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….
