Personal and Professional Development: Goals and Personal Development Plan

This report discusses the significance of personal and professional development in enhancing the quality of life. It explores different types of goals and provides examples. It also explains the process of creating a personal development plan.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
1. Evaluation of Professional and Personal Development Concept............................................1
2. Short Term Goals.....................................................................................................................2
3. Medium Term Goals................................................................................................................3
4. Long Term Goals.....................................................................................................................3
5. Evaluation of a Personal Development Plan...........................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
Appendix: I......................................................................................................................................8
Personal Development Plan...............................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional Developments add value to life as they helps individual to achieve
growth and success for long term. Personal development is an ongoing process in life. It is a way
to acquire new knowledge and skills & qualities in order to realise and maximise ones potential.
Further it helps an individual to identify their skills needed to set and achieve life goals which
can enhance their performance. Whereas Professional Development is to learn and maintain
professional credentials such as academic skills, employability skills in order to lead more
fulfilling and higher quality of life. Thus, helps an individual in achieving life goals effectively
and efficiently for a long term (Dowson, 2020).
An elaborated discussion is done on various types of goals such as short- term, medium-
term and long- term goals along with their examples. Apart from it, the report portrays the
Personal Development Plan (PDP) to make relevant and effective choices in life. A PDP is
formulated effectively after doing detailed research work and study on the factors which
influence the working.
MAIN BODY
1. Evaluation of Professional and Personal Development Concept
The Personal Development means that activities which develops an individual capabilities
and potential in order to enhance higher quality of life. It adds value and leads to realization of
dreams and aspirations. It is a lifelong process i.e. ongoing course in individual’s entire lifespan.
It is not limited to self-development but also includes other activities helping to develop others
through roles of teacher, by providing self-service, guiding, counselling and others. The process
of personal development possess a high value in the current changing environment which is
highly competitive as well as dynamic in nature. Mentoring is considered as an effective tool to
support the personal development process. Further there are many theories related to motivation
and leadership skills which are crucial such as Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory, Herzberg’s
Two- Factor Theory, etc.
On the other hand, Professional Development helps to maintain professional credentials in
life in order to lead a more fulfilling and quality life. The main aim is to acquire a sense of moral
obligation and improve professional competence so as to enhance career progression. There are
variety of approaches leading to professional development such as coaching, mentoring,

technical assistance, consultation and others. Thus, the concept is related to the individual’s
development on the basis of work carried by him/ her and is does not relates with the overall
development. The professional skills includes employability skills, leadership skills, managerial
skills and others, which are the outcomes of self- development through continue efforts by
mentor.
Personal and professional development is the process through which an individual and
organization acquires the process of learning and skills in order to meet the objectives,
challenges and desired goals in life. An individual must ensure to work safety, effectively and
legally. It can be acquired by analysing the current skills and abilities as well as by formulating
and implementing personal development plans. Thus, both the developments helps to manage the
process of learning and growth throughout the career. Further it is important to keep the skills
and knowledge up to date with the changing environment.
2. Short Term Goals
Goals are the end results while objectives are measurable actions that encourages and
supports the completion of goals. Both are the essential elements for individuals as well as for
organizations (Lipka and Brinthaupt, 2020).
The short- term goals are those which an individual want to attain in the near future. In
short goals that can be achieved in a short period of time i.e. within a period of one year or
earlier. These goals are something which an individual’s wishes to accomplish soon.
Example of personal/ short- term goals from the student’s viewpoint- There are many
such things which students want to achieve in their life and which supports their career
progression. Some of the aspects which need to be kept in the mind in order to attain goals
successfully are as follows:-
 Discipline, moral values and ethical behaviour are some of the norms of life that has to be
concentrated on
 Continuous process of learning and practicing skills must be focussed more.
 Analysis of the learning and outcomes required to be on a timely basis
Whereas, some examples of the short term goals in an individual’s life in order to enhance
quality of life are as follows:-
1. Increasing the productivity level by improving one soft skills
2. Building a proper schedule of daily activities

3. Step out from comfort zone
4. Improve and maintain personal relationships
3. Medium Term Goals
These goals aim to bridge the gaps between short- term and long- term goals. These goals
are required to be achieved by an individual within a period of one to three years. Further they
are considered as base for formulating and accomplishing long term goals. The medium- term
goals comprises both nature, long enough for significant process and short enough for not
making an individual different person by the time goals is achieved (DeCenzo and Silhanek,
2020). Some of the things an individual must attains to maintain quality of life and thus, which
can be classified in medium term goals are discussed below:-
 Build work experience in respective field/ industry: It normally takes more than year
and less than 3 years to acquire a knowledge for respective field or industry. It helps to
add value in career and thus, lead to success and growth in life.
 Expand skills through study or through job: It help to improve skills and knowledge
for career progression through workshops, training and others. Further help student to
apply effectively for jobs of their choices.
 Graduate from college- Generally it takes two to three years to complete a graduation
course. It is very crucial to complete in an effective manner so that it can result into
desired job or successful career. Thus, this goal of life leads to more fulfilling life
accompanied by higher quality.
 Fund savings- It is considered as one of the important financial goals. It is also
significant habit which can help the individual to maintain the life standards and satisfy
with the basic needs in life. Thus, saving on regular basis or for specific purpose can help
to combat issues related to finances.
4. Long Term Goals
A long- term goals are those which an individual want to achieve in the future. Long- term
goals are achieved with effective and efficient planning. These goals are usually several years
away to achieve. Generally the long term goals require tenure for more than three years. It
requires a good deal of time as well as effective planning in order to achieve success and growth.
Further it is very important and critical at the same time to do detailed planning as well as
evaluation of factors which influence individual in the long run (Rughani, 2020). This helps to

take appropriate measures and alterations in order to attain goals effectively and efficiently.
Some goals that are of long term in nature are discussed below- Completion of degree- It takes time period of four years to complete a degree. It must be
obtained in an effective manner in order to enhance higher quality of life. Generate passive source of income: It is one of the crucial financial long term goals. It
leads to turn passion into career with effective skills and knowledge. It is considered as
long term financial source in an individual’s life so as to fulfil his/ her and family basic
needs. Become Leader: Becoming leader in one’s own field or career is also an important long
term goal. It means that the person has acquired proper skills and knowledge to embrace
its career and achieve success. Fitness: It is very crucial to be fit and maintain fitness as it helps to combat health issues
in life. Achieving fitness is not a play of one day, constant work out and focus on body
needs, necessary to build a better version. It includes living healthier, lowering
cholesterol, maintain sugar level. Thus, help an individual to accomplish the desired
objectives with growth mind- set in the future effectively.
5. Evaluation of a Personal Development Plan
A Personal Development Plan (PDP) is referred to as documented plan that outlines goals,
existing strengths and how it can be improved in order to achieve goals effectively and
efficiently. It helps to improve the areas of weakness which is causing hindrances in achieving
desired goals. On should make a commitment to oneself to achieve goals by formulating PDP in
an effective manner.
It is very vital to formulate a plan for personal development and implement strategies or
actions to achieve desired goals. Thus, it is done below in a systematic and sequential manner-

Figure 1: Personal Development Plan (PDP)
 Development of a Personal Vision- Firstly a vision of desired goals is required to be
developed. Establish the purpose and direction of goal.
 Planning Personal Development- After developing a purpose of the goal, proper and
effective planning is required to be done in order to achieve in desired manner.
 Starting of Process of Improvement- Immediately after the planning process, it is
required to look for improvement in order to eliminate the weakness
 Recording of Personal Development- Keeping track of each step is must for easy process
of rectification (Personal Development Plans, 2020).
 Reviewing & Revising Personal Development Plans- Review of plan is a crucial step to
evaluate the performance and further to suggest corrective measures for achieving goals
effectively.
 Monitoring stage- It is a stage in which the performance is monitored so as to attain
desired outcomes.
 Future Improvement Plan- It is a last stage where future plans are devised to support
and improve the overall performance.
CONCLUSION
The above report concludes the significance of Personal and Professional Development in an
individual’s life in order to enhance quality of life. The development leads to the evolution of

new skills and abilities to achieve the desired goals. The report also examined the various types
of goals accompanied by their examples. Thus, is very important to make a classification of
goals in short, medium, and long term so that all the efforts can be directed towards the same in
an effective and efficient manner.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cook, R.J., Jones-Bromenshenkel, M., Huisinga, S. and Mullins, F., 2017. Online professional
learning networks: A viable solution to the professional development dilemma. Journal
of Special Education Technology. 32(2). pp.109-118.
DeCenzo, D. and Silhanek, B., 2020. Human relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Dowson, P., 2020. Personal & professional development for business students.
Lipka, R. and Brinthaupt, T., 2020. The role of self in teacher development. Albany: State
University of New York Press.
Rughani, A., 2020. The GP's guide to personal development plans. Abingdon: Radcliffe Medical
Press.
Vital, 2020. Personal Development Plans. 4(3). pp.30-31.

Appendix: I
Personal Development Plan
GOAL ACTION ACHIEVEMENT
EVIDENCE
TIME PERIOD
REQUIRED
Time Management
Skills
Scheduling the daily
activities and
formulating proper
time table, reading
books related to time
management skills.
With the help of the
action all the
assignments will be
completed within
stipulated time
effectively.
2 months
High Level of
Confidence
Attending personal
development and
grooming classes,
Learning personal
tactics and putting into
action
It will help in the
increased performance
of the work and further
will improve personal
relationships
4 months
Increasing Time for
Study
Analysing the
activities leading
wastage of time and
making proper study
time table with
frequent break so as to
increase the
concentration level.
Lessen the burden of
work, increase the
critical thinking skills
and also it will lead to
an increase in
productivity
2.5 months
Collaboration Skills Learning about
teamwork, building
good and healthy
relations with team
It will lead to increase
morale and
competitive spirit
towards common goals
3 months

members, working
collaboratively with
teammates
Team Management Formulating strategies
to manage persons
with distinct diversity
and culture
Achievement of
desired goals within
stipulated time and in
an effective manner
along with good
relationships
1.5 months
Inquiry skills Being attentive and
raising frequent
questions in the class,
also interacting with
professors on relevant
topics.
Best results with less
queries to struggle
during exam times
3 months
Leadership Skills Reading books on
leadership skills and
applying leadership
models into practice
It will lead to career
progression and
success with personal
and professional
credentials.
5 months
Critical Thinking
Skills
Resolving the issues of
the colleagues
Good and healthy
personal relationships
2 months
Innovative Skills Formulation
innovative ideas,
strategies to achieve
desired goals.
It will help to complete
project that is related
with changing market
environment in a
successful manner.
6 months