Personal Development
Employers are increasingly aware of the importance of investing in their staff and often have structures and processes in place to provide opportunities for the training and development of their employees. Personal development is a continuous lifelong process of nurturing, shaping and improving skills and knowledge to ensure maximum effectiveness and ongoing employability.
Personal development does not necessarily imply upward movement; rather, it is about enabling individuals to improve their performance and reach their full potential at each stage of their career. Adopting a constructive approach to personal development planning (PDP) will help individuals to:
- consider where they are now, where they want to go and how they can get there
- revitalise technical skills that date very quickly
- build up transferable skills (such as self-awareness, ability to learn, adaptability to change, empathy and good time management)
- monitor and evaluate achievements.
The process of PDP provides a schedule to work to and can lay the basis for:
- continuous learning
- a sense of achievement
- ensuring employability and survival in an age where very few jobs can be guaranteed to stay the same
- making the most of opportunities which may arise.
Personal development planning is the process of:
- establishing aims and objectives (or goals) – what you want to achieve or where you want to go, in the short, medium or long-term in your career
- assessing current realities
- identifying needs for skills, knowledge or competence
- selecting appropriate development activities to meet those perceived needs.
Personal development coaching can be face to face and is also highly effective using video. This virtual approach can support the needs of large and distributed organisations, especially those with international operations as well as being flexible and accessible to smaller clients.
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.Registered member of the ‘Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’