The current trends in the people practice profession show that today, the most demanded personal qualities in this field are the flexibility of thinking and the ability to behave in accordance with the situation. A true people practice professional can and should quickly adapt to the changing conditions and build new skills on the go, as well as see the “big picture” and be able to strategize their actions.
Thus, I see my personal development as not only the improvement of formal intelligence (measured by traditional IQ) but also the cultivation of emotional intelligence (measured by EQ). Emotional literacy should become the same norm for everyone as the ability to read, and, as a professional, I must master emotional intellect. I strive to develop my self-awareness and self-control, empathy, interpersonal skills, and the ability to motivate myself and others and lead people. To do this, I read evidence-based academic literature on this topic, as well as engaged in volunteering projects such as event planning for animal shelters and community support work.
The role of the people who practice professionalism in business and management activities is growing. Such a professional not only works with staff but also participates, together with senior management, in creating an internal personnel management policy and is responsible for its implementation. Often, a people practice professional becomes a conductor of new ideas, introduces management to advanced methods of personnel management, and develops a mission corporate culture of the enterprise. In addition, these competencies include creating a favorable psychological climate in the team, holding corporate events, assisting in the adaptation of new employees, creating a personnel development program, organizing, and, if necessary, conducting training. In order to improve my knowledge of managing human capital and organizational culture, I have attended free online courses on Stepik and Khan Academy platforms. The information I learned during these courses helped me grow my knowledge base and provided me with new insights into the field, which I can apply to my own experience and practice as a professional.
I like to think that I implement the concept of statesmanship in my actions as a people professional. The moral act of statesmanship calls on the personal qualities of a leader and their ability to dare and take action. Purposefulness, adherence to principles, and awareness of their relevance to society are integral qualities of a leader, and I always try to foster these traits in myself. I think that leaders capable of being statesmen are essential for the successful management of modern enterprises in conditions of high uncertainty and high speed of ongoing transformations. It is these leaders who can effectively carry out modernization and introduce innovations.
Thus, I try to be open-minded, motivate, and inspire my peers not only through my words but with my actions. The main task of a leader is to “ignite,” inspire, and arouse readiness for action, and intelligence or logic alone is unlikely to cope with this. According to Longenecker and Mallin (2019), to achieve this effect, the leader should possess emotional intelligence and 360° communication skills. These traits give the leader the power to influence people in different ways. As Issah (2018), “a key determinant to the level of success is the degree to which the leader is able to communicate a need for the change to members of the organization” (p. 2).
I foster this commitment in myself by attending seminars and training as a speaker or coach, showing my expertise in the field, and providing people with the basis for positive change. It helps me see the most common issues and problems people experience in their working environment and strengthen my own practical skills by educating others.
The long-term goal that I have set for myself is to continue my education in all the ways possible. Lejeune et al.’s (2017, p. 1086) study results confirm “the importance of setting learning goals and including informal learning activities.” I try to attend as many offline additional courses and vocational education programs as possible to keep up with the constant changes in the field of people practice. Online courses, while convenient and comfortable, often do not provide many practical experiences and assessments, focusing more on the theoretical base. I have always thought that almost every person engaged in intellectual work understands the need for self-development. Summers (2017, p. 21) suggests that “rationalization is a profound challenge to our moral assessments of actions and agents and to our self-understanding and self-improvement.” By meeting and engaging with other professionals, I establish a strong network and exchange experiences, learn new information about the field, and gather insight on how to further facilitate my self-development.
References
Allen, S. et al., 2018. Exploring a model of servant leadership, empowerment, and commitment in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 29(1), pp.123–140.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2022) Ethical practice and the role of people professionals: Factsheets, CIPD. Web.
Issah, M. (2018) “Change leadership: The role of emotional intelligence,” SAGE Open, 8(3), p. 215824401880091.
Lejeune, C., Beausaert, S. and Raemdonck, I. (2018) “The impact on employees’ job performance of exercising self-directed learning within Personal Development Plan Practice,” The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(5), pp. 1086–1112.
Longenecker, C.O. and Mallin, M.L. (2019) “Key leadership skills of great sales leaders,” Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 34(3), pp. 7–10.
Mitra, J., 2020. Entrepreneurship, innovation and regional development an introduction, London, UK: Routledge.
Shore, L.M., Cleveland, J.N. & Sanchez, D., 2018. Inclusive workplaces: A review and model. Human Resource Management Review, 28(2), pp.176–189.
Summers, J.S. (2017) “Post hoc ergo propter hoc: Some benefits of rationalization,” Philosophical Explorations, 20(sup1), pp. 21–36.