Action Plan for My Professional Development - Essay Example

Management paper Introduction I am writing this paper on self-assessment so that I am able to prepare an action plan for my professional development. In it, I will discuss the key personal characteristics that I discovered in this course. The paper will also include an analysis of my characteristics, and how they impact my managerial skills. These will serve as a guideline offering the desired direction I ought to follow in my pursuit of success in my career. The self-analysis plan will include a review of three aspects namely; my personality type, communication style and finally, my listening abilities. These three aspects influence managerial skills drastically. Therefore, my approach in this paper is one in which I use a SWOT analysis in order to identify my strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities with regard to these three sections (Roel & Nico 56). Background Born and raised in United Arab Emirates, I later came to pursue a college education in Denver, Colorado in 2009 where I enrolled at the University of Colorado. However, I got my first working experience two years after graduating from high school in 2003. The job involved working for the presidents brother, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as a cleric. The clerical duties involved summarizing or condensing long letters that Sheikh Saif received each day. He is a recipient of hundreds of letter of requests, complaints or suggestions concerning the local communities. We were about fifty employees working under the supervision of a manager. We received a fairly decent amount of salary of $4,000 a month. I liked the work because I learned a lot about a diverse people in my country. It also improved my writing skills in Arabic language. The work itself was remarkably fast paced, and I enjoyed the environment. After five years of working back home, I relocated to Denver, Colorado where I enrolled at the University of Colorado in 2009. There, I major in finance and expect to graduate by 2014. When I graduate, I plan to return to my home country and work for the same government entity. There, I will pursue a career in finance or find an alternative position. Self-analysis: Social psychologists around the world agree on the fact that individuals perceive themselves based on the perception others have of them. The setback of relying on only external perceptions when conducting a self-analysis is that people around an individual tend to make the fundamental attribution error. This error entails people formulating perspectives based on situational factors while disregarding dispositional factors. Individuals understand dispositional factors better than other people can. This is because dispositional factors are internal factors that require a person to evaluate on their own. Therefore, a proper self analysis includes a combination of both external and internal perceptions (Roel & Nico 77). A SWOT analysis of me showed the following strengths and weaknesses: a) Strengths – I gained some of my strong suits from my upbringing, school and during my work experience. My friends describe me as friendly and energetic. I enjoy socializing and networking with people around the world. I am a perfectionist and aim to deliver quality work. I am an extremely focused individual especially when I work on a task. In addition, I like to complete the tasks assigned to me. I am a tremendously hard worker and enjoy keeping myself busy. I can take more than one project at the same time but able to prioritize them in order to finish them (Roel & Nico 80). b) Weaknesses – After taking the personal assessment, I can identify and acknowledge my weaknesses. I become anxious about finishing a task and sometimes become impatient. I also tend to rush to get things done. I am also easily distracted when I feel bored, or the work is too tedious. As far as work experience, I only have five years of experience in writing letters and making critical decisions on how to disseminate information but I need experience in other things to expand my knowledge (Roel & Nico 86) . Personality type Different personality psychologists have advanced various theories in the attempt to describe personality types. Discussed are those I found suitable enough to rank my personal characteristics. Goldberg (1981) advanced the Five Factor theory whereby, he posited that personalities existed within five dimensions. Goldberg’s work was a combination of previous works of Allport, Catell and Eyscenck, all leading personality psychologists. In his five factor theory, neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness were the key personality types. With regard to my personal characteristics, I would rank highly in extraversion, openness and conscientiousness. Meaning, my ability to interact within the business and social realms would qualify me to be termed as an extravert. On the other hand, my degree of organization and the fact that am dependable and a hard worker, will qualify me as a conscientious person. However, my weaknesses automatically make me rank high in neuroticism. This is because of my perfectionist nature (Roel & Nico 93). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is another widely used personality indicator. This test confirms the above personality type results. An analysis of my personality using the following test rates me as an Extrovert (E) and a Perceiver (P). However, tests conducted in different settings disagreed on whether I was a sensing or intuitive, feeling or thinking person. Despite the disparities, none of the tests proved to be wrong. This is because the difference in settings calls for a shift in an individual’s personality to ensure they properly deal with the situation at hand. Listening Skills The development of proper listening skills occurs over the duration of time. People do not simply acquire the art of proper listening skills since it requires a lot of patience to learn these skills. Proper listening skills include; giving others a chance to speak their mind without disrupting them whether somebody agrees with what they are saying or not. It is necessary to note that body language also plays a crucial role in showcasing someone’s interest in what is being said. Therefore, a good listener ensures that their facial expressions are compatible with their responses, for example, nodding in disagreement or a frown cannot accompany verbal indications of approval or agreement (Roel & Nico 95). A personal assessment of my listening skills changed my perspective and made me re-evaluate my previous evaluation, which indicated that I was a good listener. My previous working experience served as the basis of my conclusions. I attributed my adept listening skills to how well I performed my tasks while I was working as a cleric before I enrolled in the university. I realize now that those listening skills I prided myself in possessing were just a tip of the iceberg. This is because they mostly involved following a set of instructions delivered by my superiors, and there was no choice but to adhere to the latter. They were based more on obligation and not out of free will. However, I now understand that proper listening skills can only be developed out of freewill and self-discipline. Adopting a mentality, which allows one, to respect what another person is saying goes a long way in helping one develop proper listening skills (Roel & Nico 99). There is a variety of tests used in measuring whether on ranks as an excellent or poor listener. These scientifically proven tests help an individual gauge themselves and take steps to rectify their listening skills if they are incompetent. Results of these tests range between 15 and 75. Individuals who score above 60 are skilled listeners whereas those who score below 40 are poor listeners and are in need of formulating improvement strategies. Most people, including me, fall between 40 and 60. Meaning, the bulk of people are average listeners, therefore, improvement towards the development of proper listening skills needs to be taken seriously. Some improvement strategies include; giving people an opportunity to speak freely without interruptions. As I have come to notice, many people speaking at the same time create confusion. Saving clarification queries for the end of a person’s address helps to avoid interruptions. It is also necessary to avoid any distractions, for example, attending sessions on a hungry stomach (Roel & Nico 103). Distractions disrupt a person’s attention span contributing to poor listening skills which might be detrimental to the performance of an individual. Avoiding immediate responses sometimes serve as indicators that one is paying attention to what is being said. Many people assume that immediate responses serve as indicators that an individual is paying attention; unfortunately, this is not normally the case. From the above recommendations, I find myself turning to them to improve my listening skills. Face to Face Communication Style Face to face communication is crucial between people working together within an organization. There exist expectations for all Individuals to be tolerant towards their colleagues despite the difference in their personality styles. There are nine separate dimensions for face to face communication. They include: dominant, dramatic, contentious, animated, impression leaving, related, attentive, open and friendly. These dimensions reflect people’s personality traits, for example, a friendly, social; extravert person displays the friendly dimension of face to face communication (Roel & Nico 113). It is also crucial to note that different dimensions of face to face communication overlap in an individual. There is no restriction placed on a person to showcase a single dimension. This is especially because different circumstances call for the execution of different dimensions. Individuals are, therefore, expected to display a dimension suitable for a situation, for example, the friendly dimension is useful when an individual needs to be empathetic to his colleague’s situation. A self-analysis of the dimension I mostly portray during face to face communications ranges between open and friendly (Roel & Nico 89). This is because I am a social person both in formal and informal settings. I easily make friends and can carry on a conversation with a complete stranger making them feel welcomed. However, in order to be taken seriously, I sometimes switch to a dimension that will solicit respect from those around me. Flexibility is crucial in dealing with a different face to face communication situation. Further steps that I have taken to improve my face to face communication tactics include; reading books and attending various seminars, which address this topic exhaustively, For example, Dale Carnegie Training programs. Important Personal Characteristics: Management Implications and Applications The knowledge gained from the degree I’m pursuing will help me deal with situations in the work place after I graduate. It will help prepare me in what to expect, therefore, avoiding any unforeseen surprises that might be detrimental to the pursuit of my career (Roel & Nico 100). I have to ensure I make the best of my attendance at the University of Colorado, to complete all specified units outlined in the course outline. However, many goals need to be achieved and obstacles tackled before my ultimate goal matures. These goals include; learning to study, learning to write better in English language, and learning to manage my time efficiently. The latter is an essential skill when I start my working career (Roel & Nico 110). This is because all organizations operate on a given time schedule, therefore, proper time management ensures these firms function smoothly. In the long run, I have to make a decision on whether I plan to pursue a Masters Degree in what I’m currently majoring in (Roel & Nico 116). I also have to make a decision as to when I should pursue it. However, at the moment, returning to my home country to begin working is currently my main goal. I understand that taking a break in pursuit of my career back at home can either prove advantageous or disadvantageous. The former because, the working experience will open up my mind more, and I can be able to translate all the teachings while working to what I will be studying in my Masters degree. However, this can be disadvantageous because not having a second degree might undercut me when competing against candidates with extra qualifications during job interviews. After I graduate, I can reflect on my experiences while pursuing an education and say that I have learned a lot in something I had considerable interest. I want to be able to apply my gained knowledge in a way that improves my contributions to the society, and to my personal success (Roel & Nico 127). I aspire to be efficient in my written communications and the management skills that create the basis of satisfactory written communications. This automatically translates into improved time management skills striking a balance between multiple priorities. Once I gain extra work experience, I want to be able to start my own company as an investment (Roel & Nico 134). I also want to help the local communities grow. I want to invest in green energy in my country of origin. I also want to challenge myself by doing something remarkable that will help my career as a successful investor. In addition, I would like my achievements to be used to benefit the entire community. It is necessary to maintain professional success in todays work place. I want to bring skills to the workplace to secure my job stability. I want to make a difference within the company because that would be my ideal professional success. To attain professional success, I know I have to set goals (Roel & Nico 145). I have to make both short term and long term goals. In addition to that, all the goals I set must be SMART goals. Meaning, they ought to be specific or directed towards a certain objective fulfillment. They should also be measurable, attainable and realistic. Finally, the goals I set; be they long or short term goals, they have to be time-bound. This means a timeline indicating the expected time it takes for a goal to be realized should be shown. My short term objective involves getting a bachelors degree. Thereafter, I can follow my long term goals of working in the field. I have to keep myself motivated and be positive. I have to study hard to get excellent grades (Roel & Nico 150) . Conclusion In conclusion, I understand the implications my personality, face to face communication and listening skills have on my future managerial skills. Therefore, I realize the importance of improving my current abilities in these three aspects so as to achieve success in my future endeavors. Meaning, I have to adopt proper listening skills by retaining all the positive skills I know while letting go of the destructive, poor listening skills. I also have to learn tolerance when dealing with other people with different personalities. Good managers are also able to adapt to the different situations which present themselves when they are conducting face to face communications. Therefore, to be an effective manager I should also strive to be flexible when faced with a variety of situations when dealing with colleagues. Hence, the formulation of a personal development plan proves useful for anyone interested in making self-improvements. Works Cited Roel Grit, Nico van der Sijde. Managing Your Competencies: Personal Development Plan. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2009.Print. Read More