Personal and Professional Development Plan: A Report

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PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Evaluate approaches to self-managed learning......................................................................2
1.2 Propose ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional context could be
encouraged...................................................................................................................................3
1.3 Evaluate the benefits of self-managed learning to individual and organisation....................4
LO2..................................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Evaluate own current skills and competencies against professional standards and
organisational objectives.............................................................................................................5
2.2 Identify own development needs and the activities required to meet them...........................6
2.3 Identify development opportunities to meet current and future defined needs.....................7
2.4 Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs.................8
LO3..................................................................................................................................................9
3.1 Discuss the processes and activities required to implement the development plan...............9
3.2 Undertake and document development activities as planned..............................................10
3.3 Reflect critically on own learning against original aims and objectives set in the
development plan.......................................................................................................................11
3.4 Update the development plan based on feedback and evaluation.......................................12
LO4................................................................................................................................................13
4.1 Select solutions to work-based problems............................................................................13
4.2 Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels...................14
4.3 Evaluate and use effective time management strategies......................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Evaluation of own current skills........................................................................................5
Table 2: Development action and opportunities..............................................................................7
Table 3: Professional development plan..........................................................................................8
Table 4: Activity documentation...................................................................................................10
Table 5: Updated PPD plan...........................................................................................................12

Introduction
Development and growth of organisations is depended on employee growth that is acquired from
developing personal and professional standards. The growth and learning throughout career helps
in creating huge opportunities for obtaining higher and better positions. The present study will
aim at evaluating self managed approaches and its benefits and lifelong learning ways in context
to National Trust. It will assess own skills and competencies comparing it with firm’s objectives
and professional standards, discuss development needs and opportunities and devising PPD plan.
Further, process will be discussed used in PPD plan with prior documentation of activities. It will
reflect own learning and update development plan according to feedbacks. Lastly, work based
issues will discuss with solutions by describing communication types and evaluates strategies of
time management that helps in gaining huge success.
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LO1
1.1 Evaluate approaches to self-managed learning
Self managed learning refers to handle own learning methods based on organisational and career
needs that aids in crafting improvement of skills and provides opportunity to capture promotions.
The method of self learning is utilised for increasing skills and competencies that helps to groom
personal and professional personalities. As a welcome manager of National Trust, it is important
to guide and provide information about self learning to team with different approaches that helps
in dispensing quality services to customers (Dolmans, et.al, 2015). National Trust is charity
started in 1895 from three person that found open spaces and nation’s heritage important to
protect and preserve in Whales, England and Northern Ireland so that each and every person can
enjoy beauty and scenes given by nature. Thus, following are approaches of self learning for
staff to learn:
 Social Networks – The people can learn from social networks such as twitter, my space,
facebook etc either by chatting to relate topics or can read blogs in which person is itself
developing its career chances with different techniques. The people on sites shares
knowledge, ideas and information using forums and bulletin boards that provides means
of enhancing careers.
 Research Learning – The staff of National Trust will be trained to learn new things on
various topics using research strategy by taking help of online modes and internet ways.
For example – the staff can learn to grow plants at corners by watching videos so that
additions and methods can be understood easily (Kirwan, 2016).
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1.2 Propose ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional context could be
encouraged
The staffs of National Trust has idea about all roles and responsibilities from which they can aim
on enhancing their competencies by using lifelong learning ways as it provides regular idea and
knowledge of facts and figures. Learning plays important role as it reaches to full potential that
provides self actualizations. Lifelong learning secures person’s desire for acquiring knowledge
that is not linked to formal education system. It is important for employees to develop attitude
for constant learning to obtain success in dynamic business environment (Osborne, 2018). The
lifelong leaning in firm can be encouraged through following methods:
 Self Directed Learning – It is determined as instructional strategy in which person can
take assistance from seniors or management to select type and method of learning. For
instance, National Trust management told to understand geographic area of South Africa
and now all activities is to be done by staff itself. It has components such as management
and monitoring that helps person to manage and identify progress and assessing learning
needs is another element that mentions leaning according to firm plans.
 Continuing Professional Development – The method refers to document and track the
skills, experience and knowledge that help to gain formal and informal career growth
beyond initial training. The method refers as recording person’s experience, learning and
after that applying that helps to gain personal and professional growth (Illeris, 2018).
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1.3 Evaluate the benefits of self-managed learning to individual and organisation
National Trust faces huge work and responsibilities for which employees require being skilled
and competent by focusing on several strategies of self managed and lifelong learning. These are
beneficial methods of increasing knowledge and skills of employees so that benefits can draw to
firm as well as employees (Cunningham, 2017). The work of preservation needs huge
understanding of natural and environment resources that helps in achieving goals in better
manner. As welcome manager, the activities will help in providing benefits to firm and
individuals are as follows:
Individual Benefits
 The person using self managed learning will have strength and profile to manage things
in various situations. It will help in providing confidence to display views and ideas for
attempting task in different manner that might be competent and low cost.
 The employees and staff from self managed learning helps in increasing progress and
improvement that includes meeting challenges, self-resilience, dealing with ambiguity etc
that makes person strong for conducting effective operations.
Organisational Benefits
 Self managed learning provides opportunity to teams and employees for developing and
strengthening the relationships with coaches, trainers and mentors that helps in giving
expertise and knowledgeable services to staff (Bennett, 2017).
 Self learning will help firm by improving its performance standards, higher confidence
level, motivation within employee and complying with higher responsibilities that will
provide huge and better understanding according to expectations of business.
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LO2
2.1 Evaluate own current skills and competencies against professional standards and
organisational objectives
Performing as manager in probationary period, it is important for me to match requirements and
skills of welcome manager in next six months that will help me to gain my role in better manner.
In position of manager I need to identify skills and roles that are essential for maintaining duty of
welcome manager. For this, all the skills and competencies need to be matched with professional
standards as well as with firm’s objectives (Quintana, et.al, 2016). Thus, the self evaluation of
skills for National Trust’s welcome manager is conducted below:
Table 1: Evaluation of own current skills
Own Current
Skills
Organisational Objectives by National
Trust
Professional Standards
Communication
Skills
The communication is important aspect
for National Trust that requires strong
verbal as well as written skills of
interaction with visitors at destination
that will also require displaying and
explaining presentation.
The manager’s role requires to have
effective communication skills so that
tasks can be assigned to employees in
better way and all customer queries can
be managed with calm and polite
manner for boosting visitor satisfaction.
IT Skills The IT skills to manage Microsoft
Office so that emails and notices can be
written and printed to customers as well
as staff in case of requirement. It is
further important to maintain sheets for
which customers records can be listed.
The IT skills for welcome manager is
important for managing financial
performance and developing business
by creating notices and emails based on
situations (Maduka, et.al, 2018).
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2.2 Identify own development needs and the activities required to meet them
Being on probationary period as manager, it is important for me assess various abilities and skills
that requires improvement and changes for dealing with organisational expectations and targets.
According to above skills analysis IT and communication skills plays essential role as well as
there are different roles that must be practised and understood by me for developing personal and
professional growth. The welcome manager further requires having leadership and motivational
skills so that workers can perform in better manner when preservation projects come to National
Trust (Lapointe, et.al, 2019). For improving my IT skills I will take help of some institution that
will teach me basics used for job role. Further, the communication skills will be enhanced by
taking help of mentors and top managers that will help in improving personality.
In addition, I will daily interact with visitors and employees for the services being given at place
so that feedback availability will provide higher chances of improvement. The leadership skills
are very important for any type of manager so to direct and guide the teams. It can be improved
by learning from online sources through videos and firm’s mentors that will give real situation to
deal with. The motivation of employees plays important role to improve productivity that will be
done with guidance of leaders and top management that will give better ideas to develop like a
manager. Thus, internal and external direction will definitely develop my skills (Ryan and Deci,
2017).
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2.3 Identify development opportunities to meet current and future defined needs
In professional life, huge chances are available for developing and improving skills and qualities
for meeting needs planned at future and current levels. Thus, to determine skills that require the
change and improvement it is important to judge based on current time and moulded according
to future needs (van Woerkom and Meyers, 2019). Thus, for complying National Trust’s
welcome manager post in next six months it is important to determine needs for future by rating
it from 5 for current and future needs that are listed below:
Table 2: Development action and opportunities
Skills
Improvement
Action Plan For Improvement Current
Standard
Future
Standard
Leadership Skills I will read leadership tactics from books and
journals and from online sources to manage
teams. The improvement will be further done
by observing people that leads in firm.
2 4.5
IT Skills The manager of firm uses such skills to write
mails and notices that will be learned by me
that will improve my language skills too.
1 4
Communication
Skills
The participation in conferences and seminars
held in National Trust will help to skills of
verbal and non verbal communication. It will
boost my confidence to deal with employees as
well as rude visitors.
3 5
Motivational
Skills
The theories of motivation will be learned and
understood from library books so that better
plans and tactics can be played to motivate
team just like leaders do that helps in achieving
goals of National Trust (Hartung, et.al, 2015).
2 4
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2.4 Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs
The improvement in my skills is important for which I will go through and follow development
plan that will help in achieving my skill target with various tools for improvement that will aid in
increasing sales of National Trust. Thus, the development is created below:
Table 3: Professional development plan
Skills for
Improvement
Communication Skills Leadership Skills IT Skills
Priority High Very High Medium
Improvement
Sources
It can be done by boosting
interaction with staff and
visitors using gesture for
communicating (Ruddy,
et.al, 2016).
Observing senior staff and
leaders and reading and
understanding books and
journals explaining
leadership
Learning from mentors
and top managers to write
emails and notices or to
take help from internet
sources.
Activities
Required by
National Trust
Strong verbal and written
communication required
to interact and
presentation skills for
displaying new ideas in a
team
To guide and direct team
for reaching locations on
time and achieving tasks
provided by managers
Able to use Microsoft
Office with better
understanding.
Timeframe of
Improvement
5 months 4 months 6 months
Evidence Use different language
and gesture with
international visitor.
Offering direction and
guideline to employees of
National Trust.
Giving task to write email
for clients for informing
about new membership
fee.
Success Criteria Top managers, visitor
review and mentors
monitoring (Hildebrand,
2018).
It can be judged by
employees and visitors and
top management by
referring sales and profits.
Top management and
client feedback regarding
content and
understanding of mail.
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LO3
3.1 Discuss the processes and activities required to implement the development plan
The development plan created above will help in increasing and improving the skills that helps in
maintaining the position of welcome manager at time of August. There are various activities and
processes that have been undertaken to implement the development plan. The quality of National
Trust will be improved and higher visitors and membership can be attracted from competent and
skilled workforce (Peterlin, et.al, 2017). To initiate plan, following activities and process has
been undertaken that comprises:
Training – The plan of taking training related to skills development will be beneficial as it help
in learning basic skills. It has given huge energy and interest of learning as work and skills are
trained in effective manner that has givens success in learning new techniques. The training way
has helped in improving skills of communication, leadership and IT that essential for serving the
employees as well as customers. For instance, taking training sessions has helped in increasing
my basic knowledge related to leading a team and interacting with customers at National Trust
properties.
Mentoring – It is best method or criterion that provides opportunity to accomplish organisational
goals as well as personal growth. The experts will provide help in guidance that will give huge
impact on my execution plan and positive results will be restored. Mentoring will teach various
factors such as resource allocation and advices to use such resources that will help in gaining
better knowledge and improvement in skills (Kasemsap, 2019).
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