Professional Development and Networking Relationships

Professional Development and Networking Relationships

I reached out to three stakeholders. Firstly, I reached out to my previous employer at a local healthcare facility. He is the head of clinical services at the healthcare facility. Secondly, I contacted my current employer. In this context, I contacted the manager of the healthcare facility. Thirdly, I reached out to my supervisor. My current employer and supervisor responded to my email and follow-up phone calls. My previous employer did not respond.

My current employer described me as an industrious and dedicated person. Also, she reported that I have excellent communication and interpersonal skills that make me a great team player. Furthermore, she reported that I am adaptable and flexible. These attributes enable me to handle different tasks and projects to their fruition. On the other hand, my supervisor described me as a person who is compassionate, confident, ready to learn, organized, and a good communicator. Additionally, my supervisor reported that I have excellent interpersonal skills. These skills have enabled me to relate positively with my colleagues and develop meaningful relationships with multidisciplinary team members.

The professional characterization by my current employer and supervisor is harmonious with my self-perception as a professional. To begin with, I am dedicated to delivering quality healthcare services. To accomplish this, I uphold open communication and work in concert with other interdisciplinary team members. I believe that establishing healthy relationships promotes information sharing and learning. Furthermore, I am excellent at solving problems through critical thinking and being flexible. When faced with a challenge, I devise strategies for handling it rather than avoiding the problem.

I did not receive feedback from my previous employer (head of clinical services). There are various reasons why this employer did not respond. Firstly, he may have moved to another facility and changed his contact information. Secondly, the healthcare facility might have a policy that prohibits giving recommendations to former employees. Facilities adopt this policy to avoid potential liabilities such as defamation, retaliation claims, or negligent referrals (SHRM.org, n.d.).

This assignment enabled me to understand my professional relationship with my supervisor and current employer. I learned that I have a positive professional relationship with these stakeholders. Based on their assessment of my personality traits, I embrace openness, as evidenced by open communication and excellent interpersonal skills. I am conscientious, as evidenced by dedication, hard work, and adaptability. As such, I have developed a positive direct report relationship with my employer and a positive mentor-mentee relationship with my supervisor.

Professional relationships can be strengthened by adopting various techniques. An individual should develop self-awareness and identify his or her weaknesses and strengths. This will form the basis for developing strong professional relationships. Firstly, optimizing social skills such as open communication, empathy, and teamwork strengthens professional relationships (Cosgrove et al., 2019; Wei et al., 2020). Open communication promotes information sharing and enables all stakeholders to avoid misunderstandings and remain committed to the goals and objectives (RUMIE.org, n.d.). Secondly, allocating quality time to spend with team members strengthens professional relationships (RUMIE.org, n.d.). This happens because scheduling time for interactions allows members to understand each other personally, hence creating a better professional relationship. Thirdly, recognizing and acknowledging the role or strengths of team members builds strong professional relationships (RUMIE.org, n.d.). Fourthly, active listening facilitates positive feedback and non-judgmental relationships (RUMIE.org, n.d.). This helps to create positive professional relationships.

References

Cosgrove, K., Gilkerson, L., Leviton, A., Mueller, M., Norris-Shortle, C., & Gouvêa, M. (2019). Building professional capacity to strengthen parent/professional relationships in early intervention: The fan approach. Infants and Young Children, 32(4), 245–254. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000148

RUMIE.org. (n.d.). The Importance of Relationship Building at Work. https://learn.rumie.org/jR/bytes/the-importance-of-relationship-building-at-work

SHRM.org. (n.d.). Negligent Referral. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-glossary/pages/negligent-referral.aspx

Wei, H., Corbett, R. W., Ray, J., & Wei, T. L. (2020). A culture of caring: the essence of healthcare interprofessional collaboration. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(3), 324-331. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2019.1641476

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Throughout this course, you should have solicited recommendations from current or previous employers, supervisors, or instructors. If not, begin soliciting recommendations via LinkedIn or contact them directly by email or telephone. Be polite and professional in your solicitation. You will need to acquire the recommendations before the end of the week to complete your summative assessment.

Building self-awareness is an important exercise in becoming a leader people want to work for. An effective approach to building self-awareness is to reflect on experiences of success or failure to learn about what worked or did not work in your communication, negotiation, and collaboration with internal and external colleagues.

Write a 525- to 700-word summary that examines the results of your efforts to solicit professional recommendations.

Consider the following:

Identify those to whom you reached out and their relation to you. Who responded, and what did they have to say?
Examine the recommendations. Do you think the professional characterizations accurately reflect how you view yourself as a professional? Explain your response.
Consider the responses you did not receive. Why do you think these people might not have responded?
Consider and describe what this assignment taught you about your professional relationships with current or previous employers or supervisors. Incorporate insight you have gained through the personality and leadership style assessments.
Examine and explain strategies you can use to strengthen weak professional relationships.

Include copies of the recommendations in your paper.

Cite 3 reputable references to support your assignment (i.e., trade or industry publications, government or agency websites, scholarly works, or other sources of similar quality).