UGB 260: Reflective Essay on Personal and Professional Development

This reflective essay delves into the student's journey of personal and professional development, focusing on the enhancement of creativity and critical thinking skills. The essay begins with an introduction to the concept of personal and professional development, emphasizing learning and improvement. It then explores the use of Mumford's skills model of leadership to analyze these key qualities. The main body of the essay details the student's experiences with various workshop exercises and employability activities, highlighting the importance of interpersonal skills such as active listening, teamwork, and leadership. The value-added element of the module is discussed, with a focus on creativity and critical thinking as crucial skills. The essay also reflects on the student's internship experience, detailing how it enhanced their skills and confidence. The essay concludes with reflections on the learning gained from engagement, including identification of strengths and weaknesses. The student also explores the challenges faced during the workshop and the application of reflection and reflexivity concepts. The essay provides insights into the development of the student's skills and their implications for future professional success.

Personal and
Professional
Development Module

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................1
Value Added Element.............................................................................................................2
Experiential Element..............................................................................................................4
Reflection upon what you have learned about yourself from engagement............................4
Completion and presentation of the workshop based diagnostic...........................................5
Reflection upon what you have learned about yourself from engagement............................5
Conclusion and suggestion for improvement in key quality...........................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The current assignment is based on the aspect of personal and professional development of
an individual that emphasis in learning and improvement of key quality skill for an individual.
Further, to make an effective discussion about the key individual quality use and implication of
Mumford's skills model of leadership had been made. The key competencies in which current
reflective essay are based is Creativity and critical Thinking. Beside this, a description about the
key strength of creativity and critical thinking along with the attributes, behavioural preferences
and values of selected key skills is also provided in current reflective skill. Apart from this, a
description about the difficult or particularly challenging in the workshop exercises and the
experiences are also disused along with the contradictions evident from experiences. Further, a
discussion about the future benefit of creativity and critical thinking is also provided in current
report.
Main Body
The concept of Personal and Professional development is mainly related and associated with
the process that is accomplished and used of an organization and any individual who is basically
engaged in kind of the process associated with learning and skill development in order to meet
and overcome the challenges along with ensuring meeting of desire goals and targets. Various
workshop exercise and employability activities had been attended by me along with taking in
part into various professional a personal development modules to enhance and strength my key
interpersonal skills. A range and number of Interpersonal skills are evaluated and analysed by me
which are associated with the behaviours and tactics an individual person which reflects the way
that is used by a person to interact with other in an effective manner. It has been observed by me
that in today’s business world, the term interpersonal skill is directly associated and related with
the employee's ability and competencies to perform and lead out a work well with others. The
main interpersonal skills that are determined by me during course of current workshop consists
of active listening, Teamwork, Responsibility, Dependability, Leadership, Motivation, creativity
and critical thinking, Flexibility and Patience which are essential to perform a job and
employability role in effective manner.
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Value Added Element
The Value-added element mainly focus and emphasis on a fair measure of the overall
progress and improvement that is made by a student rather than merely relying on the solely on
the results of the examination. Use of value added element and way of teaching and learning can
be made for a number of areas comprises of Enterprise, Creativity & Critical Thinking,
Computing Technologies, or a Language (Spanish or French) out of which the key quality skills
that is selected by me is based on Creativity and critical thinking skills. It has been observed by
me during the course of current investigation that creativity and critical thinking skills forms a
crucial part of personal development along with employability and interpersonal skills as it lead
to creative way and more innovative way of thinking to see and overcome a given problem.
Further, it has been also analysed that creativity and critical thinking skills also facilitates and
leads to enhanced level of competencies to grab a future opportunity and growth perspective in a
viable manner.
An evaluation and critical reflection can also be made by e regarding the fact that
creativity and critical thinking skills forms and lead out a vital part in enhancing leadership
competencies and strength within an individual that makes them more capable and appropriate
for enhanced employability opportunity, With respect to current module, implication and use of
Mumford's skills model of leadership is made by me to lead and have a better discussion and
evaluation of quality of creativity and critical thinking. The use of Mumford's skills has led to
effective learning, identification and determination of three main set of competencies that brings
and results in form of a more effective leadership which comprises of leading effective problem
solving skills, better social judgment along with enhanced level of knowledge that is viably
supported and lead out by the creativity and critical thinking skills.
The skill-based model of Mumford's group has comprised of five components i.e.
competencies, individual attributes, leadership outcomes, career experiences, and environmental
influences which support and leads to better learning. A reflection can be drawn by me with the
help and use of Mumford's skills model of learning and skills development approach that the
creativity skill helps and support an individual to create and lead out something new thus support
a high level of ways and enhanced competencies to better problem solving along with leading
effective social judgments. On the other hand, critical thinking skills mainly seeks to assess
worth or validity of something that is already in exists thus ensures and leads to enhanced level
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of knowledge. Apart from this, it has been also analysed and reflected out through the use of
Mumford's skills model of leadership which ensures better learning and development of key
skills comprises of better problem solving with the help of Creativity and critical thinking where
these key skills as a set of interpersonal competencies are directly linked with the learning of
creative abilities and critical thinking so that leaders can effectively bring out to the unique
vague that is associated with the “hard to get a handle on” fact and organizational set of
problems to ensures enhanced employability and job opportunity by the way of better
professional and personal development of a person.
Apart from this an analysis and implication about the key strengths of creativity and
critical thinking quality is also made by me during the current workshop and module. A
reflection can be me made out by me that improvement and development of the Creativity and
critical thinking is important and reflects key strength as it is an invaluable skill for all
individuals, especially for a college student as it helps and support me to have a better look and
perception of a problem and situation in a better and more fresh perspective and way that helps
in better solving of an issues and problem through implication of a new and more creative
solution. Apart from this, the strength of creativity and Creating thinking skills can be developed
and lead to a more novel or unorthodox solutions to overcome and resolve a problem in more
better and practical way which do not tends to depend wholly or partially on any traditional or
current solutions where as lead to enhanced employability and interpersonal improvement by the
way of leading new and better ideas to grab an opportunity and overcome a threat by the means
of creativity and critical thinking quality. Apart from this, a practical implication can also be lead
out by me that the quality of Critical and creative thinking involves and leads to an enhanced
perceptive for leading better students thinking in a broadly and deer way through making use of
improved skills, creative behaviours along with tended level of dispositions such as reason, logic,
resourcefulness, imagination and innovation which ford a key part and aspects of all learning
areas in their lives.
Further, an analysis regarding the strength of creativity and critical thinking can be made in
life by the way of encouraging curiosity in a person that directs me towards having better
knowledge and analysis of various aspects to develop enhanced experience in a practical way
about wide range of topic which would improve my other interpersonal and employability skills.
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Further, a reinforces level of problem solving is also lead out by the creativity and critical
thinking in practical way to resolve and eliminate issues on practical life.
Further, some of the challenges that have been encountered during the workshop and
current modules are associated with lack of detailed knowledge about the facts to develop deep
level critical thinking and creativity, Reluctance to critique the 'norm' or experts in a field and
consider alternative views (feeling out of your 'comfort zone' or fearful of being wrong along
with chances of misunderstanding and lack of other resources are also taken and experienced as
key challenges and issues that are encountered by me.
Application of reflection and reflexivity concept is also made for better analysis of my
key strength and quality. The use of this theory of reflection and reflexivity comprises of
reflection that might lead to insight about something which is not noticed in time along with
pinpointing perhaps when the detail was missed. Thus, this concept of reflection ensures and
leads to better development of my creativity and critical thinking through ensuring better
observation of the things and activities going-on and prevailing in my surrounding. Further, the
concept of reflexivity is also supporting development and improvement of my key strength by
the way of finding strategies to question our own attitude along with leading out a thought
processes that is vital to value, assumptions, prejudices and habitual actions in order to strive the
better understanding of complex roles in relation to others which will lead to and ensure
improved creativity and critical thinking skills.
Experiential Element
The professional experience and experimental element that has been adopted and used by
me to ensures better development and strengthen of my Creativity and critical thinking is based
on an internship or project which helped me to develop and enhance improvement in my key
quality skills. An internship and training part in project lead out a viable opportunity for me that
offered by practises and working with a potential employer as an interns which facilitates and
had ensured by working in a practical way at a firm for a fixed period of time. The time period of
my Internship and project was last between a month and three months which is basically an
undergraduate internship to develop and enhance my creativity and critical thinking quality. The
key advantages and strength of creativity thinking skills for me comprises of it act as a key for
my career success and helps me out to make better decisions. Further, a vital role is played by
critical thinking skills and strengthen my creativity and improving and leading positive
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relationship with other along with promoting curiosity level for improved learning and
ganging better knowledge.
The internship and taking part in project has lead out and ensures a practical way of
learning for me to improve and enhance mu creativity and critical thinking by the way of leading
a valuable and practical form of work experience to expose my career and employability in a
more effective way. Further, it also helped me to refine my skills through transition and working
on a practical site that lead to boost in my confidence level and facilitates an improved and
enhanced level of creativity and critical thinking by the way offering various complex situation
which facilitates effective skills of my key quality and skills.
Reflection upon what you have learned about yourself from engagement
I have learned various new things and aspect from engagement and this workshop is
significant for increasing my capabilities and potential to conduct required task and activities in
accurate manner (Hildebrand, 2018). It is essential for a person to analyse overall learning as this
is helpful for determine new aspects which is learned through this workshop. I have learned
different elements of interpersonal skills as well as identified various ways to significant enhance
different skills in order to conduct task and activities in more effective manner. This workshop is
helpful for providing me my weakness and strength that lead to have direct impact on my overall
perform. I have identified that my time management capabilities are very weak and due to this
my overall productivity is affecting. I have learned that it is important to have time management
capabilities as it assist in enhancing overall performance or carry out required task successfully. I
have determined that it is important to have capability to manage different task in correct manner
in order to successfully complete practices as well as accomplishing desired goals. I have
analysed that by developing time management capabilities I will be able to conduct required set
of practices in more successfully manner (Vetere and Stratton, 2016). I have learned through
this workshop that it is crucial to classify work on the basis of urgent and important. This will
provide complete guidance to carry out practices as well as attaining desired goals. I need to
focus on first completing urgent and important task first and then others. This will assist in
correctly and accurate management of task as well as help in improving the level of performance.
Completion and presentation of the workshop based diagnostic
It has been determined that critical thinking and creative will lead to have positive impact
on overall performance and capabilities of business. Through this individual capability to
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overcome issues and deal with the problems in significant manner can be developed. This is very
crucial and important in order to improve the level of performance. Completion of workshop will
lead to enhance my potential to gather more information and understanding about the concept as
well as carry out required practices successfully. Creativity of a person helps in finding new and
innovative idea to conduct set of task in significant manner. Through this overall performance as
well as productivity to carry out practices will be increased and it helps in taking correct decision
at correct time. Through the diagnostic of workshop I have analysed that I am quick learner as I
am able to learn new things faster. I have learned about the new approaches or ways of time
management practices. This is very helpful for determining various ways that I could use to
improve my overall performance and potential to conduct task significantly. I have analyse that
communication skills play crucial role on overall potential of individual to attain desired goals.
Communication skills can be describe as the capabilities of person to convey message and ideas
in better manner so that other person is able to understand the message correctly. I am able to
develop better relationship with other through effective communication as well as provide better
solutions to the problems of individual.
Reflection upon what you have learned about yourself from engagement
I have learned various new things about myself through this engagement. This is very
helpful for providing me information about different aspects such as my weakness and strength
(Lim, 2018). I have identified that I have strong communication skills that are helpful for
successfully and effectively conducting required set of practices. Through communication skills I
am able to transfer message and ideas to other in better manner as well as make people
understand the correct meaning of the message. Interpersonal skills play significant role in
developing better or strong relationship with other people as well as providing better solutions to
problems. I have learned that my creative and critical thinking skills is crucial for finding better
solution to the problems of individual as well as providing them better advice to overcome with
the issue. Through critical thinking I am able to analyse about different aspects or factors before
taking decision. I have learned that I need to increase my potential to successfully manage task
by developing strong communication skills. This is helpful for improving my potential carry out
set of activities accurately and enhance overall performance.
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Conclusion and suggestion for improvement in key quality
On the basis of current reflective essay, a conclusion can be made that creative and critical
thinking is a key quality for an individual that leads and ensures better problem solving along
with encouraged curiosity to have better and more innovative solution for an issue. Further, a
suggestion can be made in the basis of current analysis and experience that use of internship and
taking part into a project forms a variable experimental element to enhance and improve
creativity and critical thinking through working in a practical way under various situation which
facilities higher level of confidence and boost development of creativity and critical thinking. At
last, a summarisation can also be lead out that value based learning also provides and facilities an
effective way to have better development of interpersonal skills to have enhanced employability
opportunity.
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