Personal Skills Audit - Essay Example

Personal skills audit Student’s Name: Institution’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Submission Date: Introduction This analysis is about my personal skills audit. The analysis seeks to identify the various skills that I possess and that I am excellent, good and poor at. The primary objective is to identify five specific areas that are important for my work placement, professional development and future career and that need to be improved. Part 1 Personal skills table Organizing skills Organizing Organizing skills Score Time structuring and management Setting and achieving goals Thoroughness and attention to detail Effective decision making Helicopter view-being able to look from above and see all aspects Managing others Motivating others Leading Planning Political awareness Contracting Social group Social group Social group skills Score Encouraging, monitoring, criticizing Networking Effectiveness in group interaction Working cooperatively and constructively Participating in team work Sharing responsibilities Willingness to learn from others Assessing and evaluating others Recognizing, accepting, allowing for differences Dealing with conflict/negativity/apathy/passivity Handling controversy Explaining, persuading, negotiating, influencing Constructive disagreement: confrontation and resolution Empathizing Openness Communication and linguistic Communication and linguistic Communication and linguistic skills Score Technical presentation Expression ideas, feelings, opinions, judgements Presenting information and ideas in an effective written form appropriate to the purpose and to the leader Editing Communicating orally in large or small groups Giving and receiving feedback Active listening Ability to move to closure Questioning Reflecting Clarifying Non-verbal communication Clarity of expression Fluency Foreign language competence Creative Creative Creative skills Score Formulating hypotheses Demonstrating a capacity for inventiveness Perceiving likeness among things apparently unlike Working with analogues, parallels Capacity for vision Ability to think laterally Use of metaphors and analogies Suspending judgement Building on the ideas of others Being proactive Cognitive Cognitive Cognitive skills Score Numerical competence Collecting, selecting and ordering data Making effective use of information Observing and recording Applying judgement and discrimination Evaluating data, values, issues Identifying and solving problems Analyzing key factors into components Inductive/deductive reasoning Synthesizing and integrating disparate elements Formulating and testing hypotheses Evaluating the evidence Extrapolating Summarizing Assessment Diagnosis Contingency Contingency Contingency skills Score Responding effectively to change Adapting concepts, skills and materials to new situations Adjusting to individual differences and to changing group characteristics and reactions Recognizing need for change Copying with the unexpected Showing capacity to improvise Dealing with ambiguity Role adaptability Transfer and application of ideas and concepts Anticipating problems and building in ways to manage them Self-managing Self-managing Self-managing skills Score Self-awareness Responsibility-planning own work Operating independently Ability to de-centre Developing self-esteem Developing self-confidence Coping and managing stress Being assertive Identifying personal potential and routes to achieving it Ability to self-disclose Personal power Personal presentation Managing personal/professional boundaries Self-evaluation and assessment Elimination of prejudice and stereotypes Physical Physical Physical skills Score Psychomotor coordination Fitness appreciation and development Spatial awareness Psychosomatic cues Performance inhibitors Diet, exercise Part 2: Skills analysis 1.0 The five areas you have identified for improvement I. Setting and achieving goals II. Managing others III. Communicating orally in large or small groups IV. Numerical competence V. Coping and managing stress Setting and achieving goals Setting and achieving goals is a very important skill not only in the work placement life but also in personal life. This is because it helps one clearly identify what needs to be achieved and how to achieve it. In other words the ability to take charge of one’s life depends on the capacity to set the goals and working towards achieving them (Kinsella 2009). In my life I identify setting and achieving of goals as one of the important skills that I need to advance in order to enhance my chances of employability. However, this skill needs to be improved further. This was discovered when I was assigned the responsibility of overseeing the process of marketing a new product that was introduced to the market by a given company. It was not easy for me to lead the process of setting and achieving the team objectives. Managing others This is an important skill that the employers look for in the potential employees. While I can say that I am good at managing other people, I steel feel that I need to do more in advancing this important skill. Managing other people is a very important skill in the sense that in the workplace, there are different people who are from different cultural backgrounds and who hold different values to certain issues (Deci 2005). While I am able to provide satisfactory people management skills, I still hold that there is more room to advance this critical skill. For instance, I felt challenged when I was asked by my lecturer to lead a team of other nine students in doing a class project. While I managed to lead the team to completing the project, it was clear that it is not an easy practice to manage people who are from different backgrounds. Communicating orally in small or large teams Although I consider myself good at this skill, I still strongly feel that there are some specific areas that need to be improved. Oral communication comprises the largest part of communication. Most scholars agree that different people such as the employees, the secretaries, leaders and many more spend about 75 percent of the communication either in speaking or listening thus making this skill a very important one any form of work setting (Gardner et al 2001). This is because it helps communicate what needs to be done and also in building strong human relationships. I found out that I need to work extra and improve on this skill when I was supposed to do an oral presentation in the class of more than twenty students about the topic of the project that I was to conduct. I was not that confident and it was not easy for me to keep the audience in touch even though the presentation was voted as successful. Numerical competence Numerical competence is a very important skill that involves the ability to reason and make use of the numerical concepts. The basic numerical skills include addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. Numerical competence is an important skill in different career professions as it helps the employers and employees interpret different aspects based on facts (Kinsella 2009). This is one skill that I am not sure of on how good I am at it. This is after I had experienced some problems in the past in relation to performing some simple computations. For instance, in the past I have been involved in running a small boutique worth about $20,000. Actually, I was even forced to hire somebody to do some accounting and balancing of the books on my behalf. As a matter of fact and that being a very important skill in the workplace and personal life, I need to develop the skill. Coping and managing stress Coping and managing stress is a must skill in life. However, because of the life many of us lead, we are provided for by the parents and the guardians, we tend to live in a comfortable zone while students. Stress coping and managements, starts with identifying what are the stress sources in one’s life (Daley & Torre 2010). This is one skill that I am not sure of and if I am good at it. This is because in many instances, in my life I have been depending on my parents for livelihood. However, I could argue that I am so poor with regard to this skill after my first placement in the workplace. I was placed far from home and had to stay away from the rest of the family members. Life was terrible for since I could manage my bills alone, academic life and career life alongside other responsibilities. Indeed I found it necessary to improve on this skill so that I not only become employable but also a person who can take charge of his responsibilities. 2.0 How the skills will improve my professional development and career outlook into the future. Setting and achieving goals: According to Fitzpatrick et al (2004), setting and achieving goals is a very important skill that the employers look for in a potential employee. This is important in establishing how the employee will contribute to the achievement of the long-terms goals and objectives of an organization. In this regard therefore, it is expected that advancing this skill will be important in ensuring that I am becoming competitive in the labour market. Improving this skill will enhance both my professional development and future career in the following ways: enhancing intrinsic motivation, increased satisfaction and self confidence, clear expectations, better concentration and in dealing more challenging situations with very minimum boredom. Managing others: A workplace is setting where different employees come together and help an organization in working towards realizing its goals and objectives. The members of the staff do not work in isolation but in teams rather. This means that leadership has to be provided which can positively affect the performance of the team (Sternberg 2003). In improving in this skill, I will therefore stand a better chance of becoming competitive manager who will not only lead other people but will also help design the strategic direction for an organization. This is because advancing the skill will help enhance people management personalities as considerate, aggressiveness, analysis, sensitivity, talkative and results driven as well as confidence. Communicating orally in large or small groups: Communicating orally is a very important skill that helps in the exchange of different information, ideas and opinions. This can be done in the form of giving directions, coordinating tasks, explaining and persuading (Fitzpatrick et al 2004). Enhancing in this skill is important in my professional development and my future career in the sense that I will be able to present an effective message with the most appropriate content to different groups including the small and large ones in a more confident manner. This is because I will learn about how to plan for the oral presentation including carrying out a research to get the facts. This is not only important in building my confidence during the presentation but also in getting to present a content that takes into account the interests of the audience. This skill is important in making presentations about the organizational issues and the role of every employee. Numerical competence: Having some numerical computational skills is almost a necessity for any competitive employee. This is because one is expected to make decisions based on both the qualitative and quantitative data. This is a skill that I am very poor at. This is learned from the past experience in running my boutique where it was very difficult for me to do some simple accounting and balancing of the books. This is a case that can be reflected in any organization. Every employer is looking forward to bring on board someone who can look at the company performance figures and make sense out of it. Enhancing this skill therefore, will be necessary in ensuring that I am able to perform simple calculations including those of account alongside interpreting other figures in order to make right judgements and management decisions (Sternberg 2003). Coping and managing stress: Stress is inevitable both in the personal and professional life. This is because there are different issues related to career and family life that have to be balanced (Daley & Torre 2010). On many occasions, many people find it difficult to take control of the situations and therefore becoming so stressed to be in charge of their thoughts, emotions and tight schedules alongside dealing other problems. In the workplace, strict deadlines may be one major source of stress. Given the fact that this is an unavoidable situation in the contemporary work environment, enhancing my stress coping and management skills, is important in assisting acting responsibly in various work situations. 3.0 Ways of improvement and measures to determining my improvement over time Area of improvement Ways of improvement The process of measuring improvement over time Setting and achieving goals The skill of setting and achieving goals can be improved in the following ways: 1. Trying to be more clear on what I want and the reason why I want it. This is particularly important in ensuring that I am focused on specific issues and thus putting in the required effort to achieving the specified goals. 2. Increasing the desire to find more touching emotional reasons for achieving the specified goals. 3. Building the faith, the belief and the confidence. This will allow me to execute the goals with a lot more confidence. 4. Developing an action plan and the various resources that are required. 5. Staying focused and on-tracking towards my goals. -The time taken to accomplish the goals. This helps determine how effective the process has been. -The rate of failure to set and achieve certain goals. This is important in telling how efficient the process has been. -Diverting from the original goal. The ability to hold on to the identified goal until the end, tells of how focused I am ensuring that the specified goals have been realized. Managing others 1. Developing the relationship-building behaviors which include: asking questions, listening to ideas and lessons such as coaching and encouraging. This will promote good relationship between the managers and the employees as they will feel that their interests are kept at heart (Davis et al 2003). 2. Engaging in results-oriented activities such as creating different expectations, focusing on different goals, insisting on excellent results and setting up, appropriate controls. -Complaints or compliments from the people being managed. This can be done by allowing them to fill confidential forms about my management. -The outcome of different processes. Good results in some occasions can be a measure of a well-managed team. Communicating orally in large and small groups 1. Reading more from different materials such as business texts, newspapers and novels so as to improve on my knowledge, vocabulary and expression of ideas clearly. 2. Seeking understanding from the audience. This is important in ensuring that some points are emphasized which I think the audience did not understand. This is possible by practicing how to do the summaries of the presentations. -The questions or answers given by the audience. This will tell how much they have understood the content presented. Numerical competence 1. Enrolling is short accounting and numerous courses to enhance my proficiency. -Easier to use compute different numerals and apply them in the decision-making process. Coping and managing stress Using to four A’s model to cope and manage stress. The four A’s are: avoiding unnecessary stress; Altering the situation; adapting to the stressor and learning to accept a situation that I cannot change. -Ability to work in different situations. Conclusion This is analysis was aimed at carrying out a detailed audit of my personal skills that are important in my work placement, professional development and future career. In the process of executing this analysis, five specific areas which include: setting and achieving goals, managing others, communicating orally in large or small groups, numerical competence and coping and managing stress that need to be improved, have been identified. Further, the various ways in which these areas can be improved have also been discussed. Finally, the various measures that can be used to determine to what the extent the areas have been improved, have also been discussed. In general, professional development and future career advancement of an individual depends on the strategies that are employed. References Daley, B. & Torre, D. (2010). Concept Maps in Medical Education: an analytical literature review. Medical Education 244:440-448. Davis, D., Barnes, B., & Fox, R. (Eds.). (2003). The continuing professional development of physicians: From research to practice. Chicago: AMA Press. Deci, E.L. (2005). Intrinsic motivation. New York: Plenum Press. Fitzpatrick, J.L., Sanders, J.R., & Worthen, B.R. (2004). Program evaluation. (3rd ed.) Boston: Pearson. Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Damon, W. (2001). Good Work: When excellence and ethics meet. New York: Basic Books. Kinsella, E. (2009). Professional knowledge and the epistemology of reflective practice. Nursing Philosophy 11, 3-14. Sternberg, R.J. (2003). Wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Read More