Being a leader and manager requires an individual to possess important skills that will enable him or her to integrate quality improvement into the process of strategic planning. This is important for both the individual and the organization which the individual works for as this helps to promote quality and improve work practices. I am an individual who possesses some of these important skills and still determined to improve the weaknesses in the areas that require these skills.
Some of the important professional skills that I measure highly are in areas of optimism and confidence. I am an upbeat person with a high level of self-assurance. My high self-confidence enables me to take an effort regardless of the challenge that a situation provides. I can come up with a workable solution in a difficult circumstance even amid negative influence from pessimistic individuals (Bilanich, 2011). However, since remaining optimistic is not always easy, I need to work on my ability to remain positive and expectant especially when I work under people who operate with fear as this tends to undermine my self-confidence through their dominating fear influence.
In the human service field, I also possess very important leadership skills. These are strong public relations skills and good communication skills. My strength in communication skills enables me to conduct meetings which are important in my profession. This is because I can communicate ideas to clients, employees, and even partners in a persuasive manner. However, I need to improve this skill while dealing with a counseling situation so that I can inspire confidence in the individuals I am dealing with. The strength I possess in public relations has also empowered me to handle any situation that relates to other individuals be it clients, fellow employees, or even employers. However, I need to work on the ability to deal with personal and external stressors that sometimes affect the way I relate with others.
There are areas I have identified that I can work on to improve my professional and personal functioning. These include areas that involve more on my counseling skills. This is because these skills, according to Professional-Resume-Example.com (2010), are necessary for assisting individuals that I deal with to attain the ability to make their own decisions without being affected by conditions of their past lives. Firstly, I need to work on my skills in active listening. According to Heap (n.d.), the skill will enable my clients to develop their thinking and be influenced by the belief that I care for them. I also need to work on my empathy skills to make other individuals feel that they are not in their current situation alone. My attitude towards my clients and other staff is another area that I need to work on. This is because, to have the ability to instruct others with effectiveness, they have to identify that I value their contribution and this can only be illustrated by my attitude.
In an attempt to build these skills, I have set up a plan of supervision (Custom Training, 2011). In the process of building my skill in active listening, I will have a session with a client and seek the permission of the client to shoot the session. After the session, I will present the episode to my supervisor who will analyze it and advise me on the areas to improve. In an attempt to develop my attitude toward the clients and staff, I will request my supervisor to create time where he or she can take part in activities that I am involved in so that he can identify the level of my skills and help me develop an improvement plan.
In conclusion, through the implementation of the supervisor’s advice, I believe that I will achieve outstanding performance in my career and personal life. This is because these skills are the foundation of a successful career life besides competence and ability.
References
Bilanich, B. (2011). Self Confidence- The first step towards career and life success. Web.
Custom Training. (2011). Supervisory effectiveness program. Web.
Heap, N. (n.d). Counseling skills. Web.
Professional-Resume-Example.com. (2010). The most important job skills a job candidate should have. Web.