Record their responses. Use their words not your interpretation. How others say things about you offers insight into your best self. 

Instructions: Contact 3-5 people – friends, family, past or current employers or members from Monash groups, either by email OR phone OR facetime (or over coffee). Get a mix of people, don’t rely on just friends or just family, include these as well as work colleagues or Monash team members in your exercise. Tell them that you are doing an assignment for one of your master’s subjects:

• Ask them to give you a specific example of when they have seen you at your best, most energised OR making a contribution. Your interviewee might say “oh you are always kind” which is lovely feedback, but ask them to speak about a time when they saw you being kind, what specifically did you do? This is important.

• Record their responses. Use their words not your interpretation. How others say things about you offers insight into your best self.

• Aim to contact 5 people, most clients and students regret not getting more, they never say they should have stopped at 3!

For the self-assessment portion of the exercise complete the following:

Review the responses you received from your friends, families or work colleagues.

Also spend a bit of time discussing these responses with your buddy.

Answer the following questions and write-up your reflections:

1. What common themes emerged from the responses?

2. How did others’ responses align with your own strengths and values?

3. What delighted you or made you feel good?

4. What disappointed you in the responses?

5. What have you learned from this exercise?

Your answers need not be very long, in total your reflection should be about 400 words. You can use the questions as headings if you like.