Corndel Leadership

Unit 1: Personal and professional development

CorndelLeadership

The Corndel Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management

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Table of contentsChapter 1: Personal SWOT ............................................................. 01How can I use a personal SWOT analysis to help me plan my career? 02

Chapter 2: Honey and mumford’s learning styles ........................ 11How can understanding Honey & Mumford’s learning styles help me to become a better learner 12

Chapter 3: Time management: Covey’s matrix............................. 17How can I use Covey’s matrix to manage my time effectively? 18

Chapter 4: Communications theory ............................................... 27How can understanding communications theory help my decisions to be implemented successfully? 28

Chapter 5: Interpersonal skills and active listening..................... 31How can developing interpersonal skills and active listening help me become a more effective leader? 32

Chapter 6: Emotional intelligence .................................................. 39How can developing Emotional Intelligence help me to be an effective leader? 40

Chapter 7: Negotiation .................................................................... 47How can I negotiate effectively to get the best deal for myself and my organisation? 48

Chapter 8: Working styles .............................................................. 55What is my working style and how does it affect my team? 56

Chapter 9: 360 Feedback and appraisals ...................................... 65How can I use the 360-degree process to evaluate and improve the performance of my team? 66Should you use 360-degree feedback as part of appraisals which determine pay and promotion? 68

Chapter 10: Personal development planning ............................... 69How can a personal development plan help me to achieve my potential and support my organisation? 70

i The Corndel Leadership and Management Diploma: Level 5 Unit 1

ii The Corndel Leadership and Management Diploma: Level 5 Unit 1

Chapter 11: Talent management .................................................... 75How can talent management help my organisation to get the best out of its people? 76

Chapter 12: The recruitment process ............................................ 81How can an effective recruitment process help my organisation to obtain the most-suitable employees? 82

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Chapter 1Personal SWOT

2 The Corndel Leadership and Management Diploma: Level 5 Unit 1

Chapter 1: Personal SWOT

How can I use a personal SWOT analysis to help me plan my career?SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The Stanford Research Institute originally developed SWOT analysis in the 1960s as a diagnostic tool to help organisations in their strategic planning. But it can also be applied to help an individual analyse their own career and inform their career development plan. This simple framework provides a structure in which you can evaluate your internal capabilities – your strengths and weaknesses, over which you have considerable control, as well as the external factors – the opportunities and threats you face, which are beyond your control, but to which you must respond.

StrengthsSWeaknessesW

OpportunitiesOThreatsT

Internal capabilitiesyou can control

External factors to whichyou must respond

Informs your career development plan



SWOT analysis centres around gathering information about yourself to form a clear picture of who you are in a work context, and where you are in terms of your career. It will help you to assess your current skills and competencies, against those required by your role, and you will then be better informed to consider options for your personal development plan. As well as your own thoughts and self-awareness, use things you have written down in the past, such as your CV, past job applications and personal reflections you have carried out as part of performance management processes. You should also use the people around you to provide objectivity. Ask your colleagues, as well as using written records such as 360-degree feedback sessions or appraisals.

TheoristsReads instructions thoroughlyFollows instructionsto the letter

StrengthsS WeaknessesW

OpportunitiesO ThreatsT



Who areyou atwork?

Gatherinformation

about yourself

Use 360-degreefeedback and

appraisals

Askothers forobjectivity

Assess skillsand competencies

against jobrequirements

Look at your CV,previous job

applications andperformancemanagement

exercises

Informsyour personaldevelopment

plan

Use yourown thoughtsand writtendocuments

S W O TAnalysis

CV

Deals break down where one party feels the outcome was unfair.

The top left quadrant of a SWOT analysis shows your strengths. What do you do better than others? What do others see as your strong points? What personal attributes do you have? For example, you may have great interpersonal skills and be good at managing meetings to end on time. What are your skills, qualifications and experience? You may have some specialist knowledge or skills that make you unique in the organisation. Perhaps you are the only employee



with a professional coaching qualification? Do you have access to resources or networks that others do not? Do you hold some values that others fail to exhibit? Try to be as objective as possible – neither modesty nor boasting will help you here.


StrengthsS• What do you do better than the others? What do others see as your strengths?

• Personal attributes: interpersonal skills and managing meetings - Skills, qualifications and experience

• Specialist knowledge or unique skills: a coaching qualification - Preferential access to resources or networks

In the top right, you should list your weaknesses. Are there any gaps in your knowledge, skills or experience? What aspects of your work do you find most difficult, frustrating or time-consuming? For example, you may be poor at dealing with conflict. What issues have held you back in the past that you have not addressed?

It is a good idea to benchmark yourself against others to see what they do better than you.

Try to remember instances where you have had negative feedback. Are there some tasks you try to avoid or put off doing? Do you have any bad habits at work, such as being disorganised or handling stress badly?




• Gaps in your knowledge, skills or experience. - What do you find difficult, frustrating or time consuming?

• Dealing with conflict - What has held you back in the past?

• Negative feedback - Tasks you avoid or put off

• Disorganised - Poor stress management

WeaknessesW

The bottom left quadrant is for the opportunities you have at work.

What vacancies are available now? Are there any changes coming up either within your organisation or outside it

that might present openings to you?

Perhaps there is an opportunity for a promotion in a different department, or a chance to work abroad. Are there any industry or management trends that you should be ready to take advantage of? It might be that a change in government regulations could give you a first-mover advantage if you act quickly and become accredited first. Or a change in technology could benefit you if you are amongst the first to be trained to use it. Is there a problem somewhere else in your organisation that you could solve?




• Current vacancies or upcoming changes - Working abroad

• Can you take advantage of any trends? - Changes in government regulations

• Becoming accredited/trained first - Changes in technology

• Can you save a problem in the wider organisation?

OpportunitiesO

And finally, the bottom right quadrant sets out the threats you face in your career.

Are there any upcoming changes in your organisation or industry that could negatively impact your position?

A potential merger might put your role at risk of redundancy. Likewise, an improvement in technology or change in regulations might make your position obsolete. Do you face competition from colleagues hoping to perform the same role as you now or in the future? Are there changes taking place in the people around you that might make your job harder?




Changes in your organisation or industry • Could a merge make you redundant?

Could you be replaced by technology • Difficult colleagues

ThreatsT

You should finish by examining how any of your current strengths could create opportunities for your career development, and whether any of your current weaknesses could lead to threats. You should now have a clear idea of where you are in terms of your career.

The next step will be to consider the possible actions you could take and complete your career development plan.



StrengthsS WeaknessesW

OpportunitiesO ThreatsT

What do you do better than the others? What do others see as your strengths?

Personal attributes: interpersonal skills and managing meetings

Skills, qualifications and experience

Specialist knowledge or unique skills: a coaching qualification

Preferential access to resources or networks

Gaps in your knowledge, skills or experience. • What do you find difficult, frustrating or time consuming?

Dealing with conflict • What has held you back in the past?

Negative feedback • Tasks you avoid or put off

Disorganised • Poor stress management

Current vacancies or upcoming changes • Working abroad

Can you take advantage of any trends? • Changes in government regulations

Becoming accredited/trained first • Changes in technology

Can you save a problem in thewider organisation?

Changes in your organisation or industry • Could a merge make you redundant?

Could you be replaced by technology • Difficult colleagues



SWOT analysis centres around gathering information about yourself to form a clear picture of who you are

in a work context, and where you are in terms of your career.

Chapter 2Honey and mumford's learning styles


Chapter 2: Honey and mumford's learning styles

How can understanding Honey & Mumford’s learning styles help me to become a better learner?Educational research tells us that people learn in many different ways, and that there is not only one correct method for how to learn best. If you can become more aware of your particular learning style, then you can become a more efficient and effective learner, utilising your organisation’s resources more productively and progressing in your career at a faster rate. As Peter Honey puts it, "learning to learn is your most important capability since it provides the gateway to everything else you want to develop."

Many waysto learn

No singlecorrectmethod

Honey &Mumford’slearningstyles

"Learning to learn is your most important capability…”

Peter Honey

In 1986, following on from the work of Kolb and becoming more influential, Honey & Mumford also set out four distinct learning styles or natural preferences for how we learn best. They identified activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists.



Activists

PragmatistsTheorists

Reflectors

Activists learn by doing, through trial and error in a hands-on way. They act first and are dominated by immediate experiences in which they immerse themselves fully. They don’t always consider the necessities of longer-term implementation, which they are happy to leave to others, while they move on to the next new experience. They are open-minded and enthusiastic. Activists learn best when they are thrown in at the deep end, problem-solving, brainstorming, working with others, leading group discussions, and role-playing. They learn least when they are not the centre of activity; reading, writing or thinking on their own; listening to long lectures; and following precise instructions.

Activists‘learn by doing’

Learn best when: • Thrown in at the deep end;• Problem-solving;• Brainstorming;• Working with others;• Leading group discussions;• Role-playing.

Learn least when:• Not the centre of activity;• Reading, writing or thinking on their own;• Listening to long lectures;• Following precise instructions.

Activists Reflectors



Reflectors learn by observing and pondering what has happened. They want to be told before acting. They gather as much information as they can, to consider the issue from all possible perspectives, and thoroughly think through any implications before reaching a conclusion. They are happy to take a back seat and listen carefully to others’ opinions. They tend to be cautious, tolerant and unflustered, and will see things as part of the big picture. Reflectors learn best through coaching, feedback, paired discussions, self-analysis questionnaires, and when given time to investigate. They learn least when subject to tight deadlines, unprepared or leading a group.

Reflectors‘learn by observing’

Learn best when: • Coaching;• Feedback;• Paired discussions;• Self-analysis questionnaires;• Being given time to investigate.

Learn least when:• Subject to tight deadlines;• Unprepared or leading a group.

Theorists concentrate on understanding the underlying concepts before they act. They seek clarity and want to be convinced that something makes sense. They will analyse the available facts to think problems through logically first. They are perfectionists who won’t be comfortable until they have fit everything into a rational scheme, and they are rigid about rejecting ideas that don’t fit. In this way they are not comfortable with subjective judgements, lateral thinking or flippant comments. Theorists learn best in structured and complex situations, when they are questioning, using models and data, and applying theories. They learn least when they are subject to uncertainty, in unstructured situations, where they are not familiar with the principles involved, or where emotions and feelings dominate.



Theorists‘learn by understanding the underlying concepts’

Learn best when: • In structured and complex situations;• Questioning;• Using models and data;• Applying theories.

Learn least when: • Subject to uncertainty;• In unstructured situations;• Not familiar with the principles involved;• Where emotions and feelings dominate.

Pragmatists are keen to try out theories and new ideas to see if they address current problems. They want an expert to demonstrate, to show them how it works in practice. They look to apply their learning quickly to solve problems that they see as challenges. They are practical and down to earth, and exhibit impatience in open-ended discussions. They are not interested in abstract concepts and games. Pragmatists learn best when training has clear practical advantages, they receive guidance from an expert, and they have time to think about how to apply their learning. They enjoy experimentation, case studies, problem-solving and focused discussions. Pragmatists learn least when they are thrown in at the deep end with no clear guidance, when it is all theory and they see no practical application, or when they are involved in unstructured discussions.

Pragmatists‘learn by applying theories’

Learn best when: • Training has clear practical advantages• They receive expert guidance• They have time to think about application• Experimenting• Using case studies• Problem-solving• In focused discussions

Learn least when: • Not even clear guidance;• It is all theory;• They see no practical application;• Involved in unstructured discussions.



To identify which Honey & Mumford learning style most suits you, you can use their learning style questionnaire. This will help you to get a better fit between how you learn and the learning opportunities you select. But note, that to be a more effective learner, you should develop the ability to learn using other styles as well.

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