Professional Development
- 1. Gaurav Pathania NMP-MDI, Gurugram Areas of Professional Development Development Area 1 - Emotional Intelligence-The ability, capacity, or to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. At Workplace • When receiving constructive feedback from colleagues, one should consider the response- what was said? What was the body language? How were the emotions? Knowing this will help adapt in similar situations and promote a mature response • Ask a trusted colleague for feedback on the communication style when we receive information that we don’t agree with • Write down the ‘triggers’ when we know our emotions will be raised – create an action plan on how to deal with these triggers and seek feedback from a trusted colleague on how the situation was handled • Identify a colleague who we think handles themselves well in challenging situations. Observe their behaviour over a period of time- what did they say? How did they react? And complete a gap analysis of where we are today and what we need to do differently to display these same behaviours. • Understand our own behaviour in different situations, once we understand this we can then adapt Development Area 2 - Impact and Influence - It is the ability to promote ideas persuasively, and shape the opinions of others overcoming resistance. It establishes influential contacts, builds consensus for action and negotiates mutually beneficial solutions from problems. At Workplace • We have to be aware of our behaviour in all situations – to be sure, consciously adapt your behaviour depending on the situation, and who you are interacting with. • Identify those specific colleagues that we naturally ‘avoid’ presenting ideas or information to, challenge ourselves to make opportunities to speak to them • If we are not successful in winning support for ideas, seek feedback from colleagues involved as to what we could have done differently and learn for next time. Write these actions down and to be conscious of these the next time we are in a similar situation. • When presenting new ideas – think about the best way to handle any objections or push back from colleagues- consider their preferred communication style Development Area 3 - Building our profile across the business lines – One should develop and maintain strong relations with stakeholders whose support, cooperation, and services are critical to the success of the company; Maintain a strong presence in the local community; Demonstrate leadership and relationship building skills. At Workplace • To be involved in (or lead) projects or focus groups • When a new project is started / a new task is implemented, speak to the colleagues - share best practices • For ideas that are shared globally get an understanding of how it has worked in our business line first- what challenges did they face? How did they get buy In and commitment from the team? What would they do differently this time?
- 2. Gaurav Pathania NMP-MDI, Gurugram • Let the successes of the team be celebrated - let colleagues know of our success Development Area 4 - Results Driven approach – To set high performance standards and to pursue aggressive goals. To strive for constant improvements, take responsibility for achieving business results, and perseverance despite obstacles. At Workplace • Lead a project of project team- set clear goals and timeframes and follow project through from start to finish • Implement an idea/process which helps the business line achieve a goal around one of the key metrics. • Set goals in place to achieve the specific respective portion of a business line target • Demonstrate a personal drive to achieve goals Development Area 5 - Financial Acumen- Analyse financials which drive revenue, future profitability, and maximum return on investment for owners’ Equity; To take responsibility for setting and achieving challenging financial goals while providing excellent output in terms of product development/service, marketing or any other business goal. At Workplace • Each month review the P&L report- with the line manager compare your results against budget and the same time last year • Spend time with Finance Department to understand how payroll costs are calculated and how to control these more effectively in the specific business line • Understanding where items fall on the P&L and how to code items within the business line Development Area 6 - Strategic Thinking- To know and understand what it takes to beat our competitors, both now and in the future. At Workplace • Analyse a business line goal; determine what it will look like in 2 years? What needs to be done for it to be effective in 2 years? Sustainable in 2 years? • Find a process in the business line, forget about how the things have been done in the past and if money was not an option what could have been done differently? How could it be made more effective? Consider the key stakeholders • Seek an opinion outside of the current industry- what is their view on the issue, how would their organisation go about solving this? Development Area 7 - Leading and Developing People - Build, motivate, and lead an effective team that delivers results and is highly engaged; Coaches and develops colleagues; Manages performance issues quickly, fairly, and effectively; Motivates and empowers colleagues to take independent action At Workplace • Focus the development- let a team member coach and mentor the rest - focus on that person, be consistent in the approach and create a plan for the development • Give regular feedback- when a correct behaviour is observed, give immediate feedback so as to reinforce what is right. Alternatively, give constructive feedback when the wrong behaviour is observed- show colleagues what is wrong and how they can alter their behaviour • Make a concerted effort to ‘teach’ colleagues something new at every opportunity
- 3. Gaurav Pathania NMP-MDI, Gurugram • Challenge your colleagues- put them out of their comfort zones- rotate tasks and responsibilities etc. Create an environment where people are continuously learning • Inspire self-development within the team- recommend interesting articles, books, magazines, website, competitor sites to try Development Area 8 – Time management At Workplace • Spend the first 10 minutes of every day planning your top 3 things that MUST get done that day - action these straight away • Schedule ‘planning’ time into a diary and commit to planning the week- leave on Friday afternoon knowing exactly what next week looks like • Beat procrastination by breaking big tasks into manageable pieces- schedule the task. • Learn how to make the emails work for YOU, read effective outlook techniques and put them into practice Development Area 9 – Effective Communication Skills At Workplace • Determine the preferred communication style for the colleagues – actively apply these techniques each time we communicate with that colleague. • Consider the best method to deliver the message- what impact do we need to have? Is it best delivered one on one, team meeting, email etc • Provide opportunities for colleagues to participate- share information, encourage others to share their views • Let us have an effective method for the team to receive information- to try different alternatives, seek feedback from the team. Once we know what works, be consistent and be sure to pass on the right information Development Area 10 – Delegation At Workplace • To consider the current tasks in our role, ask ourself who else might benefit from knowing how to do this? • Everytime a new project is given to the business line, consider who would benefit from being involved- be sure to match the task with the individual colleague and how they best learn • Ensure that whatever has been gets done- delegation is not palming off your jobs it is developing others • To coach colleagues who have been delegated tasks to; • Debrief at the completion of the project or task - what was done well, opportunities for improvement References 1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey 2. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman 3. Who moved my cheese by Dr Spencer Johnson 4. The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard 5. The 360 Degree Leader by John C Maxwell 6. The five dysfunctions of a team - A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni 7. 4 giant steps to Leadership by Ed Robinson