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 if the teamare not focused and we subsequently are not successful at meeting our goals.Activity (4.3) Stage of Team Development. I understand the importance ofmotivating others and ensuring that they contribute. Perhaps I do not alwaysappreciate and value different perspectives – making sure that others feellistened to and understood. I like time to reflect and think, but also like tobe practical and make things work. Activity

Revision & Examination Techniques

Evidence I see this linked to Time and StressManagement. I like to work with old papers but probably can improve my revisionand examination techniques by scheduling review of key learning points on amore regular, structured basis.

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

Oral & Written Communication Skills

Ask for feedback from others if what Iam saying or writing is clear and succinct.

Be as ready to listen as I am to say orwrite something.

Analyse and write down my usual stylewhen in conflict situations. What might I change to be more effective?

Put myself in another team member’spoint of view which I find the most far removed from my thinking. Imagine how Iwould feel and react to what is being said.

Practice dropping my opinions andtrying to keep an open mind to help me learn.

When feeling my emotions rising in adiscussion, concentrate on getting under control before proceeding to thefacts. Pause, count to 10 and empathise with what others are feeling.

Analyse academic writing which I feel tobe good and try to assess what is different from what I produce. Be aware ofthe need to use appropriate language in the subject area under discussion.

Study and reflect on the nature ofbeliefs, evidence for beliefs i.e. False beliefs with rational thinking, truebeliefs with irrational thinking and think about how I evidence my theories andI how I can improve my evidence and broaden my perspectives.

Keep an information file on articles,newspaper clippings which deal with new ideas in my field of academic interest.

Time & Stress Management

Apply the same discipline to exercising,reading, listening to music and other stress reductions techniques as I do toimproving my time management skills for work

Break down assignments into componentstasks. Eliminate completion time for each task. Diarise tasks on a wall or desktop planner.

Study and seek to apply the techniquesfor Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman – self-awareness, self-control,awareness of others and relationship management.

Practice on a regular basis techniquesfor relaxation – breathing observation, time out, walking, yoga, meditation -consistency is the key

Schedule work priorities on a daily,weekly and monthly basis – to include revision time for exams

Focus on what is urgent and importantand try to avoid perfectionism – learn to be happy with the 80% rule i.e. Ifit’s 80% right it’s OK.

Focus on changing the things that I cancontrol and letting go of the things which I can’t control.

Ask people who are very good at time andstress management what they do that works and see if I can apply theirtechniques.

Read Carlson, R (1998) Don’t sweat thesmall stuff at work: Simple ways to minimise stress and conflict while bringingout the best in yourself and others, New York, Hyperion

Revision & Examination Techniques

Remember that if I recap key learningpoints within 24 hours I will improve my ability to retain learning. Build timein to do this.

Remember that if I recap again keylearning points – if only briefly on a weekly or monthly basis, I will allowthe learning to be retained in my short term memory. Build time in to make thishappen.

Create a learning journal as I like toreflect and write down on a daily basis what my key new insights and learningsare – about people, about information, about myself – strengths andlimitations.

Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence(1998), Bloomsbury Publishing, London