As an individual, building and discussing a personal development plan will help you:
• Become aware of skills you have
• Identify and develop skills you need
• Work out what you want to achieve and how to achieve it
• Focus on potential study, career and personal development goals
So what is a personal development plan (PDP) and why should everyone have one?
A PDP is a live self-management tool to help improve your performance and build on your potential. It should be about your future focus. For some people this may be the next career move, for others they may even be thinking two career steps ahead. It is your opportunity to document your development of skills, behaviours and competencies.
There are many PDP templates available that you can utilise, and you can find one on the ABDO website here. You should own your PDP and take responsibility for writing it. You will, of course, need to identify and agree actions with your line manager. I’m sure that they will also be looking to see the benefits to the workplace.
You should start by looking at your own self-awareness. You can work on your self-awareness through a variety of personality profiles, DiSC being an example. You may also benefit from carrying out a SWOT analysis.
Seek feedback from others; be that work colleagues, your line manager, friends and family. Be clear on your future focus. When thinking about the content of your PDP you should consider the following areas:
Personal
Areas such as the following may be relevant:
• Assertiveness
• Prioritising workload
• Customer relations
• Handling difficult situations/conversations
• Personal confidence
• Communication skills
Technical/professional
You may be looking to qualify in the following areas:
• FBDO
• CLO
• Low Vision
• Lab technician
• HR
• Management/Leadership
Leadership and management
Irrespective of whether you are aspiring to a management role or looking to improve in a management/leadership role, you may wish to consider:
• Collaborative working
• Emotional Intelligence
• Agility
• Resilience
• Building and inspiring your team
• Influencing skills
• Strategic awareness
• Budgetary control
• Project management
• Networking
• Personal visibility
Your PDP should be aspirational whilst remaining achievable. You may decide that this includes coaching or mentoring an individual, people management, taking on a new launch/project, gaining exposure to the senior leaders in your business and possibly getting a mentor.
Keep it alive
You should review your PDP on a regular basis. Build in three or six-monthly PDP reviews with your line manager. This way you can monitor how you are doing against your targets and goals, keep things on track and evaluate your progress. Your PDP will evolve along with you.
Career pathways can be very different. Whilst some may follow the ‘traditional’ career ladder structure, where people are constantly looking for the next move upwards, others may be more like a matrix where you sometimes go sideways in a flatter structure, possibly to gain experience of other areas of the business, combined with the occasional upwards move.
Your PDP can be an invaluable tool as you move through your career phases.
Forbes magazine tells us about the five career phases. In which career phase do you see yourself?
Phase One: You are considered a newbie with a high learning curve. Moreover, you are blazing with confidence and a drive to get ahead. The job will test your mettle and learning capacity. As your successes multiply, so does external credibility. The money is ok.
Phase Two: You are viewed as capable but still learning. Confidence and ambition are accelerating. The organisation sees you as an ‘up-and-coming player’. You are growing into your identity and career. With more accomplishments and experience, your salary increases.
Phase Three: You are proficient and are on the cusp of mastery. Learning inspires you, but at a slower pace. The once fierce drive to succeed may waiver. Management and your peers perceive you as credible and ‘right up there’. Your compensation surges.
Phase Four: You have arrived. However, the glory of a fat salary, promotions and the fulfilment of your status as a subject matter expert are in the rear-view mirror. There may be a sense of emptiness. Motivation and drive are a mere trickle. You have a desire to change jobs, but you believe the choices are few. Moreover, those options always pale in favour of the comfortable status quo.
Phase Five: Resentment, boredom and isolation have eclipsed the hunger to grow and learn, and a sense of feeling trapped has emerged. The idea of leveraging your expertise is abhorrent to you, regardless of the money. This emotional turmoil can bleed into your personal life.
Have you have found yourself in one of the five phases? That’s a start. Knowing where you are and who you are is critical to taking charge of the next step in your career.
With a PDP, you are in the driver’s seat. When is the best time to start planning the next move? The easy answer is any time, but I recommend the third phase. Why? Because you have the time to carefully look for your next position as a ‘passive candidate’. Your focus is on your next move. You are in a much stronger place career-wise.
