What’s your personal growth plan?

I remember, from my many years in corporate life, that it would get to this time of year (or whatever time of year depicted the end of the performance year) and a bit of panic would start to set in about goals on personal development plans not yet achieved.

And time was running out. Tick tock…tick tock.

It begs the question…why add something to our PDP if we have no real intention of completing it?

Sometimes it’s because we’re told. But being told to do something, with no compelling reason or emotional attachment, doesn’t always get it done.

Especially when there are a million other things we can make a priority throughout the year to distract us and give us an excuse.

So, when thinking about your next set of personal development goals at work, perhaps take some of these points into consideration to maximise your chance of success:

▫️Ask yourself how the goal fits in with your longer term career/life strategy. If it doesn’t fit, don’t add it.
▫️Plan. You need a detailed plan: what will you do, how much will you do, when will you do it, how will you know when you’ve met your milestone, define what success looks like, who will help, mentor or coach you.
▫️Understand why it’s important because this will be what helps to motivate you and keep your forward momentum going.
▫️Figure out what you might need to sacrifice, do less of or stop doing in order to create time and space for your development effort – there is only so much time in the day, so you may need to make some tough decisions for a period of time.
▫️At work our days are often ruled by our diaries, so carve learning time into your weekly diary and be as brutal as you can be in sticking to it.
▫️Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements against your milestones, no matter how small. That little dopamine hit will help to keep you motivated.
▫️And don’t look externally for validation – it’s your plan, celebrate your own progress (and failures) with positive thinking and a growth mindset.
▫️Ensure your boss is on board with your plan so that they can support you, and also help to find opportunities that may help to reinforce your learning and new skills.
▫️Be realistic. An over-inflated, unachievable plan will only set you up for failure and disappointment. Your goals should be challenging and stretch you, but not break you.

And, if you have no clue where to start, feel stuck, or are conflicted about which goals to prioritise, get in touch.

Coaching is a fantastic way to propel yourself forward, because it helps you to gain insight, clarity and awareness. Plus you have someone supporting you, holding accountability for you and cheering you on. There’s nothing written anywhere that says you have to go it alone, or stay stuck where you are.