Being oppositional, my intention is not to be an adversary. My purpose is to look for problems and prepare for the worst to avoid unpleasant surprises. This style usually appears in meetings when changes that are going to occur in the business are discussed. I am the individual who brings up the “what ifs”. By doing this, I am looked upon as pessimistic and unable to envision positive possibilities. My reason behind this behavior is to plan for trouble and find ways to prevent it. It is my way of being proactive, rather than reactive.

I believe my backup style of being competitive is what pushes me to be all I can be. Competition is my motivation to succeed. I think I have developed this style by the environment I grew up in. As a child, my friends and I had races to see who could run the fastest, hop scotch competitions, and contests for the best cheerleading routines. Sports also played a major part in my competitiveness. I was motivated to do my very best in everything I did and winning a game always got you a trophy and/or a pizza party afterwards. In the workforce, competition is also used. At my previous job, prizes were given for the individual that took the most phone calls, received the lowest average handle time, etc. The benefits of my healthy competition in the workplace help me produce greater results and better quality of work.

My limiting style can be a combination of both my oppositional and competitive styles. Being oppositional, I may be viewed as negative and my somewhat distrusting outlook can limit my vision at times. I have learned that unhealthy competition can bring on stress and work pressure which can affect my health.

I uncovered that I have a management style that tends to be structured and directive. I strive to set clear, specific, short-term goals and work toward measuring productivity. Having these