How an individual can develop

1 Continuing professional development

Continuing professional development (CPD) is the ongoing process of maintaining and improving professional knowledge, skills, ethics and competence after initial qualification. A professional should identify learning needs, complete relevant activities, keep evidence or records and evaluate how the learning improves performance. CPD is especially important when standards, legislation and technology change.

1.1 Barriers to effective time management

• Poor prioritisation: rank tasks by importance, urgency and dependency.

• Lack of assertiveness or inability to say no: explain priorities, negotiate deadlines and challenge unfair workloads.

• Inability to delegate: allocate suitable work with clear authority, instructions and follow-up.

• Interruptions and unplanned demands: protect focused time, manage notifications and agree contact arrangements.

• Procrastination: break work into smaller actions, start with a defined first step and use interim deadlines.

• Poor planning or unrealistic estimates: plan ahead, allow contingency time and review estimates against experience.

• Disorganisation: use a consistent filing, task and calendar system.

1.2 Technology and personal effectiveness

Calendars and reminders support scheduling; task and project tools help prioritise and track work; shared documents and collaboration platforms improve coordination; templates and automation reduce routine work; and communication tools enable timely contact. Technology should be used selectively, because excessive notifications and information overload can reduce effectiveness.

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2 Personal development plans

The feeling that you are developing, getting better, acquiring skills and advancing your knowledge is usually regarded as a great motivator. A personal development plan is a clear developmental action plan for an individual which will usually incorporate a wide set of ambitions, both technical and softer skills (such as better communication skills).

Personal development may require formal training, such as a course or it may require informal training, such as simply getting the correct work experience. The aim of action plans for individuals is first to improve their performance in their existing job and, secondly, seeking to improve skills and competences in future jobs or in future career steps.

It’s important to try to acquire transferable skills. These are skills of wide applicability, such as a competence using excel or competence in public speaking. A transferable skill increases employability and will increase the chance that an employee will be able to arrange a change in career direction if he or she wants to. Finally, and importantly, there is personal growth. We all want to move towards jobs and occupations that we’re interested in, that we feel is worthwhile and that is rewarding.

However, you need to set a plan and there is no point in just having vague wishes. The word “SMARTER” can help you set a proper action plan.

• Specific.     You should set specific plans; in other words, something specific like perhaps learning Spanish. You can’t simply say I want to be better at my job.
  

• Measurable.     Simply saying learning Spanish isn’t good enough. It’s not quite saying to what standard we’re going to learn it. So we have to be even more specific and set a standard. So perhaps we align our progress with standard examinations and then we can measure how we’re getting on.
  

• Agreed.     We have to agree the plan with ourselves and certainly with our teachers, and perhaps with our superiors so that everyone is behind the plan.
  

• Realistic.     It must be realistic and achievable. There is no point in setting an ambition that stating we’re going to be like a native Spanish speaker within a year. Almost certainly we’re going to fail and that’s deeply demotivating.
  

• Time-bound.     It has to be time-bound. In other words we’re going to say how we’re going on by six-months, one year, two years.
  

• Evaluate.     We have to evaluate how we’ve gone on.
  

• Review.     We have to review our plan. Perhaps it’s too ambitious or not ambitious enough. Remember if the plan is not reviewed it is likely to become irrelevant and to become ignored. Then we are really wasting our time.
  

3 Competence/competency frameworks

A competency frameworks is a method of describing the values, skills and abilities that are required to perform given roles. Competency frameworks also provide clear focus to support the development of staff in order to deliver the best possible performance.

Typically, to define a framework for a given role, there will be a general description of the competency followed by a list of attitudes, behaviours, skills and abilities that would indicate competence in the relevant area.

There can also a negative statement at the end of each competency to indicate the sort of behaviour that is actively discouraged as it works against the principle of continual improvement an organisation is striving for.

Competency frameworks serve several purposes which help organisations to recruit, improve and develop their staff, products and services. They can also be used by individuals to analyse and tack their own competences and development needs.

Competency frameworks:

• Inform prospective recruits what is expected of them
  

• Inform staff of the sort of attitudes, behaviours and skills the organisation encourages when carrying out their duties
  

• Inform staff of what they can expect from their managers
  

• Can be used to shape and define the organisational culture based around strong principles of acceptable and expected behaviour
  

• Support and guide staff at all levels in their development in order maximise their potential
  

The frameworks should link to some of the key strategies that drive the objectives of the organisation as these are crucial to success. The frameworks will normally be built into appraisal methodologies and the recruitment process.

4 Time management

Time management is an important skill in the workplace. It starts by setting goals which are SMART: specific, measurable, agreed, realistic, time-bound. These overall goals can then be broken down into specific action plans, perhaps a to-do list, a list of things you’re going to do that day or that week, deadlines to be put into your diary. You have to prioritise results and tasks and this has to be kept flexible. What do we really have to do today? What could we postpone to tomorrow if there is a problem?

Remember that there is a difference between what is important and what is urgent. Important tasks have to be done but they don’t necessarily have to be done today. Urgent tasks really ought to be done today but if they’re not done the world isn’t going to end. By considering tasks which are important and tasks which are urgent we can prioritise what we have to do. Certainly at the head of the list are those tasks which are both important and urgent.

Part of prioritisation is to sequence tasks but also the sequencing of task has a logic associated with it. There are some things that we simply can’t do before other things have been accomplished.

Poor time management will mean that:

• Deadlines are missed (and this can sometimes incur financial penalties)
  

• Time is wasted
  

• Colleagues are irritated as, by missing your deadline, you force them to miss theirs or force them adapt to your shortcomings
  

• Clients will think that you and your organisation are incompetent.

5 Coaching, mentoring and counselling

Coaching, mentoring, and counselling are important aspects of many modern businesses.

Coaching is a way of providing training. Instead of going to a formal course you sit beside or watch or be supervised by an experienced employee who helps you in your day-to-day tasks in a work environment. For example, the first day the coach is likely to be with you most of the time. But once you’ve learned the task to the coach’s satisfaction you’ll be trusted to get on with it - although you’re likely to be reviewed. Coaching is sometimes preferred to formal training because it is more likely to be very relevant to your job and your work situation. It’s sometimes known as ‘on-the-job’ training.

A mentor isn’t really someone who is training you in how to do your job. A mentor is like a friend at work, someone who looks after your interests. In particular a mentor shouldn’t be your boss. You should feel free to be able to approach a mentor with problems you’re having at work which could include problems with the relationship with your boss. There is a long-term relationship with your mentor, someone to whom you can go in times of difficulty.

A counsellor provides guidance; though much counselling is what’s known as ‘non-directional counselling’. Providing guidance is not quite the same as giving advice. A counsellor is unlikely to say ‘I think you should do something’. A counsellor is more likely to say, ‘Well, you could do A or you could B What do you feel abut those two options, which do you prefer?’ The aim of all of these is to increase productivity, efficiency, job satisfaction and comfort levels within the organisation.

6 Conflict

6.1 Sources of conflict

Conflict can arise from the following causes:

• Personality differences, prejudice and value differences: Sometimes two employees simply do not get on or they have some sort of prejudice leading to animosity. Value differences can lead to disagreements over how tasks should be accomplished.
  

• Competition for resources: for example, the nicest office, the best assignment, the money needed for a new computer. Self-interest in competing for resources can lead to conflict.
  

• Poor definitions of roles and authority: for example, who is more senior or whose responsibility is that task?
  

• Poor communication; information conflicts: for example, a manager does not clearly prioritise and tasks leaving subordinates confused.
  

• Poor performance standards: for example, when an employer does not explain clearly what is expected from each employee and then is displeased when the subordinate ‘underperforms’.
  

• Poor procedures: for example, if sales staff cannot easily find how much inventory is in stock and so cannot give delivery undertakings to customers.
  

• Undue pressure: unrealistic work loads or time constraints on completing tasks.
  

6.2 Resolution of conflict

Conflicts can be dealt with in a number of ways, some more successful than others in achieving a long term solution:

• Avoiding: participants do not co-operative nor do they state what they want. The conflict festers and simmers as they all hope the problem will go away. This might be fine if the problem is trivial but larger issues might burst out later with greater force.
  

• Competing: each participant is determined to win. Whoever wins, the other loses. Probably not good in the long term.
  

• Accommodating: one party gives way relatively easily. The conflict ends but the solution might not be a good one. If there are two legitimate points of view, this approach can mean that the solution has not been properly challenged and alternatives not properly investigated.
  

• Collaborating: participants look for a win-win outcome where both sides of the conflict are examined and creative solutions are sought.
  

• Compromising: each party gives way on some elements of what they want. A middle - ground is sought. Care is needed to ensure that ‘muddle’ resulting from compromise is a viable solution.

• Another model of conflict resolution is that of Cyert and March, who suggested four approaches:
  

• Satisficing: hold negotiations between key participants (eg stakeholders, staff etc) to reach an accepted compromise. Each party achieves a ‘satisfactory’ outcome.
  

• Sequential attention: management ensures that participants ‘take turns’ to have their goals and objectives realised. For example, this year R&D get new lab equipment this year; next year employees get improved benefits.
  

• Side payments: when one party’s needs cannot be met initially, compensation (perhaps financial) is offered. For example, if a developer wants to build houses on a ‘green field site’ local people might be offered new school and sports facilities.
  

• Exercise of power: when a compromise or other resolution cannot be agreed upon then the conflict is ‘resolved’ by a senior figure exercising power to force through a decision.