Managing Professional Development - Personal Statement Example

Managing Professional Development Introduction Professional development is an organised approach that aligns employee’s performance with that of the organisation goals and objectives. This can be achieved with help of the management and its initiative towards workforce development. As organisational structures keep changing, it becomes increasingly difficult to develop individual plans to ensure an individual’s employability in these changing times. This project aims to present a personal development plan for a marketing executive of an organisation. It keeps a record of the present performance of the employee and develops a plan to improve the skills required. Lastly it makes an assessment of the progress of the employee against the set aims and objectives. The process requires the employee to make a self assessment of his performance, find out the gaps between the present and the required set of procedures, system, structure and roles. The main objective is to better ones condition from the present state of affairs. It is a gradual process that comes through learning, practice and change. It is about changing oneself in order to change what he gets back. 1. Personal & Career development Personal SWOT Analysis First of all I will try to find out my own strengths, weaknesses, and analyse the opportunities that result from them. It serves as a useful technique for self assessment. The assessment is as follows. Strengths Creativity: I am creative and often able to impress my clients with a new perspective on the brand. Learning ability and effective personal communication skill: I am a quick learner and can adjust myself to the changes and new situations. An effective interpersonal and communication skill is the best personal trait that I have. Success oriented: I have an urge for the better and look for opportunities to present and use my talents in the right direction so that the organisation along with me can benefit. Leadership skills: I have the ability to motivate my subordinates towards achieving the common goals. Weaknesses Sensitive person: I take things to heart and get disappointed when things are done in the wrong way. Debater: Being very passionate about the work I do, I require a reason for any change that may be implemented in the organisation. I strongly agree or disapprove of these changes and this creates a wrong impression on my colleagues. Opportunities Networking: I have been maintaining contact with my old acquaintances, some of whom have grown fast in their careers. I have also been communicating my future plans to them. Growing economy: The economy is recovering from the slowdown and I am trying to make full use of the opportunities that are coming up. Threats Colleagues: At present I find some of my colleagues as good as I am and some of them are better than me in terms of capabilities. Competition: With the growing economy there is a possibility that I have to face stiff competition from employees with similar skills sets. Personal Development Plan Goal & Objectives Developmental Activities/Action Steps Results/Outcomes Motivation 1. Taking interest in my team is the first step to motivate team members. Knowing their backgrounds, financial status, and previous job experiences is imperative. 2. Giving the team members ample opportunities to prove themselves, and giving them rewards after they have accomplished the assigned tasks. 3. Respect is something everyone craves for. It is important to be a trustworthy and helpful manager. The employee begins to take interest in the work he is required to do. They will try to make use of every opportunity that comes their way. This is sure to enhance their performance levels. This would help them to work on the guidelines provided by the manager and perform in an ethical manner. (How to motivate Employees, n.d.) Problem Solving Abilities 1. First step is to know the problem. Running away from the problem only aggravates it. Managers should make an attempt to know and share problems with his team mates. 2. Developing a plan or strategy by discussing it with subordinates and colleagues. He must also encourage team members to suggest plans. 3. Implementing the plan is the major step. A process of implementation has to be developed. 4. Looking for alternative strategies Getting into the root of the problem helps to solve it faster and with much ease. Discussing with team members helps to develop more number of strategies and alternatives. This corrects the problem systematically and avoids chaos and harassment. (Miller, n.d. p.1) Leadership Skills 1. It is important to have a clear vision of oneself, others and the entire world. This is required if an individual wants to contribute towards his organisation. 2. Utilise one’s strengths and skills religiously. 3. One must lead others by including them in the area of influence. This needs to be done with compassion, recognising each one’s values and feelings. This helps to maintain integrity and compels others to naturally respect the opinions of others. Following a proper leadership strategy helps to get people attracted to that individual and follows his opinions and suggestions. (Banks, n.d. The Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Skills) Time Management 1. One needs to set goals and assign tasks for each unit of time 2. It is important to work according to a to-do list to keep a track of the number of tasks to be accomplished. 3. Delegate these tasks to the subordinate and colleagues. 4. Reward one self and others when a particular task is accomplished. This helps to manage time effectively. It helps to achieve more in less time. Big projects can be handled effectively without interruptions and delay. 2. Progress Evaluation Motivation: Now I feel that I am able to motivate people with more ease. It has become easier to inspire them. People have become more responsive towards my efforts to encourage them. This has not only enhanced their performance level but has benefitted the organisation on the whole. Most importantly, my confidence level has grown along with their improved performance. People are more motivated through intangible things. A word of recognition or a pat on their back can give a huge boost to their confidence level. Problem Solving Abilities: I find myself handling the problems efficiently. Previously I used to get confused when a problem used to occur. As a result it turned more complicated. Now, I find it easier to find a solution to any problem. It has helped me to handle complicated problems effectively and accurately. Many different alternatives are also suggested by my subordinates and colleagues. This has two benefits. It brings forth different perspectives to a single problem and gives provides various strategies to overcome it. Leadership Skills: It has become easier to manage people in my organisation. I have been able to influence them by using leadership skills. I have been able to control the group that I am working with. The group is working better under my leadership and influence. (Learning for Life, n.d.) Time Management: This has improved the ability of my group along with that of mine to meet the goals. The overall productivity has increased. This has allowed us to gain more control on our work life. Work pressure has been reduced by a substantial amount. Preplanning of activities has helped our days to become more ordered. 3. Interpersonal & Transferable skills The management is not always aware of the issue arising in an organisation and on most occasions it has to depend on the employees to point it out to them. The above mentioned problem is rephrased by Kevin Graham Ford and James P. Osterhaus with the help of a metaphor as, “things in the bushes” (Whitefield, J. 2002). These problems generally remain unidentified or are neglected by the management due to various reasons. Such behaviour should be discouraged as these unidentified problems often results in huge losses to the organisation in future. Being a junior level manager I was well aware of problems existing in the organisational culture. I always felt that things could have been improved had the degree of coordination increased among different departments. However, I never thought of taking any bold action to improve the situation. After undertaking the personal development plan, I realised a change in my attitude. I gained new confidence, acquired leadership and analytical skills along with the decision making ability. I thereafter discussed with my team members that if any initiative can be taken for enhancing the coordination among different departments. I convinced them that the process will not only earn them better incentives but the entire organisation will also be benefited. Thus I, with the assistance of 5 of my subordinates decided to identify the root cause behind such situation. We decided to use Plane – Do – Check – Act (PDCA) cycle as this an effective way of finding out the root problem. It also helps to select the feasible alternative and to implement it in the long run (Dever, 1997, p.175). To evaluate the situation we followed below given steps: 1. Information was collected from employees working in different departments though verbal communication. 2. Conducted Cause – Effect analysis (fishbone analysis) was conducted to find out the root cause that is leading to the poor coordination among different departments. Root cause analysis assists in finding the main cause behind the prevailing problem. (Sumanth, 1998, p.120). The results of fishbone analysis identified the lack of integrity among different departments as the root cause of this problem. The top management never motivated all the departments to participate in the strategic decision making process and conversely the departments were only concerned with their own benefits. After identifying the root problem, the next step constituted in developing certain alternative solutions. Finally the most feasible one was chosen for overcoming the problem. The decision making tools used in this process are as follow: Brainstorm activity: The employees were asked to give different innovative ideas that come to their brain (McManus, 2006, p.61). Affinity Diagram: This was used to segregate the ideas collected from brainstorming session in an organised form and to classify them under certain categories (Christensen, et al., 2007, p.75). On the basis of above mentioned process, few alternative solutions were developed, these are as follow: Motivating people from other department to interact with each other. Arranging certain training session to improve inter-departmental communication. Reviving communication channels in the organisation to facilitate better interaction among the employees of different departments. Developing teams for certain assignments where employees from different departments can work together. Soon it was the time to select the best possible solution from the above given alternatives. This required an evaluation of each of the alternatives on the basis of investment required and managerial time needed. It was found that introducing a team based workforce for certain assignments will be the most effective way of increasing coordination among the inter-department employees. We informed our senior manager regarding the work done by us. She assured us that she will discuss this with the higher management. Henceforth we discussed our findings and solution with the top management. He asked us to develop a plan to implement this solution. He also gave us permission to take help from different department heads as and when required. Before developing the project we used certain change management tools, few of them are discussed below: 1. Force – field analysis: This was used to find out the forces that are acting for or against the decision taken. This analysis is often used to minimise the forces that are against and to strength the forces that are in favour of the decision (Proctor, 2005, p.220). 2. Stakeholder analysis matrix: This helps to segregate the stakeholders into four different categories on the basis of importance (power) and interest (influence) in the organisation. This helps to satisfy the most powerful and influential stakeholders (Carucci & Pasmore, 2002, p.115). The information collected from the above mentioned tools helped to devise a plan which was later implemented. The plan was segregated into certain parts and for each part specific time duration was assigned. The progress was evaluated at regular interval of time, so that deviation in the progress can be taken care of. This was a life time experience for me because I realised the importance of different managerial skills. I felt one should have a strong analytical skill to analyse and evaluate the vital factors that affect performance of individuals as well as that of the organisation. A leadership skill is required to motivate the subordinates and co-worker. The leadership quality is also required for setting goals and targets. To convert the plan into action, one needs to have time management skill. Decision needs to be taken at every point of time; hence the individual must possess decision making ability. 4. Self managed learning Often people are less bothered about their personal development or they fail to identify the suitable method needed for evaluating themselves. Before developing the PDP, one needs to conduct SWOT analysis. This will help to identify the strengths and weaknesses possessed by an individual. In the same way threats and opportunities prevailing in the outer environment can also be analysed. After identifying the skills, one should make efforts to develop them. The individual should set specific time period for incorporating the change. According to the requirement, one should develop personal development plan (PDP) and it should be evaluated at regular interval by conducting audit (Gallen & Buckle, 2001, p.3). While developing the personal development programs it should be kept in mind that it is a form of adult learning. As discussed by several researchers, adult learning is based on day to day practical experience; hence the process of personal development can be rendered more effective if one can merge the PDP with the day to day activities. The whole plan should be segregated into small parts and for a specific time duration should be allotted to each part. After achieving each part the individual should be motivated but if for any reason one fails to attain the target then the required changes should be incorporated in the PDP. Therefore the PDP should be flexible enough to incorporate the required changes. Before developing the PDP, one should identify the areas or the skills that needs to be enhanced. Hence the individual should possess analytical skill. For developing the plan one requires planning skills and for implementing it, the individual should have a higher degree of motivation. This plan can only be successful if the candidate undertakes time management skill to achieve the targets within allotted timeframe. Many a time, individuals start their personal development process with a lot of enthusiasm but within a few weeks the fervour disappears. This reflects improper planning, lack of time management skill and poor motivation. Sometime the candidate gets bore of the plan because the targets are too difficult to achieve or they are too easy to attain. Therefore the targets should be such that they motivate the individual to work hard and fulfil the objective. To make the process of ‘self managed learning’ effective, certain tools should be used. As discussed above, in adult learning, ‘experience’ plays an important role, so the individual should volunteer in different types of discussions. The person can evaluate his or her progress through personal development audit. A simple questionnaire can be a good way of evaluating the learning process. In many cases, one to one discussion is a good way of analysing the changes taking place. Feedback from the supervisor, subordinates, co-workers and clients should be used as an effective tool for evaluating the achievement (Cunningham, et al., 2000, p.94). Recommendation & conclusion Changes in the contemporary world are faster than apprehended; hence it is quite essential for individuals to update their personal as well as their professional skills. This is only possible if a person has a strong desire and a higher degree of motivation. The personal development process starts with the evaluation of prevailing skills and the identification of the talent that requires further development. People have a misconception that just evaluation and development of PDP will serve the process, but in reality the main problem is with the implementation process that needs to be completed within the predefined timeframe. This section requires specific attention so that the targets remain feasible and attractive. Once the PDP is developed, the individual should keep a keen eye to verify that things are progressing as per the plan. Improvements should be mapped at regular intervals with the help of personal skill audit. Feedbacks from boss, peers and clients will serve as the feedback for the process implemented. It should be borne in mind that personal development is a dynamic process so PDP should be revived regularly to retain its effectiveness. Reference Banks, R. No date. The Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Skills. Available at: http://www.icbs.com/Kb/inspiration/kb_inspiration-the-top-10-ways-to-improve-your-leadership.htm [ Accessed on July 10, 2010]. Carucci, R. 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