Identity, Values and Strengths

1. A story...

At some points in life, people will face situations where one has to make decisions based on ethical principles, considering not only what is right or wrong, but also what is morally right or wrong, fair or unfair. I have been a chef for almost a decade. During which period, I had to make quite a few of what’s called “ethical decision” that is work-related.
For instance, when Covid 19 hits, the whole economy was affected, specially hospitality and logistic industries. This has led to the significant increases in prices of almost everything, raise the costs of goods sold to another level. At the time we have to make a decision whether to switch to lower-quality items, or risk running the business at much higher cost but keep the quality that meet our high standard. The decision was then made and we decided to keep our standard high, despite the fact that we might be running at break-even or worst case scenario, at lost.
The affections of covid last for several months, even until now. We were able to get through the short period of time, but over time, the economy has changed and we were not be able to survive much longer. The business was closed about more than a year afterward. The decision was never be regretted. Despite the fact that it was one of the factors causing the failure of the business, the moral story here is that we were able to deliver the best to our customers until the end of it. The quality remained high, the service was good, everyone was happy till the very last day.

2. Culture and people around you

I am originally from Viet Nam, and I am proud to say that we have a culture that is deeply rooted in history and tradition, yet it continues to evolve and adapt in the modern context, showcasing the resilience and vibrancy of the Vietnamese people.
The people around me, including family, friends, community members, play a crucial role in shaping my values and identity. They provide guidance, support and inspiration, which helped me a lot developing a sense of purpose and to define my direction for the future.

3. My strengths

There are a couple of strengths I believe I do have that would support me during my learning journey. Many of which were developed during my previous working experiences.
Firstly, it’s my curiosity and the love of learning that I love finding subjects and topics fascinating, exploring and discovering new things, also mastering new skills, topics, or bodies of knowledges.
Secondly, I do love working as a member of a team, having experiences leading a team of 10+, encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done at the same time maintain good relations within the group.
Furthermore, I have the perseverance to finish what I start in spite of obstacles, and I do take pleasure in completing tasks.

4. My limitations

Besides the strengths that could support me during my journey, I do have some limitations in terms of my learning and career development.
One of which is that I am not a fast learner. This means that it will take time for me to get used to new concepts, topics, mindsets, etc. However by sticking to the time boxes provided I would be able to minimize the effects of it to my development.
Another limitation is creativity. To be honest I do not consider myself as a creative person. I do think of novel and productive ways to conceptualize and do things, but not includes artistic achievements. This might affect my career development if I wanted to be a web designer. However I believe that I do have the appreciation of beauty and excellence, which would help me to decide the better choices and learn from them.

5. Example of teamwork and strategy

Having experiences working in hospitality industry, I have always been working as a member of a team.
Many times we were trying to work productively with others, but then there was resistance/tension. These came from the fact that even though we work in the same business, even in the same positions, there are tasks that not considered “equally”. This has led to the thought that some member’s share of the job is significantly larger/harder than others.
The strategy I tried at the time is to divide a big job into smaller jobs, and then every member could either take on a small task or choose another task that is at the same level. Furthermore, depends on each person’s strength and weakness I do give them proper tasks to complete.
I would still try the same strategy now, as it seems to fit the Thinking like a programmer mindset. For instance, a team trying to build a web pages, there will be members of the team that are good at designing, others that are good at writing content, and then members that are good at coding. Giving each people the tasks that fits their strengths and weaknesses would significantly increase the efficiency of a project.