According to profiletree.com, Personal Development Planning is a type of action plan that enables you to advance from your current state to a desired one. And according to Wikipedia, Personal development planning is the process of creating an action plan based on awareness, values, reflection, goal-setting and planning for personal development within the context of a career, education, relationship or for self-improvement.
With both definitions, Personal Development Planning is about the individual creating a plan that is about making them better based on their desires, values and awareness. As an individual, you ought to desire to advance from one level to another in order to take the much-needed action.
Why is personal development planning important?
Personal Development Planning helps you move from one level to another. It is an intentional move that requires consistency, commitment and the setting of short and long-term goals.
If you don’t like your life, you have an opportunity to change it through personal development planning. For example, if you’re an entrepreneur who doesn’t fully understand financial management for their business. To grow yourself, you choose to either undertake a finance course or ask to be mentored by someone in your field who has a good grasp of financial systems.
Personal Development Planning helps you to review your life. How much progress are you making in your core areas: health, intellectual capacity, finances, friendships, business, etc? Success should be measured. For example in health, how will you know you have made progress? Will it be after your weight drops from 60kgs to 55kgs? Will it be when you exercise for 30 minutes to an hour each day? When it comes to finances, how will your measure your success? Will it be when you have saved 50 million a year, a quarter?
According to profiletree.com, there are six aspects to consider when creating a Personal Development Plan:
- Goals: Goals are things you want to achieve. In your business, what do you want to achieve in 3-5 years? What do you want the business to look like in 6 years? Which people or organizations do you want to partner with? In your education path, how far are you willing to go-masters level, PhD?
- Goal priority: When you set goals, which ones are of utmost importance? It is important to prioritize goals. This boosts your morale and gives you the energy to pursue your goals. It also keeps you focused on what is most important thus saving time and resources.
- Goal skill: What skills do you need to achieve the set goals? Do you need to attend a business coaching class, attain a master’s programme, or become a licensed trainer? Plan well and find out what skills you need to achieve your set goals.
- Timeline: Do you have a set time to achieve a specific goal? Timelines keep you in check. They remind you to work hard, be smart and prioritize the set goals. If you plan to join a business coaching class, when will you do it, and what is the duration of the coaching class? Once the timelines are maintained, you get a sense of fulfillment. Timelines also help to put work that needs to be done in order. It is easy to hold yourself and others accountable when timelines are put in place.
- Implementation: When will the goal be implemented? What steps will you take to achieve the goal? It is easy to plan for something but without implementation, all the planning goes to waste. Therefore clearly map out the steps to complete goals and tasks set.
- Success criteria: It is imperative to measure your progress. How will you measure your progress? You should create progress trackers for each goal and at each stage.
Sometimes, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to strike a balance between growing their business and personal development growth. This is why we introduced the Enable Business program where we help entrepreneurs to plan for their businesses and well as their personal growth. We believe that growth can and should happen at all levels.
Enable Business program is a 8-week virtual business incubator program that will equip you to uncover and articulate your business model, strategy, customer delivery, and elevator pitch.
Call +256 777200109 to register for the Enable Business program.
Leave a Reply