Understanding Self and Others: Skills Analysis and Development Plan

This assignment delves into the critical skills required for effective professional development, focusing on self-assessment and understanding others. The document comprises reflective diary entries analyzing core competencies such as team-working, time-management, written communication, and negotiation skills. Each entry explores the importance of the skill, current competence levels, contradictions, and potential future benefits. The analysis includes feedback from peers and leaders, identifying strengths and areas for improvement. An action plan is designed to address weaknesses and enhance performance. The assignment emphasizes the value of these skills in career advancement and professional success. The student has used self-assessment, peer reviews, and feedback to identify areas for improvement. The analysis includes an introduction and a conclusion, summarizing the key findings and recommendations for personal and professional growth.

UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................1
Reflective diary entries............................................................................................................................1
Action plan..............................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Now-a-days, every individual need number of skills to carry out their work in an
effective and efficient manner such as communication, negotiation, time-management, conflict
resolution, planning, problem solving and many others. The key aim of present research is to
perform self-analysis through self-assessment, peer reviews, feedback from tutors and others to
examine my own skills and identify areas where improvements are necessary. Owing to this, an
action plan will be designed to overcome weaknesses and perform much better in future.
Reflective diary entries
Reflective entry: 1: Team-working
What is the core skill to develop?
Team-working: As per the views of Martin (2013), teamwork is about working togetherness
means putting collaborative actions and efforts to meet commonly defined team goals. It is
really important in today's period which is based on cooperation, coordination,
communication and willingness of team members to work together.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
It is now a crucial and important part of working in the corporate field and offers everyone
with an opportunity to understand and get familiar with the other members. It is not only
important for the organization but also equally important for the individuals. It is because,
by showing excellent team performance, every member can build a unique image and
perception among others and offer suggestions also (Cornthwaite and Siassakos, 2016).
Supporting each other build a healthy environment at the workplace and as a result, other
people are also motivated and encouraged to collaborate with other with mutual
responsibility of the team resultant high performance.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence?
I receive feedback from team leader to know that how well I put down my efforts in
collaborating, cooperating and coordination with the other teammates. After reviewing, I
noticed a mixed response, it is because, when I finished my work before time then I always
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ready to help others taking team-working responsibility. However, when work is in peak
load, I feel mentally stressed and unable to complete the assigned duties timely, I can't put
team-working initiatives and do not contribute in satisfying team responsibility. Besides
work, there are many other responsibilities that I have as a team member such as organizing
team activities, guiding other members, more importantly, new joinnes. However, due to
lack of time, I often do not take interest in the same and also unable to devote enough time
to guide, educate and train other members.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above?
Yes, definitely, I need improvements in such field as my believe and thoughts were totally
different from the feedback results. I noticed that I must be ready to help other team
members every time to become a benchmark of good team member. Besides work, I must
find time in conducting team-activities atleast once in a month so that everyone feel fresh
and stress free (Griffin, 2013). I must consider how other team mates feel and help them to
overcome their difficulties. Maintaining both formal and informal relationship is important
here.
How might this skill help me in the future?
It will help me in future by putting my best effort and collaborating with others. A good
team member is always respected by all and their performance is also recognized by HR
professionals (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Therefore, building such skills will assist me in
shaping my future career by having opportunity of promotion to an upper designation.
Reflective entry: 2: Time-management
What is the core skill?
This section presents time-management skills which is about managing and completing
allocated tasks and duties on a right time. Although, conceptually, it does not seems tough,
however, it is surprisingly too hard to put in real practice. It requires an individual to invest
little time in prioritizing and keep regular monitoring over it to finish work at right point of
time (Grissom, Loeb and Mitani, 2015). Not only in the corporate but also in the social
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practice, proper time-management is the key requirement and everyone need to ensure that
all the work is done on right time. Certo (2015), defined time management as a procedure
to organize and plan how to divide multiple of work or tasks towards specific activities to
finish it within allotted time-frame, otherwise, it may result in less effectiveness and stress.
Why is this core skill important?
In today's tough times and heavy work pressure, everyone needs excellent time-
management skills. It seems important because without such, no one will be able to
complete the assigned job tasks and activities on deadline. Moreover, during peak period, it
can cause stress among workers as they need to devote extra working time to the job to get
the work completed. Thus, greatest achievers with exceptional time-management skills
perform smart work and shown better performance over other colleagues (Whetten and
Cameron, 2014). The plan how well you organize, prioritize and allocate your working
time to different tasks are the key indicators of time-management skills.
(Source: Whetten and Cameron, 2014)
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According to Whetten and Cameron (2014), past experience learn and educate every
individual to develop good time-management skills. It is considered important for everyone
to show high productivity, work efficiency, professional reputation, lesser stress,
advancement opportunities for fulfilling career goals. However, on the other side, Certo
(2015), mentioned deadline missing, inefficient flow of work, poor work quality and high
stress as a damaging impact of poor time-management.
How competent are you currently?
In order to find out own competency in such skills, I gather feedback from peers or leaders.
I solicited feedbacks from colleagues to know what they thought that in what extent, I am
being able to finish my job duties timely. As per the feedback, I found positive response as
they said that no-doubt, although I often complete work on allotted deadline, however,
during high work pressure, I face issues in the same due to mental stress. Although, I
perfectly prioritize job tasks according to their need, however, at peak load, many-times,
sudden or urgent work is demanded and at that time, I face difficulty in following set
schedule properly. Moreover, there is a different between urgent and important work that I
need to understand. First need sudden or immediate attention whilst later need proper
attention and not following them properly may cause serious consequences. There is a
major difference between both of them, first may or may not take in-depth attention
whereas important work often consume more time and must be done very well with extra
care. Thus, from the feedback, I found that although to a great extent, I achieved set goals
and manage work perfectly, still, I need to pay special attention on time-management
during work pressure & excessive load to gain proficiency.
Can you identify any contradictions, or allowable weaknesses from your analysis?
 Yes, No-doubt, peer feedbacks made me aware about both my strong and weak
points. I found lack in time-management area during peak load which cause stress
and lose my confident. Therefore, prioritizing and executing work properly during
such period is the key area where I need some improvements. Here, as urgent work
may also come, therefore, I need to manage work accordingly so that any immediate
tasks also can be managed very well. For this, I need to create plan accordingly with
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some provisional time. By this, I can improve my competency level, perform much
better and get good growth opportunities.
How will this skill help me in the future?
Communication skills will assist me in future career growth and advancement, as I will be
able to complete work by time. Moreover, I will be able to deal with the peak period and
will not face any difficulty in dealing with the tough time (Whetten and Cameron, 2014).
This in turn, I can show better performance and get promotional chance also.
Reflective entry: 3: Written Communication
What is the core skill?
Written communication skills refer to the use of careful selection of wording and its proper
organization in a correct sequence for appropriate sentence formation (Aly, 2014).
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on?
In the corporate sector, written communication is more valid approach and also reliable than
verbal communication. Now-a-days, it is of great significance to prepare worthy materials
like contract, e-mails, letters and others (McCabe and Timmins, 2013). Although speaking is
a spontaneous and quicker way of information exchange whilst writing maintained proof
therefore, always favoured. It is useful in proper delegation of responsibility and considered
an explicit and precise tool. The most important thing under this is it maintains valid records
which can be presented in legal consequences and defence.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your competence?
With the help of self-assessment, I found that over the period and experience, I found
considerable improvements in my written communication skills. Strong vocabulary
enrichment, correct use of words, professional language, good command over grammar and
its proper organization helped myself in creating e-mails, letters, memos, reports, instant
messages, proposal, fax, brochures and other forms of written communication. I also examine
gap through comparing my own skills with the other colleagues and seniors writing styles and
found that now-a-days, writing not only includes use of correct words, cohesiveness and its
proper organizing, but also includes good presentation and symbolic use to make it more
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effective.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above?
Yes, I found that now, I work on presenting things very well and also use symbols so that the
information will be easy to understand by everyone and avoid misunderstanding (Baram-
Tsabari and Lewenstein, 2013). For instance, I identified that multiple topics covered in a
communication must be numbered. Moreover, now-a-days, the speech not only be
professional but also friendly with right tone. Further, with just a last proof reading, mistakes
can be avoided.
How will this skill help me in the future?
In future, it will helps me in presenting my ideas, opinions, suggestions appropriately to the
senior, leaders or business managers (Stokoe, 2014). Moreover, use of symbolic language in
written communication will build a unique image in the mind of receivers.
Reflective entry: 4: Negotiation skills
What is the core skill?
Negotiation skills are the skills that are very important for the manager so that they can
make proper contract with employees that are working the organisation. Negotiation is
the way by which people settle differences (Waldman and Levy, 2016). The
negotiation can be leads to settlement of dispute, increase in dispute, avoidance,
compensation etc. in order to make negotiation effective, an individual need different
skills such as problem analysis, preparation for the negotiation, proper listening skills,
effective verbal communication, Collaboration and Teamwork, Problem Solving,
Decision Making Ability, Interpersonal Skills, Ethics and Reliability (Waterhouse and
Koppenjan, 2016).
Why is this core skill important?
There are several skills that are included in the negotiation which helps the person to
build up in the future and that skills also helps the person to manage different activities
in the venture. Negotiation is very important in the organisation, it is the way by which
two opposing parties can reach at the conclusion in order to solve the dispute in the
organisation. Dispute is very big problem of the venture which need to be solved on
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proper time so that it cannot raise into large fight or grievance (Kim and Dehghani,
2016). Thus, organisation need a person which can solve the dispute between the
individuals and serve huge benefits to the venture. There are several reason behind the
importance of negotiation skills, that are:
It can create win-win situation in the venture: if both of the parties are having good
negotiation skills then they both can win something out of negotiation. This is the
biggest advantage of having this skill.
Can Improve your Bottom Line: The key reason for doing the negotiation is to make
the beneficial deal for the organisation, if the venture is able to do so, then the venture
can able to create proper button line.
Reflect on your current competent regarding this skill. How did you assess your
competence?
There are several skills included in the negotiation, such as good interpersonal
communication, problem analysis, active listening etc. there are several skills in which
I am good at and some of them are my weakness while doing negotiation. The skills in
which I am good at are I am good listener, I keep my feet in other shoes and understand
the problem of the person who is standing behind, I never thinks for my benefits at
large amount, it might be like this that the person which is in-front of me will be in
need for some benefits. I always try to make such negotiation where both of the parties
at win-win situation. This is the biggest thing while doing some negotiation, so it need
to be good listener which helps to understand the situation. Other than that I am very
good at verbal communication, I can able to communicate clearly so that I can avoid
misunderstanding in the negotiation.
Can you identify any contradictions from your analysis above?
The contradiction in find while doing negotiation is I do have emotional control. If the
person is doing any emotional act while doing negotiation, I purely understand him or
her and try to serve them the largest benefits. This I need to control at large scale.
How will this skill help me in the future?
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As this skill includes different skills such as decision making, interpersonal
communication, Collaboration and Teamwork, Problem Solving, Ethics and
Reliability, Interpersonal Skills, Verbal Communication etc (Ting-Toomey, 2017).
These skills are very much effective to be a manager. If in the future, I will be the
manager of the organisation, I can able to fulfil all the responsibilities of the manager
and work in effective an efficient manner.
Action plan
Strengths and weaknesses
From this reflective report I have identified that I have different skills which are my
biggest strengths, with that I have several weaknesses which need to be improves in order to put
maximum effort in the organisation and gain positive results for the venture. The biggest strength
I access are, I am very good at negotiation skills such as interpersonal communication, effective
and active listening etc. other than that I am very good at team work, I know how to manage
different activities that are undertaking in the team. I know how to lead a team and solve
different issues that are arising between the ream members. The weakness which I access are, I
do not able to focus on particular thing, distraction is the biggest weakness I have. Other than
that I take lots of time to take effective decision which should not be there. I need to be more
analytical so that decision can be made fast and beneficial party can get their benefits.
Areas for personal development
There are three key areas where I need to develop myself that are decision making, emotional
control and making priorities.
Plan to manage the personal development
It is very important for me to reduce my weakness and make them as my strength so that
I can able to take effective decision and create the management skills. Plan is as follows:
Identify the problem: First I need to find the basic problems I am facing in the organisation
which are creating weakness in my skills. I will analyse myself with the help of SWOT analysis.
This will help me find my weakness and strength in order to grasp opportunities and remove
threats
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Find different strategies to solve the problem: As I have identified that I have three greatest
weakness after my SWOT analysis that are time for decision making, emotional control and
making priorities. I need to find the different strategies which helps to reduce weakness.
Implement strategies: After finding the strategies, I need to implement it to my daily
professional and personal life. If that strategies come to my daily routine, I will able to have
proper learning. This will help me to remove my weaknesses.
Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely
Development
Area 1
DecIsion
making, and
Decision
maker and
self
motivational
Yes
According
to time
Learn from
everyone
As soon as
possible
1 year
Development
Area 2
emotional
control
I can control
easily
yes i
understand
the situation
and then
take an
action
From
learning i
can easily
complete
my task
As soon as
possible
Development
Area 3
Making
priorities.
Complete my
work on time
Important
wok first
career
oriented
As soon as
possible
CONCLUSION
The analysis performed found good negotiation skills and a good team performer,
however, in few of the areas of time-management and written communication skills,
improvements are necessary. I have opportunity to attend specialised training, online tutorials
and others to bring improvements in my own performance and thereby meet future goals.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Certo, S., 2015. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Whetten, D. and Cameron, K., 2014. Developing Management Skills: Global Edition. Pearson
Higher Ed.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Griffin, R.W., 2013. Fundamentals of management. Cengage Learning.
Cornthwaite, K. and Siassakos, D.M., 2016. TeamWorking, Skills and Drills on. Best Practice in
Labour and Delivery. 12(3). p.360.
Martin, R., 2013. Teamworking Skills for Social Workers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Stokoe, E., 2014. The Conversation Analytic Role-play Method (CARM): A method for training
communication skills as an alternative to simulated role-play. Research on Language and
Social Interaction. 47(3). pp.255-265.
Baram-Tsabari, A. and Lewenstein, B.V., 2013. An instrument for assessing scientists’ written
skills in public communication of science. Science Communication. 35(1). pp.56-85.
McCabe, C. and Timmins, F., 2013. Communication skills for nursing practice. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Aly, E.R., 2014. Communication management among athlete and coaches. European Scientific
Journal, ESJ. 10(10).
Grissom, J.A., Loeb, S. and Mitani, H., 2015. Principal time management skills: Explaining
patterns in principals’ time use, job stress, and perceived effectiveness. Journal of
Educational Administration. 53(6). pp.773-793.
Waterhouse, J. and Koppenjan, J., 2016. A negotiation and boundary object approach to Certo,
S., 2015. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Whetten, D. and Cameron, K., 2014. Developing Management Skills: Global Edition. Pearson
Higher Ed.
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Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Griffin, R.W., 2013. Fundamentals of management. Cengage Learning.
Cornthwaite, K. and Siassakos, D.M., 2016. TeamWorking, Skills and Drills on. Best Practice in
Labour and Delivery, p.360.
Martin, R., 2013. Teamworking Skills for Social Workers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Stokoe, E., 2014. The Conversation Analytic Role-play Method (CARM): A method for training
communication skills as an alternative to simulated role-play. Research on Language and
Social Interaction. 47(3). pp.255-265.
Baram-Tsabari, A. and Lewenstein, B.V., 2013. An instrument for assessing scientists’ written
skills in public communication of science. Science Communication. 35(1). pp.56-85.
McCabe, C. and Timmins, F., 2013. Communication skills for nursing practice. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Aly, E.R., 2014. Communication management among athlete and coaches. European Scientific
Journal, ESJ. 10(10).
Ting-Toomey, S., 2017. CONFLICT FACE-NEGOTIATION THEORY. Conflict Management
and Intercultural Communication: The Art of Intercultural Harmony. 12(5). pp.123.
Kim, E. and Dehghani, M., 2016. Predicting Decision in Human-Agent Negotiation using
functional MRI. In Proceedings of the 38th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science
Society.
Waldman, E. and Levy, S., 2016. Wavelength auto-negotiation. U.S. Patent 9,313,562.
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