Whether or not I feel comfortable on the actual act of developing my sources of personal power is a mixed bag...frankly, although I understand the value of exerting influence and the like, I tend to be a passive and congenial personality. But I do realize its something I will have to work on whether I enjoy it or not. I'm not a stranger to these sources of personal power, and I recognize the need to continue improving what I can if I expect to make much of a career out of being a leader.
As for if I'm a likable person? Generally, I'd like to think I am. Admittedly I can be a little daft in the finest of social cues and don't consider myself especially sociable, but I am nodding my head a lot as I read over the table on page 290 of the text. I frequently encourage people to be straight forward with me, and I do my best to be tactfully open with other people, and to be loyal to the people I've had the good fortune to consider friends or trusted colleagues. I consider myself to be for the most part non-judgmental, to possess a very sympathetic ear, and I tend to be very cognizant about the sacrifices or exchanges necessary to maintain balance in my relationships. Overall, although I've never been insanely popular, in recent years I seem to have developed a knack for being a generally likable, or at the very least very inoffensive guy to have around. This has helped me be a member or at least an observer of multiple social circles that I've encountered in recent years, some of which had no connection to the others and could have very broad ranges of personalities.
Regarding how well I'm able to influence up and down my chain of command, I'm more uncertain of that. I do have fairly good working relationships with my immediate supervisor and my commander. I get the big picture goals, have seen more of what the senior leadership has to deal with, and have picked up on strengths and weaknesses. I also try to keep my supervisors in the loop on issues. However, I'm still working on the broader concept of fitting my work styles to theirs, and make improvements to my use of their time and resources. Its not so much that I squander them, but often I try to get by without bothering them. When I do, its usually to get more specific guidance, and at that point, I've ceded some of my influence. Having said that, the fact that a junior officer like myself is able to work closely with senior leadership does suggest a reasonably high level of trust, and although I kind of default to a high level of followership, I think they still respect my input where its warranted or necessary.
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