Professional Development
“I hated every moment of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit’. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” – Muhammad Ali
The Quality Assurance Agency (2000) defines Personal Development Planning as:
“… a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development.”
The primary objective of personal and professional development planning is to improve the capacity of an individual to understand what and how they are learning and to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning and development.
Professional development can take many forms including:
- Studying (formal and informal) – to learn about new or alternative models, theories and techniques
- Coaching – to enhance an individual’s competencies in a specific skill area by providing a process of observation, reflection, and action
- Mentoring – to promote an individual’s awareness and refinement of their own professional development by providing and recommending structured opportSessionies for reflection and observation
- Research and self learning – to understand the background and application of theories and methodologies
- Critical self reflection – to stand back and to look at the deeper and transferable lessons derived from a learning experience
- Reading – of newsletters, articles, websites etc to keep up to date with the latest developments in the world of business and coaching
Coaches need to commit to and implement personal and professional development to ensure that their knowledge, skills and competencies are current, valid and relevant. In a knowledge-based economy where innovation and the pace of change is accelerating, professional development is an imperative and not an option.
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