Journal #7 October 24, 2021
For this journal, we read the following chapter and answered a series of questions and completed an assessment based on the chapter. The focus of this chapter was on listening, feedback, critiquing, coaching, and conflict management skills.
My score on the Listening Skills Assessment ranged toward being a good listener. Some ways to improve upon my listening skills could be: paying closer attention to nonverbal cues, not interrupting, asking more clarifying questions, and trying to visualize the speaker’s words. These could be beneficial in improving my listening skills because it can increase my communication skills. When assessing someone else’s listening and feedback skills, I focus on whether they are engaged with the conversation. For instance, they should make eye contact and have movements like nodding of the head to confirm and let me know if they are listening enough to be able to have feedback and retain the information. When assessing someone else’s critique, coaching, and conflict skills, I focus on how they react in certain situations. For instance, in a situation where criticism and conflict arise, I would be focused on how the individual would react in terms if they are right or wrong and how they would go about conflict. Would they try to place blame or acknowledge their mistakes? Do they avoid conflict or are they instigating it? These are important to know because it can determine if they have effective communication skills or not. When assessing my own listening and feedback skills, I try to do the same thing as I do for others, because I have noticed that in most cases they can tell I’m engaging enough with the person that they can tell clearly if I am attentive or not. In terms of assessing my own conflict, criticism, and coaching skills, I typically avoid any type of conflict because emotionally I can not handle it, as well as criticism. That is something that I am working to fix. However, I know that criticism can mostly be beneficial, but sometimes it is delivered too harshly and it usually feels like I can not do anything right. When it comes to receiving feedback, critiques, and coaching, I feel as though I feel better if they can point out some of the things that I did correctly and good versus just giving critiques and criticism. However, I do try to apply the feedback and critiques to make sure I do a better job and what is asked of me correctly.
This awareness can impact my career as a social worker in the sense that I know that I have active listening skills and can be a good listener for my clients and co-workers. I should work to improve upon my skills just so that I am being attentive as possible. In terms of feedback, critiquing, coaching, and conflict management, my skills could also be improved in how I respond to criticism and conflict. But in feedback and coaching I think I respond well. Knowing this information in the field of social work can help me with my work. If I am open to receive feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, then it can improve my self-awareness and improve how I practice. When it comes to conflict management, which is my biggest struggle, but is essential in this field to practice assertiveness, advocacy, and direct conflict so that I may create some change.