All of us can recall our own extraordinary moments when we felt that our best self was brought to light, affirmed by others, and put into practice in the

Your response to the assignment below should be written in approximately 400 words total. 

All of us can recall our own extraordinary moments when we felt that our best self was brought to light, affirmed by others, and put into practice in the world. This “best self-portrait” is a resource we can call on to build confidence, to help us make decisions, to be courageous, to prepare and see possibilities for the future, to face challenges, and so much more.

Pt. 1 – Identify two stories where you felt your best (approximately 100 words each). In your stories, describe the context, the role you played, the actions you took, the characteristics you displayed, the results, and the reasons behind your actions.

• Example: “I feel that I have the ability to get people to work together and give all they have to a task. For example, I think of the time when working on a team project for a class. We were getting behind and the stress was building. We began to just focus on getting the task done, not necessarily doing our best work. I was able to remind everyone of our goal and what each of the group was capable of doing. In the end, we did meet the deadline and created a result we could all feel proud of.”

Pt. 2 – Is there a link between those behaviors/qualities that made you feel your best and your top two StandOut roles? In about 200 words, describe your top two roles and how these are reflected in your behaviors/qualities.

[1] This exercise is based on the article Roberts, L. Dutton, J. Spreitzer, G. Heaphy, E. & Quinn, R. (2005). Composing the reflected best self portrait: Building pathways for becoming extraordinary in work organizations.  Academy of Management Review 30 (4), 712-736.