BPP Business School

Coursework Cover Sheet

Please use this document as the cover sheet of for the 1 st page of your assessment. Please
complete the below table – the grey columns

Module Name Personal Effectiveness

Program Name MSc Management

Student Reference Number (SRN)

Assessment Title Developing the Personal Effectiveness

Please complete the yellow sections in the below declaration:

Declaration of Original Work:

I hereby declare that I have read and understood BPP’s regulations on plagiarism and that
this is my original work, researched, undertaken, completed and submitted in accordance
with the requirements of BPP School of Business and Technology.

The word count, excluding contents table, bibliography and appendices, is 961 words.
Student Reference Number: _ Date:

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Task 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Reflective Practice...........................................................................................................................3
1.2 Strengths and Weaknesses..............................................................................................................4
1.3 Skills in My Career..........................................................................................................................4
References...................................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Personal effectiveness refers to the ability of an individual to exploit their full capacity, complete
given targets, and be effective in personal and professional actions (Burhan et al., 2021).
Personal effectiveness is composed of a number of competencies and traits, including
communication, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving, that enables people to
manage difficulties and capture opportunities (Tripathy, 2020). Reflection plays a vital role in
determining the areas of improvement that are important for personal effectiveness (Schwalbe,
2017). This report aims to increase the personal effectiveness with the use of reflection. For this
reason, the challenges and opportunities identified through reflective practice will be discussed
in the report. It will also provide the ways to develop the necessary leadership and teamwork
capabilities information and practical advice for personal and career development by using Gibbs
Model (Gibbs, 1988).

Task 1
1.1 Reflective Practice
During a university project on sustainable development, I received a group assignment. The
activity took place in our regular group meeting in the university library. In the group, I was
accompanied by four other classmates, each of whom was assigned a specific role to play in the
project. We started by sharing our individual research findings related to different aspects of
sustainable development. Next we tried to fit our results into a structured presentation outline. As
the discussion went on, it became clear that the views about the importance of some topics were
different. We were able to come to a conclusion regarding the outline of the presentation, but
there was disagreement among group members regarding the level of coverage of each section.
The reason I was there was that the assignment was one of the mandatory elements of our course,
and I wanted the group to create a good presentation which would represent all of us favorably.
During the whole scenario, I wanted the conversation to be positive and for everybody to feel
appreciated and understood. In the group meeting, I felt a combination of anger and the urge to
preserve peace within the group. Initially, I was positive about how we would work together, but
after the situation, I felt slightly deceived by all the difficulties we had to face. I think some of
the other members of the group were probably as frustrated as I was at our inability to reach
agreement. I was trying to find a way to manage the conflicting opinions and guide the
conversation to the desirable result. In reconsideration, I understand that I could have been more

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proactive in guiding the discussion and ensuring that all opinions were adequately addressed. I
was a positive contributor to the group because I actively contributed in the discussions and tried
to resolve differences between the group members. On the other hand, I may have also added to
the negativity by not speaking up early enough when I felt that the discussion was going off
course. All went smoothly since we all had the passion to come up with a good presentation and
were ready to discuss constructively. But it did not start well because there were no good
communication and consensus-building mechanisms. Looking back, I understand that our
situation could have been managed more effectively. Moreover, I realized the value of
assertiveness and proactive communication in the group. In order to be better equipped for
similar scenarios in the future, I will need to improve my conflict resolution and assertive
communication skills. It means looking for materials on successful teamwork and working on
team discussion facilitation strategies. If I had to do this again, I would enter the discussion with
a clearer agenda and a set of established ground rules to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard
and respected. Moreover, I would work towards creating a more open and participatory
environment right from the beginning. In the future, I intend to engage in seeking feedback from
peers and mentors to point out the areas that need improvement and to further my interpersonal
skills. Through reflection and active learning, I want to say that I could cope with similar
situations more efficiently in the future.
1.2 Strengths and Weaknesses
Some of my strengths are participation, cooperativeness, and conflict resolution. These
characteristics are consistent with literature of effective teams, highlighting the importance of
communication and cooperation for group performance. On the other hand, I have weaknesses in
assertiveness and proactive communication since I did not occur in the discussion early enough.
Winer et al., (2012) confirms the importance of assertiveness in group environments, as it
contributes to productive discourse and conflict resolution. By addressing these weaknesses I can
improve my performance in group mechanics and add more value to any future collaborative
activities.
1.3 Skills in My Career
Based on my identified strengths and weaknesses, I can correlate my skills with my chosen
career in project management. These are important skills in project management as they help to
keep the team together and achieve the goals of the project. Nevertheless, the lack of

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assertiveness and proactive communication impedes good leadership and decision-making in the
project teams (Zaman et al, 2021). Moreover, Mascarenhas, Verma and Rana (2024) stated that
in project management, assertiveness ensures clear direction and accountability while proactive
communication promotes transparency and stakeholder participation. Thus, dealing with such
weaknesses is crucial for effective project performance and stakeholder satisfaction. Through
increased assertiveness and proactive communication, I can be an effective leader of project
teams, conflict manager, and risk mitigator, which will ensure project success and organizational
goals. Furthermore, the promotion of a culture of open communication and collaboration adapts
to the existing project management methodologies such as the Agile and Scrum, which
emphasizes adaptive teamwork and continuous improvement (Hidalgo, 2019). By continuous
professional development and work practice, I want to improve these skills further and succeed
in my career.

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References
Burhan Ismael, N., Jabbar Othman, B., Gardi, B., Abdalla Hamza, P., Sorguli, S., Mahmood
Aziz, H., Ali Ahmed, S., Sabir, B.Y., Ali, B.J. and Anwar, G., 2021. The role of training
and development on organizational effectiveness. Ismael, NB, Othman, BJ, Gardi, B.,
Hamza, PA, Sorguli, S., Aziz, HM, Ahmed, SA, Sabir, BY, Ali, BJ, Anwar, G.(2021).
The Role of Training and Development on Organizational effectiveness. International
Journal of Engineering, Business and Management, 5(3), pp.15-24.
Schwalbe, K. 2017. An Introduction to Project Management, Sixth Edition. [online]
Available at: https://www.everand.com/book/343645942/Personal-Effectiveness-in-
Project-Management-Tools-Tips-amp-Strategies-to-Improve-Your-Decision-making-
Motivation-Confidence-Risk-taking-Achie [Accessed 5 Feb. 2024].

Gibbs G 1988. Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education
Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford.

Hidalgo, E.S., 2019. Adapting the scrum framework for agile project management in science:
case study of a distributed research initiative. Heliyon, 5(3).
Mascarenhas, R.L., Verma, S. and Rana, S., 2024. The Journey to Project Management:
Navigating the Transition from a NonProject Environment.
Tripathy, M., 2020. Relevance of soft skills in career success. MIER Journal of Educational
Studies Trends and Practices, pp.91-102.
Winer, S., Ramos Salazar, L., Anderson, A.M. and Busch, M., 2023. Resolving conflict in
interpersonal relationships using passive, aggressive, and assertive verbal
statements. International Journal of Conflict Management.
Zaman, U., Florez-Perez, L., Khwaja, M.G., Abbasi, S. and Qureshi, M.G., 2021. Exploring the
critical nexus between authoritarian leadership, project team member's silence and multi-
dimensional success in a state-owned mega construction project. International Journal of
Project Management, 39(8), pp.873-886.