Benefits Of Personal And Professional Development

Task 1

1.1 - Describe the benefits of personal and professional development

There are many benefits to personal and professional development. Firstly, it helps the individual get sense of direction. The individual gains self-awareness, meaning they are clearer on where they are and what they want to achieve. They also gain an understanding of the organisations plans and expectations for them.

Secondly, because the individual now has clarity on their goals and how to achieve them, focus and prioritisation becomes easier. The individual has a set of much clearer objectives and can see clear-ly what tasks help them achieve those objectives. By knowing and playing their strengths, the indi-vidual has improved overall focus and effectiveness.

Even the tasks which they would otherwise avoid as they are not particularly enjoyable are done if there is a clear benefit to performing them. “Where there's a will, there's a way” is a common saying meaning if you are determined, you can overcome any obstacle.

Also, it will give the individual greater resilience. Sometimes it may get tough but personal and pro-fessional development can help you deal with it in an effective way. The individual with have greater confidence and resilience to deal with any problems that occur along the way.

Not only does it have benefits to the individual, but also to the organisation. It allows the organisa-tion to gain a better understanding of the individuals goals, strengths and development needs. It helps managers/supervisors develop their own coaching and management skills (which would be part of their own development plan). Overall, it will increase productivity in the workplace due to clearer objectives and better skills learnt and the organisation can keep track of employee perfor-mance.

1.2 & 1.3 – Identify & analyse development opportunities for career and personal

I have been discussing with my line manager what the next step is for me. He has clearly pointed out that the role of developer is definitely achievable for me as I’m currently a junior developer. We have used a job specification for a developer as a guideline as to what level I should be per-forming at. By outlining areas for improvement, I can set goals and how to achieve them. As a de-veloper, technical ability is obviously important so any improvements I require in that area will be supported by my organisation. My organisation provides skills funding so I am able to complete any technical courses.

Furthermore, my organisation encourages me to choose my own path in terms of what I enjoy do-ing at work. For example, I could go down the route of front end or back end developer and my organisation would support me on my decision. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to choose either. My organisation also gives me working opportunities to gain new experiences. The step from junior to developer is to be able to independently work without the assistance from your peers. So, they are looking to provide me with those opportunities to prove myself in that