Introduction
Professional growth is an intrinsic element of oneâs development, which has to be encouraged and fostered using innovative approaches and strategies. Being a multilateral notion that encompasses a wide range of issues, the subject matter requires a careful analysis of one’s assets and weaknesses, as well as a well-thought-out strategy for fostering professional development based on the key tenets of appropriate theories. Therefore, the assessment of oneâs progress and the identification of the further steps to be taken to proceed with professional development is essential. The goal of this paper is to take retrospect into the positive change that has occurred to me as a team leader and an expert in the selected field, thus inferring essential information about the further stages of my evolution as a leader and a professional.
The portfolio starts with the reflection on the skills that have been gained during the practice. Afterwards, the analysis of these skills and the manner in which they can be used to further the progress and prompt a positive change will be provided. A concluding statement with a summary of the key information will close the essay, followed by a list of references to the sources used in the paper. Finally, appendices including a more detailed report about the key skills and how they were acquired are offered.
Self-Development Reflections
Teamwork
The experience of being a team leader has provided a plethora of thought-provoking insights into the notion of leadership and the importance of establishing proper communication channels to promote interdisciplinary cooperation between team members. As a result, the efficacy of the corporate performance rises exponentially, with each of the departments collaborating with others to ensure that data flows uninhibitedly. The information received by each of the departments informs the strategies that its managers adopt, thus allowing an organization to adapt to the ever-changing setting of the global market (Madrid, Totterdell, Niven, & Barros 2016). Specifically, it has become obvious that the introduction of teamwork-oriented values is critical to the performance within a supply chain. For instance, the processes of procurement and transportation become very difficult to perform unless the communication channels within a supply chain work flawlessly. The latter component of a supply chain, in turn, is activated only once teamwork is arranged properly.
Delays might seem a minor issue in the global context, yet, when multiplied and added to the constant misinterpretations of data and the following frustration of team members, they are likely to affect the overall performance of a supply chain significantly. Therefore, the promotion of teamwork is intrinsic to the effective performance of a company. As a leader, one should consider enhancing teamwork not only within separate departments but also across an organization, thus prompting an interdisciplinary dialogue. The resulting shift in the workplace dynamics and the quality of performance will allow for a positive change.
The problem of conflict management and the understanding of the participantsâ needs were particularly important lessons learned in the course of the project. Conflicts will occur in any team, no matter how careful in their communication, its members are. Therefore, it is imperative to learn to manage conflicts and use them as the platform for improving communication and relationships within a team. While it is important to create an environment that will involve as few impediments to successful communication as possible, one should also learn the strategies of negotiation and the skills required to help the participants to reconcile their differences. Furthermore, the issue of emotional labour as an important part of the process of conflict management was explored. It became evident that team members have to be honest with themselves about their emotions in order to overcome conflicts and related situations and create an environment that facilitates successful conflict management.
Thus, the experience of being a leader of a team has given a range of insights into the process of conflict management. For a leader, it is essential to develop the skills required for recognizing team membersâ emotions and foster mutual understanding and collaboration. For this purpose, the integration of emotional intelligence (EI) skills and emotional competence (EC) abilities, in general, will be required (Carson, Carson & Birkenmeier 2016). The specified tools allow for a profound connection with staff members and the promotion of corporate values to them as the platform for decision-making in the organizational context. With the introduction of EI and EC tools, a leader will encourage employees to develop behaviours that allow them to contribute to the companyâs progress. Consequently, the application of the specified strategies will cause a gradual improvement within the organizational setting. Specifically, a better understanding between employee and managers will entail greater engagement levels and a rise in job satisfaction levels among the staff.
The significance of teamwork is critical for the professional development of a leader since it will reduce the threat of misunderstandings, conflicts, and data mismanagement in the workplace. Learning to incorporate various models for managing teamwork, a leader will develop the flexibility and understanding of staff membersâ needs required for building engagement and increasing performance rates within a team. For example, it is crucial for a leader to learn to apply the frameworks such as Tuckmanâs Team Model (TTM), which sheds light on the workplace dynamics and the concept of managing relationships between participants.
With the understanding of how teamwork management models work, a leader can discover the strategies for a homogenous development of all participants of a team, including the leader themselves (Logan 2016). By transferring to the stage of teamwork management that involves personal discovery and development, a leader gains the potential to launch the process of continuous professional growth (Beddoes & Panther 2017). The shift toward unceasing professional development will also require that the progress made by team members should be even and that their skill levels should match each other and the new set of demands. Therefore, a leader has to consider teamwork as an important aspect of managing processes within a firm.
Time Management and Critical Thinking
Apart from arranging human resources and promoting professional development among employees, a leader should also concern themselves with the issue of deadlines. As stressed above, handling time constraints is an essential part of being a leader since delays pose massive impediments to the functioning of a supply chain. As a result, the performance of an entire organization may be halted (Lantz Friedrich, Sjöberg & Friedrich 2016). Furthermore, the skills of time management will become very helpful in addressing the problem of workplace stress and the associated concerns. Indeed, without an effective time management approach, one is likely to create an environment that will hamper the productiveness of employees.
For example, in a setting where time constraints are very rigid and where employees are under the consistent pressure of deadlines, performance rates are expected to drop (Grissom et al., 2015). Furthermore, even in the settings where time frames are reasonable yet also very rigid, the levels of enthusiasm among staff members may be rather low (Einarsen et al., 2016). The observed tendency is explained by the lack of flexibility and employeesâ agency in the management of time (Meng & Berger 2019). By utilizing a more flexible approach toward time management and expanding the roles of employees in handling the issue of the deadline, a leader is likely to improve the results delivered within a team.
Finally, the concerns associated with time management should also be linked to the individual needs and characteristics of staff members. As a leader, one has to be fully aware of the specific needs and performance characteristics of employees, thus building the workplace environment in which they can use their potential to the maximum. As a leader, one has to interact with the team members actively and receive regular feedback from the participants to ensure that their needs are fully met; otherwise, the quality of performance will inevitably drop. Therefore, to manage time within the target setting effectively, a leader will have to perform several roles, which include the inspirational one, the communicational one, and the educational one. To encourage employees to meet the set deadlines, a leader will have to offer them tools for effective time management, which include not only IT and ICT devices but also education about time management strategies. In addition, a leader has to become the example that others can follow, thus changing their behaviours and attitudes toward their job and workplace responsibilities. Put differently, to handle the problem of time management and the relevant issues; a leader will need to adopt the Transformational Leadership approach and shape the company’s vision toward a people-oriented one, allowing employees to grow professionally.
The application of the Situational Leadership framework will also be required to encourage a shift in employees’ perspective of time and enhance the significance of the desirable workplace behaviours and attitudes. While the Transformational approach will be needed at the earliest stages of launching the change, a leader will have to retain flexibility and adjust their choice of strategies in accordance with the internal and external factors. Thus, one will be able to launch the process of lifelong learning among staff members, engaging them in the acquisition of time management skills and helping them to train other skills associated with the management of their workplace responsibilities.
Moreover, to ensure that time is managed properly in the workplace, a leader will need to consider the HR strategies used in the selected setting. Problems in meeting deadlines may be linked to the poor allocation of responsibilities and tasks among employees without regarding the unique characteristics of team members. As long as a manager is aware of the qualities of their employees and their abilities, time issue can be handled comparatively easily.
The ability to think critically is another skill that allows one to distinguish a good leader. Time is an important asset of which a leader should be fully in control in order to maintain the performance rates within a team at the necessary level. The application of critical thinking skills allows a leader to switch between different areas of focus, thus addressing workplace issues based on the merit of their weight and overall significance. For instance, with the application of critical thinking skills, a leader can explore the correlation between the self and business-related concerns (Jiang & Yang 2015). Thus, opportunities for improving corporate performance can be created. In addition, the consideration of the connection between the self and a workplace team will inform a leader about the possible changes in the workplace dynamics and the problems within the organizational hierarchy (Boamah et al., 2018). The resulting change in power and its exertion in the corporate setting will entail a rise in staffâs engagement and motivation levels, aspiring them to attain the set goals.
Skills Reflection
Continuous development is a crucial requirement for a leader due to the necessity to provide an example for all team members and maintain the ability to improve and enhance team performance. Therefore, building a set of skills that will become the platform for the development of new competencies and encourage a leader to engage in lifelong learning should be seen as a priority. Over the course of my personal and professional growth, I have gained quite a few skills that will serve as the foundation for my future improvement. Among the key abilities that deserve a mentioning, I must refer to lifelong learning and time management, which have helped me to become proficient in a range of areas.
It is difficult for me to spot a particular point in my life when I learned a specific skill, mostly due to the fact that nearly all of these abilities are a result of a lifelong journey to personal and professional improvement. For example, the ability to manage time developed at a rather early age when I noticed the correlation between the presence of priorities and the amount of time spent accomplishing the assigned tasks. Afterwards, I started perfecting the skill of creating an action plan for arranging tasks, which was an unconscious intention at first and then developed into a deliberate effort.
However, there are certain skills that I developed applying a conscious effort, the one linked to managing information being a clear example. While communication has never been a problem for me, I used to have problems ensuring that the required data was delivered to all participants and was not distorted in the process. Even with the introduction of innovative IT and ICT tools, the specified issue persisted until I reconsidered the framework for acquiring, processing, and delivering information to key stakeholders. For instance, I have learned to keep the key data concise and avoid any instances of my messages carrying double meaning. As a result, the process of data management improved significantly for me. In addition, I learned to integrate IT and ICT tools into the process of handling data and to distribute it among team members, thus ensuring that all stakeholders remain aware of the crucial details of changes within a certain setting.
The issue of data management was linked directly to the skill of critical thinking. However, the ability to perceive information critically and view it through an objective lens is another skill that I acquired at a comparatively young age and have been perfecting ever since there was a point in my personal development when I entered a new stage of information management. With the opportunities that IT and ICT technologies have opened, I seized the opportunity to control information transfer between team members as a leader and ensure that the people involved receive only verified information. Thus, the problem of miscommunication or misinterpretation of information was minimized to the lowest point possible, making the process of handling data even more secure and effective.
However, being a leader, I feel that there are areas that require further improvement for me to become an impeccable leader. For example, the ability to manage conflicts could use certain improvements due to my propensity to avoid them altogether instead of facing them as a leader. Although the avoidance strategy can be applicable to certain environments, it is crucial for a team leader to develop the ability to resolve conflicts. Moreover, it is even more important to be able to learn from confrontations in the workplace to prevent similar scenarios from occurring in the future. Therefore, to assume the position of a leader, I will have to acquire the skills needed to reconcile the participants of a workplace conflict and assist them in managing their differences.
Conclusion
To attain corporate goals and ensure that the set objectives are met, one needs to establish the principles of teamwork and promote the concept of interdisciplinary collaboration to participants. Moreover, the ability to manage the available time properly and scrutinize information critically is essential for the enhancement of workplace performance, as the personal experience described above has shown. For the successful accomplishment of workplace goals, it is essential to introduce the notions of collaboration and cohesive task management. Therefore, as a leader, one should implement the policies of interprofessional teamwork to increase effectiveness levels. In addition, using digital tools for managing time more effectively, as well as enhance the data management process, has proven to be very effective to handle the described difficulties.
The job of creating the platform for teamwork is linked directly to the problem of information management and the levels of job satisfaction within a team. Therefore, as a leader, one should create the conditions under which staff members are willing to work and which they find satisfactory. With the efforts of a manager directed at shaping the organizational culture respectively, one can expect positive dynamics in the workplace relationships, which, in turn, will affect the quality of the staffâs performance.
Appendix A: Self-Development Plan
Appendix B: Skills Audit
Academic Life
Personal and Working Life
Reference List
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