In order for any manager or leader to achieve the goals set for themselves as well as the goals set for the organization, possessing appropriate skills are most important aspect. Before we can understand the important of either managerial skills or leadership skills (both personal as well as professional skills), we need to understand as to what differentiates these two professional positions from each other.

Understanding the meaning of a leader- Leader is a person who not only helps the organization reach its goals but also helps to develop people at the same time. A leader is said to be a person who does the right things at the right time. Leadership is all about effectiveness. Leadership is all about innovation, inspiration and motivation.

Understanding the meaning of a Manager- A manager is an entity in organization who helps to direct the actions of the employees or the members to achieve the organizational goals. A Manager is all about doing the things right and its all about efficiency. Manager is all about managing the resources of the organization.

Understanding the common and unique differences between a leader and a manager will help us to understand the skills that are required in the organization:

A manager believes in administration whereas a leader goes for innovation.

Manager is all about organizing and scheduling but leadership is all about motivating the people in the organisation.

A manager at the end of the day has employees working under him or her but for a leader, they have people who wants to becomes like them in future.

A manager always ensures that the short term goals are achieved first but a leader wants to ensure that the short term goals are acheived in such a way that they help is achieving the long term goals.

A manager works to ensure the stability in the business but a leader looks out for changes that can bring about the stability in the business.

Personal and Professional Skills- Now as we know the difference between a manager and leader, we need to understand some of the personal and the professional skills that are important in an organization. Personal skills includes effective communication, being accountable and dependable, adaptable and appropriate work place behavior etc. Professional skills includes effective communication, time management, conducting and being part of meetings, managing stress at workplace, preparing appropriate presentations, management of performance and observation of performance, motivations and stabilization at work place.

In order to understand the Manager role in a professional environment we will focus on four major skills that every potential Manager is expected to possess in an organization and these skills are:

Time Management skills- Time is a very important aspect for any business. Effective management of time is essential for success of any organization or even a project. A manager can effectively manage time if they concentrate on the important aspects of the business or the organization first and then keep the other factors secondary.

Effective management of time not only helps us understand what many say – Time is money as well as stress reduction can be due to effective time management. (Marc Mancini, 2007)

There are many options available for managers to effectively manage there time, they need to understand the priority of the work that has been assigned to them and ensure that they are working efficiently to deliver the required work on time rather then wasting the time on some work which is currently not important. A manager can also manage time if the work has been organized and distributed properly.

If we take an example, Toyota works on the principle of JIT (Just in Time) and they are a very successful company known for there quality and on time work.

If a person can learn to effectively manage their time, they are on their way to achieve their goals. But before a person can learn to manage time, they need to be aware of the factors that can affect the time management. These factors will include Unorganized work format, inappropriate judgment for delivery of the work, Not giving the complete attention to the current work and delaying it by working on something else at the same time.

Conducting meetings- Conducting meetings or being part of the meetings are one of daily roles of a manager. Meeting is the forum through which gathered members or the people not only discuss and understand any situation but also try and develop ideas to decide on any issue. It is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that he or she carries and arranges meeting in such a way that the end result leads out to an effective meeting (be the purpose of the meeting was informal talk or formal data communication).

Depending on the reason or the purpose of the meeting, there can be many advantages that can be derived out of the meetings.

When ever there is any formal or informal meeting, the Manager always has an edge over the members of the meeting.

An effective manager utilizes meetings for not only relaying information to the co-workers but also to brain storm to generate ideas pertaining to there departments.

We need to always remember that in a meeting it is not necessary that all the members will come with the same opinion.

An effective manager uses the meeting as a forum to not only strengthen his team on the whole but also to give individual attention to the members of the team.

On the whole meetings always help to develop good work place environment through good working relations.

An effective manager is expected to have conducted an effective meeting if they have first and foremost achieved the main objective and idea behind conducting the meeting. In order to achieve this the manager needs to ensure that the members of the meeting are not only aware about the entire schedule of the meeting but also have information on the content of the meeting. An effective manager not only conveys all the information accurately but also ensures that the opinions of the members of the meeting is gathered at the end.

Preparing presentation- Preparing and giving presentation is another important skill that is required for any manager. Presentation skills are just not important for managers, it is an essential aspects in every field of work in today’s world. Presentation is a skills through a manager not only relays important information to the co-workers but also effectively utilizes various tools like Optics and graphics to get into the details of the information. In any company, presentations are used for meetings, discussing financial issues and even in senior board meetings. On the whole apart from the members of the presentation meeting the effectiveness of the presentation also is very critical.

How can a manager not only prepare but also deliver an effective presentation? There are some of the methods that can be implemented and utilised to get to the required results of the presentations. These points are as follows:

Every manager needs to ensure that they understand the importance of the presentation that they will be delivering and should be well prepared for it from before.

If we check on www.nwlink.com, an effective presentation should have a good content. By this it means that it should only contain the information that is relevant.

Every presentation should have a good format or structure- It should have a good start, middle and the end of the presentation.

Every presentations should ensure that it understands that viewpoint and connects to the people involved in the presentation.

Time is one of the most important aspect in presentations, the presenter needs to ensure that the time is utilized effectively in the presentation.

Stress management skills- Skills that help and aid in managing the stress effectively are known as stress management skills. In simple terms stress can be defined as the response that is generated by our body depending on positive or negative conditions of outside or inside pressure. If we ignore the conditions and reasons for the stress, it can lead to lack of concentration and and difficult to work.

Depending on the causes of the stress, they can be classified into different categories

Stress caused due to survival factor- People have heard that the survival of the fittest, and this can lead to serious stress among the people. This can be applied in personal or even professional place.

Stress caused due to internal or personal factors- This stress factors can be caused due to any personal reasons, financial problems, family problem anything.

Stress caused due to environmental factors- Some people cannot take certain changes in environment like loud noise, pollution and get stressed out easily.

Stress caused due to work place- People working in an organization get over worked and over tired and get stressed out.

Managing the stress at all these situations is extremely important.

Task 2. Practical Methods of development of above mentioned four skills

In this section we will cover some of the practical methods that can be utilized to develop the above discussed four important skills required for a successful Managership.

Methods for the development of Time Management Skills- Through the below mentioned methods we will learn to develop our time management skills and learn how to effectively and efficiently utilise the time.

Preparing a list that contains the information’s of the works in hand and needs attention can definitely help in managing the time.

Always keep idea about the time that needs to be spent on the completion of each task available.

Distribution of work also is another practical methods that can not only reduce stress but also save time for other task as well.

By ensuring that no additional work is undertaken unless the assigned work has been completed.

Always try and work in a team.

Ensure that the work is not postponed to another time and date.

Always be ready to say No other other including your Boss in case you already have enough work at your hand.

Methods for the developing the meeting Skills

In order to develop the meeting skills, manager needs to ensure that they understand the objectives and the purpose of the meeting.

Every action that is taken should always lead to the achievement of the goal of the meeting.

Ensure that the important information and data is discussed well within the time.

Ensure that the meeting content was valuable for every member of the meeting.

Always be well prepared and organized (time, agenda etc) for the meeting.

Ensure that the feedback is taken from the members regarding the meeting.

Methods for the development of presentation Skills

Just like meetings skills, ensure that the presenter is well organizedd and prepared for the meeting.

Ensure latest technologies are utilized to enhance the presentation (visual aids).

Always keep everyone involved in the presentation and keep eye contact with everyone while giving presentation.

Always ensure that you have practiced the presentation well in advance to avoid any anxiety.

Methods for the development of stress Management Skills

In order to develop the stress management skills, first learn to understand the reason which is leading to stressful situation.

Either you can avoid the things which are causing stress or try and adjust yourself to that situation which will reduce stress.

Another method is either to change the cause of stress or accept the cause of stress.

Always try and re-frame the issues leading to stress and try and distribute work which will reduce the workload stress.

Reward yourself when accomplishing any task, this can reduce the stress a lot.

Avoid negative methods to manage stress, adapt healthy way for stress management.

Outcome 2. Evaluation of Personal Skills through Audit

Task 3. Personal Skill auditing

Every person has there own way and approach of learning things in life, these approaches can be considered as the individual learning style. A manager is expected to understand there method and style of learning things and turning the negatives into positives. Individual specific learning style helps them to make and alter there weaknesses into their strength through every action that they take.

After long understanding and thinking, I can say that I have a Learning style which is combination of being “Theorist” as well as “Linguistic”.

Depending on my learning style, I have performed the below audit to highlight my strength and weaknesses.

Skills

Strength

Weakness

Organized

P

Communication

P

Time Management

P

Management of Stress

P

Delegation

P

Meetings and Presentations

P

Efficient and Self confident

P

Learning methodology

P

Interpersonal communication

P

Technological skills

P

Coaching and mentoring

P

Learn from experience

P

Logical thinking skills

P

We we take a look, we can clearly see that there are quite a few noticeable weakness in my learning style. These weakness can lead to non effective performance of the manager. The weakness are always a hindrance in a work place towards success. If we take a look at the people and the businesses which are currently blooming, they have got success as they have studied from there past experiences and changed their weakness into their strength. Performance in a business world is the key to success and survival. Now after understanding and performing the self audit for the skills, there weakness which can affect the development of the four skills mentioned earlier are:

Communication- Communicating in an effective way is crucial for manager. This weakness can affect all the four skills like Time management, Stress management, Meeting and presentations skills. Communication is the backbone for the proper development of the skills. A manager needs to communicate clearly about the work in hand and the time it will consume to reduce the stress later on. Communicating effectively is the main factor to turn the meeting and presentation important and meaningful.

Delegation- This is one weakness which can have an impact on Time management as well as Stress management development. A manager needs to learn to delegate work to reduce the self burden and lack of time.

Logical thinking skills- A manager needs to ensure that they think effectively for all possible reactions and reasons before taking any action. Taking action without thinking can create stress at work and management of stress can be serious issue which will involve lot of time.

Outcome 3. Personal Development plan

Task 4. Personal development plan

Before we can develop a personal development plan, we need to understand the importance of development plan.

What are the significant weakness in self?

I have performed the self skill audit to understand as to where I stand in terms of the skills I possess and the skills that needs to be developed and worked upon.

Why need personal Development plan?

If I want to become a successful manager, I need to ensure that there are not significant weakness in my professional and personal skills that can have a huge impact on my learning. No body can be perfect but at least we can try to be close to being perfect.

What I am targeting to achieve through the development plan?

I am targeting not only to maintain my current strength of skills but also convert my weakness into my strength to ensure that there is very less scope of weakness in future. I need to ensure that my learning style helps in this process.

The personal development plan should be aligned with SMART objectives and the self SWOT analysis. Objectives of SMART will ensure that I have developed a plan which is not only realistic but also time based, which I will be measuring and checking on time. I need to ensure that all the development plan is aligned to minimize my weakness.

My personal SWOT analysis:

Strength

Organized

Time Management

Management of Stress

Meetings and Presentations

Efficient and self confident

Learning methodology

Interpersonal communication

Technological skills

Coaching and mentoring

Learning from experience

Weaknesses

Communication

Delegation

Logical Thinking skills

Opportunities

Being part of most of the meetings and presentation at work shops

All the facilities available in the college to aid in development

Online tutorial for learning

Learn through lectures at college

Start workshop to help others in developing some skills

Threats

Missing out important lectures

Lack of time for different activities

Unable to be part of more work shops

Less number of students to enroll for the workshop for skills development

Depending on the Personal SWOT analysis, I have prepared a personal development plan as follows (this plan has been developed for a period of 4 months and post this I’ll be performing another audit to verify the status of my skills):

Skills that Needs development

Action to be taken to overcome the weakness and the required resources

Time line set for development

Communication

Try and communicate to as many people possible. Send out reports and data to work on my written communication. Take regular meetings and presentations.

4 Months

Delegation

Delegate work to reduce the time consumption and the over load stress. Try and work independently but ensure to not over work and encourage others through work delegation.

2 Months

Logical Thinking skills

Try and think and analyze every situation to come up with possible solutions. Can talk to people about their opinion on a particular situation.

3 Months

Task 5. Monitoring and Feedback

In order to ensure that the development plan is progressing on a success path, regular monitoring and feedback is essential. The development plan for tackling the weakness covers communication, delegation and logical thinking skills. During the course of the development plan, I feel that I am not only try to communicate to a lot of people but also trying to encourage my co-workers through assigning tasks to them. This is not only helping them to develop their skills but also reducing the stress from me but also I’m saving a lot of time for other works. Due to the development plan, I have able to think logically and come up with ideas for the development of the department as well as the co-workers. This has helped me to enhance my communication skills in meetings as well as while giving presentations. Apart from the work place, have been visiting and talking to lot people outside to understand there feeling and style of learning things.

Task 6. Conclusion and Learning

Advanced Professional Development- This course might seem boring but when we get into the details we will understand that this subject is a critical part of being successful and achieving our aim.It is important to learn from experience but if we don’t have any information on the basics of skills required for being Manager, it is totally worthless. This assignment has helped me understand the importance of being the manager and the skills that can lead to the success of being manager.

Through this assignment I have understood the importance of my learning method and how I have been using it from long time for many assignment without giving it much thought. Every work involved going through lot of theoretical data (through various sources). But at the end of the day, I have learned immensely through this assignment, the knowledge gathered through this assignment will not only help in being a good manager but also can applied in any field that I would be working in future.

At the end I would like to thank all who have helped me in understanding the importance of this assignment and the importance of being a leader and mentor for others.