Personal Development Plan Essay: Understanding & Managing People

This essay presents a comprehensive personal development plan (PDP) focused on enhancing skills in understanding and managing people. It includes self-assessment, group working strategies, and academic goals, all aligned with SMART principles. The plan details strengths and weaknesses, progress reviews, and long-term objectives, such as career advancement within a corporate service company. The author reflects on communication skills, productivity, and learning styles, drawing from Honey and Mumford's learning styles and motivational theories. Emotional intelligence is highlighted as crucial for personal and professional growth, with the PDP serving as a roadmap for achieving marketability and employability through continuous self-development and feedback integration.

0
Personal Development Plan
Student Name:
Student ID:
Subject:

1
Understanding and Managing People
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Professional Development Plan...................................................................................................................2
Progress Review..........................................................................................................................................3
Long-term Plan of Action............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8
Appendices................................................................................................................................................10

2
Understanding and Managing People
Introduction
Personal development planning is considered to be the process of developing an action
plan related to planning, goal-setting, reflection, values, and awareness of personal development.
It helps an individual to develop self-improvement to achieve the goals. It is a process that helps
an individual to design and plan a career, academic and personal development. The paper
provides with the professional development plan that includes three development plan based on
self, group working and academic goals. It also discusses progress review of personal and
professional developmental plan. The primary aim is to focus on the long-term goal that is set for
the development plan.
Professional Development Plan
Professional development plan (PDP), which is also known as the Individual
Development Plan or Employee Development Plan is utilized to set out a strategy and to
document a career goal of how to achieve them(Ethiraj, Gambardella & Helfat, 2018). It helps
people to get some opportunities that are beneficial for them to receive support, planning their
careers and receiving feedback from the line managers for their personal and professional
development. PDP provides a mechanism for the organization for developing and managing
people effectively to support the provision of quality services and enhance their quality of work
based on money. To develop a professional development plan, it is significant to apply three
different forms of a diagnostic test such as self, a group working, and academic goal.
Self
A self-personal goal helps an individual to decide what he seeks to achieve in his life. It
helps an individual to motivate themselves to build self-confidence to achieve the goals
successfully. A self-personal goal helps to set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant
and time-bound) goals that motivate a person to make them feel tangible (Peng, 2017). It is
important to follow the steps based on SMART that makes people realize their goals to work
upon them. Setting a goal provides short-term motivation and long-term vision. To meet the
organizational goals, it is required to meet some objectives such as communication, conceptual
and technical skills.

3
Understanding and Managing People
Group working
Group working goal highly helps an individual to effectively work as a team that makes
individual respect the opinions of others and cooperate with others. It can be seen that most
effective teams are considered to be those who comprise an adequate balance of different types
of people (Lejeune, Beausaert & Raemdonck, 2018). Working in a team helps the person to
resolve the differences among a majority of group members and individual group members. A
successful team can comprise and negotiate.
Academic goal
An academic goal helps in improving the academic performance such as the ability to
critically synthesize, analyze and research information's into the essay's and report while
preparing the assignments. Making use of SMART goals helps the student to be more attainable
and realistic. The goal could be achieved by getting good marks in the tests or the assignments.
The acronym SMART will highly help to be successful in both personal and professional life.
The development plan must include some strengths such as effective management skills,
listening to the opinions of others, having strong communication skills, efficient academic
background in administration and management (Maguire & Blaylock, 2017). Another strength
includes the capability to execute the work with the diverse teams and must have experience in
the particular field. To set a goal an individual also possess some weaknesses such as lack of
presentation skills and academic qualification, unable to work under tremendous pressure,
difficulty in completing the task before the deadlines and takes emotional decisions (Hirsh,
2014). To set a development goal, it is important to improve the weaknesses to overcome the
difficulties faced during personal as well as professional life.
Progress Review
To develop a specific skill, it is important to review and evaluate the plans for personal
and professional development. Once the development is planned, then it becomes possible for an
individual to develop the identified skills (Kivimäki & Meriluoto, 2018). Reviewing the
development plans regularly would help to revise both the goals and the activities based on
development plans. However, the reviewing process may take some time to execute. Setting a
SMART academic goal will eventually help an individual to achieve a desirable result. To set a

4
Understanding and Managing People
SMART goal, it is essential for a student to its professors related to the development plan
(Jenkins et al., 2015). It is believed that human nature is forgettable; thus it is important to
review the personal development plan.
Based on communication skills I worked as an administrative team member in the
corporate service company. My job was to interact with the customers and proceed with their
paperwork. I also did budget, report and letter writing. As I was held from a commercial
background thus, to have an effective business communication, I lack some of the skills. To
improve my communication skill, I made a personal and professional development plan that
includes practicing debate, group discussions, doing presentations and writing reports.
Productivity skill is considered to be the most vital skills to develop and achieve self-personal
goals (Banwell & Kerr, 2016). To practice various learning opportunities to have a personal
development plan I went through the following processes such as,
 Recognize my strengths and weaknesses
 Keep a record of the formal activity
 Changes required to achieve the demands
To prepare and agree with the professional development plan it is essential to receive
feedback from the line manager and discuss the development opportunities (Chumg et al., 2016).
It is done to make a development plan related to the information received. Every 4-5 months it is
important to review the plan to ensure that the plan is monitored on a daily basis to complete the
plan. Usually while making a personal development plan, the team managers are required to
receive feedback from their line managers to develop their plan. The development plan must be
discussed and agreed with the line managers (Coccia, 2014). In such particular areas, the line
managers require training in conducting meetings, building trust, negotiation, expectations,
managing individuals and receiving and giving feedback. As per the theorist, it is observed that
to prepare a development plan it is significant to focus on the concepts and logic as well as trust
thinking. It is also essential to be good at planning and figures. An individual must be analytical,
rigorous and precise while proceeding with the personal development plan. Workplace,
emotional, personal and practical, as well as cultural and social barriers, put a great impact on the
process of a development plan (Carpenter, Berry & Houston, 2014). All this are considered to be
the common barriers in achieving the goals. To achieve the goals through group work, I have

5
Understanding and Managing People
applied the strategy of co-operating with the team and discussed the problems. I have developed
my communication skills to better interact with the people at various stages of development. I
have also recognized and applied the team dynamics in the provided scenario.
I effectively planned to achieve my objectives and goals that makes me be focused on my
professional development skills. To attain this, I planned to keep myself dominant and prominent
from leadership and coaching. To achieve this, I would not miss any opportunity for training
provided by the company that will develop my personal and professional development skills to
keep myself prominent within the organization. As per Honey and Mumford’s Learning styles
which is similar to the Kolb’s sequence (Klotz & Neubaum, 2016). The learning style
categorized their learner into four main categories like pragmatics, theorists, reflectors, and
activists. Based on this learning style I believe that I am a pragmatist learner as I always prefer to
do practical work at the time of my working hours. Also, I am aware of the issues that will come
on my way for achieving my goals. To accomplish the task provided to me, I put an extra effort
to get the work done effectively before the deadline. On the other hand, the routine practice helps
me to develop both of my professional and personal skills.
Motivational theories play a vital role in the development of personal and professional
plan to achieve the goals. Motivational theories highly help in motivating an individual to
improve its self-personal goal, a group working goal and academic goal. All these developmental
goals could be achieved with the help of adopting motivational theories (Lazaroiu, 2015). It is
significant for an individual to implement the motivational strategies to achieve the goals for that
it is necessary to develop a personal and professional development plan. Motivating an
individual in the workplace is highly required to achieve the goal based on service, productivity,
and quality. Motivation in practice develops team working and empowerment that allows an
individual to proceed with the professional and personal development plan. Personal
development plan helps in achieving marketability and employability externally and internally
(Dumay, 2016). PDP helps a person to obtain more comprehensively and quickly the knowledge
and skills that required for the purpose. It helped me to focus towards my career plan to
accomplish different tasks. With the help of PDP, I have recognized my strengths and
weaknesses based on the development needs. Taking feedback from others for the development
plan is important.

6
Understanding and Managing People
Emotional Intelligence plays a significant role in the personal and professional
development plan. PDP helps an individual to control his emotions. The emotional intelligence
measures analytic reasoning, verbal reasoning, memory, and judgment. It helps an individual to
overcome their difficulties by recognizing the challenges. PDP is determined to be the working
strategy that helps in recognizing the development requirements. It is a planned process that
helps an individual to set development objectives. For example, giving positive feedback related
to the work of an employee by acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses. The PDP sets an
action plan that helps in learning and developing the objectives. This highly helps in enhancing
career development of an individual based on the development goals.
Long-term Plan of Action
A long-term goal something which an individual wants to execute in the future. It is not
something which could be done in a week or within a year; it requires planning and time. Long-
term goals take a long time to achieve (Christina et al., 2014). For example, graduate from
college, setting up a business and saving from retirement usually takes a long time to
accomplish. To set a long-term goal, it is important to give priority to the goals. To achieve
personal goals, it is required to acquire some study skills. Hence, I have started my studies and
pursuing my post diploma degree. This is a one year plan, and after that, I have a plan to do my
MBA degree which will prove to be helpful for me to achieve my target. Thus, to attain the
goals, it is vital for me to develop my skills.
In the next four years, I would like to see myself as a manager in the organization where I
am presently working. The company in which I am working is a large-scale organization, and we
are providing corporate services like payroll accounts, outsourcing, and document keeping. In
my company, I am working as an administrative assistant, and my long-term goal is to become a
manager of the administrative team. To achieve this, I must develop a professional development
plan to attain my vision.
The primary aim of this professional development plan is to develop a process of self-
development and self-management (Gelfand et al., 2017). To develop my ability, it is essential
for me to have an idea of my strengths and weaknesses that will help me to improve my
weaknesses and convert them into strengths. I must take advantage of the opportunities that
come to my way. This long-term action plan will help me achieve my goals successfully.

7
Understanding and Managing People
Conclusion
Personal development is determined to be the set of activities whose purpose is to
enhance self-identity and knowledge. It includes improving the quality of life, building of
employability and human capital, potential development and realizing personal dreams and
aspirations. The concept of personal development is not based on self-development, but it also
develops informal and formal activities. Personal development plans ensure that the goal set is
on the right track to achieve the target. Personal and professional development plans help to
achieve success in personal and professional life. Therefore, the paper provided the evaluation of
understanding and managing people through personal development plan.

8
Understanding and Managing People
References
Banwell, J., & Kerr, G., 2016. Coaches' Perspectives on Their Roles in Facilitating the Personal
Development of Student-Athletes. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 46(1), 1-18.
Carpenter, N. C., Berry, C. M., & Houston, L., 2014. A meta analytic comparison of self‐ ‐
reported and other reported organizational citizenship behavior.‐ Journal of Organizational
Behavior, 35(4), 547-574.
Christina, S., Dainty, A., Daniels, K., & Waterson, P., 2014. How organisational behaviour and
attitudes can impact building energy use in the UK retail environment: a theoretical
framework. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 10(1-2), 164-179.
Chumg, H. F., Seaton, J., Cooke, L., & Ding, W. Y., 2016. Factors affecting employees'
knowledge-sharing behaviour in the virtual organisation from the perspectives of well-being and
organisational behaviour. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, 432-448.
Coccia, M., 2014. Structure and organisational behaviour of public research institutions under
unstable growth of human resources. International Journal of Services Technology and
Management, 20(4-6), 251-266.
Dumay, J., 2016. A critical reflection on the future of intellectual capital: from reporting to
disclosure. Journal of Intellectual capital, 17(1), 168-184.
Ethiraj, S. K., Gambardella, A., & Helfat, C. E., 2018. Theory in strategic
management. Strategic Management Journal, 39(6), 1529-1529.
Gelfand, M. J., Aycan, Z., Erez, M., & Leung, K., 2017. Cross-cultural industrial organizational
psychology and organizational behavior: A hundred-year journey. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 102(3), 514.
Hirsh, Å., 2014. The Individual Development Plan: supportive tool or mission impossible?
Swedish teachers’ experiences of dilemmas in IDP practice. Education Inquiry, 5(3), 24613.
Jenkins, J., Calzone, K. A., Caskey, S., Culp, S., Weiner, M., & Badzek, L., 2015. Methods of
genomic competency integration in practice. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 47(3), 200-210.

9
Understanding and Managing People
Kivimäki, V., & Meriluoto, S., 2018. Holistic Perspective to Individual Study Plan: Personal
Development Project Plan. Studies in health technology and informatics, 256, 514-526.
Klotz, A. C., & Neubaum, D. O., 2016. Article Commentary: Research on the Dark Side of
Personality Traits in Entrepreneurship: Observations from an Organizational Behavior
Perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 40(1), 7-17.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Work motivation and organizational behavior. Contemporary Readings in
Law and Social Justice, 7(2), 66.
Lejeune, C., Beausaert, S., & Raemdonck, I., 2018. The impact on employees’ job performance
of exercising self-directed learning within personal development plan practice. The International
Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-27.
Maguire, W., & Blaylock, P., 2017. Preparing a personal development plan for all members of
the dental team. British dental journal, 223(6), 402.
Peng, M. W., 2017. Cultures, institutions, and strategic choices: Toward an institutional
perspective on business strategy. The Blackwell handbook of cross cultural management‐ , 52-66.

10
Understanding and Managing People
Appendices
Self-assessment inventory
Area of skills Scale
1 2 3 4 5
Communication skills
Administrative Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Effective negotiating skills
Time Management skills