Business leaders need to invest in their own development
Are you living up to your professional potential? Are you engaged, learning and making a difference? Does your team operate as a collective, or as individual contributors?
If you are a leader or manager, it’s common to let your professional development fall victim to the demands of a chaotic work life. Professional development takes time, and it doesn’t happen automatically. It requires assessment, feedback, courage and focused action. Taking stock of your strengths and growth areas means that, even for a short time, you must make yourself a priority.
For some this feels selfish, as in “…how can I dedicate that much time to myself when there’re so many other more important things to do?” Yet only when you are self-full can you give to others.
I believe an unintended consequence of this down-turned economy is that performance review plans have taken a backseat to THE forced priority – survival. By necessity, leaders have focused their effort and energy on protecting and growing their businesses, not themselves.
How many managers and leaders do you know who do not have a written development plan?
Creating an individual development plan (IDP) begins with the big picture. Our responsibility as leaders and managers is to advance the corporate plan, which means that our personal development plan must align with and support the organization’s culture, strategic direction, and business initiatives.
Consider these critical elements when developing your 2011 plan:
- Define/know the corporate imperatives. Determine how you will be expected to contribute to success.
- What competencies must you master and by when? What competencies do you already possess and how can these be leveraged? What areas require additional learning or training?
- How will you secure the training/coaching/feedback necessary to succeed?
- Who will hold you accountable?
- How will you track your progress and success?
- How will your growth contribute to the organization’s goals and objectives?
Once your IDP has been defined, create a list of the things you will stop doing, what responsibilities you are doing that would offer a development opportunity for someone else? One CEO I know asks his direct reports quarterly, “What am I doing that you could or should be doing?” Leaders are doers and, too often, poor delegators.
Then put your plan into action. At the beginning of each week, define what you want to accomplish. Break larger goals into smaller steps and block time on your calendar to accomplish them. Block an hour each day for the unexpected (okay, you can laugh – but it is a great idea).
At the conclusion of each day, assess what you’ve accomplished and recalibrate as appropriate for the next day. Take stock at the end of each week. How realistic was your plan? What did you successfully accomplish? What still needs to be accomplished?
Performance development is not a short-term approach but rather a continual pursuit, something that must be practiced each day. When I was at Procter & Gamble we were taught to self-assess on a daily basis. During orientation, I was instructed to create a daily plan and at the end of my day ask these four questions:
- How successful was I in accomplishing my plan?
- What did I learn?
- What can I improve?
- Tomorrow, how can I be more productive?
Since becoming a business owner, I’ve added a question to that series: If I were just 10 percent more productive tomorrow, I would…?
Consider hiring an outside accountability coach. He or she can help you stay focused and on track, keep you motivated and hold you accountable when it’s easy to find excuses for not getting something done.
Execution is the difference that makes the difference. I know people who develop great plans but get blindsided and sucked into the daily minutiae leaving them with little energy to accomplish what’s really important. Over time, this leads to burn-out and dis-engagement. According to a recent HR survey,
- Only 30 percent of HR leaders felt that employee engagement and morale are strong within their companies.
- More than 50 percent indicated they were worried about losing talent.
- 45 percent cited the need to keep employees engaged and productive.
Success happens when people are productive, focused on the right things, and feel that their efforts make a difference. Success is about choices and compromises. We have all been given the same amount of time … how we choose to invest it determines our level of success.
“Six Disciplines for Excellence” author Gary Harpst says, “The pressure to get things done is nonstop, pervasive, and unrelenting. In business, as in our personal lives, we generally know what to do (strategy) – the hard part is just doing it (execution).”
In the Harvard Business Review article, “Are You A Good Boss – Or A Great One?” authors Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback write, “Most bosses reach a certain level of proficiency and stop there – short of what they could and should be. The great majority of people are well-intentioned, smart, accomplished individuals. Many progress and fulfill their ambitions. But too many derail and fail to live up to their potential. Why? Because they stop working on themselves.”
In 2011, make working on you a priority. Conduct an honest assessment of your strengths and developmental areas and then take accountable action. Set the example for your organization. You might be quite impressed with the results. Development doesn’t happen automatically. It becomes a priority for your organization when it becomes a priority for you.
