Preparing for Success: Self Development and Responsibility

This document discusses the importance of self development and responsibility in achieving success. It includes a reflective statement on a presentation activity, identifies areas for academic and professional development, and provides an action plan for improvement. The document also explores skills such as decision-making, communication, time management, and ICT that are necessary for personal growth and success.

PREPARING FOR
SUCCESS: SELF
DEVELOPMENT AND
RESPONSIBILITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
REFLECTIVE STATEMENT.........................................................................................................3
What did I learn?.........................................................................................................................3
What new information was presented?........................................................................................3
What was interesting?..................................................................................................................4
How can I use the new information?...........................................................................................4
What did I not understand and what consecutive steps did I take for this?.................................4
ACADEMIC AND ROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS..................................................5
ACTION PLAN...............................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Reflection and self analysis is critical in identifying and analysing the overall analysis of an
individual and understanding the critical learning that was developed (Chujfi and Meinel, 2017).
In the present report, a reflection will be presented on the presentation activity that was
undertaken and areas of development will be identified. Finally an action plan will be presented.
MAIN BODY
REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
A reflective statement is critical in analysing and ascertaining the major learning that were
developed throughout the particular experience that an individual went through. In the present
report, I will evaluate my experience that I had while giving the group presentation and the
overall learning that I was able to develop through it (Gangi and Soliz, 2016). I can critically
analyse and evaluate the different aspects that were related to the presentation that I gave and the
manner in which I was able to identify or develop the necessary knowledge relate do the overall
learning and experience that I have gained. I can do this by addressing the following points:
What did I learn?
The major learning that I developed from my presentation that was based on the methods
that can be adopted in order to succeed in the life as a student majorly taught me how to deal
with different aspects that are related to academic challenges. The presentation collectively
helped me to develop a learning regarding the systematic steps and procedures that I can adopted
which will ultimately lead to a better roadmap towards success. The overall experience that I had
while giving the presentation and developing it as well made me understand the importance of
team work and the necessary aspects that are required amongst the team members so that a better
teamwork i.e. ultimate result can be presented before the audience. I also learnt that how the art
of presenting before a group of people i.e. the potential audience is a very difficult task and the
manner in which it is done. I learnt the importance of the coordination and cooperation in a
group presentation where everyone should clearly know what is their part or role in the
presentation to be delivered.
What new information was presented?
Throughout the experience that I had while developing a presentation, I learnt a lot of new
things that I never acknowledged before (Pepper, 2020). For instance before the presentation on
this topic, I didn’t knew that there were a series of steps that could be adopted before integrating
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success in the academic life, i.e. I thought that handwork was adequate to achieve the desired
success. But this presentation made me realise that apart from hard work there is also the need of
smart work and constant planning and evaluation so that the success can be measured and
adequate steps can be taken accordingly. Further by the presentation I wa also able to identify
that giving a presentation does not simply involves speaking the part that I have been allotted but
rather it involves engagement of the audience and the manner in which I am able to influence
them or attract their attention on certain aspects.
What was interesting?
Out of the entire experience, the major factors that I found interesting were related to the
manner in which I can catalogue my success where there were clearly designated steps for each
stage and I learnt that at each stage I could learn something new or better. Another major aspect
related to the learning that I was able to develop was that I learnt how critical it is to effectively
manage the different aspects related to the presentation, its compilation, the content that is to be
included and the manner in which the segregation is done between relevant and or irrelevant
aspects (Malmelin and Virta, 2017). Then it was interesting to see that how audience gets
engaged in the presentation and the phenomenon of observing the audience and their interest
level was also quite an interesting experience for me. Additionally, the entire process of working
collectively on a single project, agreeing and disagreeing with each other, integrating the efforts
etc. everything was quite an interesting and engaging process for me.
How can I use the new information?
The new information that I have been able to accumulate can be used effectively in my
future life as well. The rules that I learnt for attaining success in the student life can be
implemented in the future as well where I can ad3eqaltuely implement it in my professional life
as well. The next major aspect that I can use is the art of giving presentation as this is competing
which I will have to do in my future academic life as well s in my career as well and hence
cultivating good sense of giving presentation, capturing the attention of the audience etc., are
some of the critical aspects that I can use in future effectively.
What did I not understand and what consecutive steps did I take for this?
The major thing that I was not able to understand initially when I was engaged in the group
activity was the segregation that all of us had done (Maduka and et.al., 2018). The tasks that we
had distributed were clearly linked to each other so I was quite confused regarding the fact that
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how will I ensure that my part is properly connected to that of the person before me. And
consequently, the person after me should also develop a part that is properly integrated with the
tone that I had developed. Hence it is important to integrate the content that is being presented
and I understood that the key behind this is the communication. I should clearly communicate
with both the persons regarding the tone of the content and then there are multiple rounds when
the content is further honed and improved before presenting the final one before the audience.
ACADEMIC AND ROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS
Based in the reflection carried be and also on the general analysis that was done, I can
identify and conclude that there are certain areas on which I need to improve myself further and
develop myself in a more integrated manner (Chujfi and Meinel, 2017). The areas include both
academic and professional aspect and can be identified as follows on which I need to work
critically:
Quicker decision- making skills: After he entire experience I can effectively say that my
decision making skills are not very well developed i.e. I have correct knowledge about the
decisions that should be relevant and should be taken but I take too much time in the finalizing of
the decisions. This is the major are on which I need to work upon myself as in my professional as
well as personal i.e. academic career the critical decisions skills will be extremely necessary in
taking corrective measures in difficult times and also will determine my leadership skills that are
most important for success in the corporate world.
Communication kills: In the presentation the most impactful aspect was the manner in which the
communication was done with the audience as well as with the major parties. I realised that I am
very nervous and not able to communicate properly which is a major setback as an individual. I
also realised that I am not able to effectively capture the attention of the public making them hear
me out to whatever I had to say (Baturay, Gökçearslan and Ke, 2017). I understand that this is
another major skill that an individual must have in order to succeed in the academic and
professional career that I intend to develop. Therefore this is another area on which I need to
work further.
Time management skills: Time management skills were another category of skills that I
recognised that I do not have properly developed. I am not able to ascertain the different tasks
that are to be completed in the time that has been allotted to me. In my future career I need to be
properly adept in managing different tasks in the limited time that is available to me so that I can
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become an efficient professional. Therefore, this is another aspect where I recognised that I need
to develop myself further. Hence I will work on this aspect as well in order to develop myself for
the future career that I intend to develop effectively.
ICT skills: I recognised that I lack adequate ICT skills as I was not able to operate and perform
even the basic designing tools that are available in the MS- PowerPoint (Baron, 2016). This
presented a huge amount of problem before me and I had to repeatedly take assistance of
someone else. This helped me in realising that I need to develop these skills as well in order to
develop and prepare myself for the future duties and professionals duties that I have to comply
with.
ACTION PLAN
Action plan documents the manner in which I intend to develop the skills that I think are
necessary for me, the time that I will take, the resources that I will require and the review of the
activities undertaken. Based on the areas and skills that I identified above which I need to
develop further, I can develop my action plan in following manner:
Skills to be
developed
Activities undertaken Resources
required
Time
taken
Review or feedback
Quicker
decision-
making skills
I intend to develop my
decision making skills by
engaging in regular and also
different critical scenarios
that require quick decisions
and implementation.
Additionally, I will also
undertake logical and
analytical tests that make
my mind more logical and
comprehensive at the same
time. This will help me in
quicken the thinking process
and reach to the results
more quickly.
The games
and quizzes,
books,
observing
seniors
3 to 4
months
I will observe the
score of the tests
that I take and the
time taking with
them and I will also
take feedbacks form
my mentors
regarding the
practical life
decisions that I took
in different
situations (Rubens
and et.al., 2018).
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Communication
kills
I have already identified the
importance of the
communication skills and I
plan to develop them further
in order to develop better
professional carer aspects. I
will enrol myself in proper
coaching classes where I
will be guided regularly and
mentored regularly.
Additionally I will also
engage in self practices such
as practicing before mirror,
my friends etc. so that I can
lose the nervousness.
Coaching
classes,
YouTube
videos,
watching
influencers
and seniors
1 to 2
months
I will engage in
regular tests so that
development in my
communication sills
can be done by my
mentor and I will
also take feedback
from my friends.
The eye gestures
and hand actions
will be a major
concern of feedback
for me as they
contribute
immensely in
effective
communication.
Time
management
skills
Developing time
management skills is
necessary in the
achievement of tasks in a
timely manner. I will do this
by identifying all the
activities that I need to
perform and then develop
proper schedule (Rajesh and
Suganthi, 2016). I will
classify time for every
activity that I need to
perform and then match it
with the standard time that
Time
schedules
and time
evaluation
sheets
5 months The deviation that
occurred in the
standard time set
and the actual time
will be evaluated
and I will also refer
to my seniors
regarding the
approval of the
schedule that I have
developed.
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has been set.
ICT skills I will develop ICT skills
again by referring to various
offline and offline courses
that can help me in gaining
a comprehensive knowledge
regarding the different
required topics (Lawrence,
Dunn and Weisfeld-Spolter,
2018).
YouTube
videos,
lectures
1 to 2
months
I will analyse the
skills by regularly
checking them and
obtain feedback
form my mentor as
well regarding the
improvement that I
am making.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of the analysis done above, it can be concluded that the reflection is critical part
in the evaluation of the overall learning that has been developed. The reflective writing helped in
ascertaining the areas of academic and professional development that need to be developed.
Finally an action plan was presented accordingly.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baron, L., 2016. Authentic leadership and mindfulness development through action
learning. Journal of Managerial Psychology.
Baturay, M. H., Gökçearslan, Ş. and Ke, F., 2017. The relationship among pre-service teachers'
computer competence, attitude towards computer-assisted education, and intention of
technology acceptance. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 9(1),
pp.1-13.
Chujfi, S. and Meinel, C., 2017. Design Thinking and Cognitive Science: An Exploratory
Approach to Create Intellectual Capital with Decentralised Organisations. In FedCSIS
Communication Papers (pp. 303-310).
Gangi, K. and Soliz, J., 2016. De-dichotomizing intergroup and interpersonal dynamics:
Perspectives on communication, identity and relationships.
Lawrence, E., Dunn, M.W. and Weisfeld-Spolter, S., 2018. Developing leadership potential in
graduate students with assessment, self-awareness, reflection and coaching. Journal of
Management Development.
Maduka, N.S and et.al., 2018. Analysis of competencies for effective virtual team leadership in
building successful organisations. Benchmarking: An International Journal.
Malmelin, N. and Virta, S., 2017. Organising creative interaction: spontaneous and routinised
spheres of team creativity. Communication Research and Practice, 3(4). pp.299-318
Pepper, S., 2020. Professional development: The black holes of goal setting. Proctor, The, 40(1).
p.17.
Rajesh, J. I. and Suganthi, L., 2016. The mediating role of interpersonal communication
satisfaction between transformational leadership and followers' trust. International
Journal of Business Excellence, 9(4). pp.418-440.
Rubens, A., and et.al., 2018. Self-awareness and leadership: Developing an individual strategic
professional development plan in an MBA leadership course. The International Journal
of Management Education. 16(1). pp.1-13.
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