When we decide to act to better ourselves, we become all-rounded. As a result, you learn more, improve, or gain new skills that apply across your personal and professional roles.
Here are seven steps you can take to create a personal development plan:
1. Define your Goals
Like professional development, goals are essential when it comes to personal development. They will give you a clear and precise target.
Ensure you set goals to enrich your personal life and drive you toward achieving your full potential. These goals are personal to you, so don’t let anyone dictate what they should be. You should choose and set them to fit you.
But, it can sometimes be tricky knowing how to set personal goals. When this happens, reaching out to a professional—like a business coach—is advisable as they have the skills needed to assist you.
2. Set Realistic Timelines
Setting goals without a timeline makes you less likely to achieve them, as no driving force pushes you. These deadlines should be realistic and achievable—depending on your unique situation. They will increase the chance of you accomplishing your tasks.
Avoid setting rigid timelines. Life happens, and unpredictable situations can get in our way. Always give yourself some leeway when choosing a timeline to accommodate unavoidable changes.
3. Leverage Your Strengths
Identifying your strengths or weaknesses is not always the easiest thing to do. You can ask friends or family or seek a professional service that will give you an honest and objective assessment of your strengths.
Once you have identified your strengths, make a plan that shows how you will utilize these to help you achieve your goals.
4. Add New Skills
With the advancement of technology, more information is available than ever. Unfortunately, not all of it will be useful to you. This is where you will need to exercise prudence.
Seek out skills and knowledge that can help you achieve your goals. Take advantage of the various courses available and choose one that best suits you and helps you achieve your goals.
Ensure you have done your due diligence and know the quality of information you will receive.
5. Take Action
Once your goals and deadlines are set, take action toward achieving them.
Initially, taking action and working towards achieving goals can be daunting, but listing a few of the most essential actions to keep you focused is helpful.
“First steps are always the hardest, but until they are taken, the notion of progress remains only a notion and not an achievement.” – Aberjhani
6. Measure Your Progress
Some progress is very obvious and can easily be tracked. For example, a slight increase in sales is not always the case. Sometimes, you will need to spend some time reflecting on noticing the progress you have made.
In both cases, you can identify what is working and what isn’t, even if it takes some effort to figure it out. This is a very important step when working towards goals, as it helps you avoid stagnation.
7. Seek Support
If you struggle with working towards your goals or need an accountability partner, you can consider seeking support from a friend or a business coach.
Having ongoing external support can motivate you when you feel defeated or drained. Additionally, we can be very harsh and critical towards ourselves so having that external voice validating your progress and giving you the facts can keep you focused.
Don’t forget that growth is a process!
Getting a mentor is an excellent opportunity for professional development. Your mentor should be someone who has either walked in your shoes or supported others to grow.
One of my previous mentors told me, “Danita, sometimes you must grow where you’re planted.” I’ve carried that with me for many years and referred back to it often when I had difficulty navigating my growth or drought seasons.
Coaches are an excellent choice for anyone looking to start or scale their business. They have the knowledge, experience, skills, and tools you need to achieve your goals.
Over the years, I’ve had coaches for many things. Therapists, business coaches, podcast coaches, and book coaches, just to name a few. They helped me navigate through different seasons and find clarity and direction when I tried to start something new.
If you’re interested, I’d love to help you learn about executive business coaching and consulting services that will help you grow into the leader you’d like to be. If you’re ready to lead your team, contact me today. I will examine your leadership style and help you develop strategies unique to your business to help you grow.
Also, don’t forget to check out the Entrusted to Lead Podcast for the latest tools and tips for helping you lead well!
I look forward to watching you grow!