Reflective Personal Development Plan: Skills for Career Growth

This reflective personal development plan journal explores the development of understanding self through engagement with learning activities, focusing on four core skills: focus and attention, negotiation, team working skills, and time management. Each skill is defined, its importance discussed with theoretical support, and current competence assessed using self-assessment tools, peer feedback, and personal reflections. Contradictions are identified, and the relevance of each skill to future career aspirations is examined, supported by academic references. The journal demonstrates a wide reading of relevant literature and an ability to critically reflect on personal strengths and areas for improvement. Desklib offers a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and past papers for academic support.

Running Head: Reflective Personal Development Plan
Reflective Personal Development
Plan
Personal development Plan-Action,
Summary and Reflection

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Reflective Journal Entry Pro-Forma
What is the Core Skill?
Core skill can be understood as the essential skills which are required by the young
people in order to sustain in the ever evolving growing economy. These skills are also
called as Deep learning and help the people with new ways of thinking, working and
living in the global world. The core skill which is integral to me is:
 Focus and Attention- I am extremely focussed in my life when it comes to
important matters or taking important decisions. I pay attention to details
and I am a good listener, which makes me highly focussed and attentive.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
The core skill is important as it acts as a pedestal to the success of an individual in the
personal and professional space. I selected focus and attention as one of my core skills
as it is a reflection of my entire experience in life and my professional journey. I have
been always focussed and pay attention to even the smallest of the details provided by
my employer and customers. These two skills are extremely important as they provide a
foundation for business excellence (Scott, 2015).
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers and your
tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to
answer this question)
I filtered down the skill after a careful analysis of my personality, taking test such as
MBTI, Feedback from my tutors, colleagues, peers, friends and family. I also went a step
ahead and called few of my school mates and asked them their impression of mine.
Moreover, I also did a competency benchmark analysis which helps me figure out the
skill relevant to excel in the business environment. Based on all the finding I reached
this conclusion.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
I am not being a Fuddy Duddy pompous individual here, but I would like to say that my
perception of myself, which was backed by findings and the same was resonated by the
feedback from other people. This makes me delighted that I am on the same page as
others perceive me as; it also gives me motivation and confidence to excel in my life.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)

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The world has truly become global, thanks to globalization and proliferation of Internet.
This has caused a lot of disruption and dynamics in the present business environment,
thus in order to excel in the business, one has to stay highly focussed and attentive.
Good listening skills is a sub skill which comes along with being focussed, my listening
skills would benefit me in understanding the concern, query or grievance of the
customers. And being attentive will further help in providing the right solution to the
customers. Hence, highly relevant skill for the present and the future (Sekaran & Bougie,
2016).
What is the Core Skill?
Core skills as mentioned are the skills which are relevant in the present times, these
skills help an individual to embark on the journey of success. Apart from focus and
attention, I believe my second core skill is Negotiation.
Negotiation-Negotiation in the simplest of terms can be understood as the method
by which people settle their disputes. Dispute in the organization arise due to
various factors which are internal and external to the organization. I am of the
opinion that I am a good negotiator as I always focus on the technique of
Integrative negotiation which has benefitted me immensely in the past and
Present.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
I am certain that as the business world is changing, there will definitely be a need for
better negotiators in the world. Negotiation is the method by which the parties involved
in negotiation come to a win-win situation while avoiding dispute and arguments. I
selected this skill to reflect upon based on the relevancy of the skill in the present
business scenario; moreover the skill is extremely helpful in the profile of Sales. I aspire
to become a top notch Sales manager for a FMCG brand, hence this skill will help me in
better handing the objection of my customers(Brink & Costigan, 2015)
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers and your
tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to
answer this question)
I have always been keen right from the start of my life. I developed the art of curiosity as
I my hunger for knowledge was always insatiate. This made me took various personality
tests to assess my personality, conducting one on one feedback round with my loved
ones, professional colleagues and tutors, so that I can understand the lacunae in my
personality. Accumulation of all the findings leads me to Negotiation skill as one of my
core skills.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is

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there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
Considering the holistic scenario, almost all the people whom I had a word regarding
my core skills, they were in consensus. However, it was a couple of my friends from my
internship who thought of me as less of a negotiator and more of a bargainer. However,
there is a noticeable difference between the two, but I would still see myself as a
negotiator.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
As mentioned earlier, dynamics in the business environment needs better negotiator
who has a knack for negotiation and a never give up attitude, until the terms are
mutually decided and agreed onto. I always aspire to reach a situation of Win-Win, the
same I aspire to translate in all my present and future endeavours. This approach of
Win-Win is need of the hour, and will become more relevant and important in the future
times (Knoke, 2018).
What is the core skill?
Core skill always helps an individual to grow and give a person a competitive edge over
others. The core skills of an individual vary from each other, based on the personality a
person has. Another core skill of mine other than; Focus and attention and negotiation is
Team working skills.
Team working- Team work results in better results in comparison to an
individual working alone. It also leads to creation of positive synergies in the
work environment and teams, which lead to motivation and enhanced
productivity of the employees. I have always been a team player, and strive to
contribute towards the goals of the organization or the group.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Team work by all standards is one of the most sought after skill an employer looks into
the employee. A good team member is never self-centred and thinks of the goals of the
organization, before anything else. A good team member is dedicated towards his team
and always aspires to give his best for the benefit of the team. Thus, seeing the high
relevancy of the skill, and the need of the hour, Team work is very essential skill which
all the stakeholders of the organization value (Katzenbach & Smith, 2015).
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers and your
tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to
answer this question)
Here, I did a MBTI test, the Myers-Jung test resulted in the Personality type INTJ for me.

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The test had plenty of questions which were based on my team working skills. I aced at
all question and my team working skill was highlighted there. I also took feedback from
my last manager, my friends, colleagues and the university students.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
I spoke with my manager in the previous organization, his feedback to me was
equivocal, and he said that I was a great team player. My colleagues and peers had the
same thing to say about me. Thus, there was no deviation in how I perceived myself and
how others thought of me as a person.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
According to numerous reports published by research publications and journal articles,
Team work is most sought after skill which employers look for in the employee. The
skill of team work will help me in solving complex and challenging tasks at a much
better speed; it will also give me a sense of responsibility towards my team, and also
push me to work with enhanced productivity to achieve the goals of the team and that
of the organization (Goetsch & Davis, 2014).
What is the core skill?
Core skill as explained as the skills which are a true reflection of an individual’s
personality, and also an indication of one’s strength. Negotiation, team work and focus
and attention are the skills I have already discussed, another skill which I consider as
my core skill is time management.
Time management- Business organization work on tightened timelines as they
have deadlines which have to be adhered to, hence in such a case, it becomes
pertinent for the employee to have a good time management skills so they are
able to manage the time available at hand.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use
relevant theories and concepts to support your answer)
Organization goes by the slogan, “Time is money”, and thus one of the elements of the
Key performance indicator of an employee is time. The organization expects the
employee to respect and value the time he spends in office, the employer expects that
the employee are utilizing the time they spend in the organization. Thus, it becomes
very essential for the employee to master the skill of time management and stay
focussed on his productivity (Ingram et. al., 2015).
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence? (use your self-assessment findings, feedback from peers and your
tutor, plus your own reflections on your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to
answer this question)

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Time management is my competency as I always work according to the covey matrix of
time management. The matrix lets me arrange the task for the week into the categories
of important/urgent, important/not urgent and vice versa. I came to the conclusion that
I time management is one of my core skills as I never missed any of my deadlines in my
university. Also in my last work experience I always adhered to the deadlines assigned
to me and I worked accordingly. Moreover, a couple of personality tests and feedback
from my friends, managers and professors, pointed that time management is one of the
core skills in my personality.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above? For example, is
there a match between how you see yourself and how others see you, or not?
Here also, I would like to say that I found no variance in my perception of my
personality and others perception. Every person unanimously spoke in the favour
of my core skill, and stated that I value time too much. This further adds to
discipline in my personality, which is another positive element in my personality.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your
argument)
Organization value time, and so does the employer. It points that the employees too
have to value their time and ensure that they do not engage in unproductive and time
wasting activities at work. Time will definitely play a greater role in the future time,
however organization are becoming flexible in them timelines, it does not necessarily
means the employer is flexible with the deadline. Thus, the employees having high
affinity for time management will be valued higher in comparison to other employees
(Sayles, 2017).
Personal Development Plan
Development
Area
Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timeline
Communicatio
n Skills
I would like to
work on my
communication
skill and want
to be sound
more confident
while giving
presentation or
participating in
business
communication
. I want to
primarily get
rid of my stage
I would
measure the
improvement
by my
delivery in
the
classroom,
and would
also speak
with my
professor
and ask them
to give me a
feedback on
The action
required to
work on the
development
area are
absolutely
relevant in the
present times.
Also, I would
find time post
my classes to
improve my
communicatio
n skills.
This area
will help
me in
presenting
a better
image in
front of
my future
employer.
The
timeline
to work
on the
developm
ent area
of
communic
ation will
be one
year

Reflective Personal Development Plan P a g e | 6
fear. my
performance,
before and
after the
training.
Decision
Making
I want to work
on learning
some models
such as SWOT
analysis,
Delphi, T-Chart
and other such
tools which
would help me
in expediting
the process of
decision
making and
help me in
coming up with
a logical way to
arrive at a
decision.
The
improvement
can be
measured by
comparing
the time I
used to take
before
understandin
g the models
of decision
making.
Moreover,
the impact of
my decision
will also be a
parameter of
measuring
my
improvement
.
Decision
making is a
highly sought
after skill in
the business
organization.
Hence, it is
very much
important to
work in this
aspect. Also, I
would be able
to take some
time out of my
classes and
learn the art of
decision
making
The action
is relevant
in the
sense that
it will help
me in
coming up
with right
decision,
which
would
also help
me in
negotiatio
n and time
managem
ent
1 Year
Leadership
skills
I have
aspiration of
leading a sales
team at one of
the big FMCG
companies on
the likes of HUL
and P&G. In
order to get
into these
organizations I
have to
understand the
skills and the
understanding
which helps an
individual
become a
leader. I would
enrol myself in
a Professional
leadership
transformation
The measure
for my
leadership
skill would
be seen in
my day to
day conduct
with my
fellow
colleagues
and
professors.
Constructive
feedback
from the
professors
will help me
in measuring
the change in
my
performance.
The actions are
highly relevant
in the present
time and I will
have to enrol
myself for the
weekend class
in order to
learn
leadership in
depth and the
practical
application of
the same.
Leadershi
p skill will
help me in
achieving
my scores
in a way,
that I
would be
in a better
position to
handle the
nuance of
the
business
organizati
on. It will
also help
me in
understan
ding the
elements
of success
in the
2 Years.

Reflective Personal Development Plan P a g e | 7
programme business.
References
Brink, K.E. and Costigan, R.D., 2015. Oral communication skills: Are the priorities of the
workplace and AACSB-accredited business programs aligned?. Academy of Management
Learning & Education, 14(2), pp.205-221.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Ingram, T.N., LaForge, R.W., Williams, M.R. and Schwepker Jr, C.H., 2015. Sales
management: Analysis and decision making. Routledge.
Katzenbach, J.R. and Smith, D.K., 2015. The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-
performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press.
Knoke, D., 2018. Changing organizations: Business networks in the new political economy.
Routledge.
Sayles, L.R., 2017. Managing large systems: Organizations for the future. Routledge.
Scott, W.R., 2015. Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural and open systems
perspectives. Routledge.
Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building
approach. John Wiley & Sons.