Managing Personal Priorities and Professional Development

This report discusses the importance of managing personal priorities and professional development. It covers topics such as the traits of an effective leader, setting work goals, personal competencies, and ways to improve skills. The report also includes insights from a case study of Aldi. Find all the information you need to enhance your professional development at Desklib.

Running head: MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT 1
MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
By (Student’s name)
Institutional Affiliation

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2
Table of Contents for Part B
PART B; REPORT..........................................................................................................................4
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................4
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
Traits of an Effective Leader...........................................................................................................6
Work Goals......................................................................................................................................6
Personal Competencies....................................................................................................................7
Ways to Improve My Skills.............................................................................................................8
Effective Use of Technology for Improved Performance...............................................................9
Determination of Professional Development Needs........................................................................9
Personal Development Plan...........................................................................................................10
Recommendation and Conclusion.................................................................................................11
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3
PART A; QUESTIONS
Self-awareness
Self-Awareness in professional development can be primarily regarded as the ability to
asses one's weakness, strengths and personality and identify their impact on yourself, your
behavior and the people who surround you. This aspect is mostly generated out of the
experience. For instance, it boosts one's overall well-being and productivity as a professional.
Development opportunities
Development opportunities in professional development can be in various ways. For
instance, further studies in the professional scope, specialized training by professional
organizations, undertaking research to develop professional knowledge and it can also be in the
form of increasing duties and responsibilities professional to exercise and develop the
professional capacity (Mulyono, 2018).
Working by policies
Working in accordance to work policies and procedures fundamentally applies in
professionalism. For instance, it stipulates that all professional activities should be strictly
reference and abide by the job procedures. Besides, one's professional doings should be as
indicated in the workplace policies. Work ethics is also a subcategory of this subject.
Methods of personal planning
To enable efficient work planning, there are various methods that can work effectively to
ensure remarkable work planning in a person's profession. Presumably, work planning is a key
strategy towards the realization of daily set work objectives. Some of the methods include
prioritizing tasks based on aspects like urgency, understanding your strengths to maximize your

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 4
working capability, being able to recognize opportunities and develop on them, defining goals
and also developing new skills.
Performance Reflection
As per the assessment, notable weaknesses exhibited in my professionalism include lack
of consistency in completing subsequent tasks. Besides, the notable strength is the ability to work
under speed and still create quality under pressure due to getting late on deadlines. For instance,
setting deadlines as a way of indicating the end of the first task or assignment and the beginning
of another task can be a simple and efficient strategy. Furthermore, setting work goals creates the
shift to achieve them and hence enables consistency.
PART BE:
CASE STUDY
1. MART goals for employees hiring
Specific; hiring of skilled personnel suitable to take the company to higher level from its
current position to top notch position within the industry. This means that the desired
qualification work with the company will be set higher and only qualified individuals will be
appointed.
Measurable; increase of work per unit areas will be evaluated against previous years will
without the new employees.
Attainable; evaluate work history and experience for every new employee before
appointment. This will be done through checking of CVs and confirmation through referees,
Relevant; acquiring a highly skilled team is entails for consumer retentions and creation
of a competitive edge.

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 5
Time; by the end of the first month the firm shall have recruited and at least ten
employees. The HR will collaborate with external experts to ensure effective induction and
training of the new employees.
2. Personal SMART goals
Specific; improve my management and leadership skills.
Measurable; I will assess myself occasionally through comparison as well as though
examinations. It will also be evident through the growth worker retention rate.
Attainable; I will attain this by working smart and approving my worth to the
organization executive.
Relevant; I will work hard to attain development opportunities to acquire necessary skills
for improved performance of the organization.
Timely; I plan to be equipped with the necessary skills within a span of a year.
3. Ranking of goals and prioritizing
Ranking Goals Details of the Goal Action Plan
Task : Activities: Time
Frame:
1 Staff hiring and
training
a. Writing Job
Description and
advertising
vacancies
b. Receiving
applications and
Shortlisting the
Learn how to
write job
description and
advertisement
Coaching and mentoring
from senior HR staff
2 days
Shortlisting the
applicants
Going through the CVs
and application letters
2 days
Interview Receiving interviews and 5 days

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6
applicants
c. Receiving the
shortlisted
applicants and
conduct interview
and appointing the
most qualified
d. Training the
appointed
individuals
candidates appointing the most
qualified ones as per the
needs of the organization,
Training and
induction
Work with the HR to
ensure that new
appointees are well
inducted and trained as
15 days
2 Performance
management
a. Creating
assessment
criteria
b. Creating
conducive
work
environment
for improved
performance
Determining
competency
gaps
Investigating and
providing skills to the
existing gaps through
training
1momth
Evaluation of
workplace
environment
Providing for the
necessary materials for
improved work condition
for improved performance
and setting guidelines for
quality work
14days
3 Research a. Brainstorming
b. Evaluating the
new trends in
Attending
management
seminars
Attending seminars and
workshops to connect
with various managers to
3days

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 7
the industry get new ideas
Market
analysis
Accessing information
and seeking expert
opinions
10 days
4 Networking a. Supplier chain
analysis
b. Consumer
interest
analysis
Distributor
network
research
identifying stores in the
market to create relation-
specific assets for
collaborative business
8days
Working
closely with
distributers
Identifying and creating a
working relationship with
three most trusted
distributors
1month
5 Evaluation a. Documentation Evaluating and
book analysis
Going through
departmental reports and
checking on the
objectivity achievements
3days
6 Vocational retreat Out with successful
managers for new idea
generation
Going out of
the business
setting
Taking a break from the
work environment for
fresh air new ideas
generation
1day

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 8
4. Method of assessing performance feedback at workplace
Ask few colleagues of their honest opinion regarding your performance. Therefore to
asses my performance I will use face to face method and ask friends of their opinion about my
performance while studying their body language. I will then use the feedback to improve on the
necessary areas.
5. Hypothetical employee’s work performance
a). Areas and criteria for development
 Communication skills
 ICT training
 Leadership and management
For any employee to qualify for the development, he or she must have constantly shown
improvement in work per unit areas, complete duties within time and under minimal supervision.
b). leadership and team management
In as much as the employee if good in other areas, he has shown lack of team
management and leadership and therefore, will be given opportunity to attend leadership and
management workshops.
c). Learning style
Being an accommodator most appropriate way of learning is experimental through role
play during workshops
6. Maintaining healthy work life

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 9
The most appropriate work is to work within the schedule, create boundary between
personal moments and work moments. Also develop a good support system as well as a healthy
life style for example regular workouts.
7. Networking opportunities
There exist various opportunities for networking necessary for skills improvement. The
most immediate opportunity is attending workshops where you meet different people with skills
necessary of skilfully improvement. Another opportunity is online websites and social media.
Digitalization has created a platform for easy communication and interactions. Therefore, online
platforms also presents opportunity for networking and skilful enhancement.
PART B;
REPORT
Executive summary
Professionalism is a very diverse category. Besides the basic understanding of the
training framework that models one into a professional, there are other various factors that are
critical in enhancing the anticipated success in a career or profession. For instance, this essay
primarily gives an insight into some of the aspects that are crucial in promoting professional
welfare. It is also imperative that, creating a serene professional bio in terms of ensuring
capability development both personally and professionally, which are important factors entailed
in professional welfare. Therefore, professional welfare is equally important on the ability of an
employee to perform outstandingly career-wise.
In this essay, we first start with identifying the key factors required of an effective leader.
For instance, good communication. Outstanding managerial skills, ability to suppress personal or

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
10
emotional traits to be there for others, among other factors. We also asses the importance of
setting work goals that are particularly aligned to organizational. Mainly, it enhances cohesive
efforts in both professional and organizational development. Furthermore, the essay also insists
on the idea of incorporating personal competencies in the process of promoting professional
development.
Lastly, the essay elaborates on the essence of professional development. By identifying
development areas after self-awareness, several development mechanisms are identified that can
be effective in addressing weakness identified. Nevertheless, this professional assessment is
conducted in the contextual analysis of Aldi Company.
Introduction
Professional development is a significant topic in corporate human resource management.
For instance, most firms are proponents of the topic and exhibit various techniques they
implement to ensure a positive impact on its Human resource. Particularly, firms regard the
development of their human resource due to various reasons. Most importantly, the competency
of employees is a fundamental business reputation. The reputation is exhibited in the paramount
services a competent workforce can produce. Quality services are the prime idea of customer
retention in the corporate world, which in turn leads to revenue (Todd, 2019).
This essay also identifies this relationship between product quality and employee
competency in Aldi's high regard for its employee's competence. Therefore, the core point of
discussion in the essay is based on various concepts proposed on employee professional
development. It is using the case study of Aldi, a company that specializes in groceries with over
7,000 outlets. In such an organizational scenario, a skilled workforce is necessary to ensure the
sustainability of such an entity. Therefore, the reason for Aldi’s consistent efforts to develop its

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Human resource. A diverse perspective is used in the extensive analysis in the essay to establish
a concrete understanding of the topic.
Traits of an Effective Leader
After a promotion to being the store manager at Aldi. There are various effective
management traits expected from me as the store manager. Moreover, there is also an overall
perspective commonly known as a reference of qualities of a manager. Some of these qualities
include good communication skills to ensure clarity during communication of instructions to
staff members. Secondly, time management is also important as a way of displaying role model
traits to the staff, enabling prioritizing activities and setting time to communicate with staff
(Hancock, 2017). In terms of setting good working standards and being available for the team
members in case of work consultations. Also, confidence is quite paramount. A manager needs
to display confidence in decisions and the overall work experience. Lastly, showing respect to
staff by allowing their participation in work routines affecting them and acknowledging their
work ideas is important.
A combination of all these qualities is vital for successful management to take place.
They enable the require cohesion between employees and the management. This cohesion is
important in creating a collective effort towards the feasibility of organizational and work
objectives (McCowan & McKenzie, 2011).
Work Goals
Work goals are a very effective manner to monitor progress and achieve work
objectives. For instance, during the setting of work goals, they must be conforming to the
SMART criteria. They should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. In this

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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case, relevance particularly implies work goals being alignment to the organizational objectives
(Sharif. & Cho, 2015).
In the store management case, some of my work objectives include; Writing job
descriptions and uploading them on the company website. Shortlisting, interviewing and
appointment of personnel that merit according to the required two weeks. Secondly, creating
assessment criteria to determine the competency gaps in the workforce. Furthermore, identifying
a one-month experimental technique and training program to develop address skill gaps and
implementing a post-assessment method to ascertain development in weak areas. Also, the
assessment which will work to test the self-awareness of the staff will also incorporate a rubric
used by employees to evaluate their performance.
Thirdly, doing market research to identify stores in the market to create relation-specific
assets for collaborative business purposes in 2 months. Identify three possible ventures in the
market that can broaden the distribution network of company products to consumers as part of
the market research — doing a pre-feasibility design on the idea to identify its impact on the
store revenue contribution. Fourthly, to enhance time management in the store activities, some
work goals set include prioritizing urgent tasks to meet deadlines. This will be through setting
up 2 task registers to enable identification and prioritizing the tasks.
Fifthly, at least two weekly documentations regarding all weekly activities and reports.
The reports will comment on weekly business performance. Furthermore, it will also indicate
several set strategies to enhance a better business experience in the future operations for
stakeholders.

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Personal Competencies
Besides my profession being based on agribusiness management. Several other personal
experiences, traits and other skills besides my profession play a major are quite complementary.
They complementary skills are specifically vital on my managerial abilities besides my
professional capabilities. Being in marketing in my past career, the skill of communication is
critical in understanding, and communicating consumer needs to ensure relevance. Therefore,
this experience, alongside being a leader in college and therefore acquiring and learning several
basic managerial skills like reliability and being in control of one's emotional trends at the
expense of service for others have played a notable role in my store management at Aldi. Also,
being an employee at Aldi for two years before promotion, other work training frameworks have
also honed by working and managerial capabilities.
Ways to Improve My Skills
Besides possessing the current competencies in both work and managerial dimensions,
there is notably much to knowledge to acquire. This idea is attributed to the changing trends in
the corporate world. Particularly in the groceries sector. Therefore, being a step ahead to address
the current challenges appropriately is imperative for a manager. Therefore, there are various
ways through which professional development can be undertaken in my case, as indicated below
(Desimone & Pak, 2017).
For instance, doing further studies regarding professional development can be vital. The
knowledge of professional development will not only be influential on my career competency
and self-evaluation but also, will enable me as a manager have a broader scope of understanding
on various professional aspects and various ways to address them (Furbish &Trought, 2016).
This understanding can also help develop my staff capabilities to enhance operational efficiency

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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and meet organizational human resource needs. For instance, this is the most efficient method
besides management training to enhance my competency development.
Effective Use of Technology for Improved Performance
At Aldi, the company focus on enhancing employee competency as the most critical part
of ensuring business success. There have been several ways of attaining this objective, including
setting up a human resource management academy, facilitation of numerous training programs to
enable career development among others. Therefore, there is a collective responsibility for all
stores and outlets of Aldi to work towards the realization of this objective.
Personal performance is very significant in the employee's capability to focus on the task
required of them. This is because personal wellness stipulates the ability to have a clear mind as
a method of enhancing focus. Personal wrangles, both physically and emotional are regarded as
destructive and a contributing factor to professional incompetency and sometimes ethics
violation (Cummings et al., 2018).
Nevertheless, there are various ways that can be implemented to enhance the required
personal wellness since technological advancements are quite rampant in the current corporate
and specifically psychiatrists’ era. Personal performance management is quite feasible. For
instance, At Aldi, the use of technology to enable consistent personal welfare management is
critical. Hence, as an executive initiative, various ways like basic self-evaluation tests,
management by objectives and use of checklists are the most common ways used for personal
wellness management.

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Determination of Professional Development Needs
Determination of personal development needs is an important process and forms the basis
of professional development. Moreover, it can be done in several ways. They include; self-
evaluation to identify what I need in terms of skills and conversance to enable me with efficient
management at Aldi. Secondly, comparing the required and current knowledge is also a critical
step in the identification of gaps. These gaps are regarded as the needs that require development.
Personal Development Plan
Primarily, this aspect involves creating a strategic set of reforms to address your
development needs based on one’s self-awareness results. Furthermore, these needs can be as a
result of reflection or career goals. In this case, the development plan will be based on
managerial job objectives.
My career objective will be to boost productive capacity and be a role model as a
manager. The reason for this objective is because consistency will enable meeting deadlines way
before time. This will also leave room for time to prepare for the next activities. Furthermore,
consistency will also enhance productive capacity.
My strength is in the high speed to work and meet deadlines even though under much
pressure. However, my setbacks are more in the lack of consistency to undertake multiple tasks
and therefore, meets deadlines under pressure. Therefore, this is personal development need,
considering I need consistency to enhance my productive capacity.
Self-assessment, there is a need to address the need. Therefore, the appropriate
development need is using a checklist and set deadlines. This checklist will be done alongside
research on consistency enhancement techniques for experimental and practical purposes. On the
first week I will begin with a focus technique of working for 30minutes then a break of 10 mins

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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using a timer. This will enable maintaining focus and refreshing the mind. On the second week,
the time frame should be 45minutes working after which a 5 minutes break.
Notably, after one and a half weeks, the timer was at 40 minutes with a 7 minutes break.
Furthermore, with the enhanced focus, the level of consistency in terms of completion of
prioritized activities was sufficiently up. For instance, from 3 tasks to at least five tasks in 5hrs,
which was remarkable on productivity and meeting deadlines.
Recommendation and Conclusion
Recommendation
Besides the company’s strategy to strengthen employee capability through professional
development. A diverse approach is recommended. Besides, the robust career modelling
approach, the company should also incorporate a personal wellness approach to enable emotional
control among employees. These will strengthen employee capabilities alongside career
modelling to create an all-around productive staff (Mone & London, 2018).
Conclusion
Finally, just as indicated in the essay, organizational success is highly dependent on the
human resource stakeholder of the organization. Therefore, the development of the employees
should involve May scholarly studies to establish a stronger understanding of the issues.
However, in understanding the matter, it is imperative also to take note of the personal aspect of
employees. The required attention is necessary due to the significance of the aspect of the
productivity of employees. Therefore, Aldi should undertake significant steps towards enhancing
personal assessment. This strategy will work influentially towards promoting personal wellness
among employee besides their career development framework.

MANAGING PERSONAL PRIORITIES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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References
Cummings, G.G., Hewko, S.J., Wang, M., Wong, C.A., Laschinger, H.K.S. & Estabrooks, C.A.,
(2018). Impact of Managers’ Coaching Conversations on Staff Knowledge Use and
Performance in Long‐Term Care Settings. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based
Nursing, 15(1), pp.62-71.
Desimone, L.M. & Pak, K., (2017). Instructional coaching as high-quality professional
development. Theory into Practice, 56(1), pp.3-12.
Furbish, D.S., Bailey, R. & Trought, D., (2016). Using participatory action research to study the
implementation of Career Development Benchmarks at a New Zealand
university. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 16(1),
pp.153-167
Hancock, D., (2017). Developing the practice manager workforce. Practice Management, 27(2),
pp.20-23.
McCowan, C. & McKenzie, M., (2011). Are we doing OK? Developing a generic process to
benchmark career services in educational institutions. Australian Journal of Career
Development, 20(2), pp.4-14.
Mone, E.M. & London, M., (2018). Employee engagement through effective performance
management: A practical guide for managers, (pp.50-65). Routledge.

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Mulyono, D., (2018). The Strategy of Managers in Moving Business Learning Group Program in
PKBM Srikandi Cimahi City. Journal of Educational Experts (JEE), 1(1), p
Sharif, A. & Cho, S., (2015). 21st-Century Instructional Designers: Bridging the Perceptual Gaps
between Identity, Practice, Impact and Professional Development. International Journal
of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 12(3), pp.72-85.
Todd, F., (2019). Planning continuing professional development, (pp.35-89) Routledge
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