Reflective Journal: Personal Development Plan on Self and Others

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Added on 2024/06/28

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This report presents a reflective personal development plan focusing on understanding oneself and others through the analysis of four core skills: time management, public speaking, team working, and research and information finding. The author reflects on their strengths and weaknesses in each area, using relevant theories such as the Pareto Principle and Tuckman's Stages of Group Development to support their self-assessment. Feedback from peers and tutors is considered to identify contradictions and areas for improvement. The report discusses how developing these skills will contribute to future personal and professional growth, enhancing efficiency, productivity, and leadership capabilities. The overall goal is to create a well-rounded individual capable of effectively managing time, communicating persuasively, collaborating within teams, and conducting thorough research.

UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................ 3
Reflective Personal Development Plan Journal.........................................................................4
Summary and Action Plan....................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
Resit Reflection........................................................................................................................ 12
Reference..................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
In today’s world, skills are considered to be very important for an individual from both
personal and professional point of view. The modern world is changing very rapidly and
therefore, to cope up with the changes, it is necessary to possess appropriate skills. This will
help individuals to deal with the various challenges that they face in their day to day
activities. This assignment discusses four core skills of an individual namely time
management, team working, focus and attention and written communication. The importance
of these skills has been discussed in a detailed manner. This will help to have a clear
understanding of the importance that each skills have in our lives.
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Reflective Personal Development Plan Journal
This section of the assignment mainly discusses the four skills that have been chosen in order
to analyze them further. With the help of this analysis, the areas of development will be
understood in a proper and precise manner. The chosen skills alongside their strengths and
weaknesses have been discussed in a detailed manner below:
1. Time Management:
What is the core skill?
The core skill that I have chosen in order to develop my personal development plan is time
management. The process by which time is dividing amongst various activities is known as
time management (Kirillov et al., 2015). With the help of this skill, I work in a smart way
rather than in a hard way. As a result, I can complete more work within a very short span of
time. The skill of time management is present in me to a great extent. However, there are
times when I do not use the skill in a proper manner.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use relevant
theories and concepts to support your answer)
Pareto Principle: According to the 80-20 rule, effective work that is done is about 80% and it
is achievable by only about 20% the employees that are working. Therefore, it can be said
that only about 20% of productive task is performed by me during the entire day that directly
or indirectly contributes to my professional development (Mongin, 2016). Therefore, this is
the main reason as to why I chose this skill and would reflect on it.
As per the above stated principle, it is highly evident that with the help of time management,
I can easily develop my career as an employee within any company that I wish to work at.
However, in case I would want to reduce my daily work stress, then I have to plan my
activities accordingly and will also have to increase the amount of productive work that I do
during the day. Alongside this, I believe that proper time management increases the
efficiency of an individual.
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
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question)
On the 5th of June, I analysed my competence with time management skill and it turned out to
be quite satisfactory. My tutors and peers were of the opinion that I should look to give
priority not only to my task schedule but also to the time required to complete the task.
Besides this, I too believe that I was unable at times to allocate required time because my
time management skills were not completely developed.
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?
The feedbacks that I received from my tutors as well as peers are not completely correct. I
think they have provided feedback to me based on my recent performance as I completed my
recent tasks on time. Due to this, my previous drawbacks have been overlooked. I can mark
myself as satisfactory based on my time management skills. The reason being, I am now able
to complete all my given tasks much before the prescribed deadlines.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your argument)
Time management skills will be helpful to me in terms of developing my future. This will
help me to deal with the crisis situation in a better manner by increasing my efficiency and
productivity. Besides this, I will also be able to develop various other skills as all the work
that I am doing are already planned, giving me more time to focus on other important things.
However, with the help of time management skill I will be able to work more within less time
in future.
2. Public Speaking:
What is the core skill?
Public speaking is said to be a skill, where a person speaks in front of an audience and the
main motives are information, entertainment and persuasion (Shyam and Joy, 2016). With the
help of public speaking, a person’s ability to speak in front of an audience is measured with
the help of their language usage, tonality as well as body language. The level of an
individual’s confidence is also measured with public speaking skills. Public speaking skill
requires a person to have a creative mind and extempore skills at the same time. According to
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me I have public speaking skill in abundance because I have used it in various areas of my
life.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use relevant
theories and concepts to support your answer)
In most of the leadership theories, it has been seen that public speaking forms the backbone
of communication that exists within a company. Most of the companies, focus on developing
proper communication skill so that they can be connected with the management and at the
same time work hard to meet with the company’s goals and objectives (German et al., 2017).
According to me, I have chosen this skill because public speaking has enabled me to motivate
people to a great extent. Alongside this, I can also bring changes in the company, wherever I
think it is necessary. An example can be cited in this regards. Once I was asked to
communicate with the higher authority of the company and inform them about the necessary
changes. Public speaking skill was very helpful as it helped me to keep a polite nature while
talking to them and I did not even sound rude to them.
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)
Based on the feedback that I got from my teachers and peers, I came to understand that they
found me highly competitive in terms of public speaking skills. I took an attempt on the 31st
of March with my public speaking skills. My teachers and peers were convinced that I was
capable enough to get my message circulated with ease. Again, when I was asked to host a
program, the very next month, my teachers said that I had undergone a drastic change in
terms of my speech formation and body language. Therefore, I can say that my public
speaking has been very satisfactory according to the reviews of my peers and teachers.
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?
According to me, the feedback that my teachers and peers have provided me was based on
my second attempt on public speaking. This shows that initially my teachers were not very
confident about my public speaking skills. However, now I think that I am good at it because
I can judge situations better and form a speech that could address the audience in a better
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manner.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your argument)
Public speaking skill can be very useful to develop a person. I think it has helped me to
overcome the fear of audience and as a result, I have also developed various social
connections. Public speaking skill is very essential for leaders if seen from an organizational
point of view. Therefore, if I develop my public speaking skills, then I can use it n the
development of my future. With the help of this, I will also be able to lead my team would be
able to bring about changes wherever necessary.
3. Team working:
What is the core skill?
The basic definition of team working is that it allows a wide range of people to work in
accordance to a group and they work in collaboration with each other in order to achieve the
same set of objectives and goals (Jackson et al., 2014). While working within the team, the
needs of the individuals are not emphasized on, however, the team’s need can be catered
which is the combination of the team member’s need. Team working is however, a bit weak
when it comes to practical application.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use relevant
theories and concepts to support your answer)
Tuckman’s Stages of Group development states that team working is the core, when it comes
to the development of an effective team in a proper manner. Team working is very important
when it comes to working as a group within the company in order to meet with the demands
of the company within a short period of time (Natvig and Stark, 2016). However, the function
of the individual can vary within the team. The main reason as to why I selected this
particular skill to develop is because working in teams can lead to more productivity and it is
at the same time efficient.
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
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question)
My teachers and peers reviewed my performance when I displayed my team working skills
on the 30th of April. According to their review, I displayed my skill in a proper manner while
working within a team. I can therefore, classify my team working skills to be satisfactory
enough. However, I aimed at being better at it. In order to achieve it, I need to perform my
skill in the best way possible and would also require me to be a proper finisher amongst my
team members.
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?
When I got the next opportunity to display my team working skills, my teachers were pleased
with my performance. I was also sure that I displayed to the best of my capability. As a
result, there are no further contradictions that I faced in relation to my team working skills.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your argument)
The future application of team working skill is also very useful. If there is a better team
member, then he or she can help the other members to be more productive by motivating
them to work to the best of their abilities. Besides this, the stress of the entire team also
decreases and therefore, the work can be done easily. With proper development of my team
working skill, it has become easier for me to cater all the other skills and has helped me to
improve for the better.
4. Researching and Information Finding:
What is the core skill?
Researching and information finding is the next chosen skill. This skill is helpful in finding
out information about a certain topic or study. It is useful to derive conclusion about the
chosen study. This skill also requires the individual to think like a critic and conduct various
experiments based on the topic. Researching and information finding according to me, needs
to be developed as I find it difficult to use it during the course of my research work.
Why is this core skill important? Why did I select this skill to reflect on? (use relevant
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theories and concepts to support your answer)
Research does not necessarily mean to discover something that has already been developed
and found by others. However, it means to develop something that is completely new and has
never been researcher before. This helps me to gather undiscovered information about a
certain topic. As a result, I find this skill very important for the development of an individual.
Besides this, the main reason for me to analyze this skill is because I think that with the
proper development of this skill I will be able to develop myself as a leader and will be able
to handle different situations efficiently.
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 had a performance review based on my research and findings skill and based on the review
from my teachers and peers I could understand that I was capable enough to conduct
secondary research in a precise manner. However, it was quite difficult for me to conduct
primary research. On the next performance review, my teacher and peers told me that I
improved a lot in terms of primary research, however, there were still lots of scope for me to
improve in this regards.
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?
After getting my performance reviewed from my teachers and peers, I could understand that
they analyzed my skills in a proper way and they too found the same drawbacks that I found.
Therefore, there is no such contradiction in this regards. However, developing this skill is
important for my personal development.
How will this skill help me in the future? (use references to support your argument)
Researching and finding skill is very essential for my future. I can gain knowledge about the
different things I am having to research. This will help me in various activities related to my
curriculum. With the help of researching and finding, I am able to discover various things
that I did not have an idea about.
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Summary and Action Plan
Analysis of my skills
The above reflection has helped me to analyze my skills and accordingly develop my
strengths and weaknesses in different areas. According to the above reflection, the skills that I
have chosen are time management, public speaking, team working and researching and
finding. With the help of this, I am able to understand my strengths and weaknesses. There
are certain areas, where these skills play a direct role. The areas are time management and
public speaking. According to my reflection, I am quite good at time management as well as
public speaking. I can complete my task within the given span of time that implies my time
management skill is strong. Besides this, I think I am a good public speaker and I can easily
address an audience. Based on the reviews from my teachers and peers I have come to the
conclusion that I can get my message through without sounding rude or arrogant. However, I
have also discovered that I am not so good at team working and researching and finding.
There are times when I have faced difficulty while working as a part of the team. It becomes
complicated for me to understand the task easily. Researching and finding has always been an
area where I am very weak. I find it really difficult to conduct a proper research on something
that has never been done before. This reflection has helped me to understand my areas of
strengths in terms of the skills that I possess. It has also helped me to understand the
drawbacks that I face in my day to day activities.
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Action Plan
Objectives Tasks Success
Criteria
Time Frame Resources
To develop my
team working skill
In order to
ensure that I can
develop my
team working
skills, I have to
participate in
different types
of group
projects and
collaborative
working.
I have to ensure
that in the next
group project
that I
participate; I can
execute my
work in a
seamless manner
without having
any conflicts
with team
members and
peers.
The time
required to
develop my skill
is about 2
months.
The resources
that I will use in
order to achieve
this are
simulation,
collaborative
practices as well
as seminars
related to team
works.
To develop my
researching and
finding skill
Researching and
finding skill can
be developed if
I can engage
myself in
working with
different
research
projects. This
will help me to
develop my skill
in a better
manner.
When I conduct
another research
work, I have to
ensure that I do
not face issues
in terms of the
research and
findings that I
am doing. t
I will need
about 3 months
in order to
develop my
researching and
finding skill.
The resources
that I will be
using are
feedbacks from
my teachers and
peers as well as I
will need access
to various
journals and
research articles.
The internet will
also be used in
this regards.
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Conclusion
The above assignment is a reflection that is based on the evaluation and analysis of different
types of skills. The skills chosen are time management, public speaking, team working and
researching and finding. The above reflection is based on the reviews and feedbacks from
tutors and peers and as a result, it has helped to develop the strengths and weaknesses in the
areas of concern. After the completion of the assignment, it is understood that these skills are
very important for the personal and professional development of the person. As a result,
individuals can be more successful in their field of work.
Resit Reflection
The assignment that I have done previously was not up to the mark and as a result of this; I
have failed in the project. However, this time I have done the project in a proper and precise
manner and as a result of this; it has helped me to understand the assignment in a better way.
There are various areas that I have focused on and have learnt a lot of things about my skills.
There are various areas of strengths in terms of the skills that I have figured out. Time
management and public speaking skills are considered to be the areas that I am strong at.
After getting feedbacks from my tutors and peers I understood that I have displayed these
skills in the performance review. The previous assignment that I have done was not up to the
mark because the areas of strengths have not been identified properly. However, this
assignment has been done keeping in mind all the different areas of strengths related to the
skills.
This assignment also focuses on my weaknesses that are related to my skills. The previous
assignment did not highlight my weaknesses. After receiving my tutor and peer feedback, I
have understood that team working and researching and findings are the areas where my
weaknesses lies. During the performance review, I came to understand that these skills were
not up to the mark. As a result, I have to work hard on these skills so that I can develop them
in a proper manner. The development of these skills will also be useful in my future works. It
will help me work in accordance to my team without having conflicts with my team
members.
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