Enhancing students’ relational acumen capacity through a reflective self-assessment workshop on behavioural styles

Stakeholders agree that accounting graduates need excellent relational acumen (communication, leadership, people, relationship-building, teamwork, self-management, and emotional intelligence [EI] skills) to successfully navigate an increasingly multicultural and digitally impacted workplace. Prior research has mainly evaluated the effectiveness of specific educational interventions in developing certain components of students’ relational acumen. However, students might not benefit fully from such interventions if their awareness of behavioural styles is not first enhanced. Using action research, the researchers implemented a reflective self-assessment workshop on behavioural styles. The participants perceived their relational acumen capacity to increase from 64% to 72% developed because of the workshop, with the largest improvements relating to relationship-building and communication skills. Students with different behavioural styles benefitted from the workshop in different ways; the workshop targeted the areas in which groups of students reported a deficit prior to the workshop. The research contributes to accounting education by specifically identifying student self-awareness and social awareness (the internal dimensions of EI) pertaining to behavioural styles as possible activators for relational acumen development. The findings are useful to accounting educators seeking to develop students’ relational acumen capacity. The guidance compiled could be employed by students and educators to facilitate awareness of behavioural styles.