Employability Skills and Leadership - Coursework Example

Employability Skills, Leadership & Group Work Portfolio Employability Skills, Leadership & Group Work Portfolio Portfolio Task 2 Employees are normally asked whether they are open with their colleagues and work effectively to achieve their organisational goals and objectives (Handy 2000, p. 23). In such as situation, psychologists claim that two important things usually come to play, that is, an employee’s self-discovery, as well as his communication with other workers, in order to build trust with them (Luft n.d, p. 1). Researchers and scientists claim that the Johari Window is a model, which assist any worker in doing this, plus it aids in the learning of vital thing concerning oneself, thus you develop fully as a human being (Luft n.d, p. 1). Through the Johari Window, one realises the qualities of his or her co-workers very well, and from then on, you can build a solid trust with them. Therefore, due to this positive working surrounding, a worker eventually achieves a lot with his or her workmates (Handy 2000, p. 23). The Johari Window is basically a tool that aids in improving understanding between individual; and, as researchers put it, today, the best asset of any organisation is their labour force (Hase et al. 1999, p. 51). Thus, if this labour force is in understanding with one another, then the organisational goals will be achieved effectively (Luft n.d, p. 1). They two important ideas concerning this tool is that it enables any employee to build trust with others through disclosing significant information about yourself and that workers can learn about themselves, as well as come to terms with their own personality issues, through the help of feedback from others (Luft n.d, p. 1). Through explaining the thoughts of the Johari Window, organisations can help their workforce to understand the values and benefits of self-disclosure, plus they can encourage their workers to give in addition to accepting, constructive feedback from others (Hase et al. 1999, p. 52). When this is done in an overly sensitive manner, it will be much easier to aid people in becoming better team workers since they will trust others more making in much easier to solve organisational problems and be more effective in achieve the organisational goals (Handy 2000, p. 24). It is vital for any organisation to adopt this tool in order to allow their workers to realise their skills and the skills of other workmates, which will make it easier for them to work as a team (Luft n.d, p. 1). Portfolio Task 3 When it comes to my strengths, I consider myself flexible, adaptable, mentoring, self-disciplined, persuasive, team player, open-minded plus a good listener. My classmates tell me that I prefer taking a relaxed approach and also delegate the chance to others. They claim that I am respectable and considerate and that I am a good speaker. Some said that I am very calm, but yet dominating and that I am aware of my own position. They said apart from being confident, that I am also patient and that I prefer helping in elaborating and rephrasing points for others. They said that I motivate many people and that I am a fast initiative person. They also said that I am reserved and communicate well with everybody. The role I would like to achieve is a teaching assistant job. The suitable strengths and skills that I have for this role are numerous, which include reading, writing and numeracy skills, good communication skills, the ability to build good relationships with children and adults, excellent organisational skills, a love of working with children and the ability to manage groups of pupils, the ability to manage difficult behaviour effectively and flexibility and creativity. As we speak, I volunteer as an assistant in various primary classrooms helping children with special education needs, such as dyslexia and autism. My areas of development are commitment to working with pupils with special educational needs; excellent communication and interpersonal skills; initiative and problem-solving skills; and the ability to manage confrontation and challenging behaviour. Visual Employment Plan Who Am I? Analytical, driven, ambitious, creative, team driven, disciplined. Employment Teaching assistant for special education needs (autism and dyslexia). My Goals 1-2months advocating for inclusion all of facets of school life for special education students and enlisting support for normal education teachers aid disabled students 2-4 months providing skills vital so that students achieve their potential and encourage parents to be vigorously included in the educational process 4-6 months offer activities and an environment conducive to the growth and improvement of emotional well-being and self-esteem 6-8 months help special students prepare for a effective transition from the school environment Competences Flexible Adaptable Mentoring Self-discipline Persuasive Team player Open-mindness Good listener Personal preferences Being involved in a competitive environment with opportunities for performance Values Maximize on time, create efficiency, contribute to team objective or perform as an individual Limitations International experience, foreign language Areas of Development Commitment to working with pupils with special educational needs; Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; Initiative and problem-solving skills; The ability to manage confrontation and challenging behavior; Support Needed The supported needed to achieve such goals will be from parents, other teachers and the entire school administration. Portfolio Task 4 During our course work, we had to involve ourselves with a friendly sociable young girl called Petra. Based on my skills, I was elected team leader and had to ensure that our goals are achieved. In order to work successfully, we had to ensure that people communicate well. The questions we asked ourselves were whether people can explain their own ideas effectively and also whether they can express their feelings in a very open and non-threatening way. As the group leader I had to listening carefully to the suggestion of other students regarding how we could help Petra be educated successfully. I could sense how people felt regarding different ideas by mainly checking their nonverbal cues. At times, I even used to initiate conversations concerning the progress of the work or when I sense that there was tension brewing. With the kind of experience I have and extensive research from different literature such as Sanderson & Smull (2005, p. 42), regular, open communication, wherein members of a group share their thoughts, feelings and ideas, is a must for effective group work. When the group members participate freely and communicate openly, it will enable you to form a healthy climate of working together. Some of the skills that I realised from this group work are openness, trust and self-disclosure, support and respect. The group members communicated their views and opinions in a manner that showed respects to others centering on what people can learn instead of who is to blame. Group members showed support for one another as we tried to accomplish the goals set for Petra. They also demonstrated a sense of team loyalty as they tried to support members who are facing difficulties carrying out their duties in the group. We viewed each group member not as competitors (which is usually within a normal individualistic educational system), but as special collaborators. Researchers have claimed that one in a while, in someone’s career, an individual might feel bored about his or her work (Joseph et al. 2015, p. 298). This might be provoked by millions of reasons such as petty rivalries, unkind colleagues and even groups forming against one colleague maybe due to their good work quality and also appreciating from top management that make other workers resent them. Sadly, ignoring others or hiding in your cubicle is never a valid option (Joseph et al. 2015, p. 298). Though it may give people some break or peace of mind, sooner or later they are going to have to come up from their work cave and interact with their workmates. And since personal skills are an important part of teamwork and significant in nearly every profession, it is important to know how to apply them when such a situation arises. In my teaching assistant role, the atmosphere was no different than the one explained above of a clique forming against one teacher (Cote & Miners 2006, p. 2). However, as time went by, the teacher manager to win over the hearts of his other colleagues enabling them to trust him so that they could work effectively as a group. What was applying here was his emotional intelligence. It refers to the ability to monitor ones own, as well as other peoples emotions, to differentiate between many emotions so as to label them appropriately, and to utilise emotional information to manage thinking and behaviour (Cote & Miners 2006, p. 2). The five domains of emotional intelligence include self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy and social skills (Cote & Miners 2006, p. 2). Emotional intelligence (EQ) at the place of work is about how colleagues and relationships function; this includes relationships between directors, between colleagues, and staff and also relationships between the organisation and its clients, suppliers, stakeholders, competitors and networking contacts, which is basically everyone. It is about teamwork, leadership, partnership, as well as vision. Founded on outstanding practice and comprehension of communication, the EQ business time and again excels in all these fields and has significant insight into how this occurs (Cote & Miners 2006, p. 2). An organisation that is EQ has workers who are: motivated, efficient, happy, confident, productive, likable, aligned with the work, and highly pledged to the organisation committed. For my chosen colleague, in spite of all the challenges this guy went through, he had the ability to recognise and understand people’s personal moods plus their emotions and what drives them in addition to the effect they had on other people. According to Goleman (1998), such an individual is someone who is self-aware and that traits that follow this are self-confidence, realistic, and a self-deprecating sense of humour. My colleague was successful in winning over the hearts of other because he was able to understand what they needed. He was able to understand why they were treating him as an outcast and worked against that in order to build their trust on him. This guy was self-regulatory. He had the ability to control disruptive moods and impulses, and also the propensity to suspend judgement and reason before making any decisions. This works well in making people be comfortable with you and also prove your integrity. On top of that, his social skills proved how he was proficient in building networks and managing relationships, and a skill to find build rapport through finding common ground. According to Goleman (1998), the hallmarks of social skills comprise of persuasiveness, effectiveness in leading change, and proficiency building and leading teams. It reached a time the entire organisation was behind the person, which the top management was looking into and eventually they elevated him to the vice principal role in the school. At times, I used to look at him and tell myself that his motivation comes from within. This is because his passion to work came from internal reasons, which went beyond money and status. This is because being in such a situation like his, most people would get bored with the work and seek for greener pastures, but he chose to stand firm with the school and develop himself from there. Referring to Goleman (1998), the hallmarks of being self driven or internally motivated comprise of a strong urge to achieve, hopefulness even in the face of opposition, as well as organisational commitment. Most organisations need to realise these about their workers in order to bring the best out of them. Portfolio Task 5 Person-centred planning refers to a way of discovering what individuals want, the support they require and how they can get it (Cambridge & Carnaby 2005, p. 5). The SEN Green Paper repeats to people what different households have been informing us for decades, that the statementing process is both adversarial and bureaucratic. The 0 – 25 Education, Health and Care Plan, as well as the SEN reforms entirely are planned to tackle these problems (OBrien and Blessing, 2011. P. 32). However, we have to learn to tackle this in different ways. The SEN legislation states that young people and a child’s family must be conferred with when creating and reviewing EHC plans and these plans need to consider their wishes, views and aspirations (Cambridge & Carnaby 2005, p. 33). We can go a bit further and have them central to the entire planning procedure. Neill et al. (2008, p. 1) takes us in that path, with vivid principles that claim that EHC plans have to be person-centred, result-focused and endorse young people, children and families to plan for their future. The study on person-centred planning assists us in identifying key lessons to take into consideration as we develop fresh methods of thinking and working together (OBrien and Blessing, 2011. P. 49). The planners and coordinators for the 0-25 plan have to demonstrate commitment to person-centred traits: keeping children and the young person at the heart of the plan development in addition to its reviews; be in a position to expertly utilise person-centred practices, and be dedicated to raising the ambitions of children, young people, families and staff. Sanderson & Smull (2005, p. 90) has carried out extensive research into the competencies needed to plan co-ordinators to start to explore this. It is a significant tool for empowering people to have a say in the planning process and to effectively shape their futures (Sanderson & Smull 2005, p. 90). It is a planned method of organising planning that centers on the unique strengths, values, preferences, needs, capacities, and preferred goals or outcomes of the person (Sanderson & Smull 2005, p. 90). The development, execution and analysis of 0-25 plans cannot be viewed as exclusively the task of the plan co-ordinator. Everyone has to comprehend their responsibilities and role in attaining change for young people and children through the 0-25 plan. For example, in one Local Authority 25 schools are already receiving training on the 0-25 EHC plans, and what this implies for both SENCOs and head teachers is that they need to be aware of their children’s needs in order to plan for their success effectively (Sanderson & Smull 2005, p. 94). Plan co-ordination cannot be integrated into staff roles devoid of being taken away. People require dedicated support and time to do this well. Another example is how one Local Authority is researching on how Assessment and Reviewing Officers can manage the Education Health and Care Plans, and all important things that could be needed to transform their role to make this possible (Sanderson & Smull 2005, p. 94). 0-25 plans will make a huge difference when they are planned and executed in a person-centred culture. This implies that teachers, managers, social and health care workers will have to adapt to person-centred approaches and practices, and schooling institutions develop personalised curriculums. For example, Oxley Park Academy have investigated how they can deliver fully personalised learning, and what this implies for the teachers, children, as well as the school entirely, and summarised this in a simple one-page strategy. You can go through Schwartz et al. (2000, p. 78) to understand how secondary and primary schools are utilising person-centred practices and investing in simple profiles for pupils and teachers, as well. Local leadership charged with the implementation of 0-25 plans should mutually produce a shared vision with families, and exhibit active pledge to functioning in person-centred manners themselves. This implies that head teachers, health professionals, senior managers, task groups and family leaders among others comprehend and utilise person-centred practices and methods (Sanderson & Smull 2005, p. 95). People comprehend that they are not only attempting to execute a new planning process, but functioning towards important cultural change, which results to different outcomes for young individuals and their families (Sanderson & Smull 2005, p. 95). The training for schools comprises of head teachers, the Inclusion Team, SENCO’s and families. Evaluation, inspection and regulation have to center on the proof of outcomes being attained for children, fairness of access to plans, and how children and families were to making important decisions. The independent evaluation that was recently conducted by Emerson et al. (2005, p. 41), is significantly helping in informing growth of the legislation and nationwide execution of the reforms. One of the goals of the evaluation is to find out whether method developed by the government increase real choice and management and enhance outcomes for households from a broad variety of backgrounds with young people and disabled children, as well as those who have SEN (Emerson et al. 2005, p. 41). Information from 0-25 plans and their analysis, openly informs development and commissioning plans. Different teams have been using Working Together for Change, a process, which utilises information from person-centred reviews in order to inform planned commissioning (Sanderson & Smull 2005, p. 96). Finally, PCP tools can be overly powerful ways of creative thinking, focused listening and alliance building, which have been proved both through experience and research in order to make a considerable effect in the lives of individuals who utilise human support services, when utilised creatively by individuals with a pledge to person-centeredness (Emerson et al. 2005, p. 42). Applied well, with commitment and enthusiasm, these tools might be an outstanding way of planning with people who may otherwise find it hard to plan their lives, or who find out that other individuals and services are organising their lives for them. References Cambridge, P & Carnaby, S 2005, Person centred planning and care management with people with learning disabilities, Jessica Kingsley Publishing, London. Cote, S & Miners, C T 2006, "Emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence and job performance", Administrative Science Quarterly vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 1-28. Emerson, E et al. 2005, The impact of person centred planning institute of health research, Lancaster University, Lancaster. Goleman, D 1998, Working with emotional intelligence, Bantam Books, New York. Handy, C 2000, 21 Ideas for Managers, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Hase, S et al. 1999, The Johari Window and the dark side of organisations, Southern Cross University, East Lismore, Australia. Joseph, D L, Jin, J, Newman, D A & OBoyle, E H 2015, "why does self-reported emotional intelligence predict job performance? A meta-analytic investigation of mixed EI," Journal of Applied Psychology vol. 100, no. 5, pp. 298–342. Luft, J n.d, Chapter 5: the Johari Window: a model for soliciting and giving feedback, viewed 23rd April, 2015, at http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/sgitc/read5.htm Neill, M et al. 2008, A positive approach to risk requires person centred thinking, viewed 23rd April, 2015, at http://networks.csip.org.uk/Personalisation/Topics/tags/?tag=Risk OBrien, J. and Blessing, C. 2011. Conversations on Citizenship and Person Centred Work. Inclusion Press, Toronto. Sanderson, H & Smull, M 2005, Essential lifestyle planning for everyone, Helen Sanderson Associates, London. Schwartz, A A et al. 2000, Defining person centeredness: results of two consensus methods. Education and training in mental retardation and developmental disabilities, Oxford University Press, Oxford. 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