CPD (Continuing Professional Development)

"CPD is defined as any process or activity that provides added value to the capability of the professional through the increase in knowledge, skills and personal qualities necessary for the appropriate execution of professional and technical duties, often termed competence.' (Professional Associations Research Network.)

Everyone needs it, but where and how? To help you to extend your toolkit, network and contribute to your professional development, Team Focus are holding a Cutting Edge CPD event on Friday 17 October in Maidenhead (following the success of this event already run on 18 July).

With a whole host of sessions, workshops and much more, do make it a date in your diary to dedicate some time to yourself.

The BPS says:

"Rapid changes in the evidence base, the technology and the skill requirements of the profession make CPD a career long process through which professionals remain up-to date by augmenting and enhancing their competence. It is an extension of the basic principle in the Society's Code of Conduct (Clause 2):

'Psychologists shall endeavour to maintain and develop their professional competence, to recognise and work within its limits, and to identify and ameliorate factors which restrict it.'

CPD is not new, it is a continuation of what is needed to keep up-to-date, informed and well-trained in order to deliver quality work in which the public can have confidence. Whilst there is clearly an ethical obligation for Psychologists to undertake CPD, there are also many advantages for the individual practitioner."

 

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

Efforts to identify the traits which characterise the successful leader has never succeeded.  Think of Churchill, Thatcher, Kennedy, Branson, Ghandi, Mandela etc.  It is no surprise that no one set of characteristics will define them all.

Perhaps the difference is because different traits are needed for different times.  Or perhaps there is another quality which eludes us.  Modern thinking built around Emotional Intelligence (EI) suggests that it is not ‘what you’ve got’ but ‘how you use it’ that makes the difference.  People with high EI have the maturity to see the world without needing to massage their own ego.  This helps them recognise other’s talent without feeling defensive – and this is probably the greatest talent a leader has because it allows them to choose the right people for the challenges ahead.  Of course leaders still need talent in their own right but the EI approach changes the emphasis.

The Team Focus EI questionnaire (EIQ3D) has addressed the fundamental EI dilemma which is how you can ask people to report on their own self-awareness.  If they are not aware, then they will not be aware that they are not aware!  EIQ3D has addressed this in an innovative way.  Each person is asked to nominate a challenger – a person defined as someone who:

• knows you well;
• is likely to give you some interesting feedback;
• may have a perspective that you would find useful;
• could challenge you in a meaningful way.

The process of finding a challenger can be extremely powerful as a process in itself because it sets the person thinking about how they see themselves and any doubts or questions they may have. This in turn affects the depth with which they complete EIQ3D.  The report which is then generated highlights areas of agreement and disagreement between the respondent and their challenger, so becoming a vehicle for a more profound feedback and review process – and hence for promoting development, change and personal growth.

Team Focus has achieved this using innovative software so that this can all be done online with minimum hassle and administration.

 

TDI® – A dynamic approach to psychological type

What the TDI® achieves

The TDI® is a questionnaire which re-introduces everyday life to personality testing.  It shows respect to individuals by recognising that they are not a single, simple, central type.

How TDI® is different from other questionnaires

The whole personality questionnaire industry has been keeping things simple – and making questionnaires fit the limitations of psychometric methodology.  It does this by asking people to summarise their style, to give information about themselves in typical situations, to think about that part of them which is the central or most important. Answering a questionnaire with this averaged, centralised perspective does provide valuable information and many people have benefited from this enterprise – but it is not the whole story.  All these approaches miss the fundamental reality about people – that they are complex, dynamic and that they pull on different resources within themselves to manage the challenges of everyday. 

The TDI® recognises this and manages to maintain simplicity whilst respecting the reality of people’s complexity.  It is based on Jung’s model of Psychological Type but manages to maintain the truly dynamic nature of the model.  It does this by asking people to answer the questionnaire with reference to different parts of themselves.  The result is that 70% of people report 2 different types using the TDI®.  This forms the basis for an exploration rather than the typical approach which becomes an explanation.

The benefits of using the TDI®

The TDI® is a tool which stimulates exploration and provides insights which allow people to recognise their different talents, needs and styles.  They learn to:

• free themselves from the past;
• realise their potential;
• increase self-awareness;
• access a fuller range of styles and enhance their flexibility;
• handle change more effectively;
• integrate into teams;
• build stronger relationships.

 

TDI® is the registered trademark of Team Focus