My Leadership Skills and Personal Development

The concept of lifelong learning is as relevant now as it has ever been, with the traditional job for life being replaced by shorter periods of work for different firms requiring essentially the same skills and qualities in employees. Therefore the ability for these skills to be transferable is very important. To develop these skills therefore is extremely important with many employers putting greater emphasis upon these core skills and less emphasis upon specific skills. These skills can be used in many different situations and circumstances to allow the employee to perform to the best of their ability. The concept of work is continuously changing. An individual not only has several jobs in a lifetime but may also have several careers. Therefore everybody needs continuous updating of skills and competence throughout their working life.

The following skills are widely considered to be Core Transferable Skills

Organizational Skills

Interpersonal/ Social Skills

Analytic and Problem Solving Skills

Teamwork

Creativity

Self-Motivation

Initiative and Leadership

The learning curve

It is these skills that have been particularly important to develop whilst at university and it is the experience of university both academically and socially that has provided the ideal environment for these skills to be developed. The combination of leaving home and adapting to a completely different environment both educationally and socially has meant that the learning curve especially in the first semester was very steep. To live away from home for the first time without any contacts in an unknown city is a life changing experience and forces oneself to adept and mature quickly after leaving the security of the family home. Being entirely responsible for you is also a new experience requiring maturity and forward thinking as well as planning to enable yourself to function.

The way in which these skills have been developed forms the backbone for lifelong learning, one which employers recognize and actively seek in graduates.

Lifelong learning defined

The concept of lifelong learning is complex and is not easily defined resulting in no unilateral definition, however its importance is widely agreed.

The development of these skills both as part of the BA Business Management Degree and the wider University experience is key to becoming an attractive employee This is particularly so as years two and three of the Degree are “in company” so the development of these skills and the pace at which these must be developed is crucial. This report will aim to reflect upon my first year experience and where appropriate utilize activities, questionnaires and assignments in an attempt to build a personal development review and action plan for the proceeding 12 months in the form of a personal development plan.

Taking Personal Responsibility For The Learning Process

The biggest contribution to taking responsibility for the learning process was the decision to further my learning at university. This decision has allowed myself the opportunity to further my learning both academically and socially in ways that I would be unable to had I not made the decision to attend university. Also the decision to accept my place on the BABM course was another way in which I have demonstrated my personal responsibility for learning. The course is intense for each of the three years, more so than most undergraduate courses and the decision to accept a place on this course rather than other courses where workload and intensity were less was important. The course aims to enrich individuals with far greater experience both academically and in terms of transferable skills therefore by choosing BABM I feel I have made the best possible choice to continue my learning in the most relevant way providing me with higher levels of transferable skills than other graduates may have.

Taking responsibility for myself

To be able to take responsibility for the learning process I have had to take responsibility for myself and become more accountable to myself in terms of making myself work harder and setting aside time in which to work. . University work is very different to that I have encountered before in terms of deadlines are much longer, scope for research is much larger, less specific titles to assignments etc so being accountable for myself is very important.

Time management

Because the work is very different to that experienced before I have had to manage my time in a much more responsible manner to enable me to fulfill my potential, progress, and attain the best possible marks for myself. Examples of where I have managed my time effectively are physically difficult to produce as the BABM timetable is extremely varied from week to week so to produce a timetable where work and free time could be planned in advance was very difficult to do. Undoubtedly time management and grades are very much linked and my grades for semester 1 and those received thus far for semester 2 have been good and I feel this has been partly due to my good time management skills. My peer assessment feedback included 5 of 6 people stating that I was well organized and three out of 6 stating that I was disciplined. This is included in appendix 1.

Taking responsibility for learning

The DLBM debate where our topic was “interviews are the most unreliable method of selection” required ourselves to complete a large amount of research. Our group split into two and four with the latter researching that I was a part of. The grade we received for this was high 70% and showed the level of research the group had done and is typical of myself being keen to take responsibility for learning.

References

Cervone, D, Shadel, W, Smith, R & Fiori, M 2006, “Self-Regulation: Reminders and Suggestions from Personality Science” Applied Psychology” an International Review, 55 (3), pp.333-385.

Daft, RL 1999, Leadership Theory and Practice, Harcourt, Inc., USA.

Gibson, P 2004, “Where to from here? A narrative approach to career counseling”, Career Development International, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 176-189.

Mastrangelo, A, Eddy, E & Lorenzet S 2004, “The importance of personal and professional leadership” The Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Vol. 25 No.5, pp.435.

Wright, P 1996, “What Leaders Read1: Managerial Leadership”, National College for School Leadership, 2003 edition, Prentice Hall, UK.