Personal Professional Development Essay

In this section of the report I will explain the importance of continual self  development and implement my own personal development plan (PDP) in line with my organisations objectives. To achieve this I will review the requirements of my employer and its clients and review my own personal needs and determine the skills and knowledge I will need to meet them. I will assess the gaps in my current skills and knowledge in line with the organisational objectives. I will identify my personal learning objectives and start filling those gaps and propose the actions for achieving these objectives. My PDP will be SMART and include measures for success, resources required and target dates for review and completion where appropriate. Continuous self-development is a process in which people take responsibility for their own learning. Self-development can be defined as Maintaining and continuing to improve and develop knowledge and competencies which can improve your performance in the workplace. Developing specific qualities and skills Advancing your full potential as a person by been proactive According to Pedlar et al, (2007) they believe that â€Å"Self-development is personal development, with the person taking primary responsibility for their own learning and for choosing the means to achieve this. Ultimately, it is about increasing your capacity and willingness to take control over and be responsible for events†(p30). As demonstrated by Pedlar et al. (2007) self development is about an individual been proactive and developing their learning capacity by empowering themselves to take control of their own learning and be responsible for it. Another important factor linked to self-development is Developing Greater Self-Awareness. Goleman suggests that self-awareness involves: Emotional self awareness: recognising your emotions and the impact they have on your life. Accurate self-assessment: identifying your strengths and limitations. Self-confidence: knowing yourself worth and capabilities. By improving self awareness we can create opportunities for a better work  life balance , become aware of our emotions, and improve our ability to respond to change. These qualities will enhance the performance of a manager and is important to include these elements when developing a PDP. For continual self-development to take place an individual has to determine how and by what means is required to achieve continual self-development in achieving organisational objectives. According to Martin (2005) â€Å"An organisation is a group of individuals and as individuals develop, so do the organisations that employ them† Martin (2005) suggests Organisations give importance to continual self-development because it is effective for organisations in terms of achieving organisational objectives if the employees develop then so does the organisation. It is important that the business plan objectives of the organisation are taken into consideration when building a Personal Development Plan, as any personal development should complement the organisation’s plans. If people don’t continually self-develop and perform to meet organisational objectives the organisation does not develop and perform to met the organisational objectives. The organisation can become stagnant and fail to achieve the overall strategic company outcome to be financially viable and show a profit. It is important to continually self-develop so an individual can succeed in maintaining their position within the organisation but also to progress and achieve organisational objectives. An example of continual self-development in achieving organisational objectives is to maintain organisational legislation for instance the Health and Safety law. If the individual in the organisation who is responsible for the health and safety law does not comply with the health and safety rules, it could increase the chance that individuals may be hurt. It could also increase the chance that the organisation could be fined for health and safety violations, or that the individual responsible for this role could be suspended or fired for putting the organisation and its employees at unnecessary risk. An example of my continual self-development in achieving  organisational objectives is to continually ensure I am current and up to date with my knowledge of funding eligibility, which is governed by the Skills funding Agency (SFA). If I do not develop my understanding of new legislation set by the SFA the company can become at risk of not meeting the set contractual requirements. This can have a detrimental effect on the company which could lead to loss of revenue or loss of contracts which in turn could result in staff becoming unemployed. To summarise, the performance of employees is directly linked to organisational performance hence the achievement of organisational objectives. The performance of employees can be improved through the continuous self-development process which clarifies the importance of continual self development within an organisation. Personal development plans (PDPs) provide a powerful and flexible way to link employee’s professional and personal development with the development of the organisation. My job role within Intertrain is the National contracts & compliance manager intertrain’s organisational chart is presented in appendix 1 to demonstrate my management role within the organisation. To be able to assess and plan for personal professional development a process needs to take place. It is important in learning new skills or developing new competencies that they are planned and structured. I will use Kolb’s learning cycle as the structure for my PDP, this will implemented to assess and reflect on my current experiences and skills. This will then in turn allow me to review and identify the development opportunities and then test them out and reflect what has been learnt in meeting organisational objectives.