Strategic Management and Leadership

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
1
Strategic management and leadership
Name:
Institution:

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 2
TASK 1
A.C. 1.1 Construct a personal development plan to address short, medium
and long term needs
A personal development plan (PDP) is a tool that assists employees to grow both in
career and at a personal level (Zepeda, 2013). A person needs to focus on the skills,
abilities and knowledge that he should attain within a given period of time. The
table below illustrates an example of a PDP for a strategic manager:
Personal Development Plan
LONGTERM
GOALS
GOALS HOW TO
ACHIEVE
TIME FRAME OUTCOME
Gain more
experience
Job hunting 3 years Rise to better job
positions
Join professional
body
Apply for
certification
3 years Be recognized
professionally
Obtain cross-
sectional expertise
Set visits to other
managers
2 years Gain competitive
advantage
Complete
postgraduate
studies
Find flexible
hours to attend
tuition
3 years Gain more
knowledge

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 3
MID TERM GOALS
Improve job
performance
Identify a role
model
1 year Be more
resourceful
Improve public
speaking abilities
Prepare and
deliver
presentations
1 year Be a good
presenter
Improve ability to
lead change
Read books on
leading change
6 months Bring positive
change
Develop strategic
thinking abilities
Attend seminars
on strategies
When available as
scheduled
Formulate good
strategies for the
company
SHORT TERM GOALS
Improve
communication
skills
Attend trainings 6 months Communicate
effectively
Coaching and
developing my
team
Ask members to
develop PDPs
Next week Improved work
performance
Learn how to
handle conflicts
Read books on
conflict
resolutions
Daily evenings Be a good
problem solver
Wake up early Develop a habit Daily Perform tasks on
time

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 4
Read often Purchase books Daily after work Obtain more
knowledge
Listen actively Practice listening
skills
As soon as
possible
Pay attention to
details
Develop good
communication
skills and body
language
Practice good
communication
skills
1 month Convey messages
effectively
A.C. 1.2 Evaluate the impact and relationship of a personal development plan on own
development and achievement of organisation objectives
Personal development is a continuous process of growth in skills and expertise of an individual
that seeks to enable one to set and achieve goals successfully. It sharpens an individual into
living quality life and hence reaching the self-actualization ladder (Pedler, Burgoyne, & Boydell,
2013). Not only does personal development enhance achieving of personal goals but also
organizational objectives. Through setting the goals and striving to achieve them, employees
transfer the same energy to the organization through motivation. Motivation will enable
individuals to work extra hard to meet the set targets by their superiors, to go an extra mile into
research and innovation and hence quality output to the organization. Personal development also
assist individuals identify their areas of strength and weaknesses in the SWOT analysis (Noe et
al, 2017). Through these analyses, they are able to identify areas that bring out the best out of
them hence increase productivity at work. Individuals are encouraged to face the threats in their
surroundings and grab in the available opportunities for growth. Personal Development Plan

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 5
(PDP) on the other hand helps individuals determine their long, short and medium term goals
(Desimone, 2011). Identifying the available opportunities set the action plan and then continuous
monitoring and evaluation to realize the outcome. This is a key factor that employees can
incorporate in the various organizational projects they are working in to ensure successful
execution of the work. Through frequent changes in the set goals, analyzing and effective
implementation, the organization will successfully plod through its goals. Higher targets and
goals will eventually be realized. The impact of PDP can be measured in organizational
objectives through: Increased rate of employee retention at work (Eisele et al., 2013). This is
because it provides a boost in the employee performance which directly impacts to
organizational goals .It also cuts down on costs and time used by management to track
employee development and performance appraisal. Employees are hence able to match their
personal goals with that of the organization.PDP are vital in setting SMART goals and working
them out. Employees have a clear position in the organization and their well defined
responsibilities in achieving tasks. It enhances development of high skills and expertise that
promote expert findings in business. This is a greater way to discover individual talents and
mobiles them towards organizational goals.
PDP can be measured through record keeping and analysis, having regular checklists,
quantitatively by using rates and figures and also by subdividing the goals into smaller bits that
can be tackled one at a time. Goals broken into small goals are then allocated into the time
schedule that ensures an individual stick to the plan and achieve the goals within the time frame.
Quantitatively, development can be measured through increased output at minimum costs and
hence profitability. Organizations are delighted to know that they are moving forward when

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 6
preparing income statements of a given period. Keeping records is necessary for future referrals.
This will greatly enhance problem solving in the organization when problems emerge. It also
will have a combination of alternatives that work for the organization in moving forward.
Regular checklists are important in showing completed tasks, work in progress and also tasks
that are yet to begin. In the organization checklists will give management a list of completed
projects and those that are yet to be finished or started. This will ensure that the resources are
channeled in the right direction. For stagnating projects, management can quick start them and
also push for completion of work in progress. It is very important to ensure that no projects are
dragging behind and that the factors of production are utilized to the maximum. Rating can also
be used to measure personal development by having scales, you choose and make sure you reach
the highest scale. Organizations hence set high targets and work towards them then set even
higher bars to challenge employees to reach them.
A.C. 1.3- Analyse how the development plan affects, or could affect, achievement of
organisational objectives
Personal development plans should go hand in hand with the goals of the organization in order to
achieve a similar goal by both the employee and the organization as a whole. Having this plan
will add value to the organization because it focuses on improving the skills of an employee and
strengths and as a result it will lead to the well being of the organization through improved
performance. Employees should identify the connection between the company’s objective and
his/her own personal objectives. They should then consider connecting their goals with the
strategies of the company so as to archive the same goal for the stated period of time. The
employee should also be able to explain his/her weakness and how it affects the performance of