Changing environments challenge managers to regularly develop themselves, making management development a crucial strategic tool. (Viitala 2005, 436). In three years, I see myself in a managerial position within my field, where I can leverage my creativity, expertise, and leadership skills to foster thriving work communities and successful projects. I envision leading a small team, participating in strategic decision-making, and playing a central role in shaping the direction and execution of our initiatives.
According to Riitta Viitala’s (2005) management competency model and the evolving work environment, the competencies required for a managerial position in my field include “leadership competencies, business competencies, knowledge management competencies, social competencies, and intrapersonal competencies” (Viitala 2005, 439). Key leadership competencies for the future position include the ability to motivate and inspire teams, conflict management, decision-making, and clear and impactful communication and delegation. In terms of business competencies, I should develop visionary thinking, the ability to set long-term goals and the analytical skills to support decision-making. Required knowledge management competencies include information retrieval, analytical thinking, innovation, and development facilitation for both myself and my followers. Social skills supporting leadership include building and maintaining networks, strong negotiation and communication skills, and conflict resolution abilities. Self-awareness and emotional skills, an attitude of continuous learning, adaptability and perseverance represent the intrapersonal competencies I need. (Viitala 2005, 441).
As management needs to be developed regularly, I will create a three-year plan to support my development. In fact, this plan already supports the intrapersonal competencies of my leadership, but in the first year, I could focus on refining goals and methods for my competence. In the first year, it is paramount for me to delve into leadership literature and participate in leadership workshops and seminars, as I have no prior experience in leadership and wish to enhance these skills. In addition, I want to learn how to strengthen team motivation, so I believe courses are useful platforms to develop in this area. Practicing analytical tools to strengthen business competencies is part of my plan for the first year. In order to deepen my strategic thinking, it would be useful for me to take an online course on the subject, for example (Harvard Business School,2024; IDEOU; 2024). A few years ago, I participated in a mentoring program and received tremendous support from my mentor in both self-awareness and career planning. I would think that leveraging mentoring in the first year to advance my leadership (intrapersonal competencies, social skills, and leadership competencies) would be valuable. To develop leadership competencies, I could start self-assessment (and reflect on team feedback) in the first year to make it part of my way of working. I would improve my knowledge management competencies by organizing skill and knowledge-sharing workshops for my team, but also by attending knowledge management courses and workshops myself. From my studies as a designer, I remember effective methods, such as Design Thinking and service design exercises. Investing in the development of creative thinking using different methods supports my leadership knowledge competencies. In addition, my first year’s activities include networking and attending industry events. I would strengthen my stakeholder management skills in various work situations. I hope that in the second year, I will have the opportunity to lead a cross-functional team and take on various projects. I would also like to initiate new projects based on innovative plans developed by my team together.
In the second year, I will continue to develop leadership skills by maintaining a culture of feedback and self-reflection (intrapersonal skills). In the second year, I could start mentoring my followers myself to develop my coaching skills. In developing knowledge management skills, I would transition to encouraging others to mentor so that more experienced experts can pass on tacit knowledge to newer employees. Participation in training and courses would also continue in the second year to deepen my expertise further. I would also like to join leadership development programs in the second year. Developing business competencies, I want to focus on strengthening visionary thinking, and I think trend monitoring is a good way to do this. Networking and project work naturally develop my social skills.
In the third year, the goal is to lead larger projects to demonstrate strategic leadership competencies. I would be interested in leading projects focusing on increasing impact. I would implement plans made with my team. The culture of feedback and self-reflection continues in the third year. In the third year, it is also good to pause and review the development plan and make updates, changes, or more concrete goals if necessary.
References:
Harvard Business School 2024. Strategy. Website. https://online.hbs.edu/subjects/strategy/?c1=MSN_SE_NW&source=INTL_STRATEGY&cr2=search__-__nw__-__international__-__strategy__-__audience&kw=strategic_thinking_course&cr5=71743388833314&cr7=c&msclkid=15f379621c92149ba6791f3ca51b1311&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20NW%20-%20International%20-%20Strategy%20-%20Audience&utm_term=strategic%20thinking%20course&utm_content=Strategy%20-%20Course%20-%20BRD. Accessed: 24.06.2024.
IDEOU 2024. Human-Centered Strategy Certificate. Make strategy accessible and actionable using principles of human-centered design. Website. https://www.ideou.com/products/human-centered-strategy-certificate?utm_medium=bing&utm_source=paid-bing&utm_campaign=MOF%20-%20Strategy%20(PSDW)&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=604118841&msclkid=238e9bd2216a146883abfd8c9472f037&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MOF%20-%20Strategy%20(PSDW)&utm_term=strategic%20thinking%20training&utm_content=Strategic%20Thinking%20Course. Accessed: 24.06.2024.
Viitala, Riitta 2005. Perceive development needs of managers compared to an integrated management competency model. Journal of Workplace Learning, 17 (7): 436-451. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620510620025. Accessed: 30.06.2024