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MSCI624

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Personal Development Report

Introduction

The following report explores my experiences during the “home and away” and the

“meet the practitioners” activities. The paper focuses on the critical insights that I obtained from

the experiences. First, I will outline both the positive and the negative encounters, as well as the

immediate actions that I took. I will also use the experiences obtained from the activities to reach

different conclusions. I will also apply research to obtain the necessary recommendations that

would help improve my professional skills and maximize workplace success.

Table of Findings

Experience Role (Practitioner or Positive or Negative The immediate

Researcher) Action Taken

Getting to talk with Practitioner Positive I obtained knowledge

the practitioner as well as skills.

during the meet the

practitioner helped

guide me on how to

grow my career and

how I can work on

my skills.

During the home and Practitioner Positive I began evaluating

away activity, I time and allocation

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gained insight on the for each topic and

importance of time adjusted accordingly.

management.

While having the Researcher Negative I began doing a

presentation, I better research as

experienced lack of well as finding easier

preparation on the explanations that are

particular topic. easier to explain to

the audience.

I experienced anxiety Researcher Negative I usually use positive

and self-confidence affirmations and

during the focus more on the

presentation audience.

I observed that going Researcher Positive I advised that the

through the methods presenters should

and formulas in better focus on the

quantitative conclusions.

presentation

complicated the

presentation.

The excessive use of Practitioner Negative I edited the slides

technical terms used in the

without the provision presentation to

of the context. ensure better

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explanations.

There needed to be Researcher/ Negative I pointed out that the

more clarity Practitioner presenters had to

regarding the convince the

relevance of the audience to ask more

numerical data. questions.

The well-structured Researcher/ Positive I have started to pay

diagrams improved Practitioner more attention to

comprehension. using more diagrams

in the future to help

improve the clarity

of any presentation.

Dunning-Kruger Practitioner Negative I immediately

Effect engaged to

understand this

specific topic better.

I observed the Researcher/ Positive I gave more attention

importance of Practitioner to the audience

engagement during participation and

any presentation. focused on

developing

interesting

presentation
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methods.

I observed that most Researcher Positive I encouraged the

presenters looked at integration from one

the screen, with only presenter to another.

one looking at the

audience.

Listening to others Researcher/ Positive I listen to others

opinion or suggestion Practitioner suggestion and so

improves your what feels right to

knowledge gap me.

which gives a

pathway to success

Failure in work Researcher/ negative I started looking

demotivates me for a Practitioner back to failures to

while. find out its root cause

which definitely

turns into success.

Doing research in researcher Negative We started looking

group on individual into everyone`s

topics may lead to research part and

poor research and explaining within the

comprehension of the group to get

individual topics. conclude.

Having the fear in Researcher / Negative I began taking

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mind and Practitioner guidance from other

overthinking affects individuals as well as

the efficiency of working on my

handling the doubts which helped

activities. improve my

confidence.

Low Importance

Medium Importance

High Importance

Conclusions

Through analyzing and exploring the results obtained through the table, I developed two

conclusions that would serve as essential improvement points that would help me better the

world I work in. The first conclusion I observed was that I experienced a lack of self-awareness

and a false sense of my abilities. The conclusion was centered on the fact that I observed that I

did experience the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

The Dunning-Kruger effect results from an individual overestimating their very own

abilities. This results in the individual needing more information and enough training in a

particular area (Hofer et al., 2022, p. 10). One of the most observable consequences of the effect
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is when it makes people who are very good at a particular area believe that everybody else

around them possesses the same skills, which makes them undervalue their very own skills. On

top of that, an individual might unknowingly give in to the thought that they have obtained a skill

while, in reality, they are just a below-average performer getting closer to average levels.

Therefore, The effect could make it difficult for an individual to realize their strengths

(Muller et al., 2020, p. 474). In my case, I believe the effect may have contributed to the anxiety

and the thought that everyone else involved in the activities could do it with ease. This may have

resulted to the lack of enough preparation as well as the lack of proper research. As a result, I

was not able to deliver an ideal presentation and faced various challenges trying to deliver what I

had researched. I therefore had lost the capacity to recognize my skills and abilities, which

influenced my experiences during the activities.

My second conclusion is the recognition of the need for continuous growth. Continuous

growth/development involves bettering ourselves, learning new things, and developing new

abilities over the course of our lifetime. It includes progress and learning that one experiences

throughout one's lifetime and goes beyond ordinary schooling or training. This conclusion is

supported by immediate actions experienced during the activities, such as the need to encourage

audience engagement and the importance of presenters providing better clarification of the

terminologies used.

Powell and Coughlan (2020, p. 823) argue that continuous professional growth is

paramount in today's ever-changing world. It, therefore, revolves around the idea of engaging in

growth and avoiding comfort zones that become established over time hen, thus allowing us to

explore new limits. It is based on the notion that life involves a constant learning process instead

of an already established endpoint. Every time individuals expand their skills, they obtain new,
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fresh ideas and perspectives. This helps them solve various problems from various angles and

plays a critical role in developing solutions. In my case, continuous growth was well visible

throughout both the activities. This was achieved through engaging positively with the

practitioners where I was able to obtain guidance on how to build my career as well as how to

improve my own skills.

Recommendations

After developing my conclusion based on the activities I engaged in, I realized that I

experienced a lack of self-awareness, as evidenced by the Dunning-Krugger effect. To solve this,

It is recommended that we all question our knowledge of a specific area and always honestly find

out what we really know about the area. This helps us determine if the perceptions we have about

our abilities are correct and what needs to be done to improve. Van Hugten et al. (2023) argue

that we can be our own arbitrators, judges, and advocates by pushing ourselves to discover if we

can ever be wrong.

Another recommendation to avoid the Dunning-Krugger effect is always to reassess my

thoughts. This can be achieved by the avoidance of taking my views about myself for granted. I

need to analyze and change my opinions to help overcome biased thinking. It will also ensure

that I maintain a balanced perspective and stay open to new information and perspectives. Powell

and Coughlan (2020, p. 822) argue that most individuals tend always to tend to believe that we

can always excel in a particular field. However, to avoid the Dunning-Kruger effect, we must

consider our skills, abilities, and the areas where we possess a genuine skill. Applying this to my

activities, I will examine and determine my ability level more precisely and make more informed

conclusions. It is also recommended that we seek feedback from other individuals on our very

own performance and knowledge. However, in seeking feedback from other individuals it also
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advisable that we accept constructive criticism. This way, we can use the feedback as a way to

identify our own failures and seek areas of improvements.

I also concluded the need to realize continuous growth. This can be achieved by getting

more knowledgeable in an area I have difficulty with and gaining a deeper understanding

through continuously learning and improving the particular craft. An individual might become

more attuned to the knowledge that is out there once they give up, assuming to know everything

there is to know about an area of study (van Assen, 2020, p. 136). Through doing this, I will

avoid believing that I am an expert in a particular field. Additionally, it can be achieved through

networking and collaborating with peers, colleagues, and experts in my field. This encourages

exchanging ideas, practices, and collaboration in different projects.

Continuous growth can also be obtained through putting more emphasis on interactions

with practitioners, and peers. These interactions serve as the valuable source for guidance and

insight as evidenced during the activities where the practitioners helped guide me on the various

ways, I could work on what challenged me and hence improve my performance during such

activities. Listening to peers also helps receive feedback into one`s approach. Whether the

feedback addresses one`s failure, or as a congratulatory note, it plays an important role in one`s

learning process.
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Reference List

Hofer, G. et al. (2022) ‘Less-intelligent and unaware? accuracy and dunning–kruger effects for

self-estimates of different aspects of intelligence, Journal of Intelligence, 10(1), p. 10.

doi:10.3390/jintelligence10010010.

Muller, A., Sirianni, L.A. and Addante, R.J. (2020) ‘Neural correlates of the dunning–kruger

effect’, European Journal of Neuroscience, 53(2), pp. 460–484. doi:10.1111/ejn.14935.

Powell, D. and Coughlan, P. (2020) 'Corporate lean programs: Practical insights and implications

for learning and continuous improvement,' Procedia CIRP, 93, pp. 820–825.

doi:10.1016/j.procir.2020.03.072.

Van Assen, M.F. (2020) 'Training, employee involvement, and continuous improvement – the

moderating effect of a common improvement method,' Production Planning &

Control, 32(2), pp. 132–144. doi:10.1080/09537287.2020.1716405.

Van Hugten, J. et al. (2023) ‘The dunning-kruger effect and entrepreneurial self-efficacy: How

tenure and search distance jointly direct entrepreneurial self-efficacy,' Journal of Business

Research, 161, p. 113810. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113810.

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