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Foster Growth Through Personal Development Plans

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS are a systematic road map for ongoing growth. We are confident that many of our readers are familiar with these types of plans. However, if you would like to surround yourself with individuals with high levels of leadership capacity, team members must also pay attention to “soft” goals that increase their knowledge, skills, and abilities. For instance, we can all think of people who consistently meet their goals, but their personality is abrasive—they do not play well with others. Can you visualize this person? A small way to combat this is to help co-workers pinpoint leadership competencies that can be developed. One or two goals in this area not only keep team members focused on their professional objectives, but they also help them focus on their people skills and long-term development.

Be aware that goals on paper alone accomplish nothing. Continuous development requires continuous coaching. Ask your team members to discuss their plans with you every couple of weeks—nothing more than a one-minute update on their progress—what has gone well, what has not, and why. This way, their development will stay in your thoughts, and it will stay in theirs, too. After all, world-class athletes improve their competencies through consistent practice and coaching. Developing leadership competencies is no different.

You may want to consider combining a 360-degree feedback instrument with personal development planning. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this process, a “360” or “multi-rater feedback” instrument allows an individual to receive feedback from peers, supervisors, direct reports, and, in some cases, key constituents, confidentially and anonymously. In other words, a 360 allows participants the opportunity to learn how others perceive them based on a set of behaviors important to the organization. In many instances, participants will rate themselves, as well—providing an opportunity to see if and how well self-perceptions are aligned with those of others.

Participants in the 360 process are asked to develop a personal plan of action following their results (see Tip #48: Provide Development Through Assessment). The plan is then reviewed and updated on a consistent basis and, as a result, action is taken on those areas identified through the feedback process. After a period of time, the participants are rated again to gauge progress.