Self-Development Plan For Project Leadership: An Essay On Personal Growth.

Successful running of organizational projects demands effective leadership skills. Modern workplaces are facing a range of issues that require the top leadership to change tacks and develop relevant competencies to guide the organization in achieving its goals. The development of a leader to gain necessary skills requires one to undertake self-development activities. Self-development is one of the main pillars of leaders’ development that start from self-evaluation and analysis to determine areas that need special attention (Day et al., 2014). Self-development enhances a leader readiness in handling greater responsibilities in current position or a higher position in future. In this self-development plan, I will identify my future development goals that will enable me to improve my project leadership skills in future as a manager. This paper provides me with an opportunity to outline my self-identity, project my career path in the next five years and describe the skills that I hold currently. Additionally, I will evaluate my current strengths and skills and establish the areas I need to develop and the strategies I will use to acquire these skills to enhance my project leadership skills.

Self-identity is an integration of various aspects of a person’s self-concept that guides and motivates the behaviors of the person (McCauley & Van Velsor, 2004). People tend to behave in manners that are consistent with their identity and what they believe.  I am a strong believer of no one is an island. I was brought up in a nuclear family background that insisted on sharing tasks at home to ensure they are done perfectly and on time. Hence, I have all along embraced the spirit of teamwork in all the activities I engage in daily.  From my family setting, I have learned the ability to consult and stomach different perceptions on an issue from various people. Moreover, I am person guided by the need to achieve in life. Once I have a set target, nothing stops me from going for it.

My motivations in life result from knowing that after accomplishing the tasks in hand there is a positive reward that benefits the entire group or me. Additionally, I am very decisive.  I do not hesitate to make decisions due to fear of resulting consequences and ride on the fact that mistakes are part of life. My school life has greatly influenced me to be time conscious in daily life. My passion is to watch football and engage in volunteer services that mean life to other people.  My goals in life are to be in a managerial position in an organization that recognizes the value of each member. I aspire to foster the spirit of teamwork and rewarding results at workplaces.

Project Leadership

Project leadership is the guiding of an organizational project through the creation of productive working environment, policies, and strategies to enhance the success of the project. Project leaders are tasked with the responsibility of aligning the project in accordance with the organizational strategies and objectives. According to Adair (2009), the success of the organization project depends on the skills and the competencies of the project leader and, the complexity of the project and the context in which it has to be delivered.  Hence, I perceive project leadership as the aligning the project to organizational goals, providing clarity, making critical decisions and motivating the rest of the team towards the success of the project.

The project success is determined by the context in which it is happening. In this regard, I believe that project leaders must be guided by the situational theory of leadership. Bass (2008) note that situational leadership offers situational variables in choosing the best behavior. Moreover, project complexity affects its success. Hence, I believe path-goal theory should guide the project leadership. Path-goal theory gives the managers ability to turn challenges into opportunities (Lunenburg, 2011). Furthermore, I believe project leaders should embrace transformational leadership in a bid to motivate the team and instill confidence for the project. Transformational theories change people perceptions and inspire optimism (Johnson, 2008). Thus, the project will be successful.

I plan to gain skills in situational, path-goal and transformational theories of leadership. In addition, I will develop skills in self-awareness and regulations through regular self-assessment and be open to any changes.  In life, I have been inspired by my father resilience and ability to make tough decisions. I will strive to follow his guidelines in making bold but significant decisions in every step of life.

In the next five years, I see myself working as a project manager in a humanitarian organization such as the Red Cross undertaking projects aimed to save people’s lives.  The work at these Humanitarian agencies would entail leading a team to mobilize people in a country to make monetary donations or foods for a starving third world country. Additionally, the work with these humanitarian organizations would involve leading a team in the provision of safe housing to people living in deplorable environments through mobilizing resources and actual house constructions. Furthermore, the task would include assembling a volunteer team and conducting training of entrepreneurs in developing countries. The roles in these humanitarian organizations fit in my life goals as it involves working in teams; fostering team spirit and recognizing the value of every member. Working towards saving lives matches my goal of valuing every person in the society. Moreover, tasks would involve rewarding the teams and appreciate the efforts, thus, bring people together.

Career Path

In undertaking my roles as a project leader in humanitarian organizations, I will need to develop technical expertise in regard to the project at hand. When leading projects such constructing houses for the needy people, I will need to understand the landscapes and other technicalities in construction industries to guide the project effectively. Moreover, I will need to develop my adaption skills to guide different projects during my work. Different situations will demand roles such as coaching, mentoring and facilitating. During my roles, I will be involved in construction projects, mobilization of resources and training of people. Thus, I will need to develop adaptation skills to guide the different project successfully.

I will have to possess effective communication skills. Excellent communication will allow me to pass instruction and directions about the project in a simple and understandable way. I will be able to listen actively, observe the happenings and guide me in making decisions. I will need to improve my ability to come down and communicate in an informal way the members to create a friendly working environment. In my roles in the humanitarian organization, I will have to develop collegiality skills. The roles will involve team work and there will be need to delegate some powers to make decisions to the staffs. The skills will enhance the collaborative environment for the project and recognize the effort of every team member.

I will need to develop my Emotional Intelligence skills to enable to guide the teams to the success of the project.  Improving IE helps understand self and colleagues and how one’s attitudes and moods may affect the project (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2013). I will be able to control any negative attitudes and feelings while understanding and handling team members with respect and emotional care and, cultivating a good relationship with them to ensure success. Moreover, I will be able to motivate the members to adopt the projects and work in uniformity towards the set goals.

My leadership mission is to be a democratic leader; characterized by honesty and integrity in consulting and implementing the agreed decisions for the team. Embracing democracy will ensure the opinions of every person are put into consideration and create a harmonious working environment with team members committed towards the same targets.  I want to be part of an organization that recognizes every team member and makes them feel valued and lead to better decisions. I want to lead a team that will work towards the goodness of a society through humanitarian activities aimed at improving their status in life to help them live in dignity.

Skills

My key work relationship will be built on honesty and respect. I will be open with the information about a project detail and the targets to instill confidence to all the parties. I will strive to lay everything clear on the table and explain the procedures and the protocols to be followed during the project to ensure we are all flipping the same page. Being honest instill confidence and trust among the team and ensure the every party has an opinion that’s prompt willingness to engage in the project (Krot & Lewicka, 2012). Moreover, I will treat every individual with respect and take the time to listen to their opinions and giving honest feedback. I will carefully choose my words in response to queries to ensure I do not offend the team even in exercising my authority as the leader. Treating everyone with dignity, human value and respecting their human rights will create an accommodative environment for the success of the project.

I will create a personal relationship with every staff on the project at hand to ensure they freely interact with me and give their suggestions without fear.  I will encourage phone calls to communicate to me on anything that would affect the project. The personal relationships through phone calls will ensure the staff talks to me about personal matters that affect them away from work.

Having a self-development plan allows one to develop and improve set skills needed in particular field. Through this development plan, I have been able to assess my character, strengths, and weakness in the area of project leadership. My personal assessment for the development plan has helped me identify the needs and sets some goals to achieve and enhance my skills to enable me to be an effective project leader when I venture into the industry. I have evaluated my identity from my tender age that has shaped my personality, values, and beliefs in life.

In this development plan, I have identified my urge to be a project leader in a humanitarian or charitable organization in the span of next five years. I have determined that I need to grow my skills in effective communication skills such interpersonal, public speaking and active listening so as to lead my team to success. I have set the goals to develop expertise in different fields that might relate to humanitarian events as well as my physical skills and emotional intelligence skills. Moreover, I have identified the need to acquire some work experience in the humanitarian world, learn the skills to coach team members and to negotiate and delegate duties to members. I need to build trust and be democratic in my leadership while taking control in decision making. I have the goals of learning about different leadership styles, self-awareness, mobilization skills and counseling psychology skills. Furthermore, I have the goal to learn about self-efficacy skills, cultural interactions and learn more about successful project leadership. I will engage in formal training, attending seminars and conferences, observations and reading widely to acquire these skills that will guide my success in the field. 

References

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