Managing Work Priorities & Professional Development |

In today's business world, you can find any number of articles in the media about how important it is for you to manage your work priorities and develop your professional capabilities. Competition among people for professional advancement in both position and salary is high and being able to successfully manage your priorities and personal development is a cornerstone in achieving this. Without professional development you will find yourself left behind in the promotion race and missing out on all the 'plum' and challenging roles that you seek. This applies to all types of employees in every facet of business or industry but it is particularly relevant to office-based workers and managers who don't have the strict structures controlling their every task like a process or factory worker does. There are many different things to consider when thinking about managing priorities and professional development but to begin with you need to formulate a plan. The plan should include your performance as a role model, developing your traits as an effective leader, ensuring your work goals and plan reflect the organisation's, meeting your job responsibilities, measuring and maintaining your personal performance, prioritising your work, use of technology, maintaining a work/life balance, meeting competency standards, determining your developmental needs, taking advantage of learning opportunities that best match your personal learning style, seeking and using feedback, using networks and maintaining your competitive edge. Creating, following and updating your plan is an ongoing process that requires constant reflection and tinkering to make sure it remains valid and workable for you.

In developing my plan, the first thing I would plan for is ensuring I was a good role model for people I supervise or manage.