PDP: Developing Yourself for Success - Self-Analysis & Reflection

This assignment presents a personal development plan (PDP) centered on self-analysis, reflection, and the identification of strengths and weaknesses. It includes exercises such as the Marshmallow Team Challenge to foster teamwork and innovation, a values assessment to define guiding principles, and a StrengthsFinder analysis to pinpoint key talents. The plan outlines specific goals related to career, academics, personal development, and skills acquisition, along with strategies for achieving them. It addresses potential challenges at university and proposes solutions. The PDP also touches on personal branding and concludes with future steps. This resource, contributed by a student, is available on Desklib, a platform offering a range of study tools and solved assignments.

KNOWING & DEVELOPING YOURSELF FOR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (PDP)
__________
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What is a personal development plan?
The aim of creating a personal development plan is to document a process of self-
analysis, personal reflection and honest appraisal of your strengths and weaknesses.
This should enable you to evaluate your current position and where you are right now
and consider your future development. The purpose of Personal Development Plan
(PDP) is to encourage you to learn and plan by becoming more aware of your
capabilities and the opportunities around you .The PDP can be applied in a range of
contexts, changing the way you approach your studies, make choices in both your
academic and personal life and prioritise your actions.
What do I need to do?
As part of your assignment you are required to complete this workbook. You should
carefully review what you have learned during the Knowing and Developing Yourself
module (including assigned readings) and apply this in the PDP document.
The word count for the PDP should be 1,500 words.
You should include copies from your strengths reports and reference the resources that
are available to you through the Clifton Strengths for Students web site, these will be
highlighted and part of your homework during the module.
Assignment Marking
The submitted plan will be marked using the following grading criteria:
Coherence (30%) – Does the plan link with the goals and the student’s current
situation? Has the individual thought through what development needs to take place
and how this will be achieved?
Engage with course materials (30%) – Has the individual drawn on the content of the
module to construct the plan? Has the individual used core theories, models, or
frameworks to provide a structure to the plan? Has the individual used the analysis
techniques presented in class in the planning process? What other evidence is being
used to support the plan?
Wider Reading and Reflection (30%) – Has the student demonstrated wider reading and
reflection outside of the classroom? Are there new materials and reading being
introduced? Has the student continued the reflection process beyond the course? What
other evidence is being used to support the plan?
Communication (10%) – Is the student able to communicate effectively his/her plan and
the rationale for this? Is there a structure to the plan? Does it have a conclusion?
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
____________________________
KNOWING YOURSELF
MARSHALLOW TEAM CHALLENGE
Came across
Questions Responses
What did you learn from this
activity?
(Consider how the team collaborated
and worked as a team, and your role
within the team)
The marshmallow challenge is a prototype building challenge that includes
20 spaghetti, 1 marshmallow and 1 yard of tape as well as a yard of string
to build the tallest building with the marshmallow on the top. This challenge
makes sure to bring out innovation and create a better way of proceeding
with variety of ways to find the same result. The marshmallow challenge
gives in brainstorming ideas to create a better prototype that could balance
the weight of the marshmallow over the structure of spaghetti. There are
both chances of the success and failure at the same time.
The marshmallow challenge was conducted in our college as well. Our
team included four members. As the team, The marshmallow challenge
help me in learning the team spirit and innovation ideas within the team.
The challenge helped me learning the role of member teamwork, increased
my creativity and helped me in resource planning that is how I can bring
better results with limited resources. It helped in bringing out more and
better ideas to execute the task and evaluate the plans in a better manner.
It helped me to focus on the plan rather than goals.
As the team lead, I learnt to bring out the best in people and properly
entrust the role to all member, to know the potential of my team members
and lead them with motivation to achieve the best of their skills. As the
team leader, I learnt through this challenge to share the success and
appreciate the efforts of each and every team member of the organisation.
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How will this help you when working
in teams as part of your MSc?
Why do future employers look for
team working skills?
I was the team leader I was helped by the challenge to bring the best in me
to work with the people who have different personalities working over a
single plan; it helped me to experience to see the challenge from the
different perspective of every team member and chose the best-suited path
to proceed the project. The challenge displays the potential of all the team
members, the necessity of coordination and role-playing in the team.
Every employer looks for the teamwork skills since it helps them to know
the level of interaction and the coordination they would serve within the
organisation. This help them to know the potential of working with and
among the people. The employer of the organisation make sure that the
person that person could merge with the co-workers and could interact with
the client in an effective manner.
VALUES
Questions Responses
What are your top 3 values & why are
they important to you? 1. Innovation
Innovation help in bringing the better ideas to encounter with the
problems, it helps me in developing my knowledge that could help in my
self-development to learn more
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2. Competitive
I believe that competiveness makes me realise the position where I stand
with others, it gives me encouragement to achieve more
3. Contribution
Contribution is quite important when it comes to achieving goals, if I would
work in organisation I would make sure that I have serve in bringing even a
little part in their success and the growth of the company. the contribution
plays an important role in bringing the best of oneself and be self-
sustainable
How will knowing these values help
you during your studies and in your
future career?
The innovation will keep me curious while I am ready to learn something
new. The innovation will help in bringing the best of the knowledge and
experiment them in practical life as well. Innovation refines the theory and
empowers learning with interest. The competiveness is not from others but
from oneself provides a push to grow and be more productive in self-
development; it helps me to understand where I stand. The productivity
that could be shared with others is add on bonus in order to achieve the
goal. The contribution makes sure the signs of the responsibility within the
organisation.
What steps could you take to ensure
you live by these values? Think of
some actions you can take?
In order to be innovative I would not be centralized with one book, I would
be through research regarding the topic and find better ways to implement
them in practical scenario. The idea will help me in the growth of my
talents in a better manner
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Download the Values Inventory from Blackboard
StrengthsFinder
Questions Responses
Name your top 5 from your strengths
profile?
The top 5 strength are
1. Strategic
2. activator
3. positivity
4. consistency
5. includer
What surprised you when reading the
report?
Identify any specific words or phrases
that you agreed with and why?
The report was well addressed and helped me to change my thoughts in
the better way. I was quite surprise reading the report since it changed my
views regarding my strength and helped in shaping my strength in the
better manner.
I agree that the positivity is the major approach to solve any problem, the
positive approach helps in bringing the motivation towards the work, and
the positive approach helps me bringing the encouragement within oneself
to overcome all the challenges effectively.
The consistency provides the growth in a strategic manner
What can you do to invest in these
talents to become strengths?
Identify some specific actions – list at
least 3
I can invest in the positivity to encourage myself in order to be
confident towards my work
Innovation
Determination
contribution
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How can others see these strengths
as perceived weaknesses?
(sometimes known as basement)
The strength can be seen as weakness like the friendliness can be
taken as pompousness and consistency as monotonous, the
positivity as the pride
What have you learned from your
strengths profile?
Consider what you discovered about
yourself and how this might relate to
you as a person and your career
interests.
I have learnt to be better way to groom myself ,
I discovered that I was underestimated my talents and now I can be
better way of analysing myself.
Attach your strengths insight report and highlight those words and phrases that relate to you.
Attach your prioritised student action items and highlight those key action
DEVELOPING YOURSELF
Setting Future Goals and Aspirations
SWOT Analysis
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Before setting your personal development plans, you should conduct a personal analysis: Eg - What are my
strengths and weaknesses? What external opportunities or threats might affect any plans I might make?
Strengths
Good Communication skills,
team collaboration, adaptive
,social and active participant
Good research skills
Areas for Development
Easily distracted
Less Emotional stability
Fear of failure
Opportunities
Orator,
Team leader
Political team leader
Writer
Excuetive in the corporate companies
Threats
Better competent with better communication
skills,
Competition within the organization being
served
Create at least 5 specific goals – these can be a mix of Career, Academic Studies, Personal Development, New
Skills, Feedback that you have received or personal health goals.
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How am I going to
achieve it?
What additional support
and resources will I
need?
What strengths can I
use to help achieve
these goals?
By When?
I will dedicate
6hrs per module
for studying
Dedicate myself
to studies.
I will join new
linguistic class in
Spanish and
French.
In long term
goals , I would
enrol a
unprivileged
child to
education
I would work
hard and give the
interview
With the job , I
would be serving
people at
weekend
Regularly follow up
with tutor
Not just centralise
myself to syllabus,
try external resources
to study
Would watch the
movies of different
language French and
Spanish.
Convince other
people to join in this
effort.
Dedicate myself to
work
Search NGO firms
Focus and
Discipline
Determination and
learning
curiosity
initiative and
compassion
dedication and
determination
empathy and
kindness
Next 3
months
Next 3
months
Next six
months
Next 5
years
Next 2
years
Next 3
years
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Managing and Dealing with Challenges at University
Outline the key challenges you might face in the next few weeks and months?
Making new friends, adapting with the studies, coping up with the new subjects and syllabus. Personal barriers
How can I go about managing these?
I would be patient enough to handle the situation and should be persistent with my behaviour; I will try to
have a positive approach within the organisation.
Knowing my strengths what can I do to overcome these challenges?
I think my friendly behaviour will help in making good friends with other students, I will try to cope with the
syllabus in the organisation
PROMOTING YOURSELF
Personal Branding
Questions Responses
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What is a Brand? The product that is placed under the particular name to stand its
uniqueness is called a brand.
Why do we buy one Brand over
another?
The brands depends on the quality ,popularity, and brand loyalty of the
customers
What do we expect from our brands? We expect it to increase our exposure and profitability
How many brands do we come across
daily?
More than 100 brands is came across each year
Why is this relevant to my job
search?
Brand helps in bringing better market value to the company and help in
knowing the brand value in the market
In the box below write down what three words would you like someone to use when describing you?
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Energetic positive optimistic
Attach responses to personal feedback form
What do I do Next?
Write down below all the different ways (touch points) you will be promoting Brand You.
Digital marketing
Social network marketing
Promoting through advertisement online as well as electronic
The pamphlets and the printing press
The online retail outlet
PERSONAL REFLECTION
What did you learn from this module? What did you discover about yourself and others? How can you put
this into practice?
Reference any specific reading / videos / personal thoughts that inspired and encouraged you whilst completing your
PDP
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I have learnt a lot from the module. The report the marshmallow challenge helped me to grow in a
better manner. The marshmallow challenge helped me in bringing the spirit of working in the team, the
collaboration and working with people of different perspective helped me in bringing the better
understanding of people’s perspective and agreeing at the same point. The marshmallow challenge
help in bringing the adaptive and innovation within ourselves as a team. It helped me to distribute the
roles and the resource planning to create better result with fewer resources. Since in the challenge,
there were just 20 spaghetti and the marshmallow. The task help in planning of the better ways to
proceed and reach the goals. The report helped me to change my perspective to proceed any problem
or situation. I used to be quite negative in the approaching with the problems. I used to give up easily
but after going through the report, I was totally encouraged and eager to solve of the problem with the
positivity. The strength finder help in bringing the better prototype to improve oneself. With 5-strength
finder and their management, it was quite easy for me to proceed with the challenges. The goals
helped me setting the better my future and helped me to find the purpose of my life. I was enthusiast
regarding the goals of my life whether it be the small goals or the long-term goals. The personal
branding helped me under better about how to brand any product and what are ways that are
necessary for fulfilling the productivity of the product. It also helped me to know how to advertise a
brand. The personal branding helped in putting forward as the person. The overall module increased
my knowledge, motivated me to overcome challenges in a better way, properly plan my future and
enhance my strength.
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