Personal Development Portfolio: Leadership and Transferable Skills

This report presents a portfolio of personal development tasks, focusing on leadership and transferable skills. Task 1 reflects on the student's management and leadership skills using the Gibbs reflective model, analyzing experiences in team leadership and identifying areas for improvement, culminating in a personal development plan to enhance technical and conflict resolution skills. Task 2 explores the importance of transferable skills within the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), examining communication, motivation, empowerment, conflict management, and team effectiveness, and how IHG applies these skills using relevant theories like the Dual Process Theory and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The report provides a comprehensive overview of leadership, personal development, and practical applications in a business context.

Portfolio of Personal
Development Tasks

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Reflection on own management and leadership skills...........................................................1
Personal Development Plan....................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Transferrable skills and their importance...............................................................................4
Transferrable skills within InterContinental Group of Hotels................................................4
Supportive Communication....................................................................................................4
Motivation..............................................................................................................................5
Empowerment.........................................................................................................................6
Conflict Management.............................................................................................................6
Team Effectiveness................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Portfolio can be defined as the collective account of all the experiences as well as
learning gained by an individual during a particular activity or task (Wagner, 2018). The below
mentioned report is categorised in to 2 tasks. The first task is concerned with reflection over own
leadership and management skills through the application of 2 widely used reflective models.
The second task is based upon the importance and usage of transferrable skills along with the
application of appropriate theories related to them by the organisation. The company chosen for
this task of the project is InterContinental Hotels Group PLC. It is a chain of hotels engaged in
provision of hospitality services and having its headquarters within the confines of Britain.
TASK 1
Reflection on own management and leadership skills
A portfolio provides an overall summary of the experiences as well as learning driven by
an individual while undergoing certain task or activity in academic or professional context. It is
important for an individual to develop a portfolio as it provides assistance to them in recollecting
what they have learnt and experienced during the course of an activity, in future time (Ahmed
and Ward, 2016). In this regard, below mentioned is a reflective account showcasing my
experiences and learning while leading a team in a group activity. For this purpose, Gibbs model
of reflection is applied which consists of several stages that lay down the good and bad
experiences drawn during the whole task. The reflection is given as follows:-
Description: This being the first stage of Gibbs reflective model is concerned with
stipulating the overview of the activity or task undergone by a person in an individualistic or
collaborative manner (Stocks and Trevitt, 2016). In this regard, I was once handed over a task to
handle a team of 10 individuals whereby I was the leader who was responsible for the outcomes
of the activity. To effectively accomplish the task in due course of time, a theory was applied by
me which was acknowledged to be Belbin Team Roles Theory. This consists of 9 roles within a
team which are allotted to individuals as per their behavioural characteristics and working
patterns. Thus, I allotted the roles and responsibilities within the group as per their
characteristics. My leadership skills during the whole task were acknowledged to be quite
effective.
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Feelings: This stage of the reflective model lays down all the feelings which an
individual undergo while carrying out a particular task or activity (Smith, 2018). While I was
handed over the leadership of team, I was a bit nervous regarding the coordination and
communication between the members. I was considered as a suitable candidate for making the
leader looking upon my past records as a team leader. Almost all of the tasks taken up by me in a
group in past were accomplished by the group before the arrival of actual deadline date.
However, with the passage of time, I made use of strong communication and time management
skills to make sure that each individual does their role within the allotted time period. With this, I
ensured that the productivity levels of members get raised by a significant margin, thereby
facilitating the accomplishment of team goals and objectives within the assigned course of time.
I faced difficulty while collecting information from the internet owing to my ineffective
technical skills. For this, I sought help from one of the group members. Further, a number of
times, conflicts emerged within the team members. In this relation, the situations worsened
owing to my lack of conflict resolution skills. Being a leader, it was important for me to resolve
the disputes between the members however this role was played by another member of the group
as I lacked knowledge of the ways through which conflicts can be resolved and sync can be
maintain within the members of the group.
Evaluation: This phase is associated with enlisting the good as well as bad aspects of the
task or project so that meaningful inferences can be drawn out of them (Domac, Anderson and
Smith, 2016). In this regard, I evaluated that my effective time management skills provided
assistance to me in ensuring that all the work of the team gets completed by the due date.
Further, I analysed that my conflict resolution skills could have been better so I would not have
to depend on another group member for getting the intergroup disputes resolved in an effective
manner. My effective leadership skills provided support and guidance to individuals, with which
they could carry out their roles and responsibilities as per the requirements of the group task.
Conclusion: This is the stage which summarises the overall learning gained by an
individual during the execution of a task or project along with the experiences driven by them
subsequently. The reflective account implies that I am quite effective at time management,
communication and leadership skills. However, it has been inferred that my ineffective technical
and conflict resolution skills act as hindrance for me while carrying out group tasks.
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Action Plan: This stage is associated with laying down a plan for future course of time
regarding the manner in which a similar task would be executed by an individual (Domac,
Anderson and Smith, 2016). I have acknowledged that there is a need to enhance my technical
and conflict resolution skills so that the future group tasks can be handled by me in a better
manner. To enhance these skills, I am developing a Personal Development Plan as follows:-
Personal Development Plan
Skill Current
Proficiency
Targeted
Proficiency
Actions to be taken Time
Period
Technical
Skills
3 5 To gain command over technical skills, I
have planned to seek guidance from my
supervisors. Also, I have decided to
undergo computer classes whereby I
would be given computer and internet
handling training from professionals.
This will provide assistance to me in
developing my technical skills so that
tasks can be accomplished by me in an
effective manner in future course of time.
60 days
Conflict
Resolution
2 5 To develop conflict resolution skills, I
have decided to undergo professional
training from my supervisors who will
impart knowledge regarding the ways by
way of which the disputes between two
parties can be resolved by me in an
effective manner. As a result of this, I
will be able to gain command over this
skill and encounter challenges of group
activity in an effectual way.
45 days
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TASK 2
Transferrable skills and their importance
Transferrable skills are those skills possessed by an individual which are useful and
significant for an employer within the confines of a corporation. These skills are considered to be
crucial for any company as they enable individuals within an organisation to carry out the tasks
in an effective manner as per the requirements of the corporation (Laasch and Moosmayer,
2016). In other words, these can be regarded to be those skills which employers seek to be
present within the candidates applying for a vacant position within a company or the employees
which are currently functioning within the confines of an entity. Such skills provide assistance to
personnel belonging to a company in timely completing all the organisational tasks and
activities.
Transferrable skills within InterContinental Group of Hotels
InterContinental Group of Hotels is a renowned hotel chain which realises the
significance of transferrable skills and thus take measures through which these can be enhanced
or incorporated within the human resources pertaining to the premises of respective hotel
organisation. In this relation, some of the transferrable skills that are considered to be important
by the top management of the company are acknowledged to be communication, motivation,
empowerment, team effectiveness, conflict management and many more (Nicol, Serbati and
Tracchi, 2019). These skills are duly explained in the light of InterContinental Group of Hotels
and its working pattern as follows:-
Supportive Communication
This is a particular style of communication which is concerned with achievement of a set
of objective as well as goal (Zwozdiak-Myers, 2018). The main purpose behind executing
supportive communication is resolution of conflicts pertaining to the entity or accomplishment of
a change in relation to any situation while maintaining as well as enhancing the relations
between the personnel. InterContinental Group of Hotels realises the significance of supportive
communication skills and thus makes use of this while implementing a key change within the
confines of the hotel premises. The top management of the respective hospitality organisation
leverages the utilisation of Supportive Communication Theory / Dual Process Theory for
gaining knowledge of the non verbal and verbal behavioural pattern of individuals functioning
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within the entity. This theory largely emphasizes over the importance of active learning as much
as speaking, because learning enables the organisation to understand the current mindset and
state of individuals pertaining to the company (McLeod and et. al., 2019). Thus, the application
of this theory provides assistance to the InterContinental Group of Hotels in seeking knowledge
of the behavioural patterns and characteristics of the employees and thereby developing a
working atmosphere whereby all of them can work collaboratively in an effective manner.
Motivation
Motivation can be referred to as the driving force which facilitates an individual to carry
out a particular task or activity. In this regard, it has been analysed that motivation is regarded to
be a crucial element for the individuals working within the confines of an enterprise as well as
the company itself (McKenna, Baxter and Hainey, 2017). In this relation, motivation is
considered to be a force which fosters individuals pertaining to a company to work in a
collaborative manner towards a common goal. It ultimately leads to accomplishment of corporate
goals as well as objectives within due course of time. The top management of the
InterContinental Group of Hotels realises the significance of motivation in relation to getting the
business tasks done as per the organisational requirements. Looking upon this, the business
manager within the confines of respective hotel makes use of Maslow’s theory of hierarchical
needs. This is a motivational theory which is given by Abraham Maslow and consists of 5 levels
of needs. These 5 levels are acknowledged to be physiological, safety, love and belonging,
esteem, and self-actualization from top to bottom. These needs of an employee are required to be
fulfilled by a corporation in order to motivate them in an effective manner. The lowest level of
needs need to be met first and then the process continues until the top most level of needs is
fulfilled by the organisation. With respect to this, InterContinental Group of Hotels makes use of
motivational techniques and strategies so as to meet these 5 stages of needs in due course of
time. When these needs of personnel functioning within the confines of the respective hotel are
accomplished in due course of time, it results in boosting the morale of employees. It instils a
sense of loyalty and trust among staff towards InterContinental Group of Hotels as they realise
that the entity is making efforts to develop a positive atmosphere for them and giving them the
required motivation by fulfilling their requirements.
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Empowerment
This is defined as the procedure of becoming a more confident and stronger individual in
terms of exhibiting control over one’s rights as well as life. It is considered to be crucial for each
and every corporation functioning within the confines of corporate world as it provides the
personnel functioning within the companies with the opportunity to become a better individual as
a whole (Stewart and et. al., 2017). In other words, it can be simply stated that empowerment
gives individuals operating in professional context the opportunity to undergo personal and
professional development in order to make themselves compatible with the requirements of the
company. It also enables the employees to gain command over their professional personalities or
identities and thereby mould them in a manner which can ensure retention at a workplace for a
long period of time in future context of time. InterContinental Group of Hotels realises the
significance of providing empowerment opportunities to individuals so that they develop a sense
of accomplishment within themselves and thereby work in a manner which results in favourable
outcomes for them as well as the company as a whole. In this regard, it has been acknowledged
that the respective hospitality organisation conducts a number of training and development
programmes so that the employees can acquire knowledge of a number of key aspects pertaining
to the hospitality industry. This would even imply provision of high quality services to the guests
so that they can derive maximum satisfaction. Further, InterContinental Group of Hotels also
implements Kanter’s Theory of Structural Empowerment. This theory states that empowerment
is facilitated within those organisations that provide staff with access to resources, support,
guidance, information and the overall opportunity to carry out learning and development in an
effective manner (Nicol, Serbati and Tracchi, 2019).
Conflict Management
This is regarded as the skill which is used by an individual with a view to resolve the
dispute between 2 parties. In this regard, it is recognised that conflicts may take place between
supervisor and subordinates, between co workers, between service provider and customers or any
other 2 parties. This is quite important for company as well as its representatives (Ahmed and
Ward, 2016). In this relation, InterContinental Group of Hotels applies PEACE model of conflict
resolution in order to resolve conflicts taking place within the confines of the respective
hospitality organisation. The application of this model provides aid to the concerned entity in
deriving positive results by developing a positive atmosphere for working. This even develops a
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sense of loyalty and trust within the individuals as they value the measures taken up by the
company to develop effective relations within the confines of respective hotel and thereby
enhance the interest of personnel to work in a collaborative manner for the timely completion of
corporate tasks and activities. This further encourages the employees within the confines of
InterContinental Group of Hotels to give their best performance so that the organisational goals
and objectives can be duly fulfilled by them.
Team Effectiveness
An effective team is the one whereby there is effective coordination and cooperation
prevailing between the individuals. In addition to this, it can also be seen that hereby, the goals
and objectives are clear to all the members of the group. Every organisation functioning within
the confines of corporate world desires to build an effective team for so that the goals and
objectives of the company can be achieved in due course of time (Wagner, 2018). Looking upon
this, the management of InterContinental Group of Hotels makes use of Tuckman Team
Development Theory. This theory consists of 5 stages which provide assistance to the hotel
management in developing an effective team for the execution of tasks. Through the application
of this theory within InterContinental Group of Hotels, the organisation enables team
effectiveness. This drives the behavioural characteristics as well as patterns of employees in a
manner such that they are encouraged to inflate their existent levels of productivity and put their
best foot forward for the timely completion of business tasks and activities. With the application
of team development theory, entity is able to derive positive outcomes in terms of better
organisational efficiency and effective performance given by the employees in a collaborative
manner.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above discussion, it can be said that there are certain skills which are
considered to be important for managers. These are time management, collaborative working,
critical thinking, leadership and many more. Personal development plan provides assistance to
individual in meeting the skill gap and developing such skills which are not currently present
within them. In addition to this, it has been acknowledged that transferrable skills are those
which are desired by an employer to be present within the employees. Some of the best examples
of transferrable skills are supportive communication, motivation, team effectiveness,
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empowerment and conflict management. In order to develop or enhance these skills, the
organisations make use of relevant theories which provide aid to the corporation in
accomplishing its objectives in due course of time.
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REFERENCES
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professional through capturing evidence-informed practice. Routledge.
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