Kier Graduate Programme

Assignment: Developing Yourself and Others

Name: Ruslan Zhivkov

Centre Name: 0611

Centre Number: Innovation Central Ltd
Version Control:

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AC1.1 Identify own learning style(s) and the learning style(s) of another
member of the team

The model that I followed to identify my own learning style and that of a colleague is known

as the Honey and Mumford learning style model. They built it upon Kolb’s model by

introducing a Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ) that helps the individuals to find out

about their learning styles or preferences. In total there are four distinct styles: Activist,

Theorist; Pragmatist and Reflector. (Pd—how2.org, 2017; Mobbs, n.d.) The learning style I

have identified for myself is reflector. I identified this by completing the questionnaire and

scoring my answers to find the overall score (Appendix A). As an engineer I collect data on a

daily basis, review it and think through all available options before coming to a conclusion. I

prefer to observe the way senior engineers tackle difficult situations from the sidelines and

later on analyze their approach from all possible angles. The learning style I have identified

for a colleague is activist. I identified this by comparing the results from his Learning Styles

Questionnaire (Appendix B). The examples of this are his willingness to be involved in various

site activities and also to actively participate in group discussions. (Developing yourself and

others, 2017)

AC1.2 Use a simple technique for identifying own development needs and the
development needs of another member of the team

The techniques available to identify development needs are SWOT analysis, data analysis

and personal development needs assessment. The technique I used for myself and a

colleague is SWOT analysis. The data method I chose to analyse with SWOT is the

chartership criteria that are listed on ICE Portal. Since I am continuously writing about how I

have achieved each criterion and what I am planning to achieve in the future, I believe that

the extensive list of attributes is the ideal tool to identify my strengths, the weaknesses I
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have to focus on, the opportunities that I must take on, and the threats that I must be aware

of. The following development needs for both of us were identified using the SWOT analysis.

My strengths are contributing to the implementation of solutions to problems,

communicating with others at all levels, weaknesses are managing and applying safe

systems of work, demonstrating commercial awareness, opportunities to control budgets,

tasks, people and resources through package management, the threat identified is the

inability to get exposure to certain attributes due to lack of a job role rotation. The

technique I used for another team member (site manager) was again SWOT analysis. My

colleague’s strengths are effective planning, organizing and supervision of resources to

complete tasks. His weaknesses are similar to mine as his job responsibilities restrict him

from dealing with contractual issues. The opportunities for him are broadening his

engineering knowledge by working closely with the engineering department. (Developing

yourself and others, 2017)

AC1.3 Identify potential barriers to learning

The barriers to learning/development within Kier could be divided into two groups: personal

and organizational. The first barrier to learning that I have identified is motivation. If the

task at hand is more complicated than usual, the person will start off with good levels of

motivation but this can drop if it is taking too much time to achieve the set goals. In addition

to that lack of motivation might be caused by repetitive activities at work. The impact of this

barrier is that it might affect the overall performance of the individual and also they will not

be able to identify opportunities for growth or push themselves forward. (Developing

yourself and others, 2017)

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Another barrier to learning is personal commitments. Most of the time people can not

foresee things that happen outside their work life or they just happen naturally leaving

them with less time to focus on their development. The impact of this barrier is that it could

result in lack of commitment to the currently set learning goals. For example, last year I had

to dedicate time for the preparation of my own wedding, which consumed most of my spare

time that I usually use to read engineering publications. (Developing yourself and others,

2017)

An organizational barrier to learning is the culture at group business unit and project level.

Due to the fact that there are several regional businesses people get different opportunities

and also the advice they receive from their line managers varies. In addition to that, it is

difficult for people to transfer between regions/projects thus limiting their knowledge about

the rest of the business. (Developing yourself and others, 2017)

AC1.4 Explain how barriers to learning can be overcome

As I identified my learning style to be a reflector, the best way for me to tackle the lack of

motivation would be to break down the task at hand into smaller meaningful parts and set

myself several milestones rather than an end goal. By doing this I will ensure that each

milestone achieved acts as a motivator to keep pushing myself forward in order to complete

the whole learning activity. Moreover, I believe that as a reflector I need to participate more

often in the group situations, take more risk and become more assertive as this will reduce

the possibility of losing interest in what I am doing.

It is impossible to overcome personal commitments but there are ways to minimize the

impact that they have on the learning commitments. This could be done by making sure that

when I take on any learning opportunities, I know in advance that my personal life will not

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interfere with the time that I have allocated to meet the deadlines for those activities. In

case that unexpected personal commitment occurs then I have to assess whether to take

the step back or postpone the learning plan until I have resolved the personal matters.

Another way of dealing with this barrier is to look for personal support from colleagues,

family and friends who I could rely on in difficult situations as their help will allow me to

solve the problems much quicker than doing it on my own. (Developing yourself and others,

2017)

In order to overcome the impact of this organizational barrier, it is necessarily to identify the

differences across the business units/project levels and amalgamate their procedures by

adopting a standard approach. This will facilitate learning as everyone will be following the

same guidelines and mentors will have a clear view on individuals development needs.

(Developing yourself and others, 2017)

AC2.1 Briefly analyse learning/development options to meet need(s) of self

and another member of the team

To meet my learning needs, the development options available based on my preferred

learning style are shadowing/observing experienced members from different departments.

For example, to broaden my commercial awareness, I will have to observe how members of

that team deal with contractual issues on a daily basis and ask them to delegate certain

tasks to me so that I can learn the correct ways to handle such matters. Another way of

meeting my needs is by having an open discussion with my line manager who can advise me

on the best way to control budgets/tasks/people and resources as he has got an extensive

experience of being a package manager. Since my colleague’s learning style is an activist, the

most suitable development options to meet his learning needs are on the job training

projects, practical exercises and discussions. For example, widening his engineering

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knowledge could be accomplished by having practical exercises with members of the

engineering team. Although, his weakness is similar to mine, he will adopt different

approach as the activist loves to be fully involved. Therefore, role playing and debates with

the commercial team will be more suitable for him to get the most out of the learning

experience. (Developing yourself and others, 2017)

The SMART goal that I will set for my development is as follows:

Goal name: Get experience as a package manager

Goal description: Learn how to control budgets, tasks, people and resources

Goal Tasks:

 supervising and overseeing the direction of the package

 ensuring that the client’s specifications and requirements are met,

 reviewing progress and liaising with quantity surveyors to monitor costs

 coordinating and supervising construction workers

 assessing and minimizing risk as well as maintaining quality control procedures

Aligns to: My goal aligns to Kier corporate values: collaborative, forward thinking and

enthusiastic.

Timescales: I am planning to achieve my goals within one year (12 months).

AC2.2 Identify support mechanisms for the development of self and another
member of the team

Support mechanisms available are mentoring and coaching by experts in our field, personal

support from colleagues, family and friends. Another method for us is online resource

platforms where we could access various articles, magazines and publications related our

daily work activities. Networking is also available to us through graduate forums and site

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visits across the business. Human resources is an important department for every

organization which can guide and advise us on the best possible training plan based on the

learning needs we have identified. An additional support mechanism is the situated practice

which means that in order to be successful in our learning we need to make sure we are

given the opportunity to practice the skill in the relevant environment. (Developing yourself

and others, 2017)

Support mechanisms most appropriate for me are mentoring and coaching as well as online

resources. The reason for selecting those is that I believe personal mentors have been

through similar situations and understand the challenges and opportunities better than

anyone. The good thing about the online resources is that they are readily accessible and

provide invaluable information in a very quick way on a wide range of topics. (Developing

yourself and others, 2017)

Support mechanisms most suitable for my team member are situated practice and

networking because as an activist, he likes to engage in open discussions and share

experiences and challenges with others. The personal performance review scheme within

Kier is linked to the company’s core values and business objectives. It is a formal quarterly

meeting with the line manager intended to help us set attainable goals for the next year.

Personal development plans were created at the appraisals for my colleague and me.

These are living documents subject to regular monitoring and review. (Developing yourself

and others, 2017)

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AC2.3 Prepare a development plan to achieve a learning objective for self or another team member

Name: Ruslan Zhivkov Department: Engineering

Position: Graduate Civil Engineer Line Manager: Guy Osborne
Development Action Required Target Learning Applied Further Action
Objective  Familiarize myself with current Health,  to be
Date  Access Kier online portal and read  Attend
achiev ICE
Safety and Welfare codes/legislation as through minimum standards, Health
ed by forums
well as the hazards applicable to my field Februa and Safety Systems.
ry
of work.  Shadow Health and Safety inspectors
2018
 Review risk assessments and method when they conduct sites visits and
statements of subcontractors that are advise on the necessarily improvements
Managing and
meant to conduct work on site, make that must be made on site.
applying safe
sure they are compliant with Kier  Have a one on one discussion with my
system of
Minimum Standards and recommend mentor regarding the SHE content of
works
improvements if necessarily. the subcontractors risk assessments and
 Conduct safety briefings and site specific method statements.
inductions to practice my understanding
of the newly learned Health and Safety
Systems.

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  Observe how site managers are  to be  Networking with other Kier employees
supervising the direction of the package achiev who have already achieved the goal of
Get
they are looking after- quality, cost and ed by being package managers will be
experience as
time. Februa beneficial to me as they will share their
a package
 Become aware of client’s specifications ry experiences and give me advice on how
manager-
and requirements by examining the 2018 to overcome the challenges that I will
control
design information available on Kier face.
budgets, tasks,
Portal.  I will discuss with my mentor the
people and
 Attend progress meetings and learn how opportunities that are available on the
resources
to handle difficult situations when the current project and try to practice the
subcontractors are behind program skill set that was mentioned in the
section ‘Action Required’ during my PPR

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AC2.4 Identify support mechanisms for the development of self and another
member of the team

There are a number of methods available to monitor our development such as one to one

meetings, personal performance reviews (PPR) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI). During

PPR meetings the line manager and the individual agree on a personal development plan

that includes two-three learning objectives. Once the plan is in place, it is necessary to

review, monitor and evaluate progress so that the targets can be achieved. My colleague

and I are subject to this process and we have the responsibility to arrange progress

meetings on a quarterly basis and present evidence that we are on track.

The benefits of a personal performance review are that it gives us the opportunity to focus

our attention on a specific area of weakness that needs improving. Moreover, the reviews

from different periods could be compared and used as a measuring tool for progress or

regress. (Webb, n.d.)

The way it should be used for monitoring progress is through keeping learning logs of all

site/offsite activities, observations and relating them back to the skills that we want to

develop. At the end of the year we have to write a self-assessment review on whether we

have achieved our goals and that is the time when all the evidence collected becomes

handy. It gives us the opportunity to reflect on what we have learned, how we have

developed and figure out whether further learning is required to meet the goals.

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 REFERENCES
Developing yourself and others. (2017).

Mobbs, R. (n.d.). Honey and Mumford — University of Leicester. [online] Www2.le.ac.uk.

Available at:
https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/training/eresources/teaching/theories
/honey-mumford [Accessed 20 Sep. 2017].

Pd-how2.org. (2017). Learning styles. [online] Available at: http://www.pd-

how2.org/doing/learning-styles/ [Accessed 20 Sep. 2017].

Webb, C. (n.d.). Benefits of a Performance Appraisal. [online] Smallbusiness.chron.com.

Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-performance-appraisal-
1917.html [Accessed 7 Oct. 2017].

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 APPENDIX A

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 APPENDIX B

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