By Johnry de Guzman
Published 2019 December 16 – From December 2019 Issue
Friday, November 22 2019, BOX members participating in the LEAP Apprenticeship Program had the opportunity to assess their strengths by attending a workshop entitled, “Knowing One’s Self, Goal Setting, and Introspection.” Since developing their management and leadership skills was one of the main objectives of the program, the event was also an avenue for the apprentices to see their own potential as future leaders of BOX. AVP for Leadership Development Stephanie Obias started the workshop with a group dynamic, then introduced the guest speaker for the event, BOx founder and ADMU professor, Sir Ronald Cruz.
Sir Ron started his talk by explaining the importance of introspection, saying that it’s all about knowing yourself — your strengths and weaknesses, and how you can improve them. This was further demonstrated through an exercise which entailed members to list down what they admire most in other people. Through this, members wrote down their ideal characteristics and, according to Sir Ron, what one admires most about others, one also begins to develop these traits without knowing it. “The best teacher is experience,” he added.
Next, to understand and know themselves better, the mentees and mentors alike, took a personality test from Jayson Lo’s book, “YOUnique Understanding Others by Understanding Yourself,” which revealed to them what kind of worker they are. The different types of workers were the Dominant Eagle, the Corrective Tarsier, Steady Carabao, and the Influential Rooster. Each type of worker has their own set of flaws and strong points that need to be taken into consideration when having a team of leaders. Having a diverse group of workers will ensure that they bring out the best in each other due to the different personality types that people have.
To end the workshop, he stated that this test doesn’t define who one is, and it doesn’t limit one’s capabilities but, rather, makes one aware of their strong points. “What’s important is that you emphasize the strength of your personality,” Sir Ron explained. The members were reassured by this because everyone could see that each person had their own set of unique traits that can, one day, contribute to the organization.
Ateneo BOx 