Solving My People Puzzle Instructions

The Solving My People Puzzle assignment provides the student with resources to describe, develop, and manage his/her relational style’s behavioral pressures (e.g., immature & mature ways thinking, feeling, decisioning, and communication patterns) under the influence of a predetermined governing influence (i.e., a guiding purpose statement for being like Christ and becoming more like Him in every relational context; Rice 2005). This governing influence supports meaningful engagement in a student’s interpersonal arena. 

As a place of frequent relational turbulence, this arena could be described as a bumper-human world wherein various behavioral pressures frequently bless, bother, and bruise others. Understanding how these “behavioral pressures” become felt experiences, often reveals what makes participants tick and get ticked off with each other. Helpful knowledge, along with skill development, empowers participants to becomes personality and relationally-wise. Correspondingly, the student should keep in mind that it really does not matter what his/her personality is. What matters most is that s/he learns to control it through Christ, His resources, and best-fit strategies rather than allowing personality to be in control.

The following outline identifies essential components of the Solving My People Puzzle Project:

· Correct file name for word document – e.g., PACO500_SMPP+YourInitials

· Title page

· Table of Contents

· Introduction is optional – do not use heading as first paragraph is assumed to be the Introduction

· SMPP Project Questions/Answers. Use headings and an annotated outline approach; i.e., bulleted, full-sentence explanations noticeably grounded in required resources through citations/References. 

· Conclusion (i.e., the “So What? of it All!”- a recap of this learning activity with a clear, convincing argument for its value in growing in favor with God and others).

· References (at least these 7 sources must be cited; place References on its own page)

§ Professional/Leader DISC Profile

§ How to Solve the People Puzzle (2008)

§ https://discpersonalitytesting.com/blog/ 

§ Masterpiece (2017)

§ Why Don’t We Listen Better? (2015)

§ Mentor’s 360 Interview Worksheet

§ Case Study – Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness

· Body of paper double-spaced, typed in 12 pt Times New Roman font, and at least 6 pages. Follow current APA guidelines.

Ø Self-Administer the online Professional/Leadership DISC Profile (Expanded Version-Standard) from Uniquely You Resources, Inc. 

• If you      purchased the e-book and online assessment code from MBS, follow      instructions below. If you purchased the e-book and code      directly from Uniquely You, the code automatically shows up in your “My      Account” page (no need to activate it). Simply go to the My Account page      and click “Begin Questionnaire”. After      completion, see *How to Download PDF below.
• MBS      purchasers, go to https://uniquelyyou.org/      (last accessed 02/19/2018). 
  • Click       on Register in the top right hand corner of your browser and supply a       user name, password, and LU email. Remember that data! J 
  • Once       a user name and password have been created, click on the top of the       page“Activate Code”
  • Enter       your 8 or 12 digit code and Confirm it.
  • Go to       “My Account” and click the green “Begin Questionnaire” button. 
  • Complete       the profile. 

o Make sure to give careful attention to assessment instructions. Typically, the directions ask that you answer only two descriptions for each set of four statements: what you are MOST often like under pressure, and what you are LEAST often like under pressure. 

o For example, as a Masters in Pastoral Counseling student handling responsibilities in the midst of life, describe what you are like most of the time and what you are least like most of the time. Do not answer based on what you want to be or what you think others want you to be; just answer according to what you are like most of the time and least like most of the time. See example questions below and notice you must choose one response in each column.

o *How to Download a PDF of your Report

1. Put a check in the box next to name column of assessment completed

2. Click the “Download Report” (2nd blue button under Profile List)

o If you have any questions or problems, please contact Uniquely You @ 800-501-0490, Monday-Friday, 9-5 EST.

• Use a      screen capture tool (e.g., Snip-it) or the free Jing software (https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html)      to capture a screenshot of the Dot or Bar Charts for Graph 1 “This is      Expected of Me” and Graph 2 “This is Me” and paste onto page after your      Interpersonal Communication Skills Test Snapshot. See example snapshots of      Dot Graphs below:

Once assessment information has been collected, integrate that information into the following questions. As needed, use these screen shots to support your responses.

SMPP  Questions:

1. What Guiding Purpose Statement will govern your relationship with God in the midst of every relational context? Integrate the following elements into this two-part response.

· Draft a crisp Guiding Purpose Statement to effectively govern the process of being and becoming like Christ in every relational context. For example, “Seeking to be an imitator of Christ, [DrD1] this student aims to become a considerate husband.[DrD2] [DCR3] ”

Pay attention to this TIP: Do not focus on doing a vocational ministry but on being and becoming like Christ in a specific relational context. State it in one concise sentence without any scripture.

· Write a research-based rationale for choosing this Guiding Purpose Statement. Concisely ground the rationale in the readings and Scripture through appropriate citation. 

For example, a Fellow-PACOneer stated it this way: “According to Kollar (2011), this student’s relational style cannot be developed and managed until he aligns his thinking with God’s intention (p. 49). According to the Scriptures, it is God’s intention that this believer make every effort to imitate God as Christ demonstrated (i.e., be imitators; Eph. 5:1) so that those on the other side of ‘me’ are influenced toward Christ (i.e., Paul inspired others to imitation; 1 Cor. 11:1) rather than away from Him.”

2. In light of your DISC style, point out how you will shift your style (i.e., find common ground; 1 Cor. 9) to align with each of the four primary styles? Each alignment should give attention to the following:

· Noticeably use language from the readings and assessments that describe relational style patterns (i.e., strengths, shortcomings, immature & mature styles, blindspots: overuse of a strength or an unmanaged shortcoming, communication traps, etc). 

· Dig deep and apply several pertinent insights and techniques from each of this assignment’s required sources (7). Responding to this question in a “rich-meaty” fashion will help you satisfactorily answer Questions 3 & 4.

3. Point out how will you communicate and connect with a predetermined care-seeker from the case study?

Your answer will inform a “practice people-helping relationship” in this course’s counseling scenario.

· Choose a care-seeker from case study (i.e., Bruce, Josh, Brody, Melissa, or Justin)

· Make an informed guess and briefly describe care-seeker’s DISC relational style 

· Describe at least 1 interpersonal communication technique that will overcome a communication trap and increase your ability to actively listen with empathy, genuineness, and graciousness? As a means to train-in this new approach, secure and support this process with at least 2 helpful insights from pertinent course material and 1 related Scripture.

· Point out how you will shift your relational style to align with careseeker’s style (i.e., apply Q#1 & 2 insights)

4. Point out how will you communicate and connect with your mentor?

Your answer will inform a “practice mentoring relationship”.

· Solicit someone to be your practice mentor and ask them to complete 2 assessments. Assessment information should be emailed promptly; request results to be returned by email within 2 days:

o Mentor’s 360° Interview Worksheet (see Assignment Instructions)

o A free abridged DISC personality test. Ask mentor to copy/paste this link into Chrome or Firefox browser: https://discpersonalitytesting.com/blog/ 

o See concluding instructions next page

· Use insights from Q#1-2, mentor’s 360° Interview Worksheet, and Mentor’s DISC assessment to point out how you will shift your relational style to align with mentor’s style.

The Solving My People Puzzle Project should be uploaded to Blackboard by 11:59 p.m. ET of date assigned in Course Schedule.

[DrD1]Remember we are primarily designed to be in relationship with Jesus; functionally, our relationship with Jesus always has a concrete relational location. Being an imitator of Christ describes the primary state of beingness with Christ. 

[DrD2]This part of the GPS is the functional aspect of becoming like Christ in relationship to others. Notice how specific the student described his aspiration to become like Christ in every relational context – “Considerate”

[DCR3]