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Personal and Professional Development Module 1

Introduction to Personal and Professional Development

Personal and Professional Development are seen as distinct avenues of self-

improvement, but the two go hand in hand. If you’re interested in creating a personal
development plan or working toward personal growth, you're likely to experience a
pleasant side effect of learning new skills or strengthening abilities you already have –
achieving your personal goals for work.

Creating Personal Development Plan

Step 1: Define Results and Definition

Considered by Williams to be the first and most important step, a vision for your personal
development plan starts at the finish. “Start with the end in mind,” Williams said. Asking
yourself what goals you wish to achieve and why will help you know where you need to
start. In setting your personal growth goals, Williams said without knowing why you want
to improve yourself your motivation can waiver and have a negative impact on your
success. “Take some time to think about what you want to achieve, and you’ll truly set
yourself up for success,” she said.

Step 2: Determine Required Skills

The next question you need to ask yourself once you understand your goal is what skills
you’ll need to achieve this outcome. “You may have several skills that are needed to
achieve the results you desire. Do not become overwhelmed,” Williams said. “List them
all so you can explore all possible avenues for development.” Ask supervisors, peers or
a personal development coach for help identifying the skills you’ll need to work on or add
to your toolbox.

Step 3: Perform a Skills Self – assessment

Some skills we come by naturally, and others take a lot of work if we want to be proficient.
Williams suggests you self-assess on the skills you know you’ll need to achieve your
personal growth goals. Which skills do you already possess, and which ones will take
some time to learn? Ask for an outside perspective from supervisors or friends when
looking at which of your skills need the most development. Take into consideration the
skills you already have and how you perform under stressful conditions. You know you
can give a presentation to peers and supervisors in a meeting room, but do you know
how you would perform giving that same presentation to a crowded auditorium? You can
build upon skills you already have to be even more capable.

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Step 4: Isolate one Skill

Then, find the area you’re going to focus on first. Isolate one skill you can work on that
will get you closer to your goal. “This might be obvious,” Williams said, “and in some cases
it might be challenging.” Identifying and working on these skills one by one can make the
personal development process less overwhelming and help you reach objectives faster.

Step 5: Develop an Action Plan

For your personal development plan, Williams said it’s “important to determine what
success looks like and put a plan in place.” Williams uses a goal-setting method referred
to as "SMART". Make goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and
rewarding, as well as Time-bound. Know what you want to achieve. Don’t try to do too
much too fast. Celebrate your successes. Make deadlines you can meet and stick to
them.

Activity 1

1. Explain this statement “personally committed to engaging in the growth

process.” You know you want to make yourself an asset, but where do you
begin? (20 Points)

References

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2018/07/personal-development-plan

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Personal and Professional Development Module 2

Personal and Professional Development in creative Problem-Solving skills

Creative problem-solving helps businesses bring innovative solutions to their customers. It also
helps identify unique opportunities for growth in competitive industries. As a skill, creative
problem-solving makes you more valuable to prospective organizations. In this article, we’ll
discuss what creative problem-solving is and how to demonstrate it in an interview.

What is creative problem-solving?

Creative problem-solving is an approach that identifies unique solutions to issues through
a process of problem identification and resolution planning. It goes beyond conventional
approaches to find solutions to workflow problems, product innovation or brand
positioning. Developing the skill of creative problem-solving requires constant
improvement to encourage an environment of consistent innovation.

Creative problem-solving is considered a soft skill, or personal strength. In an interview,

you may be asked to give examples of times you’ve demonstrated this ability. Employers
ask this question to understand your thought process, learn how you address challenging
situations and clarify how you can bring value to their organization.

How to improve your creative problem-solving skills

Creative problem-solving involves analyzing an issue, defining an approach and
implementing a solution. Just like any other skill, it requires a strategic approach and
practice to get better.

1. Use a strategic framework

Creative problem-solving is a framework within itself. It lets you break down issues that
are hard to measure with a structured approach.

Try these steps:

• Gather information: During this phase, clarify your goal or your problem. Gather
as much information and unbiased input as you can. Customer surveys, employee
comments and research data are great sources.
• Identify relationships: Consider all the data you’ve collected and look for
relationships between each point. You might find that your problem or goal has
changed. This is where you can use creative brainstorming or mind mapping to
challenge the parameters of the problems and current solutions. Ask why ‘X’
activities led to ‘Y’ results.

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• Develop a solution: Create several hypotheses to solve your problem. Determine

which of the solutions will have the best results, which can be fully implemented
and how you can implement them. Experiment with different scenarios using A/B
testing. Also called split testing, A/B testing is the practice of comparing two different
versions of the same product against each other to see which performs better. For
example, you can test a book cover by showing half of your audience sees one
version and showing another version to the other half. Choose the winner of the
test to promote.
• Implement: Use the information you gathered during your solution phase and put
it into action. Evaluate your results and, depending on the outcome, repeat the
steps. Using the creative problem-solving method in this way may reveal that there
are multiple solutions to a problem. For example, video game companies often beta
test their games with select groups to ensure the highest level of playability. After
final improvements based on the beta tests, the games are ready for the public.

2. Practice empathy
Empathy is the ability to see the perspective of others. It’s a key element of emotional
intelligence. In the workplace, it allows you to understand the viewpoint of coworkers and
customers. High emotional intelligence is also an important step in becoming a great
leader. Use empathy to implement solutions that will add value to others and the
organization.

Example: You emailed your coworker hours ago and haven’t received a reply. Consider
what the cause could be and practice patience. If you are in the same office, try asking
them about it. If you find they are busy, offer to help where possible. If you work remotely,
try giving them a call or following up with another email. Objectivity will help you avoid
taking something personally that may be a mistake.

3. Get a hobby
A hobby presents its own set of challenges that require you to use your brain differently.
Because creativity is a translatable skill, you will benefit from the problem-solving
activities while having a positive outlet for stress. Exploring something new also allows
you to test the boundaries of what you’re capable of. A hobby is a constructive way to
take creative risks.

Example: A hobby of building scale models is challenging enough to exercise your brain
but your enjoyment of it allows you to relax and provides relief from work stress.

4. Relax your assumptions

The more you see something, the more easily your brain points it out to you. This may
lead you to want to solve problems in the same manner you always do. Recognize this
tendency when you need unique solutions or innovations.

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Key details and information get left out when you make an assumption based on past
knowledge or how things have always worked. Overcome this tendency by clarifying the
assumptions of others, responding appropriately and defining goal expectations.

Example: Customers have changing tastes. To boost leads, find out what services bring
them the most value, where they spend their time and how to best communicate with
them. This data is most helpful before implementing marketing campaigns.

5. Practice persistence
Persistence toward a goal requires maintaining a level of strategic focus through
challenging situations until you come to a resolution. Some problems take longer than
others to solve. Maybe the information isn’t readily available, the technology isn’t currently
advanced enough or you haven’t identified the right connections. Having a reason why
your challenge or issue needs solving is a great motivator to persevere through obstacles
that arise.

Practice persistence by minimizing the time between recognition of a problem and the
actions you take. Some goals require consistent, daily action performed for long blocks
of time per day. Show persistence by seeking information or resources and trying different
solutions until you find what works.

Example: An entrepreneur discovers that her current marketing tactics aren’t working.
After a couple of years of trying different business ideas, she learns search engine
optimization tactics and starts creating digital content for small businesses. Every morning
she sets aside time to work on her business and find new clients until it provides a fulltime
wage.

6. Question standard practices

Collaborating is a great way to come up with creative solutions. It is also a great way to
identify obvious solutions that others in your organization may not have tried. If your
coworkers or industry is leaning toward one way of doing things, consider if this solution
is the best way and try to discuss alternate solutions.

Example: A salesman is continuously turned down by prospective clients. The common

advice from his coworkers is to keep calling until they finally say yes. Thinking there must
be a better way, he decides to learn what things the client likes and deems important.
This allows him to relate to clients on a personal level and offer them personalized
products and services. His business steadily increases as clients start viewing their time
with the salesman as more valuable.

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7. Consider your past experiences

Your past is full of accumulated experiences and skills learned in various ways. Use your
personal history to give you an understanding of when to persist and when to change
focus. This is different from leaning on past assumptions. Past experiences give you a
unique perspective that you can apply with critical thought. Ask yourself if you’ve ever
been in a situation similar to one you may be currently experiencing in your workplace,
recall how the situation ended and determine what you can do to achieve similar or better
results.

Example: A personal development coach meets weekly with a group of people he is

helping. This is his first experience coaching a group. From past experiences with
individual clients, he’s learned that people need responsibility to maintain motivation and
feel connected. The coach brings this idea to the new group and assigns everyone a role
according to their strengths that will help them all succeed.

8. Become an expert in your field

Sometimes you simply need more skills to be more creative. The more you understand
the technical side of your industry, the easier it will be to clarify problems, identify
connections and develop solutions. Exposure to more scenarios also gives you the
foresight to identify issues before they arise.

Example: An illustrator wants to be able to draw realistic images of people. To

accomplish this, they start learning everything that affects the realism of an illustration,
such as texture, lighting and line contour.

9. Practice creative problem-solving

The best way to learn a skill is to practice it. The more issues presented that need creative
solutions, the easier it will become to hone a problem-solving process. Try regularly
exposing yourself to new scenarios that require different thinking. You can do this by
going to conferences in your field or any related field.

Example: A backend developer decides to learn graphic design. This increases the
services he can offer and presents different challenges that require him to develop new
approaches within his work.

10. Ask for help

Understanding the creative approaches of others in any industry can inform your own
decision making. A mentor may be an invaluable asset to your career. If you are stuck on
a problem, try asking someone else in your field for advice. Their personal experiences
offer exposure to a way of thinking that you may have never previously considered.

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Example: A freelance web designer has a client who keeps requesting new adds to their
project and rejecting work without proper feedback. She asks a more experienced
designer for help, who provides her with advice on how to set scope boundaries and help
the client clarify their ideas. The novice designer is then able to give the client great
service while still feeling good about the work performed for the price.

Activity 2
1. Give the 3 creative problem-solving skills in an interview? (25 Points)
2. How can you uphold your professional skills in applying the 10 ways to
improve creative problem-solving skills? (25 points)

Reference:

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/improve-creative-problem-solving-
skills

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Personal and Professional Development Module 3

Five phases of professional Development

The Pictures shows how professional person should develop from its phases
I. Building a Knowledge Base.
The purpose of this phase is to acquire new knowledge and information and to build a
conceptual understanding of it. Activities in this phase might include goal setting,
assessing needs, participating in interactive workshops, and forming a study group.

II. Observing Models and Examples.

The purpose of this phase is to study instructional examples in order to develop a

practical understanding of the research. In this phase, one might participate in activities
such as school and classroom visitations, peer observation, using instructional artifacts,
co-planning, and listening to or watching audio and video examples.

III. Reflecting on Your Practice.

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The purpose of this phase is to analyze your instructional practice on the basis of new
knowledge. Activities in this phase might include the use of journals or teacher-authored
cases for collegial discussion and reflection.

IV. Changing Your Practice.

The purpose of this phase is to translate your new knowledge into individual and
collaborative plans and actions for curricular and instructional change. Activities might
include action research, peer-coaching, support groups, and curriculum development.

V. Gaining and Sharing Expertise.

The purpose of this phase is to continue to refine your instructional practice, learning
with and from colleagues while also sharing your practical wisdom with your peers.
Activities in this phase might include team planning, mentoring or partnering with a
colleague, and participating in a network.

Activity 3
1. Apply these five phases of professional development on your
current work. If you are a working student. If not, apply it to your
future work.

References
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/five-phases-professional-development#comment-
form

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Professional and Personal Development Module 4

Moral Development
Morality is a system of beliefs about what is right and good compared to what is
wrong or bad. Moral development refers to changes in moral beliefs as a person grows
older and gains maturity. Moral beliefs are related to, but not identical with,
moral behavior: it is possible to know the right thing to do, but not actually do it. It is also
not the same as knowledge of social conventions, which are arbitrary customs needed
for the smooth operation of society. Social conventions may have a moral element, but
they have a primarily practical purpose. Conventionally, for example, motor vehicles all
keep to the same side of the street (to the right in the United States, to the left in Great
Britain). The convention allows for smooth, accident-free flow of traffic. But following the
convention also has a moral element, because an individual who chooses to drive on the
wrong side of the street can cause injuries or even death. In this sense, choosing the
wrong side of the street is wrong morally, though the choice is also unconventional.
In the field of Professional Development Moral development occurs as character
of development: integrating ethical understanding, care and action. Many educators have
recognized these educational needs, and a number of them have therefore developed
practical programs that integrate ethical understanding, care, and action. As a group the
programs are often called character education, though individual programs have a
variety of specific names (for example, moral dilemma education, integrative ethical
education, social competence education, and many more). Details of the programs vary,
but they all combine a focus on ethical knowledge with attention to ethical feelings and
actions (Elkind & Sweet, 2004; Berkowitz & Bier, 2006; Narvaez, 2010). Character
education programs goes well beyond just teaching students to obey ethical rules, such
as “Always tell the whole truth” or “Always do what the teacher tells you to do.” Such rules
require very little thinking on the part of the student, and there are usually occasions in
which a rule that is supposedly universal needs to be modified, “bent,” or even disobeyed.

Activity
1. Explain where morality starts from? And what are the implications of this
morality to the professional development of an individual person? (25
Points)

References:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sunyeducationalpsychology/chapter/moral-
development-forming-a-sense-of-rights-and-responsibilities/

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Personal and Professional Development Module 5 and 6

Personality and Career Choice

Activity
1. Choice What kind of Personality you have.
2. Explain What kind of Personality you have.
3. Based on the Personality you have explain what kind of Career Choice is
applicable to your Personality.
4. Do you believe that Choosing a Career is always based on your Personality? If
yes, why if no, Why

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