My 3 Pd Skill Areas - Essay Example

My 3 Pd Skill Areas 1st Skill: Managing my studies I intend to improve my performance in and score an average of A this academic year. This isa great goal to achieve and one that demands a lot of effort and commitment to my studies. I intend to pursue this objective so that I may have a better life in future based on a good, well paying career. Objective 1: To maintain my motivation high even when doing subjects that I find difficult. Motivation is defines as the force that drives individuals to achieve their objectives (ONeil & Drillings, 1994). There are subjects that are difficult and very demanding. In many cases, I get very discouraged and de-motivated when I encounter difficult situations. Some of my classmates and senior students may contribute to my lack of motivation when they make negative confessions about difficult subjects and lecturers. My motivation is concerned specifically with dealing with situations that may demoralize me from working hard. Because measuring motivation is difficult, I shall adopt a simple strategy to help me keep in focus. I shall take record of how many times I dwell on negative thoughts concerning a difficult subject. The less the number of times this happens the higher my motivational score. Since there are several factors that may lead to low motivation in learning, there is always a need to maintain high morale. Maintaining high morale at times of difficulty is achievable. In order to achieve my goal of maintaining high motivation in the midst of difficulty, I shall read books and articles on motivation and inspirational resources. Apart from being self motivated, I need to learn how to motivate other people. This is a skill that goes together with leadership and management. Objective 2: To be a good manager of time by the end of the academic year. Time is a resource that cannot be recycled. Time being a non-renewable resource should be well spent at all times. In order to accomplish all my goals in life I need to be time conscious at all times. By managing time well, I will be able to avoid or overcome certain stresses. In my bid to become disciplined in time management, some of the challenges that I will have to overcome is laziness, the desire to procrastinate and the urge to get entertained when my schedule indicates otherwise. In order to accomplish this goal, I shall make a realistic time table for my studies and for performing other activities that are not related to class work. I shall also put a lot of effort in trying to avoid procrastination and laziness. Some of the resources that I shall involve in learning how to manage time include books such as The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and Allen David’s Getting things done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity. How much I abide by the timetable created will be a measure of how much I achieve this objective. Objective 3: To develop good action planning skills by the end of the academic year Action planning according to Civicus (nd) is the planning that guides one’s daily work. It is by developing and abiding by an effective action plan that one gets to achieve their strategic goals. Achieving strategic goals is often a challenge to me for various reasons. In my bid to develop and abide by my plans, I will most likely be influenced by friends to do other activities outside my plan. However, I shall try and develop daily, weekly and monthly schedule of activities and abide by them. I shall read a lot of books related to planning and apply their theory wherever possible. I shall try to read at least one book per month on the subject. 2nd Skill: Good Leadership The second skill that I intend to develop this academic year is good leadership. Leadership in this case is the ability of one (a group leader with or without formal authority) to organize his or her group members to achieve a particular goal (Burns, 1979). This skill is a process of social influence that involves an individual enlisting support as well as aid of others in order to accomplish a common task. From a common saying that unity is power, I intend to develop this leadership skill so that in future I would be in a better position to bring several individuals together then lead them towards achieving a great goal that would help change the lives of both group members and non members. To add on that, since my childhood, I have always dreamed of being a well known reputable who would act as a role model to a number of people. Therefore I am inwardly motivated towards developing this skill. In an attempt to peruse this skill, I have the following objectives: First and foremost is gaining acceptance as a leader. Leadership can only be fulfilling if the leader in question is accepted by the group member. Also, leading a group that accepts you as their leader makes the leader’s work easier and more enjoyable. An accepted leader can easily assign the ditties to different members and the duties would be performed well without him or her having to follow up the involved individual. To achieve this, I intend to embrace democracy, fairness and transparency in the group that I am leading. Therefore, for each set goal, all the members would be requested to give their view and reasons to support their suggestion. Where there is a controversial issue, each member would get a chance to vote for or against it and the votes counted openly to enhance trance papacy. The second objective is to encourage and motivate other team member. Once team members accept you as a leader, then they are likely to listen and believe in what you tell them. I would therefore use this opportunity to encourage and motivate them. To achieve this, I will always create time just before a group meeting is terminated where a member with a problem related to the group objective or not and would wish to share it with me as the leader could do that after the meeting. Also, I intend to organize for specially days (like once every week) where members meet to encourage one another. Influencing subordinates form my third objective towards the development of leadership skills this academic year. Once I achieve the first objective, it would be easier to be a role model to many and therefore indirectly influence the subordinate. Also I intend to organize a meeting once in two weeks where the subordinate could give their views and I advice them according. The final set objective towards achieving this skill is delegation interviewing. This is where I would ensure that before delegating any task in the group. The particular individual should know exactly what is expected of him or her, whet the task should be completed and the details he or she should include. To achieve this, I intend to assign each member a specific task that should be completed within the stated time. At the start of the group, lateness would be punishable in order to instill the concept of keeping time. Skill 3: Talking and listening In addition, I intend to improve my skills in giving and receiving feedback, networking and assertiveness. I realize the importance of these skills if one wants to succeed in any given endeavor. I believe the plans I have are specific, measurable, and indeed achievable. In addition, the plans are quite realistic and time-bound, making it easy for them to be achieved. In order to improve my skills in giving and receiving feedback, I intend to employ a number of tactics. First, I will ensure that I am always clear about what I say, as Banhegyi (2007) posits. I will also strive to always emphasize on the positive whenever I am communicating. Moreover, I will always strive to be specific in my communication to avoid any ambiguities. Additionally, I will try my level best to focus on the person’s behavior and not the person himself. I will also strive not to keep referring to behavior that cannot be changed. In my communication, I will try to be descriptive as opposed to being evaluative. When giving feedback, I will always ensure that I own this feedback through the use of “I” statements. I will also avoid generalizations and instead ask for specifics. Finally, I will be very careful with any advice I receive to avoid making wrong decisions about issues. To improve my networking skills, I will first find out more about myself and my personality as suggested by Catt and Scudamore (2000). I must make sure that the networking group I join matches my attitude and style. I will also strive to have an agenda and well-set objectives whenever I attend networking events. Furthermore, I will make it my business to know my strengths so as to know what I can offer that no one else can. I must also endeavor to know my audience well so as to establish who needs to know about me to enable an easier achievement of my goals. I also realize that in improving my networking skills, I must always keep the welfare of others in my mind as opposed to always thinking about myself. Learning how to start a conversation will also be a top priority in my quest to improve my networking skills. In addition, before I join a group, I will ensure that the group is right for me and my business or career. I will then play an active role in such a group and not merely turn up for meetings. To improve my assertiveness, I will endeavor to have a secure and open body language as Banhegyi (2007) suggests. This is because I realize that the way I hold myself will have a great impact on how I am treated and perceived. I will ensure I stand upright and look at people right in the eyes but calmly, and with open hands. Secondly, I realize that clear communication will be very important in my quest to be assertive. I will endeavor to gather knowledge to enable my easy understanding of the situation. I will also strive to explain clearly what I want and give reasons as well as benefits to my audience. References Banhegyi, S. 2007. Management: Fresh Perspectives. Johannesburg: Pearson. Burns, M., J. 1979. Leadership. Harper & Row. Catt, H., Scudamore, P., 2000. 30 Minutes to Improve Your Networking Skills. New York, NY: Kogan Page Civicus (nd) Action Planning. Accessed 25th December, 2010 http://www.civicus.org/new/media/Action%20Planning.pdf Morgenstern J. (2004) Time Management from the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule—and Your Life (2nd ed.). Henry Holt/Owl Books. New York. ONeil F. and Drillings M. (1994) Motivation: theory and research. Routledge. Read More