Personal Characteristics for Success in Human Services – Strengths and Limitations
Empathy, respect for individuals, and patience are some of the personal characteristics that would contribute to my success as a human services professional practitioner. In addition to being non-judgmental and having good listening and communication skills, these traits are among the factors that Sparkman-Key et al. (2018) consider important for social work. I tend to show empathy by listening keenly to individuals; I am very good with nonverbal communication as I pay attention to individuals’ body language. I actually feel that nonverbal communication gives more information than verbal communication, allowing me to connect with people better. I strive to understand what people tell me and imagine myself in their shoes. All these take patience and respect for others, which I also exercise to a large extent, treating people as humanely as possible. Do you need urgent assignment help ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com.
My greatest strengths are my willingness to sacrifice for the good of others and my empathy. When I am with individuals who are in distress, I strive as much as possible to relieve them of their problems. Depending on the individual’s need, I will offer my time and resources to lessen or eliminate their problems, even when this comes at a great cost for me, most of the time. LaFasto and Larson (2012) consider the ability to choose to do something, being able to go beyond the emotions of empathy and social responsibility, as very important, particularly in a humanitarian leader.
I think that caring too much or taking individuals’ problems too personally is a limitation because it often results in major burnout for me. Another limitation is controlling my own emotions, particularly anger. I am working on managing strong emotions, as this tends to get in the way of my objectivity. For both of these, meditation can help me control my emotions better and enable me to differentiate things that I can change and those that are beyond my control.
References
LaFasto, F. M. J., & Larson, C. (2012a). Believe we can matter: It’s a gift that I have, and I use it. In The Humanitarian Leader in Each of Us: 7 Choices that Shape a Socially Responsible Life (pp. 50–58). Sage Publications, Inc.
Sparkman-Key, N., Vajda, A. J., & Borden, N. S. J. (2018). Human services identity development: Exploration of student perceptions. Links to an external site. Journal of Human Services, 38(1), 21–33. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1060&context=chs_pubs
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Question
Review your course announcements for possible information related to this week’s Assignment.
Review the videos and other Learning Resources. As you self-assess your characteristics, consider the following questions:
What characteristics do you possess that will make you an effective human services practitioner?
What do you have that will be useful to people in need?
Is empathy important to you? If so, how do you show empathy to people in need?
Do you consider yourself and envision yourself as a leader? Why or why not?
How would you rate your level of perseverance?
How can you sacrifice for the greater good?
How does your desire to help and your disposition set the stage for your role as a human services practitioner?
Do you feel you have a responsibility to help others?
BY DAY 7
Create a 250- to 300-word reflection in which you do the following:
Describe your personal characteristics that would contribute to your success as a human services professional practitioner.
Describe the top two characteristics that you identify as your greatest strengths, and explain why you identify them as such.
Describe your limitations and explain how you would develop your skills in these areas.