English Language Essays - Professional Development Portfolio

The Personal and Professional Development Portfolio

The purpose of the Personal and Professional DevelopmentPortfolio is to provide a structure to accelerate my personal learning anddevelopment. How do I learn?

By having an attitude which is open and motivated to learn

By acquiring new technical knowledge – expert information onspecialist or generalist topics

By knowing which competencies – (a combination of knowledge,skills and motivations) are important for success. Some of these competenciesmay be more technical eg ability to time manage or may be more social egcommunication skills and team working

By being able to apply competencies in work and social situations- realising that there are layers of subtlety and profundity to what appear tobe simple competencies. It is often what is subtle which makes the greatestdifferentiator in between successful or not in a given competency eg oralcommunication skills, written communication skills, time and stress management,team working, revision and examination

By being self-critical in a balanced way – appreciating ourindividual strengths and recognising limitations

By being open to, seeking and evaluating feedback from otherswith regards to my individual strengths and limitations

In working with the Personal and Professional DevelopmentPortfolio, I have found it useful to apply the following process to aid ajourney of self-awareness, self-discovery, self-reflection and self-action.

Step 1 Review of how open and motivatedI am to learn

Step 2 Definition for each of the keycompetencies with clarification of which key actionsor behaviours would provide evidence for these competencies

Step 3 Self-assessment in each of thecompetencies and their key actions

Step 4 Suggested development activitieswhich could be undertaken in each of the competencyareas which will support my continuous learning

NB I have found it useful to draw onand adapt Daniel Golemans definitions of competenciesbased on Working with Emotional Intelligence* as these developand clarify the skill sets noted in The Personal and Professional Portfolio.

Step 1 Review of how open and motivated I amto learn

In Exploding the Myths Activity (1.1), I learnt that I amself-confident and am driven to learn by intrinsic motivators rather thanexternal motivators. I do not value external position or status in itself. Isee education as important and do not see a need to compete or compare myselfwith others. I am a positive thinker and balance my confidence with theawareness that I can grow and develop. I see a need to influence others byimproving my written communication skills in a way which will add weight towhat I’m saying.

I show that I like to challenge ideas and therefore do notaccept the status quo as given. I am inquisitive and feel comfortable inacting collaboratively and sharing my ideas with others.

In Getting the Most from Your Learning Activity (2.1) andthe Personal SWOT Analysis Activity (2.2). I learnt that my motivations fallinto three inter-linking key categories. (1) Career (2) BroadeningPerspectives and (3) Discipline.

Under Career, I note that there is a potentialunderlying anxiety which could be a driver to learn which is based on the needfor security, for independence and being able to succeed in a career path.

Under Broadening Perspectives I observe that I amsomeone who enjoys the company of others and like to learn from others. Thereis also a potential threat in that my enjoyment of the stimulation and companyof others may impact negatively into my time management for studying. I also amable to observe that although I enjoy socialising, at times I may bemotivated more by the task rather than by developing effective relationships.This is partly evidenced by The Critical Reflection Model Activity (2.3) andStage of Team Development Activity (4.3) where I note, People are verypolite at the moment, however there’s a lot of grumbling and wasting time onirrelevant topics. Lots of people talking, no work actually being done.

Under Discipline I see the greatest number of threats- I will need to motivate myself to study topics or subjects which mayinitially not appear interesting. I need to be aware of my tendency to leavethings to the last minute and therefore to risk meeting deadlines. This is alsoevidenced in Belbin’s Team Roles Activity (5.4) where the role ofCompleter/Finisher is one of the three least favoured roles.

In summary, there is evidence of a positive, motivated,interested attitude to learning and evidence of development opportunities inthe areas of time management, communication and team working. It is alsointeresting to note that I have a strong preference to be both a Reflector infollowed by being a Pragmatist in Learning style. This could explain why as aReflector, I leave things to the last minute as I like to continue to study,reflect on particular topics. It may also help explain why I feel frustrated asa Pragmatist, if the team are not focusing on achieving results which willwork.

Step 2 Definition for each of the keycompetencies with clarification of which keyactions or behaviours would provide evidence for these competencies

Oral & Written Communication Skills – Clearly andconvincingly conveys information and ideas

Clarifies the purpose and importance

Stresses major points

Follows a logical sequence – definingthe question, introduction, main body, conclusions

Adjusts to audience

Ensures understanding

Interprets messages from othersaccurately

Time & Stress Management – Effectively managestime, resources and self to ensure that work is completed efficiently

Prioritises

Prepares

Stays focused

Aware of own emotions, preferences,strengths and limitations

Able to control and modify emotionalresponses to sustain physical and mental health

Team working – works effectively and co-operativelywith others; establishing and maintaining good working relationships

In words and actions makes others feelvalued, appreciated and included

Places higher priority on team goalsthan on own goals

Offers to help others achieve goals

Revision & Examination Techniques – builds intime to review critical learning points on daily, weekly, monthly basis

Plans, schedules review times

Step 3 Self-assessment in each of thecompetencies and their key actions

1 = much less than standard 2 = less than standard 3 =meets standard 4 = above standard 5 = much above standard

Oral & Written Communication Skills

Evidence I set high standards but would liketo improve the academic style of my writing. Activity (1.1) Explodingthe Myths. At times need to adjust more effectively to others refer toActivity (2.3) Critical Reflection Model. This will also be picked up inTeam working.

Time & Stress Management

Evidence I have a tendency to leave things tothe last minute Activity (2.2) Personal SWOT Analysis and Activity (3.1) Timeand Stress Management. I lack a long term perspective to work. I can have atendency to be irritable and to increase smoking when under pressure. AlthoughI am aware of my emotions when under stress Activity (3.2.3) Tackling Stress, Idon’t always find it easy to control my emotional responses with others and mayfind myself becoming a little bit down and defensive.

Team working

Evidence I understand, appreciate and valuethe importance of teamwork. However, I sometimes feel frustrated