Matt Barnes Week 7 – Theories in Action

After working at BDM for 7 weeks now, I have gotten to know my supervisors, Amy and Amanda pretty well. In addition to being able to see each of their leadership styles, I was able to observe their personality traits. I think evaluating Amy and Amanda according to the Big 5 Traits could be helpful in understanding the approaches to leadership each of them take and their interactions with others.

Openness – I believe Amy and Amanda are both very high on the openness scale. Both are extremely imaginative and innovative when it comes to new ideas. I have seen Amy adapt in many situations to meet the needs of the situation. Both Amy and Amanda value the input of every team member and clearly take it into consideration when working towards the final product.

Extraversion – Without a doubt, both Amy and Amanda are high on the extraversion scale (or at the very least, much higher than I am). They both enjoy interacting with new people and bring enthusiasm and energy to every meeting. Amanda has also said that she misses being able to interact with colleagues in person (I think most people miss this though).

Conscientiousness – I think of all the traits, this would be the trait that Amy is highest in. Amy is extremely organized and diligent in her work, as well as being highly results driven. She takes a high level of pride and responsibility in here work. Similarly, Amanda has high levels of conscientiousness. Both of them have been extremely helpful in showing me what they expect from my work, and have been happy to take the time to help when I am confused.

Agreeableness –

I have already touched on this in the other traits, but both Amy and Amanda are high on the agreeableness scale. In their interactions with others, their respect and trust in others comes through in the consideration they have for the input of the team members. I have not seen any interaction from either of them that I would consider to be rude or disrespectful to anyone.

Neuroticism – Finally, I think both Amy and Amanda are low on the neuroticism scale. I have not seen high levels of anxiety or depression in either of them, and both of them bring high levels of optimism and energy to the Sunny Team.