Strategic Professional Development Assignment

Professional Development

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1.0 Introduction- Professional Development

Background

Professional development is very much required while doing any job in any industry. It is required to reflect on one's own development in order to achieve success in the relevant job. At the same time, professional development will open up various opportunities.. In this report, a few topics will be discussed in order to understand the impact of professional development. Various skills like rapport building skills, decision making skills, leadership qualities will be discussed.

Aim

In this report, the basic concept of these qualities will be elaborated to devise a strategic approach to professional development plan. Theories will be used in order to enhance the quality of the professional development report. A strategy will be attached in this report where feasible action plan and estimated time requirements will be noted down. On the other hand, critically, the importance of these skills will be discussed in this report.

Scope

The scope of a professional development plan is quite huge. It can help to build up a career. At the same time, it will generate a good reputation about one individual. On the other side, skills will be developed which will generate more acceptance in the career path

2.0 Analysis of topic issues application to professional development

2.1 Analysis of the topics

Topic 1: Business leadership in an everchanging environment:

Leadership is an integral part of a business to develop. It helps create a link between the core objective of the organisation or business’s core objective and innovation. The era of an ever-changing business environment pushes leadership strategies to evolve. The leader’s core duty is to fulfil the company's aims, keeping the company's vision in mind. They are also responsible for creating a healthy workplace environment. A leader should always know about the dynamic nature of the business, and he must inform the employees about it (Armanious & Padgett,2021). The organisation should apply all the strategic tools like SWOT, PESTEL, and Porter’s five forces to analyse the macro environment of the business environment. The business leaders must consider these tools and applications to motivate the employees and improve the organisation.

Figure 01: Business Leadership and ever-changing environment

(Source: Armanious & Padgett,2021)

Topic 2: Nascent Business Knowledge and Skills:

Business requires proper knowledge of the market and environment. Another essential part of doing business successfully is a skill. These two help businesses flourish and stand out in the competitive business market. Controlling, organising, planning, and leading are the golden rules for a successful business (Casali et al.,2018). A business requires good communication skills, critical thinking, and democratic decision-making. All these knowledge and skills will help a business to grow. Every employee should be allowed to state their point of view, and respecting each other’s values is also considered a skill and knowledge for a business.

The leaders should motivate and encourage the employees to state their thoughts in time of decision making. It will help the employees feel valued and be enthusiastic about placing their ideas in front of others.

Topic 3: Self-Reflection: A starting point for Professional Development:

Before starting a business, one must revise the skills they have. By evaluating their skills, they can understand the sectors they need to improve or the sectors they are good at. These self-observatory skills help an individual to develop professional and personal development skills. These skills help an individual to build their decision-making ability, confidence, and ability to self-examine. Introspection and self-evaluation are the old yet effective methods to achieve professional development (Sz?cs,2018). These techniques will lead one to achieve the desired success as these will help them identify their weaknesses and improve them with the help of developing skills.

However, all these methods should be done correctly. Otherwise, these also can lead to self-questioning, self-doubting, and loss of self-confidence.

Figure 02: Career Development Model

(Source: Sz?cs,2018)

Topic 4: Creativity and Creative Problem Solving:

Creative problem solving uses one’s creative mind to solve various issues that arise in any business. It is an essential skill that leaders must acquire. Creativity helps to come up with new and innovative solutions to a problem. This is a combination of thinking and evaluating. These two skills help to use imagination for the betterment of the organisation (Suyidno et al.,2019). It is a leadership skill that allows a leader to run his team successfully and gives him the ability to the leader to solve any unexpected situation with ease.

Convergent and divergent are the two main parts of creative problem-solving. In case of any problematic situation in an organisation, one must focus on planning, listening, and understanding the problem before giving any solution. This way, they can develop ideas and action plans to benefit the organisation and the employees.

Figure 03: Creative Problem Solving

(Source: Suyidno et al.,2019)

Topic 5: The Power of Thinking:

The way of thinking is an essential thing in the case of any business. It helps to determine the success of the company. Analytical, divergent, logical, and convergent are the main four ways of thinking. Sequential design thinking is the process that aloe a team understand the challenges and the users. It also helps to reanalyse the issues and develop creative solutions to the problems. The five phases of this type of thinking are- empathise, ideate, prototype, define, and test.

Critical thinking can be considered a part of problem-solving. It is essential for solving problems. One must have the skill of critical thinking (Farhan & Ahmed,2021). It helps solve problems with innovative ideas without harming the organisation or employees.

Topic 6: Personal Empowerment:

Self-motivation approaches like tracking self-progress, setting goals and plans, willingness to learn new things, and continuously evaluating self-help an individual in personal empowerment. Self-esteem helps to boost confidence and increase self-respect too. It also helps to determine the abilities and weaknesses too. Self-confidence allows one to do the work more passionately without any pressure (Garcia et al.,2021). It helps an individual deal with harsh situations. Self-actualisation is also required while working in a team. It gives the power to accept all as they are. It also helps to boost confidence. Self-determination allows one to understand the needs and wants of self and helps to identify the limitations.

Development of a positive attitude, self-care, and surroundings of positive people help in self-empowerment. It is essential to develop these skills to empower oneself to succeed professionally.

Figure 04: Importance of Self-empowerment

(Source: Garcia et al.,2021)

Topic 7: Learning to manage knowledge:

A business organisation consists of different domains, forms, methods of representation, and contextual meaning. This is the heterogeneous nature of knowledge management. The manager should focus on diversity and give equal chances to every employee. Knowledge transmission is the process that allows transferring required knowledge from one person to another. Another essential part of knowledge management is knowledge acquisition. It helps one to extract and organise knowledge from a source (Abdi et al.,2018). The last part is knowledge utilisation, an iterative process that leads one to utilise the knowledge acquired from a source to better the organisation or society they are part of.

All of these are different from each other, but still, they are interconnected to each other. These three approaches together help to manage knowledge.

Figure 05: Organisational Learning and Knowledge Management

(Source: Abdi et al.,2018)

Topic 8: Building Relationships, Networking, and Mentorship:

These three are interlinked and of utmost importance for businesses and individuals. Building relationships with the person with the same interests will help to acquire knowledge. Matching perspectives for a business leader are also beneficial. It helps to build a strong network and also helps to establish a successful business (Hagler,2018). Similarly, mentorship is essential to provide knowledge and appropriate skills to the employees. Keeping track of new trends is also possible with the help of these three.

 In professional development, these skills are crucial as they help determine mistakes and influence professional growth.

Topic 9: Establishing Goals for Professional Development:

Choosing measurable goals will help to keep track of the success. Before setting goals, one must be well aware of their interest and skills. Evaluation and creating a plan will also be beneficial. Staying calm and positive is the primary way to defeat the obstacle that may come from success in professional development. Expanding the network and searching for a good mentor can reduce the risks of the block to a certain extent.

Setting goals and achieving them is very influential for leaders. It polishes the leadership skills and helps apply them in the professional world to make actionable and achievable plans (Salo et al.,2019).

Figure 06: Professional Development Plan

(Source: Salo et al.,2019)

Topic 10: Adaptability Driving Opportunity:

This ever-changing era demands a flexible solution. It provides an organisation and an individual to stay in the business market. Staying stubborn with traditional methods does not pose any competitive advantage. It helps to achieve goals with adjustments. Adaptability is an essential soft skill that helps to learn new things when required by changing circumstances (Hou et al.,2021). Most employers look for these skills in the employee while hiring.

By improving critical thinking and problem-solving skills, one can master adaptability skills. Staying away from one’s comfort zone is another way to gain this skill.

Topic 11: Professional Judgement and Decision Making:

Decision-making needs different judgement, and one must consider all possible positive and negative situations. An organisation’s growth is also dependent on these two. The decision happens to be favourable for the organisation. Although, sometimes decision-making gets hampered by workplace conflicts due to poor communication (Lyle & Muir,2020). Decision-making is the decision taken by evaluating all the circumstances and assessing all the points presented by the employees. It is an essential responsibility of the leader.

Handling a tough situation is also very challenging for leaders who need special skills to perform. They must keep others’ opinions in mind and take decisions from the head, not the heart.

Figure 07: Professional Judgement

(Source: Lyle & Muir,2020)

Topic 12: Stop Procrastinating and Do Something!

Most businesses fail due to procrastination. Leaving work for the last moment and postponing deadlines are dreadful actions that lead to failure of work approaches like commitments, strict guidelines, and maintaining a disciplined lifestyle help eliminate procrastination (Alblwi et al.,2019). A specific time for specific work will help to do the work timely. A business leader should observe and acquire these skills to run his team successfully. Social distraction should be eliminated to stay focused on the work.

Highly ineffectual people not only affect their life decisions badly but also influence other people negatively. They are busy complaining and blaming others than doing something positive in their life.

Figure 08: How to fix Procrastination

(Source: Alblwi et al.,2019)

2.2 PD Strategy

In order to obtain a proper PD strategy , all the topics mentioned above will be given equal importance.

Goals	Actions	Time required
Increasing knowledge of business	In order to achieve knowledge in business, I have to go through business related books. At the same time, I can subscribe to blogs discussing business.	7 months
Self reflection	In order to do self reflection, I have to study my strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, I will try to enhance my strengths while focusing on weaknesses as well.	2 months
Enhancing creativity	In order to achieve creativity, I have to discuss ideas with my peers and mentors. Having an open mind will help me to think freely and it will enhance my creativity.	2 months
Power of thinking	Power of thinking will be achieved while going through various study materials and discussing ideas with my peers. It will provide me with the scope to think more.	2 months
Empowering oneself	Empowerment only can be achieved when someone has gained self confidence. In order to obtain self-confidence, I will be joining grooming classes in order to empower myself.	1 month
Adaptability	Adaptability can be gained while practicing it under various situations. While dealing with various situations eventually, I will be accustomed with the adaptation.	1 month
Managing knowledge	In order to manage knowledge, one need to study and understand the concept. It will eventually help me to manage my source of knowledge.	2 months
Building rapport	Good communication skills can help me to build rapport with my mentors and peers. At the same time, I will try to join some language class which will help me to gain confidence while talking to my peers.	6 months
Establishing goal	Establishing goals will be easier if I make a certain decision for my benefit. I have to focus on short term and long term objectives of my goals. By growing everyday with more knowledge I will be able to establish a goal.	2 months
Avoiding procrastination	Avoiding procrastination will be quite easier if I learn to manage my time table. At the same time, I will set alarm so that I can finish my tasks within the given deadline.	3 months
Making decisions	In order to make decisions for my benefit, I have to think about the pros and cons. I will receive this knowledge only while I will try to assess the entire situation closely.	2 months
Developing leadership	In order to develop leadership, I have to take initiative while getting an opportunity to lead the teammates. I have to practice active listening so that I can understand my teammates’ problems.	3 months

3.0 Theoretical Analysis

In order to understand the impact of a professional development plan, a few theories like Ann Roe’s needs theory, Frank Parsons Trait and Factor theory and Holland theory of vocational types can be applied here.

Ann Roe 'needs' theory

‘Needs’ theory is actually postulated by Ann Roe. According to this theory, various motivational factors indeed play a vital role in controlling an individual’s choice of career. Need of an individual generally determines the focus and interest of the individual (Yurtseven Avci, O'Dwyer & Lawson, 2020). At the same time, it also influences an individual to choose his occupation. This theory generally provides guidance about the personal traits of an individual. From childhood, the skills developed within a person generally play a huge role to determine his occupation in later life. While going through a professional development plan, various skills are generated within the individual from his childhood. Traits like making decisions, building rapports with peers and mentors, leading other people etc are often explained as the innate traits of an individual. According to the ‘needs’ theory by Ann Roe, these skills generally help one individual to choose his occupation. In order to achieve success in the career, one needs to focus on these skills and they need to develop these skills eventually. On the other hand, these skills can be nurtured while some training is taken. For example, communication skills can be developed when a language course will be taken. It will eventually help to build rapport with the peers and mentors as well (Parkhouse, Lu, & Massaro, 2019).

Frank Parsons Trait and Factor Theory

Trait and Factor theory was introduced by Frank Parsons. According to this theory, one can eventually find his appropriate occupation while focusing on his skills and values and personalities. If a closer look is given, then it can be understood that skills, values and personality often build up the perspective of an individual. Skills make one individual to make progress in his career while values and personality add some bonus while choosing a career option. As per the theory, an organised approach will be required to find out a proper career option for an individual (Popova et al., 2022). In order to focus on the career option, one needs to understand the depth of his values and personalities. While doing a professional development plan, while going through all the skills, it will build one’s personality as well. Skills like leadership skills, adaptability skills often help one to shape their values. It also has a huge influence on the personality of any individual.

Situational leadership theory

While building a professional development plan, it is necessary to build up leadership skills. Generally it is an innate skill of an individual but with the right approach of training one can easily develop leadership skills. Leadership skill is nothing but the inborn talent to lead the people to achieve organisational success in life. Situational leadership depends on various situations (Sz?cs, 2018). According to the theory, whenever some crisis moment arises, leaders automatically take charge to deal with the crisis. There is no proper strategy for this kind of leadership. Whatever the situation demands, the leaders work accordingly. This actually helps the leaders to think in a creative way. It also enhances their problem solving skills and negotiation skills as well.

4.0 Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is a huge factor for the professional development plan. Critical thinking helps one individual to observe everything from a critical point of view. The observing power of one individual makes him question everything. Thus a person gets various views about a specific thing. Critical thinking will eventually help people to understand them better. It will be easier to find the strengths and weaknesses of an individual while doing critical thinking (King et al., 2021). It will be helpful while doing an analysis on a professional development plan and taking decisions accordingly. Applying the knowledge received from critical thinking, it will be easier to apply these knowledge in order to obtain more growth. At the same time, it encourages self reflection which is very important while choosing any kind of profession. As per various theories of professional development plan, values and personalities are often helpful to decide the occupation of an individual. It will help one to reflect on his decision making skills. While critically thinking about every situation, an individual will be able to see the good and bad sides of the situation (Martin et al., 2019).It will be easier for the person to make some decisions about the situation. Situational leadership is based on the idea while thinking critically and taking advantage of the situation while devising any kind of strategies.

Conclusion

Professional development actually helps to find more opportunities to enhance the graph of the career. While devising a plan for professional development, it is important to focus on the skills which are required for the chosen job role. At the same time, professional development will promote the growth of one individual with a career based approach. In order to understand the importance of personal development, in this report one analysis is done based on the required skills in any job field. At the same time, a personal development plan will be made where all the action plans are mentioned. At the same time, deadlines to achieve these goals are also mentioned. These skills or qualities are analysed to understand their impacts on professional life. At the same time, with the help of a few theories these skills are analysed. Critically the position and importance of professional development plan in an individual’s career are demonstrated in this report.

References

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