CIT is one of the ideal techniques that have been suggested in counseling psychology since it can incorporate all the factual happenings, qualities, and attributes. Despite CIT being commonly used in industrial and organizational psychology, it can also be used in counseling psychology to collect high-quality information from participants (Butterfield et al., 2009). According to the article, there are five distinct steps that one needs to follow when conducting a CIT. The steps include ascertaining the general aims of all the activities under study, making plans and specifications, data collection, data analysis, interpreting the data, and reporting the result. Although all the steps are crucial, I believe that the second step forms the hallmark for a CIT.
The second step involves making plans and specifications for your research. This step is important because it entails clarifying the specific issues that will be observed or analyzed during an interview. The step also entails establishing the relevance of the situations to the general aims and deciding on the person who will conduct the observations (Butterfield et al., 2009). This step is crucial because it lays a foundation for every person to understand the study’s aims and the type of procedures that will be followed during an interview. Additionally, this step is vital because it serves as a back and guide in ensuring that all the formulated questions have been asked and answered by the respective respondents.
Choose one of the evolutions of CIT and discuss how it may have made the application of CIT to specific leadership consultations more useful.
The various evolutions in CIT has resulted in most organizations getting a platform by which they can effectively solve issues affecting them. It is vital to ensure that effective strategies are instituted to solve some organizational challenges as a leader. Although CIT is mainly used in counseling psychology, its steps can be used in solving specific leadership consultations more useful. For instance, some leaders in organizations reach different conclusions without consulting their juniors. However, every person agreeing to an issue anonymously can help solve organizational challenges without experiencing any adverse outcomes. For instance, an organization can decide to conduct interviews with the aim of collecting data that is aimed at understanding the opinion of different members. Through the data collected from the interviews, the concerned stakeholders can implement change based on the findings.
What are some of the challenges that an interviewer faces when conducting a CIT interview? How might these challenges be overcome?
Conducting a CIT interview may be challenging; however, when one has the necessary skills, the interview session may be a success. One of the challenges encountered when conducting a CIT interview is a lack of openness from the respondent. When a respondent is not open in answering the questions that they are asked, it prevents one from collecting high-quality data. Poor quality data may, in turn, lead to one making wrong conclusions about a given scenario. When a respondent is not open in answering the questions, it is advised that they should not be coerced into participating.
Communication barriers between the respondent and participant can also lead to wrong impressions, such as interferences within an interview scenario. When communication barriers exist, both the interviewer and interviewee may get distorted information.
One of the primary ways this challenge can be addressed is by encouraging the interviewer to begin the session by establishing a rapport with the interview. Creating a friendly environment may encourage the respondent to be open and respond calmly to all the questions. Subsequently, the interview should maintain a low tone and use open-ended communication questions. Asking open-ended questions will lay a foundation for the respondent to give varied opinions regarding a particular issue.
Describe your experiences regarding the CIT Interview Techniques: Summary Report. What were two or three takeaways for you?
Conducting the interview regarding the CIT techniques has created various memories. Since I conducted an interview with different individuals occupying multiple leadership positions, I came to understand why some leaders must be ready to be faced with unintended consequences and the need to address their challenges using effective strategies. When a leader in an organization is stressed, it impairs their decision-making abilities; hence this may predispose them to make the wrong decisions. As a result, leaders need to follow the five steps identified in the CIT methods when making any decision concerning organizational matters.
One of the main takeaway points that I learned from the interview is that one needs to use detailed and open-ended questions. Doing so will lay a foundation for gathering quality data that can be used in developing meaningful conclusions. The second takeaway point relates to using questions that the participants can easily understand. When an interviewer uses difficult terminologies during an interview session, it may be answered inappropriately.
References
Butterfield, L. D., Maglio, A. S. T., Borgen, W. A., & Amundson, N. E. (2009). Using the enhanced critical incident technique in counseling psychology research. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 43(4). https://dev.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/rcc/article/view/58863
