Creating a Personal Development Plan for Professional Success

This assignment outlines a personal development plan (PDP) focused on self-analysis, reflection, and identifying strengths and weaknesses for professional success. It emphasizes the importance of understanding one's current position and future development. The plan includes activities such as the Marshmallow Team Challenge to learn about teamwork, identifying personal values, and utilizing the StrengthsFinder assessment to pinpoint key strengths like wooing, communication, positivity, activator, and arranger. It also involves conducting a SWOT analysis to assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, followed by setting specific career, academic, and personal development goals. The assignment further addresses managing challenges at university and leveraging identified strengths to overcome them, aiming to foster personal and professional growth. Desklib offers a wealth of similar assignments and study resources to aid students in their academic journey.

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
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 helped me in learning the importance of
working in a team and prototyping. The activity deals with creating the
tallest structure with a marshmallow on top. However, most of the team
fails in building a proper freestanding structure due to lack of prototyping
and strong team bond. Our team was also given the same marshmallow
activity. Our team consisted of four members and the task was divided
among all the team members. I was given the responsibility of designing
the structure. It is one of the most important part in the Marshmallow
challenge. However, without proper collaboration and communication skills
it would not be possible.
How will this help you when working
in teams as part of your MSc?
Why do future employers look for
teamworking skills?
Through this activity I learned how to work in a team as one of the member
of the team. Team working is one of the key factors that leads to success. I
also understood how to collaborate in the team and effectively
communicate among the team members. Communication with the team
members is also necessary to for winning the challenge. In MSc, the
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projects that will be given to us will require strong team bonding.
Future employers look for team working skills because a good team work
results in desired outcome. The results can be obtained easily and within
the stipulated time if team working is done.
VALUES
Questions Responses
What are your top 3 values & why are
they important to you?
The top three values are respect, risk and supervision. The importance of
the three values are as under:
Respect:
It shows how a person values themselves and other living beings.
Respecting others attract more friends. A disrespectful person will not have
more friends as people would tend to avoid him. The value is important as
it allows people to live in harmony.
Risk:
Risk is portrayed as a value in the way by which the risks are managed.
The risks in a project should be taken positively such that actions can be
taken accordingly. The risks should be identified so that it can be
eliminated.
Supervision:
Supervision plays an important role in the field of education for a number
of years. Supervision increases the quality of study. The feedbacks given
by the instructors helps in improving the results.
How will knowing these values help The values identified in the previous stages will help me in becoming a
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you during your studies and in your
future career?
good human being. All human beings should be respected. Respecting
others is a stepping stone to success. Risks are inevitable and might come
in our career in the long run. Risk as a value helped me in managing them
properly. Supervising the tasks performed in our career will increase the
quality of work. The errors in the tasks can be eliminated by following
feedback of the instructors. The concepts of studies can be made clear by
proper supervision.
What steps could you take to ensure
you live by these values? Think of
some actions you can take?
Respect as a value can be ensured only by oneself. A person should
respect elders. By doing so he can attract a number of friends. The friends
will help in his career.
To ensure risk as a value, optimism is the first priority. The risks that will
come in the path of my career should be taken positively.
To ensure supervision as a value, all the tasks that will be performed in our
career will be rechecked.
Download the Values Inventory from Blackboard
StrengthsFinder
Questions Responses
Name your top 5 from your strengths
profile?
1. Woo
2. Communication
3. Positivity
4. Activator
5. Arranger
What surprised you when reading the The things that surprised me while reading the report are that people who
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report?
Identify any specific words or phrases
that you agreed with and why?
have strong communication skills never go speechless. Persons whose
strength is wooing makes a person feel comfortable in their presence.
The phrases with which I agree are people with wooing as a strength are
cheerful and easy going as well as optimist. People with good
communication skills feel free to talk with other persons. People with a
positive mind conquer shortcomings. Activators have a creative mind and
are excellent in launching new projects. An arranger also has the capability
of conquering all the shortcomings.
What can you do to invest in these
talents to become strengths?
Identify some specific actions – list at
least 3
 We can develop ourselves to be positive and optimistic.
 Communication skills can be developed by reading a lot of books.
Mixing with people from childhood eliminates the barrier of
communication.
 Rechecking the tasks can also be developed from childhood.
How can others see these strengths
as perceived weaknesses?
(sometimes known as basement)
 Respecting others can be perceived as a sign of a humble human
being who is unfit for the professional environment. It is a fact that
humble persons are fooled easily in the professional sector of life.
 Managing risks can be perceived as an inefficient person. If the
person would have been efficient then he/she would not have faced
situations of managing risks.
 Supervision can also be perceived as a weakness due to lack of
confidence in work. Students who lack confidence in work needs to
recheck their work.
What have you learned from your From my strengths profile I have learned that managing risks will be the
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strengths profile?
Consider what you discovered about
yourself and how this might relate to
you as a person and your career
interests.
main factor for a successful career. Making friends easily, organizing things
and initiating new ideas are the factors to a successful career.
I discovered that I feel easy to communicate to others. I try to remain
positive even in negative situations. As a good arranger I try to organise
things properly. I keep things in its own place. I try to initiate new ideas
always and complete the tasks on time.
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
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
Wooing
Strong communication skills
A good arranger
A good activator
An optimist
Areas for Development
Strong focus in work
Concentration power
Often disorganized
Improve creativity
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Opportunities
Always open to new ideas
Can go through tough situations
Lots of chances to communicate with native speakers
Threats
Cannot be a good team leader
Do not have professional training
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.
What do I want to
achieve?
(short / long term
goals)
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?
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Example – I want to
achieve a distinction
As a short term goal I
want to secure a good
career for my future. I
want to secure a
strong financial
background.
Develop new ideas that
would lead to
development of the
nation. The last thing
that I want to achieve
is
As a long term goal I
want to be a good
human being. Achieve
all the happiness for
my parents.
I will dedicate
6hrs per module
for studying
For developing a
good career I will
dedicate maximum
amount of time in
studying and in
developing
concentration.
Concentration can
be developed by
practising
meditation regularly.
This will additionally
help me to focus on
my career.
To develop myself
as a good human
being I will respect
all the people. I will
take care of my
parents, cater to
their needs
regularly.
Regularly follow up
with tutor
As an additional support
to my career I would
require an instructor
who would guide me
throughout my career.
The instructor would
guide me through the
right things.
Focus and
Discipline
Focussed and
determined
In the next 5
months
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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?
The key challenges that I might face in the next few weeks are as under:
The teachers in the university might teach fast. As I require some time to understand a particular thing
therefore, I might face issues while understanding parts of my studies. The university consists of a several
cultured students. I might face problem while communicating with others.
How can I go about managing these?
The issues can be managed by being a bit patient. Time is the greatest teacher on Earth. With time I will learn
about all the cultures that exists in the university. With time I will also develop myself into a fast learner.
Knowing my strengths what can I do to overcome these challenges?
As I am a good at wooing I will easily make new friends after learning the new languages. As a good
communicator I will make the person on the other side understand what I am trying to say.
PROMOTING YOURSELF
Personal Branding
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Questions Responses
What is a Brand?
Brand is defined as a design, symbol, name or term that distinguishes
between organisations and products in the eye of customers. Brands are
useful for marketing, business as well as advertising.
Why do we buy one Brand over
another?
When the product sold by one brand is better than the other then we buy
one brand over the other. The product sold by the better brand should be
able to gain customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction might lead to
increased brand loyalty.
What do we expect from our brands?
A good brand should achieve the following things:
 Emotionally connect to target customers with their products and
services.
 Be able to motivate a buyer for making purchase
 Confirms its own creditability in the marketplace
 Delivers clear message about the products and services sold by
them.
How many brands do we come across
daily?
We come across a number of brands daily starting from the brand of our
toothpaste to the brand of clothes that we wear. The soap, body wash as
well as the face wash that we use daily has different brands.
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