Development in the Past Twelve Months
The assignment focuses on the development of personal skills. A personal development plan is set up in the assignment that focuses on the issues faced while dealing with scenarios within an organisation. The assignment reflects on the development that has taken place within the researcher in the twelve months of working in an organisation. The skills that are still needed to be developed and the learning skills adopted by the researcher are also analysed. The area required for development is the communication with other people in the workplace. SWOT analysis and auditing are done in order to analyse the development.
According to Shockley-Zalabak (2014), in order remain successful in an organisation, it is necessary to develop communication skills that can help in expressing thoughts and opinions. Informal and formal communication is one of the main aspects by which an individual can self-promote skills and knowledge. This is an effective technique for progressing in an organisation and develops a sense of leadership among individuals (Adler, Rodman and DuPré, 2016). In this regard, it can be said that in order to gain recognition in an organisation, I needed to develop my communication skills while interacting with other people. My inability to communicate with people was a drawback for me.
At the beginning of my career, I had been unable to communicate well with other people. A sense of nervousness existed within me if I encountered people senior to me. As stated by Novik and Podgórecki (2015), communication with various people can help in the development of skills and knowledge among an individual. In this regard, my skills and knowledge were developing at a slow pace due to my ability to speak with other people. In this context, I can relate a particular incident that took place at the workplace. The incident occurred three months ago while I was working in a team.
While working on a project I was asked to maintain all records regarding the ways by which the team can function effectively. I was maintaining the possible resources required for the completion of the project that I was working in. Working within a team requires a combined effort of each individual to attain success (Truong, 2016). In this regard, I had to work with every team member in order to ensure that the project becomes a success.
However, due to lack of my ability to communicate properly with others, I was unable to share valuable information with the team members. This led to a situation wherein the progress of the team slowed down. This mainly happened due to miscommunication within the team, particular between my team member and me. Despite this, I managed to provide the required information using non-verbal communication to the team members. This helped in solving the issues but not in a manner that would have been convenient with verbal communication. As observed by Cox and Pawar, (2016), verbal and non-verbal communication both is required for maintaining relationships with members of an organisation.
Explaining the Development
Looking back at the incident, I can now say that at present time, I would have been bold enough to approach the team members and made them aware of the situation in the workplace. This could have helped in deciding upon matters for the team more quickly. At the same time, my fear of communicating with others could have also been averted. The action implemented by me at that time was not effective as it was late and the team had to suffer consequences because of that. Presently, however, I have managed to improve upon my communication skills while talking to others. I have developed flexibility and a have added humour to my strength while communicating with other people. However, a communication skill that I need to develop involves the skill to make a proper and formal presentation. According to Cottrell (2015), proper presentation of skills is important in order to become an effective leader in the future. Thus, the skill of making a formal presentation and delivering it in front of people is an attribute that I need to develop. This can be done by analysing my strengths and weaknesses that I possess while communicating with people.
In the light of the development of the communication skills, I had managed to analyse myself in terms of areas that can be used in order to develop my professional skills and areas that require development. I had also undertaken a communication audit test that helped me to understand the areas in which I lack competence. Schmeck (2013) stated that analysing the weakness of an individual could help in developing the skills required for success in a proper manner. The opportunities that arise due to the development of the skills can help in building the personality of an individual and ensure future success. In the light of this statement, it can be said that after conducting a SWOT analysis of my abilities I have managed to point out three main weaknesses that I possess (Refer to Appendix 1).
The first weakness that I possess is that I am unable to communicate well with people. This has been my main disadvantage, as I tend to stammer or lose sight of the purpose assigned to me. This habit almost had a bad impact on the group members with whom I had worked. Due to my inability to communicate well, the productivity of my team suffered. Another weakness of mine is the fact that I become extremely nervous while addressing a group of people. This happens while making an important presentation in front of a large audience. As stated by Sternberg and Zhang (2014) the ability to address a group of people can help an individual to become a good leader in the future. Hence, in order to become a successful leader, I need to develop this attribute in a proper manner. The third weakness that I analysed was my inability to listen properly.
Learning Styles
Listening is an important skill in order to communicate effectively with people (Manolis et al. 2013). A good listener can understand the problems that people are facing and provide solutions based on the situation. Hence, I need to achieve this skill in order to attain my personal goals and contribute to the success of my organisation. After analysing my weakness, I underwent a skill audit test that helped me to identify more areas that I require to work in. My overall interpersonal skill score was 49% with my emotional intelligence being as low as 46%. Kolb (2014) stated that the development of emotional intelligence could help in understanding the ways by which people react to various situations. It can help to build an emotional connection with people and make decisions based on it (Refer to Appendix 2).
Other skills that I need to develop are not as low as my emotional intelligence. For example, the test showed that I am an average listener. This means that I listen to the problems of the people but very often, other thoughts distract me. My verbal communication and communication groups also have an average rating. This signifies the fact I can work on these skills and ensure that I develop these skills in an efficient manner. The results of the test show that I require more time for the development of my interpersonal skills. As observed by Manolis et al. (2013), proper development of interpersonal skills can lead to building positive relations at the workplace. This is an important aspect of the development of a good career as a leader. A person with a higher emotional intelligence enjoys more successful career growth and can contribute strongly to the development of the organisation. Thus, the skill test and SWOT analysis helped me to develop a professional plan based on my weaknesses.
According to Ali et al. (2016), in order to develop into a proper leader and address the issues that hamper the development of personal skills, adoption of learning styles is important. The most popular types of learning styles include the styles suggested by Kolb and VARK. Kolb’s learning styles suggest that a learner needs to address four stages in order to develop a comprehensive understanding and development of skills. These stages include concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation. These stages help to take a learner back to previous experiences and encourage them to perform the same task in a different manner. According to McGrath (2014), this helps an individual to estimate the development that has taken place since the start of training. It has been observed that people prefer a single learning style depending on certain factors that influence people. A person can be considered to have gathered effective learning if the person undergoes the four stages in a systematic manner. A concrete experience can be reflected upon the formation of concepts and drawing a relevant conclusion. The conclusion is later used to test the hypothesis of the experiment or action. Thus, this can lead to the development of personal skills based on the experiences gathered by the individuals (Nahavandi, 2016).
Figure1: Kolb learning style
(Source: Beausaert et al. 2013)
On the other hand, the VARK learning style introduces four factors that need to be considered for effective learning. These factors include visual learning, auditory learning, read/write learning and kinesthetic learning. Every style has a different characteristic that helps in the personal development of an individual. For example, visual learners have a preference towards seeing things while learning. These people prefer the use of graphs and charts in order to learn in an effective manner. Auditory learners prefer learning only through audio. These people listen to people and develop learning people based on the experiences shared by the people. The read and write style of learning is the most common method that is used by every people at different stages of their lives (Nahavandi, 2016). The kinesthetic learning prefers learning by experience. The experiences encountered by the people help in the growth and development of the people. Apart from these other types of learning styles also exist, that contributes the development of an individual. Thus, after analysing the two models, it can be said that in order to develop my skills I need to adopt the learning style developed by Kolb.
Figure 2: VARK learning style
(Source: Bassett, Lloyd and Bassett, 2011)
The reason behind adopting Kolb theory of learning is the systematic manner in which the learning can take place. After the analysis of the situation that I had been, a part of I can state that reliving the previous experience with my team members can help me to analyse the extent to which I have developed my skills. The fact that I am aware of my weakness and required areas of development, Kolb learning style can help me to analyse my thoughts in a systematic manner. Practical experience can help in understanding the flaws in an in-depth manner. Hence, to gain practical experience it is necessary that I remain patient and develop a consciousness about the ways by which I can apply my skills to the organisation. The reflection upon the actions taken by me during and after the training sessions can help me to understand the level of development that I underwent. This is an important step in terms of understanding my strengths and weaknesses and developing a plan for addressing the issues.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that in order to develop professional skills it is necessary to analyse the strengths and weaknesses that exist within an individual. My experience with my team members justified the fact that I have poor communication skills. The ways to improve the communication skills can be based on the proper analysis of the problem and the identification of the areas required for improvement. The learning styles can help in the development of skills by practically implementing the situations and comparing the level of progress that has taken place in an individual.
Reference
Adler, R., Rodman, G.R. and DuPré, A., 2016. Understanding human communication. Oxford University Press.
Ali, M.S.M., Jahidin, A.H., Taib, M.N., Tahir, N.M. and Yassin, I.M., 2016. Classification of Kolb’s learning styles using EEG sub-band spectral centroid frequencies and artificial neural network. Asian Journal of Scientific Research, 9(5), pp.234-241.
Bassett, J., Lloyd, C. and Bassett, H., 2011. Work issues for young people with psychosis: Barriers to employment. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64(2), pp.66-72.
Beausaert, S., Segers, M., Fouarge, D. and Gijselaers, W., 2013. Effect of using a personal development plan on learning and development. Journal of Workplace Learning, 25(3), pp.145-158.
Cottrell, S., 2015. Skills for success: Personal development and employability. Palgrave Macmillan.
Cox, D. and Pawar, M.S., 2016. International social work: Issues, strategies, and programs. Sage.
Kolb, D.A., 2014. Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. FT press.
Manolis, C., Burns, D.J., Assudani, R. and Chinta, R., 2013. Assessing experiential learning styles: A methodological reconstruction and validation of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Learning and individual differences, 23, pp.44-52.
Manolis, C., Burns, D.J., Assudani, R. and Chinta, R., 2013. Assessing experiential learning styles: A methodological reconstruction and validation of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Learning and individual differences, 23, pp.44-52.
McGrath, M., 2014. Personal development plan. Leading the Way, 11(1), p.21.
Nahavandi, A., 2016. The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson.
Novik, N.N. and Podgórecki, J., 2015. A Model of Developing Communication Skills among Adolescents with Behavioral Problems. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 10(4), pp.579-587.
Schmeck, R.R. ed., 2013. Learning strategies and learning styles. Springer Science & Business Media.
Shockley-Zalabak, P., 2014. Fundamentals of organizational communication. Pearson.
Sternberg, R.J. and Zhang, L.F. eds., 2014. Perspectives on thinking, learning, and cognitive styles. Routledge.
Truong, H.M., 2016. Integrating learning styles and adaptive e-learning system: Current developments, problems and opportunities. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, pp.1185-1193.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
