BTEC HND Unit 23/41: Personal and Professional Development Report

This report delves into the multifaceted realm of personal and professional development, encompassing self-managed learning approaches, lifelong learning strategies, and their benefits to both individuals and organizations. It explores various methods such as seminars, social networking, and the internet for acquiring new knowledge. The report further examines how SWOT analysis, personal strategies, and feedback systems can facilitate skill enhancement in both personal and professional contexts. It highlights the importance of existing skills like team working and leadership in achieving organizational goals, identifying personal development needs, and devising comprehensive development plans. Furthermore, the report outlines activities required to implement the development plan, reflecting on self-learning against set objectives, and updating the plan based on feedback. Finally, it addresses work-based problems, communication styles, and time management strategies, concluding with insights on balancing personal and professional life for success.

Personal and Professional
Development

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Personal and Professional Development.........................................................................................1
Introduction:.....................................................................................................................................1
Task -1.............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 various approaches of self managed learning.......................................................................1
1.2 Ways in which lifelong learnings can be encouraged both in personal and professional
life...............................................................................................................................................2
1.3 Benefits of self manges learning to individual and organisation..........................................2
Task-2..............................................................................................................................................3
2.1 Existing skills and competencies for achieving organisation goal........................................3
2.2 Identification of personal development need and task required to achieve them.................3
2.3 Identification of development opportunities to meet the current and future requirement....4
2.4 Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified requirements....5
Task -3.............................................................................................................................................5
3.1Activities required to implement the development plan........................................................5
3.2 attempt the planned activities for development....................................................................6
3.3 Reflection of self learning against the set objectives in the development plan....................7
3.4 updation of development plan on the basis of feedback......................................................8
Task-4..............................................................................................................................................8
4.1solution to work base problems.............................................................................................8
4.2 styles of communication.......................................................................................................9
4.3 time management strategies................................................................................................10
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES:.............................................................................................................................12

Introduction:
Success can only be attained while maintaining balance between both personal and
professional life. For building a good position in the organisation the individual must be having
enough knowledge and skills so that he is able to do the task in an innovative manner.
Moreover, the individual who can deliver services as per the needs and expectations to
customers are been hired by the business. This report will the approaches of self managed and
lifelong learning. Besides this, it will also show how individual can develop professional skills
This report will also show about various time management strategies can be adopted by
employees solving time management problems.
Task -1
1.1 various approaches of self management learning.
Seminars and conferences- they are effective tool to learn as it provides opportunities about
something so that they can share it with other people. It boosts up the confidence of more
speaking in public and develop their presentation skills.. this skills is useful in organisation
settings thereby empowering both individual and organisation. (Hopkinson,, 2014.)
Social networking sites- In the recent times, most of the individuals use social networking sites
such as Facebook, twitter for chatting with others. This is useful particularly if people share
some information and knowledge through forums. Moreover, by learning the techniques of mark
Zuckerberg people can apply this in their lives for getting successful.
Internet -Today this is the most effective tool in learning new things. A lot of information is
available on internet which helps in gaining knowledge. It provides knowledge in vast area.
Moreover, internet provides books, journals and articles that can be used by the employees for
learning leadership styles.
1.2 Ways in which learnings can be used in both in personal and professional life.
 SWOT analysis- by evaluating strengths weakness opportunities and threats it is the
beast way of self learning. This analysis will help to link professional development with
practical issues both socially and academically(Busse, ,and et.al 2014.)

 Personal strategy- this is way of improving basic skills. It helps in strategic planning by
reading books. By undertaking personal development projects it will encourage in
researching that what changes might happen inn future. Feedback system- feedbacks from colleagues, superiors, friends help in identifying areas
where improvements are needed. So that by working on these the employees can improve
their skills. It will be helpful for them in professional life where the feedbacks are given
by managers or employees and in personal life where they are given by friends or
relatives.
 Planning: planning can help in making a proper development plan. By preparing a
proper plan it encourages the individual to evaluate the things that are not achieved. It
also helps in maintaining progress of growth and development of individual.
1.3 Benefits of self managed learning in individual and organisation.
Benefits to organisation- approaches of self learning helps in growth and development of
business to a large extent. The talented and experienced individual needs less or no training.
skilled people know how to handle a situation. It helps in building strong relationships with co
workers and professional networks. It also helps in reviewing how were they able to progress and
improve areas in which they are weak. It creates better performance at work and increase
motivation and confidence level. This encourages in taking more responsibility of doing a task
and better decision making over a situation(Lamia, E.,and et.al., 2016)
Benefits to individual- it majorly helps in improving and progressing. It is useful in
understanding and learning new approaches of life. It enables to perform task without facing
difficulties. This encourages their motivational level and they are able to enhance their
produc5tivity. It puts a positive impact on their behaviour and they are able to perform task in an
innovative way. In this way it helps in building better and distinct image over others.
Task-2
2.1 Existing skills for achieving business goal.
Own skills business goal

Team working I have an efficient team working skill which
helps in effective working. It helps in
coordinating and motivating team members so
that they are able to perform in innovative way.
Leadership I am having the skills which is required in a
leader. It helps me in guiding and showing
right path to different persons for a task.
2.2 Identification of personal development need and task required to achieve them
communicate
Strengths
 the major strength of mine is leadership
skills. I can make follow a person by
guiding him in doing a task.
 I have effective time management skill
through which I can accomplish the
task in given time period.
Weaknesses
 lacking of confidence is a major threat.
Sometimes I get nervous due to
excessive work load. Due to this I not
bale to perform the given task
effectively.
Opportunities
 want to attend the international level
seminar on personality development so
that i'm able to improve my personality
skills.
Threats
 the major threat im having is facing
issues related to the work the has been
given.
 Also how to maintain work life balance
in current situation.
Required skill Existing level Development opportunities
Presentation skill Poor Attending workshops and

seminars
Communication skill Weak Training and development
programs
2.3 Identification of development opportunities
Professional ability Existing level Current example Criteria to increase
Leadership skill 3 Im able to manage
employees who are
working in the
organisation.
I will likely to work
as a leader so that it
helps me in guiding
others.
Communication skill 1 Im not able to easily
communicate my
problems to other
people. This make me
demotivate as I not
having enough skills
I need some training
classes in this for
improving my
communication skills.
Team working 4 Im easily able to work
in a team. . It helps in
coordinating and
motivating the team
members so that they
are able to perform in
innovative way
I will more likely to be
work in a team so that
it increases my
efficiency.

2.4 Personal and professional development plan based on identified requirements
Following is the development plan required
Target Existing skill Future opportunities Time frame
leadership skill Im able to manage and
divide the task
according to the time.
I want to work as a leader so
that it helps me in guiding
others.
1 months
Communicatio
n skill
I m not able to easily
communicate with
other people .
I need some training classes in
this for improving my
communication skills
3 months
Team working Im easily able to work in
a team. . It helps in
coordinating and
motivating the team
members
I will more likely to be work
in a team so that it increases
my efficiency.
2 months
Task -3
3.1Activities required to implement the development plan
for improving presentation skills:
 group discussion is an effective way to improve the presentation skills. Various ways and
skills can be discussed to enhance the presentation skills. also it will useful for solving
problems and giving suggestions on these skills.
 Listening to speeches and gaining knowledge that how they use their skills for
presentation. It will greatly help in improving areas such as how to use phrases and words
in presentation(Abraham,.and et.al, 2015)
for improving communication skills

 listening to a lot speeches and watching others how they communicate will help in
improving the communication.
 Writing down what you are speaking to others in a meeting will give you suggestions on
what things you need to improve.
 Maintaining good smile and attitude while speaking to others will build up your
confidence.
 Watching videos on how to maintain perfect body language while communicating will
be useful for building good image in front of others.
3.2 planned activities for development.
In order to attain development implementation of planned activities is needed. this table will
show the proper planning of activities-
Objectives Strategies followed Time required
To improve presentation skill  Conduct seminars and
workshops to improve
these skills.
 Various training
sessions must be held
and the leader should
brief the skills to
improve them.
In every 3 months
To improve communicate
skills
 Involving employees in
all group discussion.
 Organize various
events like short play,
ad making, debate
Every month

programs.
 Small articles and case
study related to
communication skills
must be provided so
that they can solve in
groups.
Thus, the implementation of these skills from time to time will help in the development of
employees in their missing skills.
3.3 self learning against the set objectives in the development plan.
I evaluated that according to the development plan made on how to implement these
activities in the organisation it showed that there are some changes required. It helped me in
achieving the skills in which i was lacking behind (Busse, ,and et.al 2014) to attain the leadership
skills, the DVDs of the great leaders were shown to the employees in seminars . It helped a lot in
improving the employees' skills and communicating the business goals. By listening to these
speeches it not only helped in showing the right direction but also in their development. This
helped in improving their productivity and overall performance. At last the business also
benefited by this as it was easy to achieve objectives too.
Further, there was various test done to improve the communication skills of employees.
After evaluating the performance of employees in these tests training programs was conducted
for further development of employees. Also, involving them in group discussions helped them in
generating the skills required. This not only helped them in gaining knowledge but also in

motivating them. It will created a feeling among them they that are also a part of organisation
Therefore this will make them more effective towards their work and in generating more profits
to the business. their improvement will help in attracting and communicating with customers so
that they can solve the problems. Their was also increase in communication between employees
during their work Thus, these were some results that was observed after the implementation of
following activities that was described in development plan..(Driessen, and van Tartwijk, , 2013 )
3.4 updation of development plan on the basis of feedback
I experienced that I still need some improvement in communication of the employees. In order
to enhance the skills case study, debate, ad making, short play and article reading was not
enough to improve their skills. Also, different employees lacks in different part like some in
body language, some in speaking, some in expressing thus, it is not possible for the organisation
to help them in all these things. Although the various events helped some employees in
improving their communication skills but it was not enough for all of them to get success in
learning these skills. Thus, in order to make all the employees in effective communication there
was a need to change or update the development plan.
The change required in the development plan is these skills should be judged by the human
resource in interview only. Further there skills must be provided to them at the time of training.
This is to done because very well skilled employees will be able to work with full effectiveness
in the organisation and hence the performance of the business will increase automatically.
Further, implementation of events like ad making, short play was not possible because it can
hamper the daily working of business as well as employees. These activities will take a lot of
time to be done and hence disturbing the work efficiency of employees. Thus, to remove this
problem implementation of libraries and communication lectures should be done in the
premises(McLeod, . and Julia,, 2014. )
Task-4
4.1solution to work base problems.
The problem specified above can be done with the help of organising seminars or training
sessions on communication improvement. various leaders can be called I the organisation for

doing this task. Also a training session of one month can be done in order to improve the
communication between the employees. There might be changed in policies of organisation on
how to communicate to your managers. The managers must provide employees advice regarding
these skills. in every week group discussion must be done with their employees to enhance their
communication skills. To improve the presentation skills workshops must be organised so that
each employees is able to take part in the workshop and improve their skills. Apart form this
presentation classes should be held in which the ways of improving the presentation should be
taught. A presentation should be made by each employee and allowed to present that in front of
all other employees. This will increase their confidence and also they will be able to identify
their mistakes. The mistakes identified then must be corrected by the manager or leader.
(Ramia,,and et.al., 2016)
4.2 styles of communication
passive. Communication- a type of style in which the individual avoids to express his opinions
or feelings.. they do not respond quickly to a harsh situation. They usually allow grievances. But
once they have reached the level of high tolerance they start behaving unusual. Usually this type
of communication is used at low level.
Aggressive communication- a style in which individuals express their feelings for their needs.
It is a way which violates the right of others. In this the person will try to dominate others by
using abusive words. The person will also criticize or blame others.
assertive communication- it is a style in which the feelings or opinions are clearly stated. In this
the individual advocate for their needs and rights without violating the rights of others. These
individual value their time, emotional, needs. The communication is done with a lot respect and
self control.
Passive aggressive communication- in this the individual appears to be passive from outside
but are really angry from inside. People who develop this kind of communication feel power
less. They express their anger in by undermining the object of their resentments.
Types of communication

interpersonal communication- it means exchange of information between one or more than two
people.. in this the type of medium can be different between two people. in this the person can
be a manager, employee, friend, etc.(Driessen,. and van Tartwijk, , 2013)
intra personal communication- it takes place between one person. It generally happens within
an organisation to clarify some problems.
Public communication- it is done to reach a vast amount of people or group. It is mostly used in
election campaign, rallies, etc.
4.3 time management strategies
there are various time-management strategies that helps in completing the task in proper time.
Start with clear focus- start the day with clear focus that what activities you have to do. Assign
each activities in proper manner and allot time to each one. Setting a clear focus will help in
managing all activities throughout the day.
Dynamic task list- regularly update the task list so that it is clear what task has to be done and
on which date. The list should give a quick overview of what is important.
Focus on high value activities- it means that focus on activities that gives you a positive effect
on the project. Always do the smaller activities at last. Having a positive effect will improve the
efficiency of working further (.Ramia, E.,and et.al., 2016.)
Minimize interruptions- identify and avoid the activities that is taking time in reducing the
efficiency in doing the task. Due to this the flow of work is broken and it is difficult to again to
re-establish it.
Limit multitasking- limiting multi tasking will help in focusing on the task that is most
important. Many activities can not be given equal efficiency all over the time. Plan the day in
blocks and set specific time for everything.
Review your day- at the end of the day review the entire list of activities that you have done. It
will be useful to identify results. It will be beneficial in preparing the schedule for next day.