PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AS A STRATEGIC MANAGER
Personal development is about acquiring knowledge, skills and experience for the purpose of improving individual performance and self perception. It is a systematic process, which has a purpose to develop, identifying the skills to be improved, utilising the opportunities, action plans to be formulated, recording the outcomes, reviewing and evaluating the outcomes and benefits. Strategic manager is an individual who has good leadership qualities to bring change according to an environment and to operate at a strategic level. He/she is the one who takes the necessary decisions, set goals and strategies to win over existing and potential competitors.
Personal development is imperative in today’s world as this is a planning process through which managers acquire leadership skills and knowledge necessary to achieve long term goals of the organization.
The organisation that I have chosen is Pioneer Computer Services is a leading IT management, systems and technology consulting firm. Committed to innovation, responsive to our clients’ needs, and focused on delivery of value, Pioneer draws on the knowledge and expertise of our consultants, whose skills span a wider range of capability than any other major consulting firm. The specialist disciplines of pioneer’s consulting staff are underpinned by deep change management experience – managing risk, mobilizing staff and integrating initiatives to deliver sustainable change quickly. As a strategic manager at Pioneer, I have to keep focusing on what are the skills I need to develop in order to support strategic direction as well as I need to evaluate what are the strategic skills required to achieve strategic ambitions.
In this assignment first I would try to identify the personal skills required of managers to achieve strategic ambitions of Pioneer. Then I will discuss leadership development to support achievement of strategic ambitions, effectiveness of the leadership development plan, promote a healthy and safe environment that supports a culture of quality and finally I will conclude my work by summarizing the whole assignment.
LO1. Be able to identify personal skills to achieve strategic ambitions
Analyse the strategic direction of the organisation
Strategic is a organised plan . which veirified to achieve better collition of corporate plan. A modified strategic direction of infotec company will help in identifying the own competencies of a strategic manager . this can be accompalish by knowing the affect of strategy on corporate, business and operational level and by study . what strategic ideas would required to make decisions and modifying. A fine image . what infotec purpose is ? It could be shown in the form of mission and vision statement. At corporate level i attempt the strategic analysis to findout strategic direction of infotec, putting question to myself considering the type of business infotec is in ? is there any need to expand business or new services to be provided to customer in market from organisation. How to corroborate infotec financially in acting the above activities. At a business point of view i findout the particulate sector to developed. Eg : Flexible Benefits, incentives and rewards to motivate the employee to give there best for the company to be a chanllenging in business world . infoted mission is to be customers first opt of service provider by implementing the quality service , capitalistic cost by delivering latest technology Eg . To be a most successful electronic company by presenting a best customer experience and satisfaction in the markets we serve, providing handsome returns to shareholder and rewards to our employee. Infotec’s vision is to expand its business by providing systematically superior services. E.g. seven years from now maplin will be as judge one of the top 5 electronic company in the industry, by 2020 lebera will be one of the top 5 communicating network companies in world. infotec’s destination goal of elaboration into the other trades apart from its own country and it can be come through by export and import business opportunities, uniting and acquirement, new business deals, this align with the strategic direction of the organisation.
Evaluate the strategic skills required of the leader to achieve the strategic ambitions
Strategic ambitions of infotec are, to be a world-wide leader in the service and technology industry, to represent among the top 10 quality sellers in the market, to elaborate our business sharply through technology and to generate handsome revenues for the organisation. This can be accompalish when a organisation has a perfect leader with good leadership qualities and ideas to implement. Leaders are known for their development and applying favour to corporate strategies, predicting the future of organisation, features the ability to take full favour of available resources, etc. still it is very important for leaders of InfoTech to keep on creating| their skills, so that infotec can exist for a long period in this aggressive market. Leadership skills are determined and measure from time to time and keep on modified to meet strategic ambitions of infotec are identifying as: vision, relationships, teamwork, coaching & development and decision making.
Vision: Being a leader of infotec I must have a open idea where my organization and team are going beyond this year’s budget.In long terms to what extend it may reach?
1. Relationships: Being a leader, I should like speek with people issues, by taking leadership advantage. Only then I creat a team and achieve amazing results for infotec.
2. Teamwork: A team, consist of people with different skill sets, is necessary. I must know how to sturcture and encourage such a team.
3. Coaching & development: Developing others giving opportunities to explore there ideas is an important role for me and boost them to expand their capabilities. Instructing and development are important skills that I should set up at infotec.
4. Strong communication skills: Communication is necessary because as a leader I have to coach, arrange , counsel, judge , and supervise through this process.
Competencies needed to achieve strategic ambitions:
Decision making: I must be able to wade through information, perceive what’s applicable, make a well-considered conclusion, and take implement based on that conclusion.
Time management: It is precise for me to hold the time, when I intend every thing according to achieve certain goals, it helps me to grade my work, it helps in creating a superior work, keeps me on the right path concentrating on strategic ambitions
Assess the relationship between existing, required and future skills to achieve the strategic ambitions
At present in infotec the strategic managers own few skills to accomplish the strategic ambitions. These insences not sufficient to accomplish the strategic ambitions. They own communication skills,delegacy mission,developing others, motivational skills, personal skills,Technical skills, command others, and initiators.
Skills needed to achieve the strategic ambitions of infotec apply, the architectural role are empowering others, creativity, quick reaction, time management, flexibility,strategic thing, possessing high personal standards,endless learning, result oriented, self judgment, problem solving etc. Analysing the gap between current position or existing skills and expectable skills is mention as gap analysis. By analysing the gap, infotec came to know where are we and what skills are missing. Then a personal development plan came into creation which turn up in the below , final result for future to succeed the strategic ambitions. Personal development plan supports infotec to judge and determine the future skills needed and also educated the value of future skills. Identified below are the few future skills:
Master strategist, relationship builder, talent developer and business challenges.personal arrogance , controlling leadership style ,reluctance to tackle difficult people, Should be able to bring the alternative whenever required rely up on the position , ability to form competent teams to present the best services, a dominating level decision making, ability to addres and consider , unpredicted opportunities, ability to combine strategy with corporate culture, anticipate the vision, command the business on behalf of all the stakeholders, to develop and apply changes to corporate strategies, personal opening to go beyond specify boundaries, to supervise and manipulate operations with special cite to financial results, productivity, caliber, customer services, invention , new wares and services and staff developments, to provide guidelines and plan of action for other managers to alleviate both the management of operations and changes in capitalistic and structural strategies.
LO2. Be able to manage personal leadership development to support achievement of strategic ambitions
2.1 Discuss the opportunities to support leadership development
As a leader, I have to confine where do I position today in the organisation? This can be perform by self assessment; a feedback from others would be the best to certify, what do they imagine about me? What do they see in my behaviour? Its’ very esssential to know about me, what leadership caliber, behaviour I own? What others retrieve and don’t retrieve about me? These feedbacks, helps in succeed the strategic ambitions of infotec. This can be perform by using very acquainted development tools like performance estimation, 360 degree feedback, SWOT analysis, psychometric assessment, interaction sessions, coaching etc. Performance estimate is one of the essential tools to determine the performance of an employee in an organisation. It render the organisational diagnosis and development; assist communication between employee and administration. A 360 degree feedback can be acquire from my managers, peers, grade and customers whilst perform self assessment. Another essential tool to carry out self awareness is SWOT analysis, to avaluble extent it is used for strategic planning but can also be used for personal development border.
Educational chance, development chance, training chance, career planning chance, are the opportunities to approve leadership development being followed by infotec.
Educational opportunities: Educating the people of infotec to give knowledge about the system, process being carried in the infotec, so that the people will have a clear understanding of products and technology being used, it leads to a qualification subsequent with a degree and career way as well.
Development activities: Ample number of growing activities with acquiring potential based personally or base on work in the organize of seminars, workshops etc. with these growing activities people will come to know themselves better and experiencing new things in technology sector of infotec.
Training opportunities: Training people to make awareness about specific things for a specific period and place with a result oriented objectives. Training the people to bring up their skills and perform more effectively to encounter the strategic aims of infot
Career planning opportunitiesplanning a long term strategy of any individual about his/her career. He/she has to intend, make and work according for the next 2-5 years
2.2 Construct a personal development plan to direct leadership development
As a leader of infotec, with the strong position and want to make this personal development plan successful using a growing log initially I determine
Key development goals: Appraising the presentation of my employees, these results in staff more devote to their work (efficient performance) and to perform training session for sales team to modify their performance and sales estimate.
Collecting feedback: Accumulate feedback from my fellow worker about the way I am carrying the process, about the force which help me to hike more of my contribution, about the unannounced opportunities whether, I should employ them or not. This prove in a positive response from my fellow workers, saying that I possess satisfactory leadership skills which are my capability(change ability, time management, decision making) and these capability will help me to boost more and can move up with the coming opportunities.
Planning steps: I intend according to the growing goal step by step.
What power get in the way to carry out this development goal
Which things I have to judge or release with in the time
What resources will be expect or acquirable with me
What I have to do to succeed this development goal
Entering progress
To displace out one of the key development goal: providing teaching sessions for sales team to change their performance and sales figure, things like more time I need to pass with them, work force may get in my way; I need to give up extra time to groom, I may need to perform training meeting with the sales group; Need enough budget to complete the training sessions, special training rooms needed; acquire trained or advice on rendering training to sales team,planed meetings, conducting teaching sessions, communicate for feedbacks to present to board. Similarly intend for employee assessment as well.
Monitoring progress: After the successful completion of teaching sessions for sales team I started supervise the progress of sales team. analyze their efforts to sell there move candidates of infotec to different customer and getting them placed.
Continuously reviewing and refining your approach to deliver superior performance: I had face to face interactions with each and every singular of sales team, conside any queries they have, any problems being faced in accomplish their tasks, anything that I can help them out. I being carrying out this activity with sales team thrice in a week to present outstanding performance
2.3 Devise an implementation process for the development plan
Personal Development Planning will support you to specify and research your goals and map out ways to make them into reality. It will change you to articulate the skills you are developing now in order to expose opportunities in the future. (Source: University of KENT website).
I develop a SMART objective based plan to create leadership development of infotec which was specific, important, manageable , and pratical and time bound.
Skill audit: performing a skill audit by measuring a multi-rater questionnaire with the option of customizing and alleviate the 360 degree feedback by one-on-one developmental discussion.
Skill required to be improved: With this questionnaire impractical skills (modifying change, decision making, time management, considering unannounced opportunities, managing business on behalf of stake holders etc) were listed out to be improved, developed to encounter the strategic ambitions of infotec.
Activities to improve the skills: Device activeness required to develop the above skills of leaders of infotec includes teaching sessions and workshops. To perform these teaching sessions and workshops there will be a requirement of a worthy seminar room or special teaching and development room with capable seating, ventilation system , white board, markers, projector, tables and chairs, pen and papers, with a minimum room temperature and the most essential budget as well.
Measures to enter progress: Training is the important factor of personal development plan and it should be recorded up to date. Easy way of Performa is to maintain the copies in the seminar room or teaching & development rooms where teaching is given. Once after teaching has been given on a particular day and time, it should be entered on the forms.
Time limits: A verifiable based plan to be achievable it should have a time limits. And this can be make by keeping the records of trainees how well are they , executeing during the teaching sessions, within one week time, three weeks time respectively. The objective to direct the leadership development for infotec can be reach within 3 months time.
LO3. Be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership development plan
3.1 Assess the achievement of outcomes of the plan against original objectives
After the prosperous implementation of leadership development plan, now it is the time to estimate the result of plan against original objectives of infotec.
improment need: Describing the development need of infotec was an aspirational visionary style (which was to give a new ways to infotec before participate into the new markets).
Targets: objective to make a new vision to infotec by consulting the stakeholders and presenting this at the upcoming comprehensive meeting in the next 3 months.
Outcome: Attended the workshops and teaching sessions and designed a new vision , assertion after consulting the stakeholders and demonstrated it to board.
Yes, the development demand was well acquire by the stakeholders during the consultation and was prepare to invest in the preparation activities and the board also sanction it to use as the next tool, next strategy to be implemented. Most of the things move well and were in favour of the imporved plan. Board was very awesome with the kind of work completed.
Things finish well: Focus group with distinct stakeholders was truly helpful and cooperative in gathering basic data and feedback and wascreated to invest in the teaching sessions or workshops.
Things did not work well: I expanded more time to inform my proposal to board as few of them requested to explain more in depth about the proposal.
What would I do present new next time? I will spread handouts to each members of board so that they can form clear idea about my proposal and my thinking ; this would help me in preserveing time of board and,as well as minl.
3.2 Evaluate the impact of the achievement of objectives on strategic ambitions
Development need: Identified development need of infotec was an aspirational , impractical style (which was to give a new way to infotec before entering into the new markets).
Objective: objective to give a new vision to infotec by conferring the stakeholders and presenting this at the approaching general meeting in the next 3 months.
Strategic ambitions of infotec: Strategic ambitions of infotec are, to state a world wide leader in the service industry, to be one of the top 5 prime vendors in the trade, to expand our business sharply through technology and to create handsome revenues.
Applicable strategic ambition: A newborn marketing strategic plan to support the services of infotec in to new trade which, helps in becoming turning a world wide leader in the service industry. This marketing plan not only helps infotec in becoming a world wide leader in service industry but also adds more shareowner to the firm change the present impact being followed to be more impressive and streamlined in the future, helps employees to concentrate more and more on sales and customer focused.
wedge achieved: yes, the impact was reach. A new vision statement was incorporate, more add of customers were been increase to the list, customers were effective with the vision and values of infotec, created the revenue more than 3 times analyse to last quarter, was added to the list of top 5 prime seller in the trade, 20% of magnitude in the employees performance, sales increased to 40% this was due to the addition in the 60% performance of sales group. Recruitment manage became more effective in present quality candidates to the customers of infotec. New shareowner started showing their arouse in infotec.
3.3 Review and update the leadership development plan
Aspirational visionary style of development require was met within the time I hold for making the approaching strategy for infotec as it was going to appear into new trade. A new vision statement of infotec was created by consulting the stakeholders and presented in the common meeting held. Outcomes of this brand-new vision statement were comprehended when I attended the workshops and teaching sessions. Yes, the affect on strategic ambitions was appraise and many things were in spare of the development need and the verifiable behind it. It was well acquire by stakeholders and members of board, built relationships with new customer, new shareholders were been named, new business from this campaign ensued in huge income.
And on the other side, present development requir public relations style and present development target behind this style of leadership stipulating, a high visible profile still require to be auctioned. This leadership style is about the holding the superior relations between the employees of infotec as well as with the customer, client , shareowner , community members, suppliers and with all those to have a good public visualise about the services rendered by infotec.
New development require determine are human resource style, financial engineering style and analytical style of leadership development and with the aim in providing corroborative
environment e.g.training, workshops, employee relations,profit and appraisals; rendering tight control systems, e.g. providing adequate amount to suppliers, by providing a improve rate of interest to shareholders for the specific quarter, decreaseing bonuses to employees, reducing down the training cost; providing quality analytical plans to be appied and measured, empowering the employees to communicate their thoughts in conveying a change in the present system, empowering the employees to take conclusion on their own to produce the yield in their own style severally.
LO4. Be able to promote a healthy and safe environment that supports a culture of quality
4.1 Assess the impact of corporate and individual health and safety responsibilities on the organisation
Health and safety is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the health, safety and welfare of people busy in employment. This is a policy of how a business will effectively guarantee and manage the health, safety and welfare of the employees. The goal of health and safety programs is to promote a safe and work free environment. It may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities who are impact by the workplace environment.
Health and safety responsibility on pioneer:
Pioneer has a legal responsibility for health and safety of its employees and its customers, local communities, shareholders and those who may be affected by its business and its activities. It is about the preventing people from being harmed at work by taking the right precautions and providing satisfactory working environment.
Setting H&S policy: Pioneer consists of 40 people and its policy is in written format consisting of statement of intent, pioneer section and arrangement section. Health and safety policy of pioneer has influenced all the activities, including the selection of people, equipment and material. This written policy of pioneer has been upgraded from time to time, it indicated about the hazards and risks assessed and controlled in creating a safe working environment.
Culture of pioneer: The role culture has a benefit of specialisation; here the employees of pioneer always focus on their particular role assigned to them by their job description which on the other hand increases productivity for pioneer.
Development and implementation of health and safety plan: Being aware of risks being entertained by organisation, the board of pioneer was happy with the developed policy of health and safety. With an aim to protect people of pioneer a proper management system was introduced to ensure risks are dealt sensibly and with responsibility.
Monitoring, evaluation and review of plan: A proper monitoring system was introduced to have a glance of H&S policy of pioneer and reporting the problems still being faced, to the board to take up any necessary changes in the plan. This implemented plan was reviewed to check whether it is working properly and meeting the strategic ambitions of pioneer by collecting the feedback from employees, asking for their assistance in improving the system as well.
Impact of health and safety responsibilities on pioneer:
This developed plan lead to good health and safety performance includes:
Less employee absence, reduced number of accidents and saved money, reduced costs and risks involved, better position against suppliers, shareholders and partners of pioneer, improved corporate reputation, reduced threat of legal actions, produced more results in the form of new clients, new projects
4.2 Estimate an organisational culture of quality on the achievement of strategic ambitions
Promoting a health and safety quality culture:
It was a hard time for pioneer in making commitment to develop health and safety issues. As safety of employees being a prime motive for pioneer, it planned to create a safety culture a safety team which involves and motivates the people in health and safety. Main objective to create a safety team of pioneer was to create awareness among employees, motivate them towards safety; as long as safety in pioneer entertains the outcomes will be entertained consistently.
A safety team was introduced to focus specially on the health and safety procedures and to look after the system to be followed. The safety team was consist of two safety representatives, who deal with all the procedures, system being followed, take care about the employees present situation on floor. These representatives report to their manger of safety team. The safety team started conducting meetings with safety representatives, invited and visited other known companies to exchange the communication for better health and safety quality culture in pioneer. Communicated with employees about the safety environment in pioneer; exchange information about the facilities provided to people during the working hours etc. They included a timeout session every Tuesday with employees where, they can exchange the information about the present safety procedures, their thoughts, and ideas for the better safety procedures to be taken place. It was a big challenge for the leaders of pioneer to consistently focus on motivating the people to accept this new culture and to believe that pioneer is highly committed in maintaining health and safety of its employees.
Impact of health and safety quality culture in pioneer:
With the implementation of safety quality culture in pioneer many things were figured out which were in favour of pioneer success. They are:
Employees started paying more attention to their work
Get connected with new clients and new projects
Lower accidents (reduced by 40%)
Produced quality results within the given time.
Maintained good health
Absence of employees in pioneer was below 4 %
Profits were up by 10 %
Employees started logging in and logging out at time.
Conclusion:
In this assignment I have tried to identify the personal skills required of managers to achieve strategic ambitions of my organization.
Though personal development as a strategic manager and constructing and implementing personal development plan at pioneer is an important activity which supported the strategic ambitions, yet in the wake of global economic, demographic, and technological changes there is a dire need to inculcate some strategic changes in some of the above discussed areas that form the basis of personal development planning for the strategic managers.