Personal Development for Leadership and Strategic Management Report

This report delves into personal development within the context of leadership and strategic management, specifically tailored for Vista Print, a UK-based small business enabler. It begins with an analysis of the essential skills and knowledge required to formulate and achieve a company's vision and strategy, emphasizing communication and delegation skills. The report then examines the contribution of other factors, such as critical and big-picture thinking, in attaining organizational goals. It also explores leadership and management theories, including Human Relation Management and Transformational Leadership, and their impact on personal growth. A personal skills audit identifies strengths and weaknesses, followed by the setting of SMART objectives and the creation of a detailed personal development plan addressing areas like conflict management, employee motivation, and delegation of work. Furthermore, the report investigates factors influencing the creation and communication of organizational vision, and it assesses the benefits of regular reviews and information sources needed to track progress. The report concludes with a review of progress against the stated outcomes in the personal development plan.

Personal Development for
Leadership and Strategic
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Analysis of required skills and knowledge to support creation and attainment of firm's
vision and strategy.......................................................................................................................1
1.2 Contribution of other factors in attainment of organisational vision and strategy................2
3.1 Leadership and management theories and their implication in personal development.........2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
3.2 Audit of personal leadership and management skills............................................................3
(Negative Variance depicts strengths while positive shows weaknesses.).................................4
3.3 Setting objectives to meet personal development needs.......................................................4
3.4 Personal development plan...................................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Factors that impact on creation of organisational vision......................................................5
2.2 Assessment of distinct approaches to developing vision......................................................6
2.3 Key factors that impact on communication of vision to external stakeholders....................6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
4.1 Assessment of benefits of review..........................................................................................7
4.2 Sources of information required to review progress with attaining personal development
plan..............................................................................................................................................7
TASK 5............................................................................................................................................8
4 D1 Development of report to review progress against outcomes stated in personal
development plan........................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Personal development is all about gaining skills, experience and knowledge with the aim
of improving self -perception as well as individual performance. Leadership and Strategic
Management are two essential aspects that assists a person in attaining their personal and
professional goals (Al Ariss, Cascio and Paauwe, 2014). In the present assignment, given
organisation is Vista Print which empowers small businesses of United Kingdom effectively.
This report covers analysis of required skills and knowledge in strategic management and
leadership. Personal audit and development plan is also prepared to develop own skills. Apart
from this, key factors are identified which impacts on creation and communication of
organisational vision. At last, review benefits are assessed, required information sources are
evaluated and a report is prepared that helps in reviewing progress against outcomes.
TASK 1
1.1 Analysis of required skills and knowledge to support creation and attainment of firm's vision
and strategy
Leadership and strategic management are unique in its own manner and are collectively
assists organisations in fulfilling the stated mission and attaining its pre-set objectives. There are
different skills and knowledge in leadership and strategic management that are required to
support creation and attainment of strategy and vision of Vista Print. Some of these are defined
below:
Leadership skills:
Communication: Leaders requires to clearly communicate their team members
everything from goals to specific tasks within organisation. It is the key that helps an individual
in establishing themselves as leader and leading a team (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). Leader of
Vista Print needs to ensure that strong communication takes place among team members so that
information can flow freely. This will help leader in creating effective vision and strategies of
organisation. Effective communication helps in conveying those clearly to employees so that
they are encouraged to work towards attainment of organisational vision.
Delegation of work: Leaders have a team of many individuals that shares common vision
and helps in attaining goals. Delegation of work is a crucial aspect of team development as

without assigning tasks and requesting help of others, it cannot be done in proper manner
(Leadership Skills, 2018). So, leader of Vista Print require to determine and capitalize on
strengths of teammates and distribute them work accordingly. This will help them in formulating
effective strategies and implementing them to attain vision of organisation.
Strategic management skills:
Planning and Organizing: It is all about the ability of manager to organize resources,
ideas, time and people available within firm to give themselves the best possible opportunity to
shape coherent strategy (Bolden, 2016). So, manager of Vista Print requires to manage all
resources appropriately in order to create vision and strategy and ensure their successful
achievement.
Collaboration ability: It is the capacity of manager to work flexibly and positively in
group situations, keeping an open and helpful attitude so that best ideas regarding possible
strategies can come out. This will help manager of Vista print in developing effective strategies
and implementation of these assists in attaining organisational vision.
Knowledge required to support creation and achievement of organisational vision and
strategy:
 Current and emerging developments in national and local market.
 Knowledge regarding procedures, policies, practices and operational systems that
supports firm's strategy and direction.
 Knowledge about demographic trends, technological innovations and scientific advances
is required to create effective vision and strategy.
1.2 Contribution of other factors in attainment of organisational vision and strategy
In attainment of organisational vision and strategy, there are some other factors in
leadership and strategic management that contributes in it. These are defined below:
Critical thinking: It is defined as the capacity of manager and leader of Vista Print to
think broadly and rigorously about issues, problems or challenges which may lie ahead at the
time of strategy formulation and then think critically to optimize the way of finding potential
solutions. This skill and knowledge of leader assists them in creation of specific organisational
vision and strategy and attainment of these by implementing appropriate tactics.
Big picture thinking: This is the ability of manager or leader to evaluate impact of issues
beyond firm that might arise and have future influence on its potential strategy. This skill or

capability of manager of Vista Print helps them in determining appropriate approach and
formulating effective strategies which assists in reducing its impact and attaining vision of
organisation (Brown and May, 2012).
3.1 Leadership and management theories and their implication in personal development
Human Relation Management Theory:
This theory depicts about significance of manpower in productivity of firm. It is a belief
that people wants to be a part of team which is supportive and facilitates growth and
development. So, if manager of Vista Print gives special attention to their staff members and
encourage them to participate more, then employees perceive that their work has some
significance. By this, they are motivated and tries to be more productive which ultimately results
in high quality work. Application of this theory helps manager in developing strong relations
among employees which results in improving productivity. Being a part of supporting team
where work of each employee had significant impact on group output assists in personal
development of an individual (Colbert, Barrick and Bradley, 2014).
Transformational leadership theory:
As per this theory, leaders with transformational leadership style emphasize on big
picture and utilize communication in order to motivate followers to execute their vision
effectively and efficiently. This approach calls for leaders or managers to be accessible and
visible and to seek out new ideas actively to realize objectives. These managers have the ability
to inspire others with their personality and vision to change perceptions, expectations and
motivations to work towards common goals. Application of this theory assists leader of Vista
Print in bringing new ideas within organisation and also helps in developing positive culture
within which employees enjoy to work. This leadership provides an ability to individuals to think
out of the box which further assists in their personal growth and development (Herrmann and
Herrmann-Nehdi, 2015).
TASK 2
3.2 Audit of personal leadership and management skills
Sl.
No.
Skills and Competencies Score Score from
others
Variances

1 Problem solving skills 7 8 -1
2 Team building skills 6 8 -2
3 Communication, information and knowledge 8 9 -1
4 Conflict management skills 7 5 2
5 Employee motivation and retention 8 6 2
6 My analysis skills 8 9 -1
7 Decision making skills 7 8 -1
8 Time management skills 7 6 1
9 Delegation of work 8 6 2
10 Monitoring and controlling quality of work 7 6 1
(Negative Variance depicts strengths while positive shows weaknesses.)
3.3 Setting objectives to meet personal development needs
Some smart objectives to meet my personal development needs are:
 To improve my conflicts management skills within 3 months.
 To be able to increase motivation level of employees and retain them within organisation
for longer term (Martin, McCormack and Spirig, 2012).
 To increase my ability to assign work as per the skills and competencies of individuals
within 4 months.
3.4 Personal development plan
S.
No.Identif
ied
developm
ent area
Current
proficiency
Target
proficiency
Actions
required
Measures
and
indicators
Time
scale
Evidence
1 Conflict My conflict I want to Emotional Attending 3 Manageme

manageme
nt skill
management
skills are not
good due to
which I am
unable to
resolve
conflicts
easily.
improve my
conflict
management
skills in such
a manner so
that I enable
to resolve
conflicts
easily.
awareness,
active
listening,
focus on
present, be
willing to
forgive,
take
participatio
n in group
discussions
and
brainstormi
ng activities
training
sessions,
using 180
degree
analysis.
months nt and
employees
2 Employee
motivation
and
retention
skill
My skills of
motivating
others and
encouraging
them to retain
within
organisation
is not good.
I want to
improve my
abilities to
retain my staff
members and
increasing
their
motivation
level on
constant basis.
Studying
human
resource
module,
attending
seminars
related to
employee
motivation
and
retention.
Attending
seminars
related to
human
resource
managemen
t, studying
human
resource
managemen
t practices.
2
months
Team
members
and their
feedbacks
3 Delegation
of work
skill
My ability to
assign work
as per the
skills and
expertise of
I want to
enhance my
ability to
identify skills
and
Proper
understandi
ng of each
individual's
strength,
Timely
work
completion,
firm's
productivity
3-4
months
Senior
managers.

individual are
not good due
to which I
face many
problems in
completing
work on time.
competencies
of individual
and assign
them work
according to
their
expertise.
attending
seminars
and
conferences
related to
work
delegation.
and
performanc
e.
TASK 3
2.1 Factors that impact on creation of organisational vision
There are some factors that impacts on creation of organisational vision of Vista Print
which are defined below:
Specificity: Visions are meaningless if they are vague and blurry. So, it is very necessary
for manager of Vista Print to consider this factor and ensure that organisation mission must be
clear and specific so that goals can be achieve effectively (Men and Stacks, 2014).
Ineffective leadership: It is one of the factor that impacts on creation of vision in an
organisation. Unwilling leaders are not able to create effective vision for company so, it is very
essential for Vista Print to have willing leaders who contributes in creating a clear vision of firm.
Flexibility: It is also an important factor that requires to be consider by manager of Vista
Print at the time of vision creation. Many organisations struggle with exercise of visioning as
they know that things change. The main aim of articulating vision is that it assists leaders in
deciding which path to take. So, flexibility must be there in vision creation (Nesbit, 2012).
2.2 Assessment of distinct approaches to developing vision
In creation of vision of an organisation, some approaches can be utilized by manager of
Vista Print which are defined below:
Visualization, guided imagery: These contains similar concepts with specific
advantages that fuse the vision pieces collectively, from simple daily tasks to large goals. It
involves structured practice of developing detailed image of attractive vision. This practice help
manager or leader of Vista Print in creating an effective vision for company.
Brainstorming: It is the group creativity method through which efforts are made in order
to find conclusion for a particular matter or topic by collecting many ideas spontaneously that are

contributed by its members. Application of this approach can assist manager of Vista Print in
developing vision for company.
Priority weighing of individuals: When assigning weights to goals and competencies on
an individual evaluation form, it is very essential for manager to ensure that these currently
reflect priorities and values of organisation. Getting weighing agreement can sometimes be
challenge, but discussion is always valuable. Prioritization of individual tasks assists manager of
Vista Print in developing vision effectively (Phipps, 2012).
2.3 Key factors that impact on communication of vision to external stakeholders
Stakeholders are those individual who are interested in business operations and vision as
they see themselves as impacted potentially by business. These perceptions may lead
stakeholders to proceeds with an actions that negatively or positively influence vision of firm.
So, it is very essential for manager of Vista Print to communicate vision of business with its
stakeholders as in order to develop shared values and interest. Some factors that affect
communication of vision with external stakeholders are defined below:
Senior management advocate: Successful stakeholder communication needs
determination of senior manager to serve as program advocate of communication of vision.
Manager alert firm leadership to merit of programme in order to ensure that it is originally
funded (Reynolds, 2017). Then company leadership is updated by administrator to prevent
curtailment of communication efforts among stakeholders. Senior manager engages with
leadership of other organisation and community interest members to encourage those activities
which benefits shared interest, like providing updates to regulators regarding vision and
performance of organisation.
Internal stakeholders: Staff members are the part of stakeholder community as well as
effective representative for business. Their relationships are impacted by engagement of well-
informed members of staff in planned communications activities of stakeholder and informal
conversations that takes place in social settings. Internal stakeholders also influence on
communication of vision of Vista Print to external stakeholders.
Communications staff: The dependence on corporate communication staff in
formulation of strategy and design a communication plan that particularly develop for engaging
stakeholders and improving the probability of communicating effectively the visions of
organisation.

TASK 4
4.1 Assessment of benefits of review
The main reason of review is that it assists in increasing performance of firm and also
helps in ensuring that objectives and goals of company will be attain on time (Sallis, 2014).
Some benefits of review are defined below:
 Review or providing feedback to individuals enables them to prepare themselves better
for future interviews and also depicts the area where they require to emphasize on.
 By providing detailed review of interview, individual will appreciate an extra mile they
had gone to and are likely to talk regarding positive experience they had.
This tool can be used when there is need to recruit and select skilled and knowledgable
candidates that have ability to attain organisational goals.
4.2 Sources of information required to review progress with attaining personal development plan
One of the major source that is required to review progress with attaining personal
development plan is feedback. Getting feedback form panel members regarding interview helps
in better reviewing the progress of an individual. This will help candidate in determining the
areas where improvements are needed which helps them in taking necessary steps or actions that
assists them in improving their abilities and skills. Progress review is very essential as it depicts
an individual about their personal as well as professional growth. This will help in making
improvements in personal development plan (Williams, 2013).
TASK 5
4 D1 Development of report to review progress against outcomes stated in personal development
plan
Review of progress against outcomes stated in personal development plan:
 By attending training sessions and active listening and proper understanding of issues, I
am able to improve my conflict management skills.
 Studying of human resource module and attending seminars and conferences related to
motivation and employee retention assists in increasing motivation level of workers.
 Proper understanding of skills and competencies of individual assists in delegating work
as per the strengths and abilities of individual that further helps in improving

performance of both organisation as well as individual (Al Ariss, Cascio and Paauwe,
2014).
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report, it has been concluded that Leadership and strategic
management are two essential aspects that helps in personal growth of an individual. Leadership
is defined as an ability of a person or group to influence others by their thoughts and actions.
Strategic management is the process which involves long term planning and initiatives of an
organisation. Strategic manager has good leadership qualities that helps in bring change as per
the environment. Skill audit and Preparation of personal development plan helps an individual in
improving their those abilities and skills which are weak. Leadership and strategic management
skills assists in creation of organisational vision and strategy that helps in attaining goals.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
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handbook of leadership and management development (pp. 143-158). Routledge.
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transformational leadership training. Journal of Management Development. 31(6).
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Herrmann, N. and Herrmann-Nehdi, A., 2015. The Whole Brain Business Book: Unlocking the
Power of Whole Brain Thinking in Organizations, Teams, and Individuals. McGraw-
Hill Education.
Martin, J. S., McCormack, B., Fitzsimons, D. and Spirig, R., 2012. Evaluation of a clinical
leadership programme for nurse leaders. Journal of Nursing Management. 20(1). pp.72-
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Men, L. R. and Stacks, D., 2014. The effects of authentic leadership on strategic internal
communication and employee-organization relationships. Journal of Public Relations
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Nesbit, P. L., 2012. The role of self-reflection, emotional management of feedback, and self-
regulation processes in self-directed leadership development. Human Resource
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Phipps, K. A., 2012. Spirituality and strategic leadership: The influence of spiritual beliefs on
strategic decision making. Journal of business ethics. 106(2). pp.177-189.
Reynolds, M., 2017. Organizing reflection. Routledge.
Sallis, E., 2014. Total quality management in education. Routledge.
Williams, C., 2013. Principles of management. South-Western Cengage Learning.
Online
Leadership Skills, 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.skillsyouneed.com/leadership-skills.html>.