I had never felt so much sadness and pain as at that moment. I've cried days and days,
without encouragement to work or play soccer. But after a while, and psychological help, I
understood that life had to go on and so it was. My mom motivated me to have another puppy,
but I didn't feel ready, on the contrary, very scared. My girlfriend was also emotionally
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destroyed by the situation, she loved him as much as I did. My mother always said that she had
never seen me so bad in my 25 years of life, so on my birthday in 2016, she decided to buy me
another Yorkshire puppy, whom we called "Ciro". Of course, the whole happy story repeated
itself, we quickly fell in love with him and somehow he wiped away my tears from what had
happened. Just like Gino, Ciro always traveled with me on my work trips, but my family had
the order to leave mom's dog outside the house whenever Ciro was there. But unfortunately
and unbelievably, sad history repeated itself, the same thing had happened...
After the death of my second puppy in the same conditions, I broke up with my girlfriend
because she had given me the responsibility for what happened, I was very angry with my
mother for not keeping her dog outside the house, and I had given up my job because I have
no motivation to do it. That was a moment of transition in my life, I reconsidered the meaning
of happiness and the value of life. As a child, I always wanted to live in Europe for a while,
and so I did. At the end of 2019, I moved to Denmark to study for a Master, I have traveled all
over the world, and met thousands of people, and cultures. I have to admit I have been very
happy. Currently, on exchange in the United States thanks to the
same decision, looking forward to new opportunities and challenges.
But in my mind, it is always and will always be present that
everything I am living has happened because of my puppies, and it
is inevitable to think that in life "everything happens for a reason",
are we destined for life, or do we shape our destiny? What I am sure
of is that Gino and Ciro will always be in my heart and my skin.

6. Big Five Personality Assessment

The big five personality test defines the five major dimensions of personality: Openness,
Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism in percentage terms on a
scale of 1 to 100 (TRUITY, 2022). After having carried out the assessment, these are the main
results with a personal discussion about them.

Openness 48%

I agree that I am a balanced person in terms of openness, my creativity is limited to certain

situations when it is necessary, on the other hand, I am usually a practical person who likes to
focus on concrete actions and results. However, I am a person who does not avoid the unknown,
I like to experience new things, new places, and new people, and I have proven it by living in
4 different countries in the last 6 years.

Conscientiousness 65%

I agree with my qualification of "Conscientiousness", I tend to be a very goal-oriented person

in general. It gives me satisfaction to use my determination and organization to achieve my
goals, and I have always felt uncomfortable with gratification.

Extraversion 42%

In terms of "Extraversion", I also agree with the results. I am usually a person who does not
like to attract attention, and who does not seek stimulation from the outside world. I never
expect to get social rewards from my actions, instead, I work to meet my expectations.

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Agreeableness 73%

I partially agree with this category, in my opinion, my Agreeableness varies according to the
situation and the people. But generally, I tend to put others ahead of myself, I think I have a
good balance in that because I don't let them impact my own goals. Without a doubt, I consider
myself an empathic person, I suffered bullying when I was a child, therefore I am always
attentive to making other people feel comfortable because I try to ensure that they do not go
through a similar situation. In addition, I agree with being a forgiving person, I usually let go
of bad situations and open my mind to a new stage.

Neuroticism 27%

"Neuroticism" has been the category farthest from 50% within the 5 personality dimensions,
which defines me as a person who does not experience negative emotions, including fear,
sadness, anxiety, guilt, and shame. And I agree with this, I have always been a very positive
person who always finds the bright side of situations and people.

6.1. Comparison with the JUNG personality profile

Comparing both personality evaluations, it is possible to say that they coincide in several
aspects. First of all, both tests define me as a person who tends to be introverted, not needing
to have people around me all the time and focused on my thoughts and actions. Another aspect
that both tests agree on is being a person who always analyzes and tries to make rational
decisions, using my head over my heart. As well as characterizing my lifestyle as decisive,
planned and ordered.
On the contrary, the tests contradict each other in the aspect of creativity and imagination, my
JUNG profile defined me as a creative person and I think I am closer to a balance like the result
of the "Big Five Personality Assessment".

6.2. Comparison with the DISC assessment results

Comparing to the "DISC assessment results", where I had been defined mainly with the
"steadiness" and "dominance" personality models, as a person temperament, patience and
persistence, as well as my ability to be assertive and deal with problems. I think that a
Conscientiousness of 65% explains a bit the similarity between both assessments where it
explained my determination and organization to achieve my goals.
Another characteristic of "steadiness" is being people-oriented, which is also related to an
Agreeableness of 73% in the "Big Five Personality Assessment". Therefore, in my opinion,
both tests are accurate in those aspects of my personality.

6.3. Benefits of taking different types of assessments

Taking different personality tests has several benefits. These tools allow us to better understand
all the different reactions and perceptions that we could have in a situation, analyzing different
tests allows us to analyze ourselves from different points of view because each test has a
different way of defining our personality. This is useful for opening our minds to facts about
our behavior that would otherwise be difficult to identify.
Another benefit of taking different personality tests is that they allow us to identify the things
that we do not like or that make us feel uncomfortable. With the diversity of responses to
different types of tests, the range of identified characteristics is widened. This allows us to

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make a better analysis of ourselves and make decisions about how to improve and increase our
leadership skills, interpersonal relationships, and networking, among others.
In our personal and work lives we are solving problems all the time, knowing our personality
profiles from different points of view allows us to react to those decisions more effectively,
deal with stress, face conflicts, and manage our work habits.
Finally, it can be concluded that taking different personality tests increases the information we
have about ourselves. In practical terms, it would be the equivalent of asking several of our
friends about our strengths and weaknesses. If we only have the response of 2 friends, perhaps
that information would be biased to their point of view, which would not explain our behavior
100%. In contrast, if we have the opinion of 10 friends this could give us a broader spectrum
of opinions with which we could improve in more aspects of our lives.

6.4. Applying the personality test results

In this section, I will describe some personal examples of how I am applying and will apply
the results of the personality tests.

In terms of extroversion, the personality tests taken so far have characterized me as an

introverted person. Therefore, I have taken some measures to improve this feature to increase
my network. One of the applications to improve this feature is to tell stories to start
conversations, which I have done lately, identify people in different situations and start
conversations with some stories from my life that are according to the situation. For example,
in October I was at a TEDx event in Brookland (Washington, DC), where one of the speakers
seemed like a very interesting person to start a conversation with, so I adapted one of my life
experiences to which this person had told in her speech. Therefore, when the event ended, I
approached this person to congratulate her on her performance and I had the opportunity to
briefly tell her my story. I can happily say that it was successful, and we exchanged LinkedIn
accounts.

Concerning my limited creativity, another of the points in my personality tests, I have started
to work on this characteristic with different methods because it is something that has worried
me. Since I am aware that my creativity is limited, I have started to analyze problems from
different points of view. I used to be a person who stuck to the first solution or response to a
situation, but now I am trying to think outside the box and analyze what possible advantages it
would give me to face the problem from another perspective. To give a practical example, I
have been having problems getting paid for a project I worked on last year, until a while ago I
only sent reminders to the company. But after thinking about other possible solutions, I
requested a meeting with one of the client's counterparts to discuss the results of the project, at
the end of that meeting I reminded him that all the payments had not yet been made. Two weeks
later, I was notified by the company I work for that the money had been received.

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 7. Conclusion

In conclusion, this second pearl diving assignment has made me reflect on the concepts and
learning acquired during the second stage of the "Communication for Project Managers"
course.
Learnings such as appealing to ethos, logos, and pathos to request an improvement in
performance from my team, as well as to tell personal stories. Concepts learned in the work
groups, such as analyzing people within their personality profiles when communicating. Use
concepts covered in Crucial Conversations (Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, & Switzler, 2011)
to handle adverse scenarios. Finally, analyzing different personality tests from different points
of view and exemplifying how I have used them personally in my life.
Looking forward to acquiring new theoretical and practical learning in the following weeks of
the course, which will be reflected in the third pearl diving assignment.

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 8. Works Cited

Faulkner, M., & Nierenberg, A. (2017). Networking for College Students and Graduates:
Nonstop Business Networking that Will Change Your Life.
Gallo, C. (2018). Five stars: the communication secrets to get from good to great.
O’Hair, D., Rubenstein, H., & Stewart, R. (2016). A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking .
Pachter, B. (2013). The Essentials of Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat, and Tweet Your
Way to Success.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2011). Crucial Conversations: Tools
for Talking When Stakes Are High.
TRUITY. (2022). THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TEST. Retrieved from
https://www.truity.com/test/big-five-personality-test

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9. Personality test results

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