INDEX

PART ONE
Brief Introduction (300 words)
I have been a manager with the Tesco group for over 5 years and prior to that, I have management experience from both the military and various other businesses. I am currently a People Manager for Learning and Development
As a manager I have used many different models and evaluation tools to understand my style of leadership, my personal preferences and my learning styles, such as: * Situational Leadership * Bolton and Bolton * MBTI * Thomas * Clarity 4G * Kolb’s Learning Cycle
These tools have helped me understand where my strengths are and where I still need to develop.
The Situational Leadership model and questionnaire produced no surprises in that I prefer to use a coaching style of leadership where appropriate and that I tend to direct less. I will investigate the pros and cons of this in the main part of this assignment.
To build effective relationship and develop empathy I have embraced the Taking People With You model which is based on the premise that people want to be seen, heard and recognised. The model really deals with building relationships through choosing your attitude, building rapport and actively listening to the person you are building a relationship with before sharing your point of view or offering feedback.
I have looked at how I manage my time and workload utilising the time matrix questionnaire as part of this module. I was not surprised to find that I am easily distracted and will put off some work to take on something more interesting, which also fits in with my MBTI result, which I will cover later in the assignment.
JOHARI’s window emphasises the benefits of both giving and soliciting feedback, especially in helping you to develop the areas that are unknown to you and also to help others in their quests to develop themselves.

Notes Supporting the Presentation (no more than 2200 words) (a) Range of skills and knowledge
Team Leadership
Team leadership starts with the team having a shared purpose that they all understand and are working towards and relationships that are built on trust. It is difficult to lead and motivate a team when you know nothing of their needs and aspirations. In my early military career there was a culture for some to lead by fear and the knowledge that it was an autocracy rather than a democracy where everyone’s opinion mattered. I quickly realised that this method of leadership is ineffective in all but the most extreme situations. True collaboration and the ability to be led rather than lead come when you have a true understanding of your collective purpose and trust based relationships in accordance with the equation: Taken from the Trusted Advisor Field Handbook
Trust = Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy Self-Orientation
I have evaluated my team leadership style utilising feedback from my direct reports and from Situational Leadership results, which show that sometimes I allow too much democracy when in fact the team need more direction. I believe this comes from my role in development in that I believe they have the potential within themselves and therefore let them get on with it.
Leadership/Management Style
The Hersey and Blanchard Situational Leadership model has helped me to understand that leadership should be based on the situation the individual is dealing with and that a blanket style of leadership is not appropriate for either the team or individuals. I now recognise that it is important to correctly diagnose the development or readiness level of the individual for that particular situation and then to use the appropriate style: * Directing * Coaching * Supportive * Delegating
I believe that being flexible in the styles that I use, where matched appropriately to the correct diagnosis will deliver a team and individuals that will understand and expect the style of leadership I will use with them. This understanding will also allow them to challenge back when they do not receive it.
As mentioned earlier, my results show that I tend to use a coaching style more than the other three. However I also need to give better direction as sometimes individuals can feel lost; especially if their preference is for detail and plans like Analytical types from Bolton and Bolton. ( Bolton & Bolton - ) or frustrated if their development level is delegating and they just want to get on with the task or situation.
Personal reflection time and soliciting feedback during and on completion of tasks will help me remain flexible in utilising all four styles.
Managing your time and workload
Looking at the results from my MBTI (INFP) and Bolton and Bolton, I know that I have expressive tendencies and tend to see the “big picture”. This means that I have difficulty dealing with lots of detail or tasks which become repetitive and tedious. In turn this leads me to prioritise tasks that are deemed interesting to me and put off the ones that are not. This can lead to the wrong allocation of time and resources to meet current needs. As part of my development I am taking on a stretch role which will help me focus my attention more clearly on the correct priorities.
However, I believe I currently have the right balance in work and life and this has been corroborated by 360 feedback and a resilience questionnaire, which show that I do not let my workload get on top of me.
Building effective relationships
I was introduced to the Taking People With You (TPWY) model on my first leadership course with the Tesco group and it is a model which forms the backbone of relationship building within Tesco to this day.
In essence the model looks at four stages or bases to help build relationships and to build emotional loyalty through empathy.
As an F in MBTI I have always thought of myself as someone who is interested in the person and what motivates them rather than the end business need. I believe that if you can identify their needs and either meet them or help them to develop towards them, then you will build effective relationships and as a leader have people who want to follow you. My feedback constantly shows that I have a high degree of success with relationship building.
My watch out is that I put the needs of the individual above the needs of the business and I need to work on balancing this out with the right decision based on the facts at hand. Sometimes that will mean making difficult and unpopular decisions that are right for the business
Giving and receiving feedback
I have always welcomed feedback throughout my career and have used it to help me overcome my edges both technically and behaviourally. I believe that I am self-aware enough to recognise most of the feedback that I receive and that I am already trying to correct some of the edges mentioned. On occasions I will be surprised by someone’s insight and this will cause reflection and corrective action where necessary. Thankfully the business encourages feedback and incorporates a 360 feedback evaluation during each 6 monthly appraisal. As you can see from my results, based on the 5 leadership skills, I constantly achieve favourable scores and the areas to work on are no surprise.
I have no problem giving feedback, and achieve this by ensuring the feedback is data based, timely, my own opinion and objective. I incorporate the feedback into the TPWY model which allows the individual to be heard and have their say, which in turn leaves them more open to my point of view. This based with the data turns what could be a difficult conversation into a development conversation.
It should also be noted that positive feedback, celebrating success is just as important and reminds me of a “The 1 minute manager” which said “Catch someone doing something right and tell them”

(b) My learning Style And Process
How and why did I develop the skills and strengths that I have
Throughout my military career I became involved in training, from weapons, tactics and recruits to specialised vehicles and equipment. However looking back, the vast majority of what I did was instruction. Generally there was one way to do it and they had to follow that process. Joining the Tesco group, I was introduced to development through coaching and facilitation. It was here that I started to develop different styles of giving new information, when required and asking questions to allow others to come to their own conclusions and to release their hidden potential, when I believed they had the knowledge in themselves.
I embraced the TPWY model and started to fine tune my relationship building skills and my natural optimism and resilience, which were honed through many years of enduring hardship and arduous conditions in the military. I continued to hone these skills after joining the Tesco group because of the satisfaction of seeing the “light bulb moments” that you would see in others eyes during development sessions.
I also recognise as mentioned earlier that sometimes I need to adapt my natural preference and give more direction (instruction).
How do I prefer to engage with learning
I had been introduced to both Honey and Mumford and Kolb’s Learning Cycle many years before and thought that I had my particular style of learning down to a tee. However after revisiting it during the workshop and this assignment it has made me re-think.
Originally, and my results from the questionnaire showed that I have a natural preference for activist. I like to get involved and try things out. I’m not interested in the detail; I’ll work that out as I go along. This conclusion is also backed up by my MBTI preference. However I have found that this is true when the learning requires an activity, i.e. something that needs physical actions. When the learning is academic, i.e. a new model, then if I can see how this will work both for me and those I wish to develop (pragmatic) I will (reflect) and then look to learn more about it (theory). It is because of the re-affirmed learning that I have looked at the whole learning cycle and not just concentrated on the activist part. Completing the cycle no matter where you enter, gives you the full learning experience.
Where and in what ways do I learn most
I believe like most people that I learn most when I can see the benefits of what I’m doing. Although my preference has been shown to be activist, and I do benefit from just giving it a go. Most of my learning comes from reading and theorising on the new information. I find that if I read something or have it demonstrated to me then I can remember and re-assimilate that information to others. I also have a preference for remembering things rather than writing them down, which I find helps me to recall information. This is backed up from feedback from my peers, as I also regale them with trivial facts to amuse them or recall complex models sometimes word for word.
What are my most memorable and valuable learning experiences
There are two experiences that stay in my memory. The first was of a maths teacher during my time at Grammar school. For 4 years out of the 5 at school I had the same maths teacher, who was a genius and had won a scholarship to America to study maths in his youth. However, he could only explain mathematic formulas in a complex way, if you couldn’t understand them, you didn’t learn. Therefore I struggled throughout the 4 years. For one year I had a different teacher, Jack Straw, who when you struggled with a formula, came up with another way to get the same result. For that 1 year everything became clear and I progressed. I took this learning with me into my own sessions and recognised that everyone learns differently, so if they are not getting what I’m saying, then I need to change and flex my style to meet their training and development need.
The second experience was being introduced to the concept of coaching and the COACH model. It was strange to move away from instruction as it left you open to discussion and questions. It allowed others to use their ideas in conjunction with your own. One Stop has embraced and encourages a culture of coaching, where appropriate, and it fits in with natural preference and style.
How experienced and skilled am I as a learner
In my current role I am constantly looking for new and exciting opportunities to learn. Attending seminars, watching and listening to Webinars, reading and attending training sessions all fall high on my priorities. Not only do I continually look to develop, I also actively encourage others to do so, by forwarding on links to learning opportunities, running development sessions and recently opening a new Learning Lounge within the business, to encourage a culture of self-development with the head office.
I believe my willingness to learn and develop has rubbed off on others as I am frequently asked within the business to facilitate learning and development sessions for teams.

My Development Plan
(From the evidence gathered for your presentation, identify where and how you need to develop further, create a SMART development plan to ensure that you continue to learn and develop in these areas. Your plan must include): * Resources and the support required * Justification for the investment in your development

Future Directions
(Consider how the development highlighted at © above will support you in achieving current and future objectives: include comments on how you will ensure your development plans is reviewed and kept up date).

Reflective Review (approx. 400-500 wards)
(In this aspect of the assignment question you should reflect upon the feedback you received on your presentation and what this means for you in terms of future development needs).

PART TWO
Demonstrate a Culture that Supports Staff Welfare
(Produce a report discussing your responsibility for promoting and supporting staff welfare, this must include): 1. Meeting organisational objectives and the importance of staff welfare 2. How you assess staff welfare 3. Action you would take in the case of an issue arising that impacted on staff welfare 4. How you communicate staff welfare responsibilities to the team and what records are necessary to demonstrate your support to staff welfare