We always think that the Personal Development Plan (PDP) or Individual Development Plan (IDP) is the responsibility of employer. We have the basic postulation that company is responsible for everything related to us, either development or career because we think that companies hire & keep us because we are indispensable. It is true that if company puts efforts in developing employees, their productivity may increase. But at the end of the day, is it only employer’s responsibility? It is also employee’s responsibility.
Someone (perhaps me :-)) has rightly said that we are the driver of our own growth, our own career, our own life and we should independently think on our own development. In this process if organization is supporting, it is well and good. However first you should be ready with your plan.
How many times we are clear in life about ourselves?
Have you challenge yourself?
What is that time, when you ask yourself what you want to do in the life and what you want to achieve within next 5 years, 10 years etc.
Second question, how many time you have reflected on “where are you today?” you may want to be the Vice President within next 5 years, but have you thought on your current status of strength, development areas, situation, circumstance etc.?
Further have you asked yourself, “How would you achieve your goals as asked in question number 1? What are that efforts you would take to go there? Learning, developing or just changing the job??
Frankly speaking and after interacting with so many people, I have found very few people who have such plans in place. Those few people may not call the plan as PDP or IDP, but they have all answers on all above questions. Rest of the people flow in life as per the organizational, society, community flow…
If you would like to reflect & want to make a PDP/IDP, just follow the process of:
Thinking about where you are now, what you like/dislike, reflecting on your strengths and improvements you would like to achieve.
Planning where you want to get to, what skills and knowledge you will need to develop and how you will acquire them via learning opportunities open to you.
Doing – putting your action plan into practice; recording the development you make; identifying when you have reached a goal.
Reflecting on your learning and achievement and, in the light of this, where you want to go next (and so the cycle begins again)
It is not so simple & easy, but just try…you will come to know your true potential.
New year is approaching…may be good idea to work on… but don’t take it as a resolution, take it as a commitment. Commitment to yourself.
Need help? Just write….
