University of Maryland, College Park

Pearl Diving Assignment 1

Jainee Shah

Communication for Project Managers: ENCE614

Dr. Shana Webster-Trotman

September 23, 2022

Introduction

As an architect and a graduate student studying Landscape Architecture, there have been
many instances in the journey that have highlighted the importance of effective communication
skills to me. Be it working in teams for academic projects or working in an office environment, I
have always seen communication as a component that determines the success or failure of the
project to a large extent. While most of the academic courses focus on how to develop creative
visualization, design and technical skills this course has been an opportunity to develop this
much needed communication skill. This essay will emphasize on lessons learned through some
of the readings and class discussions. It will also cover the steps I have taken to improve my
networking abilities and my observation based on the various personality tests.

Concepts from readings

One of the first techniques that I found very interesting and helpful was managing speech
anxiety and understanding strategies to build confidence. This reading was from the pocket guide
to public speaking. Firstly, this chapter discusses the importance of identifying the main source
of anxiety. This helped me dive deeper into my experiences to identify the onset of anxiety and
then accordingly take measures to face this. The reading mentions different types of anxiety
based on when it strikes and this includes preparation anxiety, pre – performance anxiety and
performance anxiety. (O’Hair, n.d.) Reading these sections led me to realize that I mostly go
through pre performance and performance anxiety, this leads to forgetting some key points that
need to be included while speaking, speaking at a faster speed and so on. Like many others, I had
faced these issues but did not really identify the root cause of this before reading this chapter.
Two techniques that I found most effective to deal with speech anxiety are visualization and
meditation. I believe that things you can visualize are the things you and achieve and reading
about the visualization technique aligned with this belief. This technique was also interesting to
apply as I’ve tried the visualization technique relating to general life goals but I had never really
thought of it as a way to manage speech anxiety. In the few weeks after reading this chapter I had
to pitch my thesis topic and proposal to a faculty member and convince her to be a part of my
thesis committee, the night before the day of presentation I started facing anxiety as I was
anticipating the result of the presentation. At this point I remembered reading about the
visualization technique and then applied it, I visualized myself giving a successful presentation.
Further, sometime before the presentation I also took 5 minutes to meditate by myself. I was not
only calm and confident during the presentation but I was also able to pitch my proposal and
convince my professor to join the committee.

The second concept that was intriguing was from the book Crucial Conversations. The
chapter talks about start with heart, which is about staying focused on what you really want. I
really resonated with the concept of start with heart because often times when discussing a topic
with someone or during a crucial conversation we find ourselves distracted due to something that
the other person said or due to a difference of opinion that might exist. This ultimately leads to
us not really achieving anything from the conversation. A point that stood out from the reading
was “the only person we can continually inspire, prod, and shape-with any degree of success-is
the person in the mirror” (covey , stephen r, n.d.) and I feel it is extremely important to always
remember this as we can only control and shape our thoughts and actions, getting distracted due
to someone else’s behaviour will only make us upset and frustrated. The week after I read this
chapter, we were asked to work in groups for a particular project at school. Like any other group
project, this project required us to discuss and brainstorm ideas and propose a design concept as
a group. As we were discussing as started explaining my ideas and before I could even complete,
a classmate of mine interrupted and started cross questioning the idea. This similar incidence
took place in the next two days during group discussions as well. I then decided to take a break,
remind myself what my ultimate goal here is and tried to stay focussed on that. So the next day I
went with a better plan to incorporate both our design ideas into one, this was not only liked by
everyone but we were also able to complete the project well before the deadline. This experience
taught me that in such situations it is essential that I ask myself what I really want. As suggested
in the book, this serves two purposes- First, it reminds us of our goal. Second, it juices up our
brain in a way that helps us keep focused. (covey, stephen r, n.d.)

Third and one of the most interesting concept was analyzing the audience. This topic was
covered in the pocket guide to public speaking. As the book suggests it is important to
investigate the audience to engage and encourage listener’s involvement in ours message.
(O’Hair, n.d.) In most situations, I get so busy focusing on my speech or what I am going to talk
about that I forget to analyze what the audience is really here for. Reading this chapter gave me a
lot of insight into understanding this aspect of speech preparation. I think the idea of
understanding the audience’s attitudes, beliefs and values is very important. Attitudes are defined
in the book as our general evaluations of people, ideas, objects, or events. (O’Hair, n.d.) These
attitudes are based on beliefs— the ways in which people perceive reality. Both attitudes and
beliefs are shaped by values— our most enduring judgments about what’s good in life, as shaped
by our culture and our unique experiences within it. (O’Hair, n.d.) Understanding these three
components has helped me understand and analyze the audience. For instance, based on a
person’s beliefs and values they might have a positive or negative attitude towards the topic that
I would be talking about. Identifying this preconceived notion helps me prepare my speech so I
can structure it in a way to align and address the audience’s attitude. The reading covers various
situations describing the audience’s attitude and provides suggestions for approaches that the
speaker can take to create a better impact. For example, if the topic is new to listeners, it would
be better for the speaker to start by showing why the topic is relevant to them or relate the topic
to familiar issues and ideas about which they already hold positive attitudes. (O’Hair, n.d.)
Another situation is when listeners are negatively disposed toward the topic, here the speaker
could focus on establishing rapport and credibility. Avoid directly challenging listener’s
attitudes instead begin with areas of agreement. I found these suggestions to be very helpful even
in everyday life or regular conversations with friends and family. This concept has been
particularly helpful during classes that I teach as a TA at the university. I have started using these
strategies to understand what the class feels like on a particular day and then plan accordingly.
While presenting new concepts I first discuss why this is relevant to the class and also discuss
practical applications of the concept in the field.

Networking
As an international student and a professional in the industry, networking has been a very
important part of the journey. Starting from connecting with other students and professors to
understand the courses and program at the university to connecting with professionals at
different firms, networking has played a vital role. LinkedIn has been a great source to connect
with people across the globe. I have also been able to connect with classmates from the
communication course on LinkedIn and they are – Caroline Swelle, Paul Schatt, Mathew
Schinella, Sherwin Mcadam, Michael Rosvoglou, Sophia Averza, Crystal Robinson, Shivangi
Singh, Angela Pina, Giovanni Amodeo. In addition to this, I have started participating actively in
program and department meetings that involve meeting other students in the department. I have
also been attending seminars and lunch and learn sessions that take place weekly at the
university. This gives me an opportunity to learn from professionals, speak to them about their
experiences and also develop a connection.

DISC Personality Assessment

The results provided by the DISC Personality Assessment seem to be an accurate representation
of my personality. It helps in identifying the dominant personality traits and also gives me an
opportunity to work on other personality traits that are important but comprise of very less area
in the pie chart.
The personality trait that occupies the maximum area in the pie chart is Compliance. It covers
39% of the entire pie chart and I completely agree with the result. I have always been a follower
of planning things ahead of time. From my ambitions to family outings, I like to draft an
executable plan initially, which serves as a baseline for all the tasks that I need to execute to
reach the end goal. Additionally, my architecture background has helped me strengthen this skill
of systematically approaching things prior to execution.
Since a lot of my family members and friends are into the construction industry, I get to learn a
lot from them regarding planning and execution. It starts from the Architects visualizing the
space and generating 2D/3D models to handing over those drawings to the engineers. The
Engineers then work on the structural designing and hand those drawings to the site execution
team. The site execution teams then bring in their own contractors and subcontractors to
complete the construction piece and hand it over to the end user. The entire process might seem
very smooth, which in fact might not be as smooth as it seems.
The example above only talks about construction, and I am sure that all the other industries also
have very detailed plans put in place to reach the end goal. These real-world examples are
convincing enough for me to make organizational skills a number one priority. Additionally, I
believe that if I have a clear roadmap in my mind to the end goal, it becomes easier to
communicate effectively with the other stakeholders.
A very basic example comes from my summer internship experience. We had our client meeting
Wednesdays of every week and to prepare for our client meeting, my manager organized an
internal meeting the Monday before the client meeting (Wednesday) to discuss progress,
blockers, roles, and responsibilities. This allowed the Project Manager to understand the actual
status of the work performed and attend client meeting with accurate information. In conclusion,
if there is a clarity on what needs to be done, the questions starting with ‘How’ and ‘when’
would definitely help in proper execution.
The second and third personality traits are very close in terms of percentage, Steadiness (25%)
and Dominance (21%).
Steadiness: Steadiness is a very important personality trait that we consciously or subconsciously
use in our day-to-day life. I agree that this personality trait isn’t on the top because there are
times when I am not the most patient person and need that extra motivation to get through the
day.
I believe that when we talk about Project Manager, we automatically relate them to this
personality trait. I say this because a day in a life of Project Manager isn’t easy. A Project
Manager working on a project is always coordinating with multiple stakeholders and has to go
through a lot of decision-making processes. These processes include a lot of inward and outward
communication and hence the Project Manager has to be really patient and persistent throughout
the project life cycle.
I feel like I need to put in some extra efforts in getting better in developing this skill. I realize the
importance and understand that the nature of work that I would like to do in future would require
this skillset.
Dominance: I was a little surprised to see Dominance being below steadiness. Because I like to
plan things ahead and create strategies to accomplish the end goal, I prefer to have control over
the tasks that I perform.

Just because I like to do things in a very systematic way, I am most of the times very involved in
the tasks that the group has. It has its own advantages and disadvantages though. Advantages
being – It helps in getting things completed on time if I’m working on an individual project.
However, disadvantage of having a dominant personality is experienced in a group setting,
which we come across most of the times working on real world projects. There is a very high
level of coordination required when working in a group and a very strong dominant personality
might not work well in a large group.

While I tend to be flexible in a group setting, I believe there is still a scope for improvement.
After all, team works makes the dream work.

The fourth and final personality trait in the pie chart is Influence. I firmly believe this is one of
the most important personality traits. Influence comes from being able to empathize with fellow
co-workers and stakeholders and understand the situation. If these pre-requisites are met, a
person can communicate in a more effective way and deal with complex situations in a very
smooth manner. And this is something that I will strive to work towards.

Conflict Management Style Assessment

Out of 5 Conflict Management styles – Collaborating, Avoiding, Competing, Accommodating,
and Compromising, I have maximum points for Collaborating and the styles with lowest points
are Competing, Avoiding, and Compromising.
Each of these Conflict Management style is unique. An individual cannot use one Conflict
Management style to solve each and every conflict that arises in his/her life. The use of these
styles may vary based on the nature of the conflict.
Collaborating: From these 5 Conflict Management styles, the one I prefer the most is
Collaborating. I am a firm believer that both the parties in a conflict should get to a solution
that’s Win -Win for both the parties. The advantages of this technique include –
1. Improves relationships in the long run
2. Self-satisfaction
Additionally, Collaborating makes everyone feel valued and important to the project. It helps in
building empathy, understanding, and mutual respect.

An instance of the project where I used Collaboration technique is from a freelance project I did
in India. It was an interior design project for a residential apartment that was being managed by
my two classmates and myself. We started this project during the month when Covid was at its
peak and the supply chain had just got disrupted due to the pandemic. We presented the client
with a budget that may have not accounted for all the supply chain issues. However, after 60%
completion of the project, the materials needed to complete the remaining 40% of the project got
expensive (due to supply chain and shortage in the market). Additionally, the timeline of the
project was also affected due to construction workers getting infected due to Covid. It was a
difficult time to be managing the entire project for the first time.
The client was definitely not very happy with all the delay and increase in project budget.
However, before the situation becomes very delicate to handle, my classmates and I decided to
schedule a meeting amongst a smaller group that included the subcontractor client and us. We
started off by understanding what the client had to say about the delay and increased budget, and
how those factors would affect them. The client essentially wanted the new space ready as a safe
house for someone who could quarantine during this huge covid wave. In the very same
conversation, we also understood that budget might be a secondary issue, but the client was very
firm on the timelines. We acknowledged the client’s concern and requested the subcontractor to
meet the timeline requested by the client. The subcontractor understood the request and agreed to
handover the project by the need by date. This included some additional costs over the agreed
budget and was approved by the client. The team worked really hard and finally handed over the
project two days before the need by date.
As a team, we believe this was only possible because we collaborated very closely with the client
and subcontractor. It wouldn’t have been as smooth as it was if there was no collaborating in the
early stages of the conflict.
Avoiding: There are instances where I feel like my goals and objectives are not as important as I
think. This mainly happens when I am working with a very large number of people or in groups.
Different people have different ideas, and this diversity might be advantageous and
disadvantageous to the project.
Very large organizations work towards one goal that is set by the senior management team. Not
many people contribute towards forming those goals and objectives, however, at macro level, it
is done via collaboration through feedbacks.
Avoiding is one Conflict Management style that I would like to work on improving. I value
relationships to an extent where I feel like I will make the other person upset if I disagree with
them. I find myself in situations where I feel I ignore certain conversations that may route back
to the topic I that I don’t feel like discussing. This may not be very helpful because it may
negatively affect the health and prevent us from having creative thoughts.
An instance from my undergraduate days in Architecture has made me realize that its always
better to effectively communicate our own preferences rather than avoiding it altogether. We had
to work in groups to submit a design for a sustainable building construction in Mumbai. Since it
was a group project and I was really passionate about LEED concepts, I suggested that we
submit a design proposal that is capable of getting at least LEED Silver certification. However,
the people with whom I was doing this project were really good friends, but they weren’t very
interested in the LEED principles. They suggested other concepts that were outdated, and I was
really passionate about the new concepts that weren’t very popular in the Indian Construction
Market. Since most of my group members agreed of using those old concepts, and because of the
bind I shared with them, I agreed on comprising with my idea of using LEED principles. I wasn’t
really very happy with compromising on my goals, and this made me less passionate towards on
that project.
The feeling of not working passionately made me realize that its always better to strategically
plan and propose the advantages of LEED concepts than entirely scrapping it. It’s always
worthwhile to at least try and put it across the group. This makes me realize that avoiding is not
the best conflict management strategy and that there is more work that needs to be done.

Jung Personality Test

The Jung personality test had a different set of questions and assessment method. However, there
was a lot of overlap with the results provided by DISC Personality Test.

Jung Personality Test describes my personality as Introvert-iNtuituve-Feeler-Judger.

The first personality type – Introvert very much aligns with the fourth personality type
(Influence) in DICS. There is a direct relationship with being introvert being first in Jung Test
and Influence being last in DICS. I tend to spend a lot of time with my own thoughts and ideas
and not the best at influencing people. The second personality type – Intuitive is an accurate
representation of personality trait Compliance from DISC. The time that I invest in focusing on
future events gives me a sense of awareness and clarity. The third personality type – Feeler is
something I discovered in Jung Test and has no overlap with DISC. As much as I like to
empathize with my co-workers, friends, and family, sometimes I let these emotions take over the
targets set in my mind. However, I always end up realizing that forming sustainable relationships
with people go way beyond those short-term targets. The fourth personality type - Judgers is
again aligned with Compliance with DISC. Jung Test describes judgers as people that prefer
decisive, planned and orderly lifestyle.
Overall, Jung Personality Test assists me in understanding my personality type better. It provides
me with an insight on how I can use my strengths to continue to excel. The INFJ blend helps me
understand how I can use my sense of empathy to understand and appreciate other peoples
feeling while managing my work side by side. I can then focus on building harmony amongst a
group of people I empathize with to making sustainable plans and targets. One additional skill
that I would like to develop is working in larger groups as efficiently as I work in smaller groups.
Bibliography

O’Hair, D. (n.d.). A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking. 340.

Patterson, Kerry, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. 2002. Crucial Conversations.
Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill Contemporary.
Your DISC Personality Report
Introduction
Your specific distribution of scores on the DISC personality test is an indication of your unique personality. You can

think of this as your DISC Personality 'DNA'.

In the pie chart below you see your distribution of scores.

The highest percentage is likely to be your most dominant personality factor, the second highest your next most

dominant personality factor and so on. As such for you the DISC factors are ordered as: Compliance, Steadiness,

Dominance, Influence.

DISC Personality Model

To help you understand the DISC model of personality here are definitions of the four factors measured.

Dominance Describes the way you deal with problems, assert yourself and control situations.

Describes the way you deal with people, the way you communicate and relate to
Influence
others.

Steadiness Describes your temperament - patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness

 Describes how you approach and organize your activity, procedures and
Compliance
responsibilities.

Your DISC personality type

Your unique sequence of scores characterizes you in a specific way. The positive impact you are likely to make on

people is:

You are conscientious, diligent and pay attention to detail. You constantly
strive for accuracy and high standards.
You have an inner drive to be
systematic and precise in all that you do. You are a natural choice for work that
requires attention to detail and accuracy.

DISC Patterns or Profiles

As you will appreciate, there are literally thousands of different combinations of scores. Therefore to help

interpretation, communication and understanding, DISC Personality Model experts have defined - through statistical

analysis of the score combinations - fifteen DISC 'Patterns' or 'Profiles'.

The 'Profiles' are often given names. The objective of these names is to give a single descriptive term that captures

the essence of that Profile. Names often used are Achiever, Coach, Evaluator, Counselor, Creator, Individualist,

Inspirational, Investigator, Objective Thinker, Perfectionist, Persuader, Practitioner, Enthusiast, Results-Oriented or

Specialist

Upgrade to an extended report

“Your personal and extended

DISC report is ready for you to
purchase and download”
 Conflict Management Styles Assessment
Please CIRCLE ONE response that best describes you. Be honest, this survey is designed to help you
learn about your conflict management style. There are no right or wrong answers!
Jainee
Name ________________________ 09/16/22
Date _____________________

Rarely Sometimes Often Always

1. I discuss issues with others to try to find solutions that meet everyone’s
1 2 3 4
needs.

2. I try to negotiate and use a give-and-take approach to problem situations. 1 2 3 4

3. I try to meet the expectations of others. 1 2 3 4

4. I would argue my case and insist on the advantages of my point of view. 1 2 3 4

5. When there is a disagreement, I gather as much information as I can and

1 2 3 4
keep the lines of communication open.
6. When I find myself in an argument, I usually say very little and try to leave
1 2 3 4
as soon as possible.
7. I try to see conflicts from both sides. What do I need? What does the other
1 2 3 4
person need? What are the issues involved?

8. I prefer to compromise when solving problems and just move on. 1 2 3 4

9. I find conflicts exhilarating; I enjoy the battle of wits that usually follows. 1 2 3 4

10. Being in a disagreement with other people makes me feel uncomfortable

1 2 3 4
and anxious.

11. I try to meet the wishes of my friends and family. 1 2 3 4

12. I can figure out what needs to be done and I am usually right. 1 2 3 4

13. To break deadlocks, I would meet people halfway. 1 2 3 4

14. I may not get what I want but it’s a small price to pay for keeping the
1 2 3 4
peace.

15. I avoid hard feelings by keeping my disagreements with others to myself. 1 2 3 4

Source: Reginald (Reg) Adkins, Ph.D., Elemental Truths. http://elementaltruths.blogspot.com/2006/11/conflict-

management-quiz.html
 Scoring the Conflict Management Styles Assessment

As stated, the 15 statements correspond to the five conflict management styles. To find your
most preferred style, total the points for each style. The style with the highest score indicates
your most commonly used strategy. The one with the lowest score indicates your least
preferred strategy. However, all styles have pros and cons, so it’s important that you can use
the most appropriate style for each conflict situation.

Style Corresponding Statements: Total:

Collaborating (questions 1, 5, 7): 11

_______

Competing: (questions 4, 9, 12): _______

6

Avoiding: (questions 6, 10, 15): _______

6

Accommodating: (questions 3, 11, 14): _______

8

Compromising: (questions 2, 8, 13) 6

_______

My preferred conflict management style is: _______________________________

Collaborating

The conflict management style I would like to work on is: ____________________

Avoiding

How can I practice this conflict management style?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
REPORT
JUNG PERSONALITY
TEST

Email address: jainee@umd.edu

Gender: Female

Age: 24
Your Jung personality
report
What makes you different?
This free report describes how you prefer to: deal with and relate to people, process
information, make decisions and organize your life. It gives you a good overview of your
personality and behavior. You can use this information to assess how well your personality
might fit a potential employer or type of job.

Your Jung personality type

The descriptions you chose about your behavior indicate that the Personality
Type that most accurately describes you is: Introvert-iNtuitive-Feeler-Judger

Introverts tend to be reflective, reserved and private. A popular

misconception is that Introverts are shy - this is not necessarily so.
They draw their energy from their own thoughts and the time they
spend alone. Introverts do not need people around them all the time.
iNtuitives pay more attention to information that is imaginative and
original. iNtuitives focus on the future.
Feelers let their feelings and emotions play a leading role because of
their concern for other people.
Judgers prefer a lifestyle that is decisive, planned and orderly. They like
a life that is organized and controlled.

Report Jung Personality Test Page 2 of 5

An INFJ at-a-glance
The di cult I do immediately, the impossible takes me a little longer! This could be your
philosophy of life. People who know INFJ types well describe them as imaginative,
motivated, persistent, purposeful and creative.
Living a life without pretense or facade, being accepted for who you are, is what matters
to you. You prefer to quietly exert your in uence. You bring a quiet enthusiasm to all that
you are involved in. Creating harmony and working towards the common good for all is
one of your key motivators.
You have a strong need and desire to understand the complexity of human relationships.

Your sense of empathy allows you to understand and appreciate other's feelings. You
believe in, and act on, your intuition and instincts. You make decisions easily and your
friends and associates are likely to perceive you as a self-con dent and individualistic
thinker. Every Jung Personality type has one or two speci c nicknames that concisely
describe your Jung personality type, e.g. Inventor, Strategist, Protector and others.

Report Jung Personality Test Page 3 of 5