The Global recession is biting hard. Stock markets have lost their shine. Naira is scarce. Companies are losing business. So they have to outsource, restructure, fine tune and downsize. Budgets are being streamlined and the first on the chopping block? The Training budget! It’s the easiest to tamper with. An unfortunate strategy, as it affects the key asset of any organisatiion, i.e. its Human Capital.
But, don’t start blaming ‘management’ or the Training department. One finger at them equals three at you. Don’t start asking questions like: ‘why are they doing this?’ ‘Who cut the budget? When will I now go for that course in the Hague?’ These are all incorrect questions that solve nothing. Instead, apply Personal Accountable by asking ‘what can I do now to make a difference to my life?’ And simply speaking, the answer is Self Development.
Self-Development is taking personal responsibility for one's own learning and development through a process of assessment, reflection, and taking action. It enhances your ability to perform at work. It supplements other training approaches in an organisation and is critical for success because of the rapid changes taking place in today’s work place. And as long as you are still alive, you are capable of changing and growing too.
How do you self develop? How can you help yourself to grow in the work place? The following Self Development A-Z provides the terms to help you on the right track.
A – Action: If you want to know who you are, don’t ask. Act Right. Action defines you. It keeps you moving, thinking, doing, discovering and growing. Start something to develop yourself today, no matter how little. Your little constant little steps will result in an ocean of benefits one day.
B – Books: Read those that will inspire and motivate you; teach you about your job and give you ideas you can use to improve yourself. Make it a habit to read a chapter a day and see how much you will cover in a year.
C – Current Reality: where are you today? What are your strengths and weakness? Where are the opportunities and threats? Are you competent to do your current job? Do you have the skills for the 21st Century? Assess where you are and develop how to bridge the gap.
D - Decision making can sometimes be like an inner third world war, particularly when you are not fully informed. All the same, the power of decision is the power of change and self development is a change process. You cannot always control the events of your life, but you can control what you decide to think, believe, feel and do about those events. It is your decisions, not the conditions around you that would ultimately determine how you can personally develop yourself. Indecision is the thief of opportunity.
E – Execution is the gap between your goals and success. It is “a systematic process of rigorously discussing how’s and what’s, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.” (Bossidy and Charan). It is the art of getting things done. You may have the best self development plan in the world but until you make that move and implement the plan, you will be on the same spot.
F – Focus is the concentration of attention or energy on something and whatever you focus on, you move toward. It then makes sense that focusing on your areas of priorities, those that are most important to your overall performance is key to self development. It is not possible to address all areas at the same time – at the best, you will get confused, unproductive and de-motivated. So focus first on areas that will have the most impact and move on gradually to the others.
G – Goals: just like you need them to win a football match, you need Goals to improve yourself and you need to write them down – because what gets written down gets done. Where do you want to be this time next year? What would you like to achieve in quarter 1? Goals are not meant for big companies alone. Small companies use them too – and when you take a closer look at yourself, you will discover a personal company within you. When you track your goals, any achievement propels you to do more and you can take corrective actions in areas where you are lagging.
H – Humility is one of the traits of great leaders; Self development is not just about competences on the job but also about behaviours that will stand the test of time. Being humble is one of such and it makes you a better person unlike its opposite – arrogance.
I – Innovation is about doing things differently, coming up with ideas, stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things for improvement. Without new ideas, you will become stale, old and relegated over people with newer, fresher ideas. Don’t be afraid to try because if you don’t, you may be closing a door forever. Jot down new thoughts and ideas in your journal.
To be continued.
Barbara Lawrence is the MD of Insolitus Consulting. barbaral@insolitusng.com
