Experiential views on some aspects of professional development of an individual applicable at workplace and elsewhere

1. Gaurav Pathania
NMP-MDI, Gurugram
Areas of Professional Development
Development Area 1 - Emotional Intelligence-The ability, capacity, or to identify, assess, and control
the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups.
At Workplace
• When receiving constructive feedback from colleagues, one should consider the
response- what was said? What was the body language? How were the emotions?
Knowing this will help adapt in similar situations and promote a mature response
• Ask a trusted colleague for feedback on the communication style when we receive
information that we don’t agree with
• Write down the ‘triggers’ when we know our emotions will be raised – create an
action plan on how to deal with these triggers and seek feedback from a trusted
colleague on how the situation was handled
• Identify a colleague who we think handles themselves well in challenging situations.
Observe their behaviour over a period of time- what did they say? How did they react?
And complete a gap analysis of where we are today and what we need to do
differently to display these same behaviours.
• Understand our own behaviour in different situations, once we understand this we
can then adapt
Development Area 2 - Impact and Influence - It is the ability to promote ideas persuasively, and shape
the opinions of others overcoming resistance. It establishes influential contacts, builds consensus for
action and negotiates mutually beneficial solutions from problems.
At Workplace
• We have to be aware of our behaviour in all situations – to be sure, consciously adapt
your behaviour depending on the situation, and who you are interacting with.
• Identify those specific colleagues that we naturally ‘avoid’ presenting ideas or
information to, challenge ourselves to make opportunities to speak to them
• If we are not successful in winning support for ideas, seek feedback from colleagues
involved as to what we could have done differently and learn for next time. Write
these actions down and to be conscious of these the next time we are in a similar
situation.
• When presenting new ideas – think about the best way to handle any objections or
push back from colleagues- consider their preferred communication style
Development Area 3 - Building our profile across the business lines – One should develop and maintain
strong relations with stakeholders whose support, cooperation, and services are critical to the success
of the company; Maintain a strong presence in the local community; Demonstrate leadership and
relationship building skills.
At Workplace
• To be involved in (or lead) projects or focus groups
• When a new project is started / a new task is implemented, speak to the colleagues -
share best practices
• For ideas that are shared globally get an understanding of how it has worked in our
business line first- what challenges did they face? How did they get buy In and
commitment from the team? What would they do differently this time?

2. Gaurav Pathania
NMP-MDI, Gurugram
• Let the successes of the team be celebrated - let colleagues know of our success
Development Area 4 - Results Driven approach – To set high performance standards and to pursue
aggressive goals. To strive for constant improvements, take responsibility for achieving business
results, and perseverance despite obstacles.
At Workplace
• Lead a project of project team- set clear goals and timeframes and follow project
through from start to finish
• Implement an idea/process which helps the business line achieve a goal around one
of the key metrics.
• Set goals in place to achieve the specific respective portion of a business line target
• Demonstrate a personal drive to achieve goals
Development Area 5 - Financial Acumen- Analyse financials which drive revenue, future profitability,
and maximum return on investment for owners’ Equity; To take responsibility for setting and achieving
challenging financial goals while providing excellent output in terms of product development/service,
marketing or any other business goal.
At Workplace
• Each month review the P&L report- with the line manager compare your results
against budget and the same time last year
• Spend time with Finance Department to understand how payroll costs are calculated
and how to control these more effectively in the specific business line
• Understanding where items fall on the P&L and how to code items within the
business line
Development Area 6 - Strategic Thinking- To know and understand what it takes to beat our
competitors, both now and in the future.
At Workplace
• Analyse a business line goal; determine what it will look like in 2 years? What needs
to be done for it to be effective in 2 years? Sustainable in 2 years?
• Find a process in the business line, forget about how the things have been done in the
past and if money was not an option what could have been done differently? How
could it be made more effective? Consider the key stakeholders
• Seek an opinion outside of the current industry- what is their view on the issue, how
would their organisation go about solving this?
Development Area 7 - Leading and Developing People - Build, motivate, and lead an effective team
that delivers results and is highly engaged; Coaches and develops colleagues; Manages performance
issues quickly, fairly, and effectively; Motivates and empowers colleagues to take independent action
At Workplace
• Focus the development- let a team member coach and mentor the rest - focus on that
person, be consistent in the approach and create a plan for the development
• Give regular feedback- when a correct behaviour is observed, give immediate
feedback so as to reinforce what is right. Alternatively, give constructive feedback
when the wrong behaviour is observed- show colleagues what is wrong and how they
can alter their behaviour
• Make a concerted effort to ‘teach’ colleagues something new at every opportunity

3. Gaurav Pathania
NMP-MDI, Gurugram
• Challenge your colleagues- put them out of their comfort zones- rotate tasks and
responsibilities etc. Create an environment where people are continuously learning
• Inspire self-development within the team- recommend interesting articles, books,
magazines, website, competitor sites to try
Development Area 8 – Time management
At Workplace
• Spend the first 10 minutes of every day planning your top 3 things that MUST get
done that day - action these straight away
• Schedule ‘planning’ time into a diary and commit to planning the week- leave on
Friday afternoon knowing exactly what next week looks like
• Beat procrastination by breaking big tasks into manageable pieces- schedule the task.
• Learn how to make the emails work for YOU, read effective outlook techniques and
put them into practice
Development Area 9 – Effective Communication Skills
At Workplace
• Determine the preferred communication style for the colleagues – actively apply
these techniques each time we communicate with that colleague.
• Consider the best method to deliver the message- what impact do we need to have?
Is it best delivered one on one, team meeting, email etc
• Provide opportunities for colleagues to participate- share information, encourage
others to share their views
• Let us have an effective method for the team to receive information- to try different
alternatives, seek feedback from the team. Once we know what works, be consistent
and be sure to pass on the right information
Development Area 10 – Delegation
At Workplace
• To consider the current tasks in our role, ask ourself who else might benefit from
knowing how to do this?
• Everytime a new project is given to the business line, consider who would benefit
from being involved- be sure to match the task with the individual colleague and how
they best learn
• Ensure that whatever has been gets done- delegation is not palming off your jobs it is
developing others
• To coach colleagues who have been delegated tasks to;
• Debrief at the completion of the project or task - what was done well, opportunities
for improvement
References
1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
2. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
3. Who moved my cheese by Dr Spencer Johnson
4. The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard
5. The 360 Degree Leader by John C Maxwell
6. The five dysfunctions of a team - A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
7. 4 giant steps to Leadership by Ed Robinson