NVQ Level 4 in sports Turf Management

Guide to Unit 414 Manage your own resources and professional development (MSC)

A guide to the evidence required and learning pack

Note this evidence guide is a guide only and not an exhaustive list of the evidence that might be presented for this unit. This pack also contains examples of the documents required for this unit and the knowledge required for the question banks. It is expected that you will already hold much of the evidence required.

This unit is about

This unit is suitable for those in first line, middle management or senior management and leadership. Itis about managing your continuing personal and professional development within industry.

This means actively finding out about the wider industry issues as well as those in which you are directlyinvolved. This will mean developing and maintaining a network of industry contacts, attending events and broadening your knowledge through a variety of research methods including reading materials and perhaps even the use of the internet though this is not essential.

This will involve

This involves a cycle of activity

• being clear what is required to meet your work objectives and your personal goals

• understanding the knowledge, understanding the skills you need, and the extent to which you possess these

• planning to develop your knowledge, understanding and skills in a way that fit with your preferred learning styles

• taking action in line with your plan and applying your new knowledge, understanding and skills in the work context

• evaluating the effectiveness and impact of your learning and identifying more effective ways to learn in the future

This individual cycle closely mirrors the Investors in People cycle, which is the organisational benchmark of good practice in human resource development.

This unit requires you to have a curiosity to learn and try out new things and a generosity to share your learning with others (within the limits of confidentiality, of course).

You are strongly advised to use the level 4 Oaklearn page

Also recommended are the following web sites

Unit 414 Manage your own resources and professional development (MSC)

PCs / Unit 414 Manage your own resources andprofessional development / Type of evidence required
1 / Evaluate, at appropriate intervals, thecurrent and future requirements of yourwork-role taking account of the visionand objectives of your organisation / This might be found in a SWOT analysis or an appraisal document
2 / Consider your values and your careerand personal goals and identifyinformation which is relevant to yourwork role and professional development / This might be found in a SWOT analysis or an appraisal document that cover your values and career and personal goals as well as information on how you can meet these.
3 / Discuss and agree personal workobjectives with those you report to andhow you will measure progress / This might an appraisal document
4 / Identify the learning styles which workbest for you and ensure that you takethese into account in identifying andundertaking development activities / You might do this by completing a learning stylesquestionnaire and then evidence how you have used it in deciding what development activities you choose to undertake
5 / Identify any gaps between the currentand future requirements of your work roleand your current knowledge,understanding and skills / This might be found in a SWOT analysis or an appraisal document
6 / Discuss and agree, with those youreport to, a development plan toaddress any identified gaps in yourcurrent knowledge, understanding andskills and support your own career andpersonal goals / This might be found in an appraisal document which includes a development plan for you
7 / Undertake the activities identified inyour development plan and evaluatetheir contribution to your performance / This might be found in your development plan and appraisal
8 / Review and update your personal workobjectives and development plan inthe light of performance, anydevelopment activities undertaken andany wider changes / The evidence for this will be your self development plan showing how you have updated it based on changes/training that have taken place in your career
9 / Get regular and useful feedback on yourperformance from those who are in agood position to judge it and provideobjectives and valid feedback / This might be found in an appraisal document that has feed back from your manager/s
10 / Ensure that your performanceconsistently meets or goes beyondagreed requirements / You will need to prove that you performance is consistent. This evidence might come from comments made by managers in your appraisals, it might be evidence such as personal statements as to how you have done this which have been signed by your manager
Scope / A. Produce a personalDevelopment plan forthe following(pc 6, 7, 8)
i) short term (3 – 6 months / Evidence will be development pan for this period of time*
ii) medium term ( 6 – 12 months) / Evidence will be development pan for this period of time*
iii) long term ( 12 months to 2 years) / Evidence will be development pan for this period of time*

* it may be possible for one training plan to have targets that cover all of these dates

Unit 414 Manage your own resources and professional development

PCs / Unit 414 Manage your own resources and professional development / Evidence location
1 / You address multiple demands without losing focus or energy / This of course is hard to prove, you will need to show that you have managed a number of task and projects successfully without the loss of focus or energy required. The evidencemight come form your managers appraisal of you, it might be a personal statement from you signed by your manager etc.
2 / You recognise changes in circumstances promptly and adjust plans and activities accordingly / The evidence for this might be time management plans or self development plans where you show you have made changes due to circumstances that have arisen. For example you might change a self development plan because you are given a new area of responsibility and you need a new skill (e.g. ability to use Excelsoftware to a high level) to carry out this role.
3 / You prioritise objectives and plan work to make best use of time and resources / The evidence for this might be personal time management sheets, work planes etc. These must show the tasks to be achieved and the importance of these and how resources have been used to best effect. For a simple example a bunker renovation is programmed in January when work on the course is at a low demand and staff time is available
4 / You take personal responsibility for making things happen / Evidence for this could be personal statements signed by your manager explaining how you did this e.g. researched a course for your development and asked your manager for permission to book onto it etc.
5 / You take pride in delivering high quality work / The evidence for this might be photos of work you have done, high quality reports that you have written and submitted etc.
6 / You show an awareness of yourown values, motivations andemotions / The evidence for this might be a SWOT sheet or personal evaluation statement etc.
7 / You agree achievable objectivesfor yourself and give a consistentand reliable performance / The evidence for this will most likely come from an appraisal
8 / You recognise your own strengthsand limitations, play to yourstrengths and use alternativestrategies to minimise the impactof your limitations / The evidence for this might come from a written personal statement giving examples of how you have done this. For example your strengths for a proposed construction project might be organisation and strong verbal communication skills but you are not good with computers (a limitation) and so instead of delivering a PowerPoint presentation for the committee at the club you decide to take them to the site and talk them through the proposed changes.
9 / You make best use of availableresources and proactively seeknew sources of support whennecessary / This means you use the skills and knowledge of others at the club to help develop you own abilities and where the skills and knowledge can not be found in -house you find a suitable course/training programme or learning opportunity out side of the company.
Example you want to learn more about mower grinding, you have a old machine butthe club down the road has a new machine and top rate mechanic so you organise an hour of development with him to improve you skills in this area.
The evidence for this might come from self development plans or written statements that explain how you have done this
10 / You reflect regularly on your ownexperience and use them toinform future actions / The evidence for this might come self development plans, SWOT sheets or personal evaluation statement that show you do this.
Skills
1 Setting objectives / You need to show you can set objectives; these might be objectives for yourself or others or be work related. Example might be objectives you set yourself in a self development plan.
2 Evaluating / You need to show you can evaluate effectively Example might be evaluating a training course you attended i.e. what was good/bad about it, did it meet your needs, was it value for money etc.
3 Planning / You need to show you can plan, this might be a self development plan for yourself, a time management sheet etc.
4 Learning / You need to show you can learn effectively i.e. use learning styles that are best suited to you as an individual. Evidence might be a personal statement that out lines some learning you have done and the reasons for selecting that type of learning.
5 Reviewing / You need to show you can review your own development etc. The evidence might come from appraisals where you review you personal progress etc.
6 Communicating / You need to show you can communicate effectively regarding you own development, evidence might come from appraisal documents, written requests for training outlining the reasons behind the requests etc.
7 Self-assessment / You need to show you can complete a self assessment of your skills etc. The evidence for this might come from a self assessment document or a self development plan.
8 Time management / You need to show you can manage your own time. The evidence for this might come from your own time management sheets
9 Stress management / You need to show you can manage stress in the workplace and if required (i.e. if work affects it) your home life.
The evidence for this might come from a written statement as to what mechanisms you use to reduce stress at work.
10 Obtaining feedback / You need to show you can successfully get feedback from others. The evidence for this might come appraisals carried out by your manager etc.
11 Reflecting / You need to show you can reflect on your performance and abilities. The evidence for this might come from an appraisal form or a personal statement.
12 Prioritising / You need to show you can prioritise workloads etc. The evidence for this might come time management sheets, work programmes etc that show how and why things have been given priority.

The notes for unit 414

The principles which underpin professional development

In a nut shell professional development can be seen as

Believe in yourself if you doubt your ability why should others consider you worthy of investing in as an employee
Develop your personal skills (this will allow your confidence to grow)
Gain experience (your value to your organisation improves as do your career prospects)
Keep your self up to date so skills and knowledge is current

Ensure you have a good understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses and base your development plan on these. You can achieve this by looking at the skills needed in you job role and the next step up and then finding the gaps you have in your skills/knowledge compared to this, to get a true picture you will need the input of others who can help you build this picture. For example you may consider yourself a good manager but conversations with those you manage may show a different picture. You will need to be able to see honest criticism as a positive rather than negative feedback as it will help you develop areas of weakness.
Set good examples to others (walk the talk)

Suggested further reading

The importance of considering your values and career and personal goals and how to relate them to your job role and professional development

The manager should consider his/her values and career and personal goals as this career plan will allow them to understand what it is they hope to achieve, their strengths and weakness with regard to their. The use of a SWOT sheet may help the manager identify any barriers to the destination.

Example of a swot analysis

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) ANALYSIS
You should consider both knowledge and skills in all 3 areas
Technical
i.e. work based, such as ability to spray etc / Interpersonal
(I.e. the way in which you work with and communicate with others). / Managerial
(I.e. your ability to make decisions, hold meetings, manage people etc).
Strengths / Strengths / Strengths
I can operate the irrigation system and use every item of equipment on the course / I am good with people, I am honest and fair / I do not hold a level 4 qualification
Weaknesses / Weaknesses / Weaknesses
My knowledge on feeding programmes is limited / I am not good at expressing my opinion with higher level managers, some times I shout at staff instead of discussing issues / I am not very good with PCs
Opportunities / Opportunities / Opportunities
Symbio are running a seminar on fertilisers next January / A local college is running a courses on self assertiveness for managers / The local college offers level 4
Threats / Threats / Threats
My colleague working at the same level is very good with fertilisers / My opinion often gets over looked as the others in the team are better at getting their views across / My colleague working at the same level has Level 4

The next step in self development

Once the manager has identified his/her strengths and weaknesses the normal process is to undertake an appraisal with their line manager. This should look at their current work requirements and the possible future requirements of their role. The appraisal should look at all aspects of their performance and try to see where they have been good and where they had been poor and investigate the reasons for this.

How to evaluate the current requirements of a work role and how the requirements may evolve in the future

This can be done by taking the job description for the position and a list of the responsibilities currently carried out by the manager and then looking at how these might change in the future e.g.

Current requirements of the role / Skills needed / Possible future requirements
Manage budgets / Able to understand budget procedures and use IT to produce a budget / Improved ability to work under possible budget reductions
Manage staff / Ability to follow club procedures for man management / None foreseen
Maintain records / Ability to organise and file paper work / Ability to scan and retain documents electronically to save space etc
Ensure club complies with HS legislation / Knowledge of work place H+S / Will need to update in the new legislation on equality and diversity

Some appraisal systems have this process built into them so the workforce is continually developed to meet the future requirements.

How to set objectives which are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound)

It is important that there any targets set are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound).

Example of a poor target setting

Develop my Greenkeeping skills- this target is unclear as it does not identify what skills will be developed or by what date they will be completed.

Example of a good target

Develop my skills in programming the irrigation system by September the 12th 2013

This target specific and has a completion date.

How to identify development needs to address any identified gaps between the requirements of your work-role and your current knowledge, understanding and skills

This can be done by looking at the manager’s job description and his/her knowledge of their job role requirements and comparing this to their current skills and knowledge. This might be done by a skills scan of SWOT analysis that covers these areas

What an effective development plan should contain and the length of time that it should cover