This reflective report summarizes the author's experiences with both a good manager and a bad manager. For the good manager experience, the author describes their positive interactions and how the manager helped improve their morale and self-esteem after a mistake. For the bad manager experience, the author details favoritism, lack of communication, and an overall negative work environment. The author concludes by outlining a personal development plan to improve their own leadership and listening skills based on lessons learned from these experiences.

1. Table of Contents
Introduction 2
The Benefits of Reflection 2
Experience One 3
Description 3
Feeling 3
Evaluation 4
Analysis 4
Actions 5
Conclusion 7
References 8
Appendices 10
Personal Development Plan 10
Aim 1 10
Aim 2 12
Aim 3 14
Introduction
This report will be used for me to analyse and understand an
experience I went through whilst working within retail under a
mediocre management, the framework I will be using to
segment the experience is Gibbs (1988) version of the reflective
cycle. During the cycle I will describe the experience and
explain how I felt. Furthermore, I will evaluate and analyse

2. certain aspects which can be backed up by theories. Finally, I
will determine the actions I will be taking in a similar situation,
linking this to my PDP found in the appendices.
The Benefits of Reflection
“Reflection can be a way to help them make sense of what’s
happening to them and what it all means for their future.”
(Pave.fas.harvard.edu, 2019) The idea of reflection is that
someone can take either a singular moment or a stretched event
from their past and evaluate what happened, the way they felt,
what it meant and finally what to do next. It’s very personal, it
looks for a connection between your experiences, emotions and
your education. Furthermore, it is something you can take with
you for the rest of your life.
Experience One
This reflective statement will be used to determine whether
there is a physical way to
structure the underlying job role of a manager as in is Henri
Fayol’s (1917) principles of management. This includes how a
manager can be most efficient, how to best utilise their staff and
furthermore what they do on the day to day running of the
business/department they manage.
Description
The event in question was the experience of being badly
managed whilst working in retail during my gap year between
college and university. Being in a very low paid job often
means you are treated less than appropriately. However, it also
means that the managers do not think of you as anything more
than pure staff. During this period, myself and my colleagues of

3. a similar age were often treated differently than our elder
colleagues, even though we were officially in the same role, we
were often given the jobs they didn’t want, more specifically
number crunching digits into a database whilst they were
enjoying the fresh air and face to face engagement. During this
period there was a clear sense of favouritism between the
management and a specific number of staff. This resulted in a
wedge being built between two groups of staff and also us and
the management.
Feeling
During this situation I felt very trapped, I was stuck in a
position that I had no experience being in and didn’t know how
to get out of. The last thing I wanted to do was upset a long
term employee as it wouldn’t be a good image and I wanted to
be respected. Furthermore, I didn’t feel comfortable going to
management because they were all really good friends and the
thought of putting myself further down the pecking order wasn’t
an option. I was very aware that the workers in my position felt
exactly the same way I did, however it didn’t feel like the
management and elder workers felt any remorse. Looking back
on the situation I now have much stronger feelings about how I
was treated, at the time I knew I didn’t have a choice and just
worked through it. Evaluation
Although the whole situation was negative and something I look
back on and regret being a part of, I am now confident that I can
certainly take some positives from the situation. One of which
being the way I was able to understand not only my own
emotions but also the emotions of my colleagues, who were in
the same position as myself. Goleman, (1996) stated within his
book of emotional intelligence that ‘having the ability to
positively influence others whilst also controlling yourself is a
much bigger attribute than having the brains to do the job.’
During my time there I felt like it was my responsibility to look
after the members of staff that were being emotionally treated
poorly by management.

4. However, there are certain aspects which I regret. I believe that
I could’ve and should’ve handled the situation much faster than
what I did, for a long time I sat and accepted that this is what
my job is and how it is going to stay, when in fact if I had stood
up and done something faster I could’ve saved myself an
unhappy few months and also the people around me. Also I
believe that if I had a manager who treated all their staff in an
equal manner the whole situation could’ve been avoided.
During Henri Fayol’s (1917) ‘principles of management’, he
pinpoints 14 primary principles that a manager needs to
correctly fulfil his role, however the one I’m focussing on is
‘Esprit de Corps’ it is clear to me now that it is a manager’s job
to promote team unity and spirit, which wasn’t the case.
Analysis
I feel like the situation was made worse by not only the actions
of the manager doing an inadequate job, however also due to the
inaction of myself and the colleagues stuck in a similar
position. However, I can look back on a lot of how I was treated
as a way for me not to treat my staff when I become a manager.
One of the major characteristics which was shown by the
manager was a path of unconscious bias. Lee (2005) p482
argues that bias can occur from an individual right from the first
meeting, the minute our employer hired a new set of employees
straight from college we were all discriminated and treated the
same way, whereas people who weren’t in our specific group
were treated much better. Looking back on the situation I
believe there was also a case of separating the staff into groups.
Mannheim (1970) argued that people can be segmented simply
through the years in which they were born, otherwise known as
the ‘theory of generations’. Myself and my colleagues are part
of the generation ‘millennials’. A common characteristic of my
generation is that we crave attention however are very ‘tech

5. savy’. Looking back on how we were managed its clear this was
taken into account, we were often left with the unsatisfying job
surrounding technology and often placed far away from where
the rest of the staff/managers would be.
The way in which the situation ended with myself and my
relevant colleagues either being fired or resigning has also been
cleared up since the event. Kahn & Fellows (2013) expanded on
the idea that for a company to reach their intended goals all
sections of the food chain must be operating to their maximum.
And it is clear now that neither myself or others found the work
we were doing meaningful or appreciated and did not work to
our capabilities.
However, since analysing the situation I have found that models
including Henri Fayol’s (1917) ‘principles of management’ are
tough to implement, they try to emphasise that management can
be put down to a physical structure and I do not believe that is
the case, because since the event I have found that other
managers do so much behind the scenes not visible to regular
staff that my initial view could’ve been impaired.
Actions
There are three main things that I plan to do differently if I was
in a similar position again, the first one will be to confront if
not my manager but his or her superior. To do this I will need to
have more self-confidence in my own ability. Aim 2 of my PDP
(Appendices) expresses three ways in which I will do this over
the upcoming year. Furthermore, I hope if this situation does
arrive again I will have a much better understanding of what a
leader actually does and the stress they are under, throughout
the experience all thought was they were doing a bad job but the
reality is I don’t understand what their job is. Aim 1 within my
PDP (Appendices) will help me not only understand what it’s
like to be a leader however, also improve my own personal
leadership skills.

6. Finally, I would try to use my improved listening skills to
understand what others are going through as well as myself,
during the experience one of the reasons I didn’t act was
because for the majority of it I thought I was the only one
experiencing it, however improving my listening skills I hope to
be able to understand what people are telling me in a much
clearer manner, whether this is thinking outside of the box or
reading between the lines. I will be using many of the actions
specified in Aim 3 of my PDP (Appendices) to help improve
this technique.
Conclusion
During this event and my reflective summary, I have learnt that
even though the situation was unfortunate there was still things
that I have learnt to help me in a similar situation. Furthermore,
with my future aspirations of being a manager myself it has
given me a key insight into how employees can feel when being
neglected, even if it is unintentional. I have also taken an
insight into how I felt during the experience and how I feel
looking back on it, whilst also connecting this to my PDP for
future development.
1 | Page
References
Pave.fas.harvard.edu. (2019). Reflection. [online] Available at:
https://pave.fas.harvard.edu/what-reflection [Accessed 20 Mar.
2019].
Fayol, H., 1917. General and Industrial Management, Pitman,
1949. Originally published in French as Administration

7. Industrielle et Généralle: prévoyance, organization,
commandement, coordination, contrôle, Dunot et E. Pinat.
j Mullins, L. and Christy, G., 2013. Management &
Organisational Behaviour. Pearson Education.
Gibbs, G., 1988. The reflective cycle. Kitchen S (1999) An
appraisal of methods of reflection and clinical supervision. Br J
Theatre Nurs, 9(7), pp.313-7.
Goleman, D., 1996. Emotional intelligence. Why it can matter
more than IQ. Learning, 24(6), pp.49-50.
Lee, A.J., 2005. Unconscious bias theory in employment
discrimination litigation. Harv. CR-CLL Rev., 40, p.481.
Mannheim, K., 1970. The problem of
generations. Psychoanalytic review, 57(3), pp.378-404.
Kahn, W.A. and Fellows, S., 2013. Employee engagement and
meaningful work.
AppendicesPersonal Development PlanAim 1
Improving my understanding of what a leader is and my ability
to lead a team.
Action
My current employers have offered to put me through a two-day
leadership course with Impact Factory
Watch and understand presentational talks on ‘How to be a great
leader’ via TedTalk
Learn from observing experienced managers doing their job

8. Resources
Training course
· https://www.impactfactory.com/leadership-course
· With work and university its quite difficult to find two days
which I can dedicate to this. Will ask my place of employment
for time off.
Presentations
· https://www.ted.com/playlists/140/how_leaders_inspire
Observation
· Understanding that senior colleagues are willing to let me
observe their actions.
Measurement
Training course
· Impact Factory course assessment report
· Current employer’s quarterly performance review
Presentation
· Once I have self-belief that I am gaining an understanding of
the benefits of being an effective leader
Observation
· Mentoring and performance appraisals with my manager
· Seeing an improvement whilst participating in development
centre’s
Review Date
All these actions will be received by the latest of this time next
year (March 2020)
Aim 2

9. Improve my self-confidence within the workplace
Action
Volunteer to lead the next project that arises at work to build
credibility and experience.
Watch presentations to get a better understanding on how to
build my self-confidence and also to understand how it’s okay
to fail.
Become more of an outgoing person in relation to work and also
my friendship group
Resources
I will need my senior manager to sign off on me taking control
of the next project.
https://www.ted.com/playlists/259/talks_to_give_you_a_confide
nce
Work colleagues and friendship group
Measurement
After project report from my colleagues and manager.
Test myself by entering into situations at work in which I would
usually avoid and then analyse the outcome.
After a period question my closer colleagues and friends as to
whether they have noticed a change in my personality.

10. Review Date
These three actions would usually be completed by the end of
the academic year 2020, however I see this is a vital part of my
process therefore I would like to have completed all of these
tasks within the next half year. (September 2019)
Aim 3
Active Listening- I would like to improve my listening skills to
better understand situations as they arise.
Action
Watch and understand videos on effective listening skills and
how to improve via TEDTalk
Read the article on Forbes ‘6 Ways Effective Listening Can
Make You a Better Leader’ to understand what employers are
looking for.
Have regular meetings with my supervisor where he will
question aspects of work that he expects me to know.
Resources
https://www.ted.com/search?q=listen+better
https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/05/20/6-
effective-ways-listening-can-make-you-a-better-leader/ -
39327d2a1756
The approval and confirmation from my supervisor
Measurement
After watching the videos on active listening attempt to apply
what you’ve learnt to a real life scenario. This could be a

11. scheduled meeting with a tutor/mentor, an interview for an out
of education event. Analyse what you have learnt and assess
whether your performance improved.
Following the next in person professional meeting you have
assess whether you actively accomplished the 6 ways in which
listening can make you a better leader.
I’m very aware that I struggle with this aspect currently,
therefore it will be measured by my supervisor giving me
regular feedback meetings.
Review date
All of the above aims will be completed by this time next year
(March 2020)
Reflective report on management 10
Reflective Report my experience with a good and a bad manager
Students Name
Course Title
Course Number
Professors Name

12. Date
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
The Benefits of Reflection 3
Experience with a good manager 3
Experience with a bad manager 6
Conclusion 8
Personal development plan 8
References 10
Word count 2173
Introduction (good introduction )
A reflective report writing is a special skill that needs to be
developed because it forms the basis of discovering oneself and
help a person make a sound decision based on the weaknesses or
strength discovered in their analysis. In this report, I analyze
my encounter with a good and a bad manager and the lessons
that I learned from the scenarios. The leadership, emotional and
persuasive theories will be used to gauge the kind of a person I
am. Finally, the personal development plan will make me
realize what I learned/discovered in the analysis about
myself.The Benefits of Reflection (good part)
Writing a reflection report is essential to know about the
feelings emotions and experiences related to a certain event
(Hyler, 2015), current reflection has been written to express my
feelings and emotionally based on experiences of working with
the good and bad manager. Current reflection would help me to

13. understand my own emotions and feeling during these
experiences, and it will also help me to take better decisions for
my career becoming a good manager. Further, the reflection
helps me realize my weaknesses and strength in dealing with
issues in the day to day activities. Experience with a good
manager( which model are you using you should write what
model you are using Bourner 2003 ) Please specify this in the
introduction of this paragraph and make sure that you write
under each STAGE the experience example: under of each stage
you write what happened you can take them from the paragraph
you wrote but put them here to be more structured. .
Actions –
Ideas –
Feelings
Outcomes –
Progression –
The theories you applied are not too clear should focus on them
more you have 3 theories emotional , leadership , and
persuasive .
The text is too descriptive which makes it too long and over
count limit should be 1600 in total max so if you apply it under
the above stages will help to reduce words count and make it
clear .
However the everything else look ok but focus on putting you
experience in the model and the theories and everything else …
you should structure it better .
As a vendor in the ice cream shop, I am expected to serve
clients and compile a report at the end of the day. I did not
compile the report on time because of a logistic challenge, and I
was expecting fire from my boss because he looks very harsh.
However, what my boss did to me made improve my morale,
and my self-esteem rose a notch higher. After realizing that I
did not present the report, he called me to the board room. In
the board room, he softly asked why I had not compiled the
report as it is required of me. My response was that there were
some delays and some clients were still waiting for their

14. package to be delivered. He used his experience and told me
that next time I face such a situation; I use a different reporting
style. He explained to me all the possible scenarios which could
lead to a delay in reporting and gave me solutions to each level.
He insisted that he considered the first mistake as a chance to
learn and did not expect a repeat of what happened on that day.
He assured me that his lines are always open to me and I should
always reach to him in case of such a situation, for his guidance
and assistance. He further increased my confidence by
expressing his trust in my abilities and assurance that I can do
better in such scenarios. He showed a lot of respect in the way
he talked to me and handled me. I felt very confident because of
the way the manager talked to me, and I vowed always to make
the right decision to avoid disappointing him. I felt I have a
mentor and the shop is not a place where I learn a living but a
place to learn about the skills in life which are needed. The
main lesson I got was that weakness could be turned into a
strength if the best method is used. I made a mistake in failing
to compile the report in time, but the feeling made me
understand more about how to manage people to make them
better. Going forward, therefore, I resolved to go by what he
advised me to do and encourage others who make mistakes in
life. The best lesson I got from the manager is that mistakes are
learning points.
The leading theory is transformative leadership. A
transformative leader not only makes the employee perform
better but also builds confidence in him to make him or her to
be a transformed person. The trait theory is also very evident
because the traits of my manager are equal to the traits of a
manager who is likely to succeed in the organization
(Amanchukwu, Stanley, and Ololube, 2015). In my reaction to
what the boss told me, my physiological reactions were as a
result of the fear I was feeling inside after I realized that what I
did was wrong. In my experience, I experienced the cognitive
appraisal theory because the thinking that I did something
wrong is what came first before I could express my fear and my

15. boss saw that from what my facial expression showed (Cabello,
and Fernández-Berrocal, 2015). The message that the boss gave
me specifically persuaded me and made me change my attitude
and understood what he said was meant to teach me never to
repeat that mistake because it was not good for the growth of
the organization.
The experience with a good boss is a good lesson point, and it
made me learn that those mistakes are learning points. The
experience made me appreciate the theories that form my
personality, and with that, I have learned how to react to people
who do something wrong. When a person does something
wrong, it should be an avenue to learn and not be scolded by the
boss. The experience with the boss has formed my
employability behavior always to accept my mistakes and
change for the better. Cover-ups and giving excuses is not a
good thing, and it does not help. In my future employment, I
will view my mistakes as a learning point and avenues to
improve my performance. The experience is very applicable in
the future of my career, and it describes the importance of
feedback. If I could have expressed my challenges in delivering
my mandate, during the reporting error, the boss could have
expressed how I handle the situation. The best lesson from
experience is that I should always ask for clarification rather
than fail to do my duty. In the future, if I am confronted with
such an issue, I will call my manager and experience the
hardship I am facing so that he guides me out of the situation.
All the situations where I don’t know what to do, I should
immediately escalate to the boss rather than do something which
I am not sure whether its correct.Experience with a bad manager
( as mentioned above you should do the model for this
experience as well and the theory please don’t be repetitive
when you talk about the theories. And as mentioned in
experience one should be here .
As a part-time employee in a pizza restaurant, the instruction
from the boss was that I should arrive in the facility any time
from 5:00 pm. I made it a habit to arrive at work at exactly 5:00

16. because I believe punctuality is the mother of all business
success. My boss did not say a word about my coming early
because he did not have a specific time of coming to work. Last
week on my way to work, I was delayed by traffic, and I had to
look for other means, but unfortunately, I arrived 5:11 pm and
was not worried because the instructions were that I show up at
the restaurant any time from 5:00 pm. I did not expect any
problem. Unfortunately, the restaurant boss believes that his
yelling is directly proportional to the revenue growth of the
organization. He greeted me with yelling at the entrance of the
hotel in the presence of the customers, I tried to apologize, but
he could hear none of that. I was not only embarrassed, but I
also felt that I am of no good to the organization. I could hear
him yell as he entered his office that he always saw me as a
person who is paid to do nothing in the organization. I entered
his office, apologized further and promised never to come late
again. He claimed that I am of no good and even the days I
performed well was because of his supervision. According to
him, my performance depended on him and vowed never to give
me an assignment in his absence because of how notorious I am
in doing things the wrong way.
The major lesson I learned is that trying to force communication
with an unsupportive boss is like getting yourself into deeper
trouble. In the future, when I am given such a chance to work in
such a venture, I will be asking for a clear communication
because I understood that any time from 5:00 pm was good for
reporting and that is why I did not feel guilty reporting at 5:11
pm. If I could have asked for clarity in information, I would not
have encountered such disappointing moments.
The leading theory is the trait theory of leadership. A trait
theory expresses how a leader should behave when an employee
makes a mistake. The reactions of the leader should make the
employee perform better and not to demoralize. The trait theory
is also very evident because the traits of my manager are equal
to the traits of a manager who is likely to make an organization
for failing miserably (Amanchukwu, Stanley, and Ololube,

17. 2015: 65). The reaction reflected that I got scared internally
after my physiological nature reacted. I was not guilty, and I
knew that all was well until the boss started screaming, I got
scared, and fear struck me because of how my body reacted to
the shouts by the boss. The message the boss had for me was
very demoralizing, and I felt very disappointed to the core to
the extent that I thought to quit the organization and the part-
time employment.
The experience with the bad manager is an embarrassing one
and can make one perform very poorly in his day to day
mandate of the business. I have been learning about troublesome
leaders, but this experience connected me with the bitter reality
on the way that I should react in the future when I face such a
boss. The shouting, yelling and blames never helped my boss or
me and it formed a very wonderful conclusion in my brain
(Cabello, and Fernández-Berrocal, 2015) it formed my belief
about my future actions in employment and employability. The
next time I accept employment in a particular place, I will
demand that I get full information regarding the code of conduct
at a particular place and what to do in case the laws of the
organization has been violated. In my career, there are chances
that I will meet similar bosses and what matters is how I react
to their yelling and shouts. In the future, I would treat such a
scenario very differently by maintaining cool then ask for
proper terms after the boss has cooled down. My motivation to
work was crushed at that particular time, and I could not work
well (Stiff, and Mongeau, 2016:77) I learned a lesson both as a
manager and a worker, when I will be in leadership positions, I
would always act in a way that motivates and give the worker
morale to work more diligently.Conclusion
The analysis has successfully shown the kind of person I am and
the way I react to problems in the place of work. I have a
feeling that mistakes are learning points and that is why I was
happy when the good manager confirmed that. When the bad
manager did the contrary, I resolved not to treat employees like
so in the future. My development plan has an ambition of being

18. goal oriented, not emotional in business issues and to be a good
problem solver. With such traits, I will make the best
manager.Personal development plan is not good should be
written in more SMART way
Aims
Actions
Resources
Measurement
Review and time Scale
I would wish to be a manager who is not emotionally moved by
acts of employees
Not emotionally moved
Be logical in reasoning
Disconnecting business from my personal life
Learn to listen, verbal learning
Management drills
Training
If I perform well in the drill, I know that I am making progress
Interact with problematic employees and gauge my feelings and
emotions during the drills. One drill in four months, making a
total of three drills per year
To be goal oriented manager
To be a goal oriented
Observe timelines
Have a checklist in all my activities
Learn to use people to get things done.
Teamwork
Case studies

19. To successfully manage teams to attain the success of small
projects in my class
Set small goals in my project and have a checklist to solve any
problem, one goal per month
To be a problem solver in whatever situation I find myself in
To be a problem solver
Learn to be a logical analyst
Be able to list all obstacles
Remain objective always
Management drills
Training
To solve simple problems within my area of jurisdiction
Follow the checklist to attain all the goals
Four management drills to be completed in one year
References
Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J. and Ololube, N.P., 2015. A
review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their
relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), pp.6-
14.
Cabello, R. and Fernández-Berrocal, P., 2015. Implicit theories
and ability emotional intelligence. Frontiers in Psychology, 6,
p.700.
Quinn, D., and Shurville, S., 2009. From little things, big things
grow scaling-up assessment of experiential learning. Campus-
Wide Information Systems, 26(5), pp.329-344.
Sato, M., Hyler, M.E. and Monte-Sano, C.B., 2014. Learning to
Lead with Purpose: National Board Certification and Teacher
Leadership Development. International Journal of Teacher
Leadership, 5(1), p. n1.
Stiff, J.B. and Mongeau, P.A., 2016. Persuasive communication.
Guilford Publications.