Introduction
Zain is one of the largest telecommunication companies in the Middle East. Over the past two decades, the firm has managed to become the regional leader in the telecommunication industry. Its success has arisen from appreciation of best management practices. One of the aspects that the firm has incorporated in its strategic management practices entails becoming the employer of choice in the region. Thus, the firm is cognizant of the importance of developing its workforces’ talents.
As one of the firm’s managers, I am charged with responsibility of leading a team of 6 employees. The line manager has requested for a personal development plan prior to the firm’s annual appraisal. The personal development plan will form the basis upon which the firm will undertake talent development.
In this paper, a personal development plan [PDP] is outlined. The objective of a PDP is to detail the various activities that an individual intends to undertake in order to improve his or her talent, knowledge, health, and employability hence promoting one’s career. A discussion of the skills that I intend to develop in the course of executing my duties is given. This has been attained by ensuring that the intended personal development objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
An implementation plan for the identified personal development objectives has been developed. The resources and processes necessary for the implementation plan and the impact of the PDP on achievement of role requirements and organizational objectives are assessed. Moreover, the contribution of staff welfare responsibilities towards attainment of the overall organizational objective is discussed. A discussion on the relationship between staff welfare and organizational objectives and the process of assessing the staff welfare are conducted.
Finally, identification of actions to be taken by the manager in dealing with staff welfare issues , the method of communicating responsibilities to staff members and the records should be maintained to demonstrate that staff welfare is supported are explained.
Personal development plan
As an employee of Zain, I intend to develop a number of skills that will enhance attainment of my career as a manager. In the course of the year, I intend to focus on five main competence areas which include ability to understand internal and external business environment, leadership and people skills, planning and analytical skills, communication and influencing skills and leading and managing skills. The chart below illustrates the SMART framework outlining the personal development goals identified.
Implementation of the personal development plan
To achieve the outlined personal development objectives, a comprehensive implementation plan is necessary. The identified personal development objectives are paramount in my effort to attain my self-actualization goal. Thus, it is paramount for an effective implementation plan to be incorporated. The implementation plan details the action that will be undertaken with respect to the identified goal and the resources necessary ensure that the goal is attained. Additionally, the expected duration within which the identified action is expected to be completed has been outlined.
With regard to managing and leading change, more emphasis will be put on how to ensure effective and timely communication of the intended change to team members. The communication will be undertaken in such a manner that it does not impact the employees’ productivity negatively. As a result, possible resistance of the intended change by the employees will be minimized. To effectively develop this skill, the services of the line manager will be required. Alternatively, the firm can also decide to outsource the training services without. Duration of 3 months will be sufficient for the training.
To improve my ability to communicate and influence the team members in their duties, I will be required to develop effective collaboration skills. Additionally, I will also ensure that I develop sufficient teamwork and presentation skills. Some of the aspects that I will focus on relate to influencing the employees’ attitude towards their duties and colleagues positively. On the other hand, I will ensure that I develop a high level of interaction and coordination amongst the employees. To improve the likelihood of success in influencing the employees, I will ensure that I possess effective people skills. Some of the skills that I will consider include listening skills, speaking skills, negotiation skills and being a team member. Additionally, I will also ensure that the team members’ feelings towards work and personal issues are sufficiently addressed. This will go a long way in enhancing collaboration.
As one of the organizational managers, I am appreciative of the changes occurring within the telecommunication industry in the region. Consequently, I will ensure that I lead the team members in such a manner that they are also cognizant of market changes. To develop my leadership skills, I will consider adopting transformational leadership skills. One of the aspects that I will ensure entails giving the team leaders an opportunity to execute challenging tasks. This will culminate in development of a high level of job satisfaction amongst the team members. Thus, the likelihood of the team members being more productive hence attaining team roles will be increased.
To develop sufficient leadership skills, it is necessary that I attend local events organized on leadership. Thus, the firm will be required to allocate sufficient time and financial resources to facilitate attendance of such leadership conferences. This will increase the probability of gathering more skills on how to develop transformational leadership skills.
Ensuring that the team members comprehensively understand the perspective and purpose of their roles is essential in attainment of overall organizational goals. Poor communication is one of the major hindrances in attainment of organizational goals. This arises from the fact that the team members are left unclear on the relationship between their respective team roles and overall organizational goals. Thus, I will ensure that I incorporate effective communication and presentation skills. Thus, an effective communication tools will be required. Some of the communication and presentation tools that will be considered include intranet systems and PowerPoint presentation tools. Incorporating these tools will ensure a high level of interaction between the manager and the team members thus creating sufficient understanding of respective team roles, duties and responsibilities.
By promoting effective communication within the team, the probability of a high collaboration between the team members will be developed. One of the major benefits of creating such interaction is that it will culminate in creation of synergy within the team. The conducive team environment arising from employee collaboration will enhance knowledge sharing amongst the team members. This means that team members will benefit from each other hence improving their level of satisfaction and productivity hence promoting the organization’s overall performance.
In the course of executing my managerial duties, I am cognizant of the fact that the team may experience a number of issues emanating from the staff. Consequently, an effective mechanism to identify such issues is necessary. The mechanism to be used will entail assessing the level of collaboration; knowledge sharing and identification of possible conflict amongst employees will be instituted.
The level of collaboration will be evaluated by assessing the team members’ interaction patterns. As a result, it will be possible to determine whether the interaction is healthy or there is alienation of some team members. Such a behavior may result in poor performance amongst the alienated team members due to lack of job satisfaction.
On the other hand, effective conflict management mechanisms will be integrated. One of the conflict resolution mechanisms that will be incorporated entails integrating constructive-cooperative conflict management. This will be attained by creating a pro-social environment whereby all the team members discuss their individual views regarding team goals, mission and tasks. This will play a critical role in establishing a common ground for executing the various tasks thus minimizing future conflicts. The resultant effect is that a positive team identity will be established. Moreover, creating such an environment will play a critical role in promoting creativity, innovation and knowledge transfer.
As the manager, I will ensure that interpersonal incompatibilities amongst team members do not result in disagreements that might injure the possibility of future cooperation. This will play a significant role in eliminating task conflicts hence promoting divergent views and opinions that are vital in the survival of the team. Additionally, the manager will also ensure that relationship conflicts do not adversely affect the team’s operation. This will be attained by resolving interpersonal disagreements such as animosity amongst team members, annoyance and possible tension. This will aid in minimizing anxiety and stress levels amongst team members which can adversely affect team members’ performance.
Being a team leader, I appreciate the fact that my actions should contribute towards development of each team member. To undertake effective employee development, it is vital for an organization to conduct a comprehensive employee appraisal. To aid in the process of undertaking the same, I will ensure that a comprehensive record on team members’ performance in their respective tasks and responsibilities is maintained. The record will detail a number of aspects such as the effectiveness and degree of success with which individual team members complete their tasks. Additionally, a record on the team members’ effectiveness in collaborating and sharing knowledge with other team members will be maintained. Such records will play an important role in the process of the firm undertaking its annual employee appraisal.
Conclusion
As a manager, I realize that the labor market has become very competitive over the past few decades. Consequently, it is paramount for one to ensure that he or she is competitive. One of the ways through which this can be attained is by focusing on personal development. Thus, the importance of designing a personal development plan cannot be underestimated. By implementing the above personal development plan, the probability of attaining my career and professional goals will be improved. This arises from the fact that I will be able to focus on specific areas that I consider most important in my role as a manager and team leader. By focusing on the aforementioned personal development goals, the likelihood of becoming more effective and efficient in undertaking my leadership roles will be improved.
To ensure that the personal development goals identified are achieved, I will ensure that a continuous review on the progress of each goal is conducted. The review will be undertaken after every 3 months in order to identify possible deviations. This will create an opportunity to make the necessary adjustments.