Characteristics of Personal Development Plan - Essay Example

Personal Development Plan Teacher’s [Pick the Contents Introduction 3 Section Professional Development Plan 3 Self-Assessment: Work-Life Balance 4 2)Group Work: Developing Leadership Skills 5 3)Academic Goal: Effective Referencing Skills 6 Progress Review 7 1)Self-Assessment: Work-Life Balance 7 2)Group Work: Developing Leadership Skills 8 3)Academic Goal: Effective Referencing Skills 9 Long-Term Plan of Action 10 Conclusion 11 References 13 13 Introduction Personal development plan is an effective way of developing desired skills that one needs to develop for increased employability and efficiency in academic life. This practice helps in identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses and leads to assessment of areas that need development in the long-run. Followed by assessment is formation of goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound in nature. Personal development plan also helps in identifying ways of achieving these targets and assessing one’s performance at the end of decided duration. With the help of personal development plan, I identified that I need to develop an ideal routine with suitable work-life balance, effective leadership skills and also learn Harvard referencing. A personal development plan was followed by a progress review that helped me in assessing my performance at frequent intervals. Section 1: Professional Development Plan During my academic year, I have performed critical analysis of my skills inventory on frequent basis. I identified that there are several areas that required substantial improvement. Since these skills were directly related to me selection in future employer organizations and also to my performance as a student, therefore I decided to work on them by beginning with a professional development plan. For the purpose of knowing my strengths and weaknesses, I took several tests like Myers-Briggs and Belbin’s team inventory tests (1981) to understand my personality type and the roles that I usually perform in a group. I also undertook Honey and Mumford’s learning styles’ test that indicated my learning style to be reflective one. Based on the review of strengths and weaknesses, given below are my goals for personal and professional development. 1) Self-Assessment: Work-Life Balance Thorough analysis of my daily schedule indicated that I was often pushing myself in order to meet the deadlines. Where I tried to manage my work and studies and was usually successful at meeting deadlines and commitment, I ended up working extra which results in anxiety and stress. Being an international student, I had go an extra mile to get good grades which pushed me to work exceptionally hard even after usual working hours. Critical analysis of my routine indicated that I was often spending time on things that are either urgent-not important or urgent-important whereas my ideal selection should be not-urgent-important that would allow me to work systematically without getting stressed (Covey, 2004). Therefore, for having a better work-life balance, I set myself a goal of having a decent 9am-7 pm work routine and having my tasks completed before the deadline in order to avoid anxiety and have sufficient time for correction (Koch, 2004). Beginning with keeping a planner for two months, I planned to keep appointments for tasks and ensure that my work is completed at least 24 hours before the deadline with 9-7 regime. Time after that would be for my personal leisure so that I am always rejuvenated and energized (Sander, 2013). Developing this behaviour is essentially important for my personal and professional growth as times are exceptionally demanding. In order to tap into my talents, I should be ready to meet the challenges offered by my academic and professional life. Being weary and tired would reduce my efficiency level. # Activity Resource Required First Assessment (By 2nd month of academic year) Second Assessment (By 4th month of academic year) Third Assessment (By 8th Month of academic year) 1 Keep a planner A personal planner and a timer Distinguish between urgent and important tasks and meet deadlines by following 9 am to 7 pm routine Having a success rate of 80 percent and a established routine for exercise and other activities Having a success rate of 90 percent and having ample time for exercise and relaxation 2) Group Work: Developing Leadership Skills Having effective leadership skills is important for one’s professional growth. Analyzing my role in the team activities, I realized that I am an efficient team worker who contributes well in group activities. However, when it comes to leading a group, I find it difficult to play this role. I often face this difficulty because it is hard for me to say no to anyone and also listening to various opinions aired during a group activity and presenting a solution that is acceptable to all the team members (Zaccaro, Rittman and Marks, 2001, Yukl, 2003)). Due to this pressure, I often missed opportunities of leading teams. Where this skill is essential for my professional growth, academic life was the right time to begin developing it. For this purpose, I decided to read available literature on the subject matter and start participating in team activities in a leading role. # Activity Resource Required First Assessment (By 2nd month of academic year) Second Assessment (By 4th month of academic year) Third Assessment (By 8th Month of academic year) 1 Read journal articles on leadership skills and effective oral communication Access to library, teachers’ references, internet Read at least 5 articles within two months Read at least 10 articles of renowned theorists and authors Read at least 15 articles of renowned theorists and authors 2 Be a leader of a team Undertake this role at least 4 times. Carefully observe how effective leaders work and respond to team’s input Undertake this role at least 6 times in a group activity. Inculcate earlier observations in my communication styles. Get peer reviews. Undertake this role at least 8 times in a group activity. Inculcate earlier observations in my communication styles. Get peers and teacher’s reviews. 3) Academic Goal: Effective Referencing Skills Most of work in academic assignments require thorough referencing in order to provide evidences for the claims and the facts used from available literature. This activity is also exceptionally important in order to avoid plagiarism which is strictly penalized according to School’s policy. I often found it difficult to reference sources and present them in a correct Harvard style. Therefore, I decided to go through guidelines present online regarding Harvard referencing. For this purpose, given below was my course of action: # Activity Resource Required First Assessment (By 2nd month of academic year) Second Assessment (By 4th month of academic year) Third Assessment (By 8th Month of academic year) 1 Read guidelines available online Access to library, teachers’ references, internet Refer to it while doing academic assignments Refer to it while doing academic assignments Refer to it while doing academic assignments 2 Practice referencing on daily basis Guidelines Learn and practice referencing of books, journals, online sources with number of authors Learn and practice referencing of reports, e-books, PDFs, newspapers and other electronic sources Getting work reviewed by teachers and getting at least 80 percent success rate. Progress Review Initially it was difficult to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses, and develop a personal development plan that would help me in personal and professional life. For this purpose, several theoretical models helped greatly and by assessing my skills set, I managed to set goals that were specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. Having a definite timeframe assisted in setting definite deadlines that pushed me to work more hard towards achievement of these goals. 1) Self-Assessment: Work-Life Balance For identifying my learning needs, I assessed my overall routine and also areas that required improvement. I found out that I take my work religiously which helps in producing quality work presented within deadlines. However, due to lack of prioritization, I often found it hard to meet my commitments and not being exhausted at day’s end. It was hard to change this regime as it became my lifestyle which included getting minimum sleep and practically no social life. Therefore, I decided to assess the nature of work on urgent/ important criteria and provide it a time slot in my planner only if I could do it (Covey, 2004). Where keeping a planner was hard itself as it added to the number of books that I was carrying with me all the time but slowly and gradually, it started helping me out by acting as a guideline for future commitment. I also decided to make an entry in my diary about whether I was able to meet my 9 am-7 pm commitment (Koch, 2004). With frequent failures in the first month, my success rate was around 60 percent. I noticed a substantial change in my energy level and the quality of my learning during academic hours. My social circle also began to grow and I also had an opportunity to spend quality time with my family. This overall satisfaction motivated me more and pushed me to follow this schedule. By fourth month, the success rate was 80 percent which I was analyzing by calculating the number of days I worked after 7 pm. Suitable time allocation helped me to cater unavoidable urgent tasks and adjust them accordingly in my schedule. I also discussed my performance with few teachers and peers and received positive responses. 2) Group Work: Developing Leadership Skills Developing leadership skills was one of the areas that I wanted to concentrate on especially as it was directly related to my employability. For this purpose, I read several leadership articles and made notes regarding important points. My first month was mainly spent on reading articles and observing behaviours of team members in the presence of effective team leaders. This observation along with viewing videos of effective leadership speeches also helped me in understanding the importance of communication and ability to influence and help team members. In the second month, I tried to take up several assignments in a leading role and was successful in a few. I shared my goals with one of my peers who was also part of these teams and received assessment from him by the end of group activities. Thorough practice and literary knowledge helped me understand the dynamics of group activities and also effects of situations on leaders (Yukl, 2003, Hersey and Blanchard, 1969). By the end of eight months, I had read more than 30 articles and my performance score was 8 on the scale of 10. Since it was an assessment of a peer, therefore I decided to get myself assessed by a teacher as well for the sake of having an expert opinion. After third rating about my leadership and communication styles, my teacher told me that I have shown a transition from an authoritarian leader to participative leader (Johnson, 2012). Although the opportunity to practice in this area was rather limited but the overall experience helped me develop the desired traits. 3) Academic Goal: Effective Referencing Skills Learning Harvard referencing was particularly hard for me due to variations in punctuations. Remembering them was also a major difficulty due to which I used to get deductions when my papers received teacher’s markings. Beginning with learning the basics helped greatly. Although during first month, it was really difficult to memorize the minor details however frequent practice finally started paying off in the second month. I began with books and journals as they were relatively easy and straight forward. Moving to electronic resources then became a little easier since I had my basics strengthen. Although variations in the electronic sources tend to be complicated for me however frequent practice and going through Harvard referencing guidelines helped greatly. By the end, I requested one of my teachers to assess my referencing of academic sources. The marks that I received were about 90 percent which was higher than my target in the goal setting phase. Long-Term Plan of Action # Activity Resource Required First Assessment (By 2nd month of academic year) Second Assessment (By 4th month of academic year) Third Assessment (By 8th Month of academic year) 1 Self: Knowledge of automated systems such as SAP and Oracle Online certifications and product demos available on web Gaining familiarity through online information and product demo. Selecting courses available in the university regarding ERPs and gain practical knowledge. Opting for online certifications. 2 Group Goal: Learning negotiation & persuasion Access to library and web Read literature available online on the subject matter Conduct at least four mock sessions with peers and practice it in academic sessions Participate in at least five group activity and get my negotiations skills rated by peers and teachers. 3 Academic Goal: Developing presentation skills Literature available on the web and practice Give at least four academic presentation and two peer presentations Give at least six academic presentations and receive 70 percent successes rate Give at least nine academic presentations and receive 80 percent successes rate In the light of personal development plan formed and followed earlier, I realized that it is an effective activity which helps one in assessing the skills that they need to develop with a concrete strategy map to reach one’s goals. Following my PDP religiously helped me in developing the desired skills that would help me in my academic and professional life. Due to effectiveness of my last experience, I have decided to use this practice again for developing further skills which include gaining knowledge of automated systems and ERPs, learning negotiation and persuasion as part of group activity and developing effective presentations skills as an academic goal. These goals are specifically important as they would increase my prospects of employability in future. Having knowledge of automated systems is very important in present day organizations as most of them have integrated system that leads to interdepartmental and intradepartmental connectivity. As far as presentation and negotiations skills are concerned, they are not only important for me to have during my professional life but will also help during group activities and presentations during academic year. In order to achieve them, I have decided to use the literature available online and in library regarding these three areas. For automated systems, I have also decided to do a certification which would add to my resume as well and will help me get noticed by prospective employers as well. For other skills, I will be participating in mock presentation and negotiations sessions with my peers along with academic group activities. Conclusion Personal development plan has helped me greatly in developing skills that I selected for myself as part of skills review. Beginning with assessment of strengths and weakness, I analyzed my overall routine and the areas that required thorough efforts. This activity helped me identify that I needed to work on work-life balance, leadership skills and Harvard referencing as immediate academic and professional development goals. Having these objectives assessed on the criteria of SMART goals made me give them an achievable outlook with a concrete and detailed plan to achieve them and assess my performance at different intervals. I have further decided to follow this regime for development of more skills in future. References Anonymous. 2011. Harvard System. Anglia Ruskin University, [online] Available at: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm [Accessed 3 April, 2013]. Belbin, R. M., 1981. Management Teams, New York: John Wiley. Covey, S.R., 2004. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Free Press. Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H., 1969. An introduction to situational leadership. Training and Development Journal, 23, pp. 26–34. Johnson, R., 2012. Five Different Types of Leadership Styles, [online] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-different-types-leadership-styles-17584.html [Accessed 3rd April, 2013]. Koch, R., 2004., Living the 80/20 Way: Work Less, Worry Less, Succeed More, Enjoy More, London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Saunders, E.G., 2013. How to Allocate Your Time and Your Effort. Harvard Business Review. Schwartz, T. and McCarthy, C,. 2007. Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time. Harvard Business Review. Yukl, G., 2003. Leadership in organizations. 4thed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Zaccaro, S. J., Rittman, A. L., & Marks, M. A., 2001. Team leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 12: 451-483. Read More