1. Name Enrolment Number Course
Chukwuka Nwachukwu 74100106 Developing The Professional
DEVELOPING THE PROFESSIONAL ASSIGNMENT 2 REFLECTIVE ESSAY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
From time to time, it is proper for a man to take stock of his actions. Taking stock refers to
reviewing past actions, identifying areas of improvement and strengths, opportunities and
threats and ensuring they are addressed in the present day which will translate to a bright
future for that man. This essay will reflect on the personal and professional life of Cyril
Chukwuka Nwachukwu; a MBA student at the University of South Wales, United Kingdom.
This essay will also rate Cyril Chukwuka Nwachukwu using variety of dimensions which
includes professional dispositions, the five minds of the future and emotional intelligence.
2.0 PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
I am Cyril Chukwuka Nwachukwu, a first born child of seven children by my parents. I am
27 years old and an indigene of Imo state, Nigeria. I am a Catholic-Christian. My upbringing
was centered on the teachings of the Catholic Church. Every decision I have taken has been
inspired by my catholic background.
The Catholic Church is an institution that believes God created man and gave him free will
to choose his destiny; to choose between life and death (Holy Bible Genesis Chapter 2). It is
an institution that preaches respect of free will of man. Pope Francis’s response to Gay
persons in 2014 was “who am I to judge”, the person should not be condemned but the act.
I have been fortunate enough to attend good schools. In my final primary school days in
1998, during one of my Social Studies classes, the teacher taught us the Educational
System in Nigeria (6-3-3-4). It was after then I realized I need to plan; I had no clear cut
ambition. My set ambition was to pass every examination I come across and ensure I finish
university education by the age of 20. I graduated at the age of 21.
During my college days, my ambition became more specific. My ambition was to be an
industrial mathematician. It is worthy to note that I was counseled against that ambition by
my father; Mr Luke Nwachukwu. He advised I study a computer related course. I settled to
study information technology management at the University. I have no regrets for my
decision though my love for mathematics is still very strong.
During my University days, my ambition became more defined, though I was not interested
in building leadership, interpersonal skills and other social skills. My ambition was to
graduate with Second Class Upper honour which I believe will give me opportunities to be
tested by reputable organizations after graduation. I graduated with what I hoped for and
got an offer to join Skye Bank Plc. I joined Skye Bank in 2011 and set my goals as stated
below;

2. Short Term Goals: To be a specialist in Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) channels within 5
years of joining the Bank.
Long Term Goals: To serve as public servant, this is not limited to rendering global services
to people who aspire for a better life etc.
Achieving the short term goal is in progress while modalities are being put in place to
ensure the long term goals are achieved. In recent times, I have realized that I need to be
more social in other to achieve my long term goals. Being social, I am referring to
enhancing leadership, interpersonal and communication skills, values and ethics etc. My
academic pursuit is still ongoing but the needs to develop and enhance these skills are very
important to my long term goals.
3.0 PROFESSIONAL DISPOSITION
3.1 Social Justice and Equity: Nigeria is a complex and peculiar country where ethnicity
and religion are treated with utmost respect and emotions. On a scale of 1 -5, I will rate
myself 3. There are three major tribes in Nigeria namely; Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, there
are two major religions namely; Christianity and Islam. One has to understand these social
systems so that one’s actions and decisions will not be seen to be biased. Having an
understanding of these systems will help in dealing with the other 300 tribes. For someone
to be socially just and equitable, that person needs to be tolerant, knowledgeable, patient,
etc. I am yet to get it right though I am seriously working on it. It has become more
challenging at this point because I intend to be a global personality. At the level of Nigeria, I
am an Igbo man and I understand the culture very well. I was born and grew up in the
south west that has helped me with understanding the Yoruba culture. I also speak Yoruba
fluently. I don’t understand the Hausa culture, Understanding the culture; I am referring to
the psychology and principles guiding it. Unfortunately, I have never travelled to the
northern part of the country. What have helped me so far are the books and resources I
have read which have helped a lot to be socially just and equitable. When I am in doubt, I
don’t act. In my relationship with these persons across cultural background and religion, I
simply apply common sense and the basics I have learnt from my college days which cuts
across all cultures and religions. I attended Federal Government College, Lagos. It is one of
the Unity schools in Nigeria were you have different persons of different cultures and
religion in attendance. I don’t have a problem with Islam. I respect that religion a lot. My
best friend in college was a Muslim, He taught me a lot with respect to his religion. The
reason for the average rating is because of my aim of being a global personality. I need to
read and travel wide. I have been to only two countries namely; Republic of Benin and
United Arabs Emirates. My understanding of America, United Kingdom, China and India are
based on what I have read and seen in the media. This I believe is not enough for me.
3.2 Collaboration/Inclusion: There is an adage that says “If you want something to be
done well, do it yourself”; I think this adage doesn’t support teamwork. I used to believe in
this adage in my college days and early stages of my university. I used to carry out most of
the task myself meant for the team, though they yielded the results we all wanted but it
could have gotten better if there were inputs from everybody. I changed after my Father

3. counseled me that I can’t do everything alone and I won’t be able to grow or expand if I
continue in the line of that adage. Two good heads are far better than one he concluded.
Since then, I have improved. I have recorded lots of success with respect to the leadership
positions I have held and also the projects I have handled at the office. I will rate myself 4
out of 5 but it can always get better.
3.3 Critical Thinking: I will rate myself 4 out of 5. When I am faced with an issue and I
need to make a decision, I critically analyse the issue by exploring the use of expert
judgment, facts, resources and looking at it from different perspectives. This has helped me
a lot to make informed decisions.
3.4 Professional Ethics: I will rate myself 3 out of 5. This is work in progress; it involves
lots of training and experience which I am presently working on. Though I have the basics,
it has helped me function effectively and efficiently as banker.
3.5 Reflective Practice: This is similar to this reflective essay; I will rate myself 5 out 5.
This is something I do very well. I have journals that I use. At a point in my college days, I
used a diary were I recorded my daily activities. I don’t just record these activities, I go
back to them at the end of the day or week to measure my performances and also identify
areas of weaknesses which are areas I needed to improve upon. These has really helped
and also earned me lots of respects among my colleagues because they see lots of
consistency and improvements at my job.
3.6 Life-long Learning: Learning is a continuous thing, it doesn’t stop. I am always
seeking out new ways of doing my job better. I am always on the internet asking questions
about a subject etc. Being an MBA student at the University of South Wales is in the
direction of life-long learning. I will rate myself 5 out 5. My passion to seek new knowledge
can’t be measured, it is beyond comprehension. The other four professional dispositions
have pushed me to continue to learn. Learning has also helped me stay current on my
profession.
4.0 FIVE MINDS FOR THE FUTURE
4.1 Disciplined Mind: I am still developing a disciplined mind. I am even yet to achieve
my goal of being a specialist in Electronic Funds Transfer Channels. I will rate myself 2 out
of 5. Developing a disciplined mind entails experience and acquiring knowledge. I only have
4 years’ experience compared to the 10 years’ experience set by Five Minds for the Future
Prof. Gardner (2008). I have set out modalities to ensure I develop a disciplined mind. I
have identified several professional trainings/certifications I need to undertake. I don’t think
a disciplined mind can stand alone; it is needs to be complimented by the other four minds.
4.2 Synthesizing Mind: I could be very inquisitive, my quest to solve problems has made
me to ask questions and seek answers through researches etc. My research skills are weak.
I will rate myself 2 out of 5. Researching goes beyond asking questions, it involves the use
of quantitative and qualitative analysis which will help me make my own informed opinion
on a subject. Presently my researches are based on expert judgments. The challenge I have

4. is I don’t know how to apply the research techniques. I don’t have a problem reading wide
and gathering information on a subject, the challenge I have is using the Chi Squares,
bringing out thesis etc. I really want to develop my synthesizing mind. In addition of other
skills which include analytical and problem solving, I will need to be patient and endure to
develop the synthesizing mind.
4.3 Creative Mind: I used to think being creative was just being a good artist, It is way
beyond that. Being creative means challenging the status quo for good, changing people’s
attitude for good, developing solutions to problems. A creative mind is someone that must
understand the business terrain he finds himself, thereby identify the challenges of the
terrain in other for him to proffer solutions. Some persons don’t even know problems exist
until a solution is proffered. Some people believes, the problem could be managed and don’t
bother looking for solutions to address the problem ones and for all. With respect to my job,
I will rate myself 4 out of 5. I have not gotten to where I want to be but I am seriously
working on developing this mind. Mitchel Elegbe believes a man cannot run out of ideas
(Sola Fanawopo, 2012). I believe there is a solution for every problem, the solution might
not come now but there must be a solution. The challenges most people have is identifying
where the problems lies. This will take a lot of observation and review of your terrain.
Another question that bothers me is “does one needs to be discipline minded before he can
be creative or proffer solutions?” My answer will be yes and no. Yes in the sense that a
consultant is expected to proffer solutions to every challenges encountered in his field, it is
easier for a consultant to be creative because he understands the business terrain and the
psychology behind it.
No, because you might have the ideas and solutions but don’t know how to go about it. At
this point you will need to team up with a consultant or persons that understand what your
solution entails to actualize your dream.
I have so much love for the creative mind.
4.4 Respectful Mind: Respect for nature, cultures and religions cannot be over
emphasized. I will rate myself 3 out of 5. According to the wiktionary, Respect is defined as
“an attitude of consideration or high regard”. For anybody to succeed in life, that person
needs to develop a respectful mind. People’s opinions are formed based on their discipline,
cultural and religious background. In most cases, these decisions are influenced by their
cultural and religious background. In dealing with people, you need to understand that other
religions and cultures exist and hold them with high regard. For me, my decisions are
influenced by my upbringing as a Catholic – Christian. Respect for God, Freewill of man etc.
one also needs to understand his own culture and religion in other to deal with people.
When I talk of Respectful mind, I refer to Pope Francis’s recent visit to America in
September 2015. He opened his arms to all Americans irrespective of their religious
background and cultural diversity. He talked about the drive for a better climatic condition.
That is respect for Mother Nature. He talked about peace and reconciliation, respect and
better lives for the immigrants (Pope Visits The America, 2015). They are humans like us.
Developing this mind takes a lot of sacrifice; I will also need to be humble to understand my
colleagues.

5. 4.5 Ethical Mind: Respectful mind and Ethical mind can be linked together. Ethics refers
to a set of principles and values that guides a profession, society or group. With respect to
my profession as a banker, there are codes of ethics i must imbibe. With respect to my
person being an Igbo man and a Nigerian, there are values I must imbibe and also with
respect to be being a catholic, there are also values I must also imbibe. What I have done is
to balance all these values to ensure they don’t conflict with each other. Conflicting values
could send a wrong signal to people showing the weaknesses of the groups enumerated. I
try as much as possible to be guided by the principles, values guiding my profession, culture
and religion and ensure no conflict arises. I am also responsible enough to understand what
my responsibilities are in the society without being told what to do. I will rate myself 5 out
of 5.
5.0 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE CONCEPT MAP
Emotions is defined by Wiktionary as “A person’s internal state of being and involuntary
physiological response to an object or situation, based on or tied to physical state and
sensory data”. Emotional intelligence describes how best to approach life, it describes
behavioural patterns, the need to perceive, reason, understand and manage our emotions
which tells a lot on our behaviours and approach towards life. Lots of people shy away from
their emotions and sentiments believing they have no or minimal impact on their life styles,
decisions they make etc. Only few persons understand emotions and the need to be
intelligent about it. Emotional intelligence for me is very important when it comes to
managing a team, building relationships with persons etc. The EI Concept map is examined
below;
5.1 Knowing / Managing my Emotions: I have been at several leadership positions. I
couldn’t have done well as a leader if I didn’t understand or know my emotions. My
dispositions and attitude towards life has helped in knowing my emotions. Life is about
“UPs” and “DOWNs”. I also believe, the downfall of a man is not the end of his Life. A
positive attitude will help in knowing and managing your emotions properly. It will help you
to motivate your team members. I have a good disposition towards life; I have been able to
separate my personal life from my work or leadership positions. I was presiding over a
meeting last Thursday 24-09-2015 when I got the result of my Project Management
Professional Exam, I failed and was strong enough to ensure it doesn’t demoralize me at the
meeting. I was also at a meeting last month when I got notification that I have been
promoted at the office, I was strong enough to ensure that I don’t get excited to disrupt the
meeting. I will only be able to manage other people’s emotions if I am able to manage my
own. Managing my own emotions Vis a Vis other people’s emotions have helped me to build
strong relationships, inspire and motivate my team members. I am also aware that some of
my team members’ look up to me and there is need for me to behave properly in public
irrespective of whatever circumstances I find myself. I will rate myself 4 out 5 for the First
quadrant which talks about knowing your emotions and Third Quadrant which talks about
managing your emotions.

6. 5.2 “Emoting” in Social Situations: This refers to the second quadrant and talks about
empathy for other in social situations like classes, meetings, communities etc. What comes
to my mind first is to put myself in other people’s shoes, this gives me an understanding of
how they feel and what they are going through. It gives me an understanding of how best I
can assist and the proper way to go about it. It gives me reason to respect the state of
mind of the affected persons and how best they can be uplifted or motivated. It gives me
reason to want to assist in the best way I can, knowing fully well that the circumstances
they find themselves could be as a result of their ignorance or deliberate actions. I have a
very soft spot for this quadrant probably because of my catholic background but there is a
limit to which I can go. I don’t like being over stretched when it comes to understanding
people’s needs. I will rate myself 5 out of 5
5.3 Building and Maintaining Social Relationships: These refer to the fourth quadrant of
the EI Concept Map. Understanding and managing your emotions, emoting in social
situations are sure ways of building and maintaining social relationships. Being tolerant and
patient which helped me to listen attentively when dealing with people has helped me in
relationships. Every relationship should have a reason to stand; an objective and they
should be defined properly. Respecting other people’s opinions and ideologies and balancing
them with mine has helped me in building lasting relationships. Respect has been my major
rallying point when it comes to relationship. I will rate myself 5 out of 5.
CONCLUSION
This essay has given me the opportunity to examine myself. I have been able identify the
areas I need to improve upon and areas of my life I need to continue. This essay has given
me the opportunity to know where I am and how I can achieve my set goals.

7. APPENDIX
Relationship on Variety of Dimensions Used For the Examination of C.C Nwachukwu
1. Professional Disposition Ratings
Abbreviations
SJ & E – Social Justice & Equity
C/I - Collaboration/Inclusion
CT – Critical Thinking
PE – Professional Ethics
RP – Reflective Practice
LL – Life-long Learning

8. 2. Five Minds of the Future Ratings
Abbreviations
DM – Disciplined Mind
SM – Synthesizing Mind
CM – Creative Mind
RM – Respectful Mind
EM – Ethical Mind

9. 3. Emotional Intelligence Concept Map Ratings
Abbreviations
KE – Knowing Your Emotions
ME – Managing Your Emotions
ES – Emoting in Social Situations
B & MSR – Building and Maintaining Social Relationships

10. REFERENCE
English Dictionary http://wiktionary.org (no date) (Accessed: 26 September 2015).
Fanawopo, S (2012) ‘The Mitchell Elegbe Story –by IFC’, The Mitchell Elegbe Story –by IFC,
15 October. Available at: http://solawopo.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-mitchell-elegbe-story-
by-ifc.html#!/2012/10/the-mitchell-elegbe-story-by-ifc.html (Accessed: 26 August 2015).
Pope Visits the America (2015) CNN, 25 September.
Prof. Gardner, H. (2008) Five Minds for the Future. [Ecolint Meeting 2008, Geneva]. 13
January.
Thavis, J (2013) ‘Who am I to judge? marks new tone on homosexuality’, Who am I to
judge? marks new tone on homosexuality, 29 July. Available at:
http://www.johnthavis.com/who-am-i-to-judge-marks-new-tone-on-
homosexuality#.VgeuuqZwbq0 (Accessed: 27 September 2015).