Introduction

Cogitation upon one’s decisions is possibly one of the most effective ways to improve one’s life as
well as learn from experiences across the different aspects of life and it is no different when it comes
to academics. In fact, (Nicole & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006) present that self-reflection assists students in
becoming self-directed, autonomous learners who are able to keep an an eye on and manage their
own learning. Possible outcomes of self-reflection include but are not limited to the pedagogical
effects of perception, goal setting, learning challenges, and motivation, as well as curriculum-related
elements such creating personalized curricular objectives and changing activity selections.
(Belobrovy, 2018) It is for these values that personal reflection has been globally accepted across
universities. Leadership and communication as key transferable skills will be under focus for the
purpose of this essay.

Personal Plan Development Reflection

The purpose of a personal development plan's is to assess, analyse, and establish a set of
competencies based on skills and personal development objectives that will mould one to become a
better student and become a possible asset for any organsisations and circumstances they find
themselves in.

Reflection on Leadership as a key transferrable skill

Acquiring capacity to organise people to collaborate on a task and provide the best outcomes with
the least amount of error is next to acquiring a super talent. Teams are usually made up of various
personalities, each of whom requires a different leadership style. By learning which leadership style
to apply with which individuals, teams can produce brilliant results.

The plan to maintain and continue to harness leadership as a skill centred mainly around developing
situational awareness. The ability to “read the room” as often described, allows one to gauge what
kind of leadership style would be lead the best possible level of efficacy. Leaders that possess this
skill are aware of the unspoken norms and guiding principles that govern the organization as well as
how it operates. In any setting, recognising the power dynamics, currents of emotion, networks,
influencers, and dynamics inside an organisation allow one to become a change maker one must be
able to read the room and organise informal networks. As a matter of fact, research from the
University of Toronto Rotman School of Management illustrates that this acquisition of this aptness
often leads has great results regardless of one’s hierarchical position. (Goleman, 2016) It would not
be farfetched for one to believe that leaders with this ability are at an unimaginable level of
advantage.

Practical ways to advance this skill included building empathy and listening to understand and not
merely respond. As simple as it sounds oftentimes people listen to engage back as opposed to
appreciating the next party’s point of view. Paying attention to body language as well the tone of the
language, proved to convey even further information than what would purely be verbally relayed.

The Contingency theory by Austrian psychologist named Fred Edward Fiedler was discovered in the
1960s, but actually have a more than 100-year history, with their fundamental concepts have their
roots in Taylorism's mechanical philosophy. That is, the application of scientific principles to
management. (What Is Taylorism , n.d.)

Basic assumption of this leadership theory is that effectiveness of leadership is situational, a leader
can be effective in one circumstance and ineffective in another, which where the ability to read the
room comes in. Contingency theory asserts that a leader's success hinges on the way the handle the
circumstances of the situation at hand.
During the preparation of the Finance and Banking Society, it became clear the extent to which
different characters were present in the team. Some people needed to be awarded the space to see
their tasks through whilst others preferred to be guided and regularly check in on the quality of their
progress. Being able to oversee people on either side of the spectrum as well those in between
required patience and understanding. At times, even a blind person could see that the role of
presidency was not an easy one to hold and that contrary to popular belief, is more work than lower
levels of the hierarchy. Although some may not agree, but as the saying goes, every coin has two
sides.

The wish to be right every time and do things with minimal kicks in from time to time for every
leader. Some would refer to this as perfectionism and whilst they may be right, others would see it
as imposter syndrome, the constant worry of if one is good enough. Especially when desired results
are not being achieved despite following set out strategies and seemingly do everything expected.

it is important to understand that circumstances change even when it is notable at face value.
People’s levels of commitment will fluctuate. It was what a good leader does during these state of
affairs that ultimately determines how the kind of leader they are.

Which leads to the next theory that was appreciated in carrying out this development plan, the
Great Man theory. The development of the theory is mainly credited to Scottish philosopher and
historian Thomas Carlyle.

According to this theory, leaders are born and not made. It pushes the belief that the best leaders
need not leadership training or the chance to develop their leadership abilities over the course of
their life and are distinct from the average individual due to some aspect of their anatomy,
personality, or physiology.

It goes without saying, the reasonable narrative here is that there are numerous factors that go into
a great leader. What kind of leadership is required and how effective it is depending on the scenario,
the group's characteristics, and others, (Yukl, 2012)and not one being.

In the end, the event was a success, the patron of the Society was entirely pleased as was the
school’s director. Key takeaways for the future were that leadership is more about listening and
understanding needs of the team than it is about giving instructions over everyone.

On a scale of 1-5, a 5 seems appropriate for the success of the achieving this aspect of development
more so taking how challenges were maneuvered into consideration.

Reflection on Communication as a key transferrable skill

Whilst it seems easy, as the saying goes, somethings are easier said than done and communication is
undoubtedly one of them.

In aim to improve communication it was important to seek and give feedback where necessary, in
addition to asking relevant questions. Oftentimes information gets lost in between cracks that could
have been avoided by seeking clarity. Lack of effective communication is cited as the cause the loss
of an employee by 35 percent of companies according to a Business Communication Report from
March 2022.