Professional and Personal Development - Essay Example

RESPONSBILITY FOR MY OWN PEOFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Name Institution Tutor Date Introduction The field of engineering requires professionals who can meet the demands of the organization and solve problems that face society. It is important that as a student, I should develop skills that will meet the requirements of my future workplace. This report seeks to highlight how I intend to take responsibility of my own personal and professional development. Various key areas will be discussed to examine my current skills and competencies in relations to the future organizational objectives. The professional standards or organisational objectives I have chosen to set as my personal and professional goals According to the UK Engineering Council (2017), a professional engineer should meet several key professional standards that can enhance the individual’s capability to work on the field. I have selected this standards as my personal and professional goals. A significant professional standard that an engineer should have is knowledge and understanding. The ability to have knowledge and understanding is an aspect that begins in the learning environment. In this case, as a student I should have the aptitude to understand the concepts taught during the course and acquire knowledge that can be applied in my future work environment. Having knowledge and understanding involves the effective use evidence based approach in order to resolve engineering problems. It also involves innovation and creativity in the use of technology and solving engineering challenges. Furthermore, having knowledge and understanding entails the ability to apply theoretical concepts in the practical work environment. I believe that knowledge and understanding will assist me to meet the objectives of the organizations that I will work for in the future. A second professional standard that I have set is to develop is my communication and inter-personal skills. Communication is a significant element in any field. In the context of engineering, I think that having effective communication skills is important because it can assist a professional to converse effectively within the organization and also with the clients. I also reckon that communication skills are essential in enabling the employee to work effectively in the global environment. Another significant standard is interpersonal skills. The skill is essential because will assist me to interact effectively with other employees within the organization. For instance working in teams has become common in many organisations (Grasso and Burkins, 2010). Consequently, if I develop effective interpersonal skills I will work with others to meet project deadlines and the goals of the organization. Professional commitment is another essential standard that experts are to uphold. Organizations need employees that are committed to their work. I think that commitment is influenced by an individual’s level of motivation. Personally, I have always wanted to be an engineer, as a result, I think that this drive will assist me to work hard in the organization that I will work for in the future. Organizations today require individuals who can are able to develop and design processes, services, products and systems that can capture the market and meet the objectives of the organization. This basically implies that professionals have to be innovative. I have therefore chosen innovation as another significant professional goal that I should meet in order to effectively meet the objectives of my future work environment. Leadership is another professional standard that I have chosen as an objective for my future career. Organizations require people who can influence others to come up with projects that can meet the demands of the market and the objectives of the organization. In my future work environment, I intend to be a project leader although I have not fully developed this particular trait. The table below provides my initial self- appraisal Initial Self-Appraisal Skill Area Description of Specific Skill A lot of the time Some of the time Never Further action required Self-Awareness I understand different personality types and use that awareness effectively when I interact with others I seek feedback from others on my strengths and limitations and modify my behaviour accordingly Communication I effectively convey information verbally and in writing to a variety of audiences (peers, authority figures, groups, individuals) I listen effectively and can identify key issues that require addressing I demonstrate respect for other’s opinions I effectively handle conflict I can effectively negotiate and persuade I can use email, word, excel to communicate effectively Self-Management I plan my workload effectively (set objectives, prioritize, use time effectively, meet commitments, demonstrate self-discipline) I make and keep appointments (reliability) Team Working I understand team-working theory and use that understanding to be a more effective team member (social skills/adaptability) Leadership I understand what it takes to become an effective leader and display leadership traits to motivate others Self-Audit My Strengths Skill Area Description of Specific Skill Evidence (why is this a current strength ?) Self-Awareness I understand different personality types and use that awareness effectively when I interact with others I seek feedback from others on my strengths and limitations and modify my behaviour accordingly I constantly consult others to know if my performance was was good enough, this has enabled me to change Communication I effectively convey information verbally and in writing to a variety of audiences (peers, authority figures, groups, individuals) I listen effectively and can identify key issues that require addressing I demonstrate respect for other’s opinions This is my strength because I am usually open to the Opinions of others. I effectively handle conflict I do not like confrontations, as a result I just stay away I can effectively negotiate and persuade I have resolved may conflicts among my peers I can use email, word, excel to communicate effectively I constantly send emails and present facts using excel during my projects Self-Management I plan my workload effectively (set objectives, prioritise, use time effectively, meet commitments, demonstrate self-discipline) I make and keep appointments (reliability) I always honor appointments Team Working I understand team-working theory and use that understanding to be a more effective team member (social skills/adaptability) I understand the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness and display assertiveness appropriately I am not aggressive during team activities even when a team member holds a different opinion Leadership I understand what it takes to become an effective leader and display leadership traits to motivate others My Development Needs and the Activities Required To Meet Them One of the major development requirements that I have is the need to develop my communication skills. I must confess that communication has been a challenge for me especially because English is a second language. I have learnt a lot over the years and with time I have improved my ability to speak and write the English language. However, I still need to develop my skills especially in using the language in the professional world as an engineer. The main problem that I have when it comes to using professional language involves the application and use of specialized concepts in the communication process. Also, I find difficult to present my ideas with clarity especially when making presentations. I also think that there need for me to improve my listening skills. I am poor listener because I constantly lose concentration when listening to someone else talk. In order to develop my communication skills I think that I need take more lessons on communication skills. For instance, in order to improve my ability to communicate in the work environment using the right professional language in diverse contexts, I will take more language lessons. Another strategy is to attend engineering conferences and seminars that talk about various concepts in the field. I also intend to read more books that can improve my use of professional engineering language. Working in teams has also been a developmental need for me. I must confess that I hate working in groups because I usually hold the view that I can finish my projects alone without the input of other individuals. I also find team work as challenging because it is usually difficult for people to agree on one point or way of thinking. To improve my team work capabilities, I intend to develop a positive attitude towards team work. This is important because many organisations today have embraced working in groups as an effective way of enhancing collaboration at the work place and also meeting organizational objectives. Consequently, I intend to develop a more affirmative view of the approach in order to advance my team working capabilities. Another developmental area that I need to improve is my leadership skills. I have a good understanding of what leadership means and what it entails to be a leader. However, my key problem is that I always take a back seat when it comes to leading people especially during teamwork. A number of activities can be implemented to improve my leadership capabilities. The first one is that I should be active in group work activities and take the opportunity to be a team leader during projects. Also it is essential to perform actions such as delegating, directing, informing, communicating and brainstorming which highlight an individual’s capability as a leader. Another area that I need to develop is my self-management capabilities. I must confess that my major area of weakness in self-management is; time keeping. I am not a good time keeper. I constantly delay when it comes to meeting deadlines and keeping time. For instance, I continuously find myself struggling to finish my projects at the last minute. Although, I prefer to do things at a slow pace to ascertain that I give my best, I often encounter the challenge of meeting the stipulated deadlines. In order to improve my time management skills, I intend to use strategies such as starting early in order to ensure that I use the allocated time effectively. Also, I intend to consciously follow the specified timelines in order to avoid any delays. Another area of weakness in terms of self-management is that I experience difficulty when it comes to planning and prioritizing activities that I am supposed to handle. This has often resulted to scenarios where I have piles of impending deadlines that need to be completed. To improve my planning skills, I will schedule tasks according to order of prioritization so as to ensure that urgent duties are not handled when the deadline is close. I intend to develop a plan that directs the activities that I am to handle within a specified period of time. My interpersonal skills also need to be improved because I experience difficulty when it comes to interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. As an international students, I find myself wondering how to communicate with people from different regions which makes me talk less when interacting with them. In order to improve this skills, I think that I need to embrace diversity and also I should build my level of confidence. Development Opportunities to Meet Current and Future Defined Needs Skill Area Description of Specific Skill What I need to do to develop in this area for the future (and why!) Communication Skills I can efficiently use technology to communicate for instance presenting facts using excel and emails I am good at resolving conflicts and negotiating I can communicate using foreign languages To develop my communication skills in future, I intend to advance my language capabilities by getting involved in presentations and seminars that require my participation I also intend to go for additional language classes to advance my use of the English language I will also works towards improving my listening skills by focusing on the ongoing communication Team work I do understand the theories that govern team work I am aware of the stages of team formation and what it takes to make team work a success Increase my involvement in team work activities Try to contribute towards meeting the objectives of the team Leadership Skills I effectively understand leadership theories and the qualities that are needed to be a good leader Volunteer for leadership roles during teamwork activities Join leadership forums and trainings to advance my leadership capabilities Adopt leadership qualities such as delegation, effective communication and leading change processes Self-management capabilities I can effectively meet commitments I am good at ensuring that I meet the set objectives Start my projects by planning in order to enhance proper organization Start working on projects as early as possible to prevent delays Schedule events appropriately in order to prevent wastage of time Work on important projects first. Interpersonal Skills I understand the interpersonal skills that are required when interacting with others I usually apply interpersonal skills when undertaking projects in groups Develop emotional intelligence Improve my communication skills especially listening skills Enhance my ability to collaborate with others Interact more with people from diverse backgrounds. Personal Development Plan Aims What do I want to achieve / learn? Where the Need was identified Actions What I will do to Achieve the Need Resources and Support Needed My Success criteria Target dates for review and completion (time constrained) I need to improve my leadership skills and capabilities I am not very proficient at influencing and leading people when working groups I will take up more leadership roles during group discussions I will adopt leadership qualities such as good communication, offering support, and delegation Leadership forums Group discussions Class presentations Self-appraisal Attending all leadership forums Appraisal from others The ongoing semester Advance my Communication skills I am not a very good listener I need to improve my capabilities in using engineering jargon I intend to take more communication classes Attend conferences and seminars where I can improve my concentration and listening abilities Conferences and seminars Books and learning materials Appraisal from others Class Assessments The ongoing semester Improve my Team work capabilities I believe in working alone to complete projects Actively participate in team work activities Group discussions Attend all group meetings Team appraisals Performance and monitoring appraisal during the project discussions The ongoing semester During my internship Improve my time management capabilities I constantly struggling to meet project deadlines at the last minute Start earlier with my projects Plan the activities I am to undertake during the semester Prioritize the activities according to the most crucial Use of time management apps Timetables Reminders Self-appraisal Feedback from the team members The Next semester Improve my interpersonal skills I experience difficulty in relating to people from diverse backgrounds Attend conferences and forums that compromise of people from different backgrounds Conferences and seminars Self-appraisal During my internship Discussion and Summary The above discussion underscores various significant factors concerning how I can take responsibility of my professional and personal development. Foremost, the paper has identifies important engineering standards that I have set as my professionals objectives. The key standards that form my professional objectives include leadership, good communication and interpersonal skills, knowledge and understanding, the ability develop and design processes, services, products and systems that can capture the market and meet the objectives of organizations and commitment. Based on the analysis of the professional standards, the area that I have not effectively developed is the issue of leadership. I have noted that I am always reluctant to take up the leadership roles a factor that I should put more emphasis on. The analysis has also highlighted my development needs and the activities that are required to meet them. From the information presented, I have taken note of the fact that I still have a long way to go in terms of building my personal and professional skills which will make me a good engineer in the future. I have limitations such as poor time keeping, my communication skills are also not well developed. In addition, my interpersonal skills and my team work capabilities are not well advanced. I also took note of the fact that of time management and leadership are my major areas of weakness. After developing the personal development plan, I realized that there are activities that I can implement in order to improve my professional and personal capabilities as an engineer in my future work environment. I, therefore, intend to start immediately and ensure that I improve on areas where I have deficiencies. Conclusion My goal has always been to develop the necessary knowledge and skills that will make me an excellent engineer in future. The above analysis of my professional and personal skills is an eye opener that has made me realize that indeed there are areas that I need to improve in order to meet my set professional objectives. I, therefore, intend to change especially on the issue of time management and leadership which are my major areas of weakness. I believe that I can make significant improvement that will be useful to my future career. References Grasso, D and Burkins, M, (2010) Holistic Engineering Education: Beyond Technology. Springer Science & Business Media. UK Engineering Council, (2017) The UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence. UK Engineering Council. Read More