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See Dr. Prince's courses here.
Career Development for Managers, Leaders, and
Professionals: By Jay S. Prince, Ph.D.
More
than ever before, executives and corporate managers are extolling the
importance of developing the key people in their organizations. Theyve
known for the better part of a decade that business in this fast-paced
world will rise and fall based on how well they manage their human
resource portfolio. Why? Because productivity is about performance, and
performance is about people! That
means they are looking to see how well you develop the talents you were
born with, and how well you build up the ones you werent. "Ill
bet most of the companies that are in life-or-death battles got into that
kind of trouble because they didnt pay enough attention to developing
their leaders." --
Wayne Calloway, Chairman, Pepsi Co. So, whats a hard-working, forward-looking person like you to do? You think
you know yourself pretty well, right? After all, youve been with
yourself for
well, for just about forever. Maybe you think youre
already doing everything you can to improve your game. Youve gone to
training seminars, continuing education classes, and motivational
speakers. You even went to the company retreat where they made you climb
across high wires and join the finale with the group hug. What more can
you do? Listen. Career Development is not just about skill building or
training. These things are necessary, but they account for a very small
percentage of why the good get even better.
Decades of experience and research demonstrate that, when executives
either stall or derail in their careers, its typically a result of
their heavy reliance on strengths and strategies that were effective in
the past. However, these tried-and-true methods simply cannot carry the
day during dramatically changing times. Yet, the under-performing
executive does not admit this and resists embracing a new approach.
Development is about knowing yourself even better--well enough to make true, lasting
behavioral changes--and a viable plan to meet your change objectives. To
do that, youll need: Solid,
valid feedback about all of your strengths and weaknesses multi-lateral
motivation to make the necessary changes, and Change
partners for your development initiatives. Together,
these three elements serve as the infrastructure for your Action Plan,
which guides your achievement of measurable results. Lets take a closer
look at these three elements. Feedback:
Use high-tech, state-of-the-art assessment instruments to provide detailed
feedback about your "work personality," namely your strengths
and weaknesses in your Thinking Style, Emotional Style, Work Motivations,
Interpersonal Style, and Interpersonal Influence. This information will
tell you where there are gaps between your potential and your present
level of performance. These are targeted areas for growth. You then use
the feedback you collect from these assessment tools to construct the
goals for your Action Plan. "I have to communicate better with the
members of my team," "I need to be more perceptive about
people," "I need to become more comfortable in social
situations." Many
people make the mistake of trying to guess or quickly decide where they
need to improve. This is usually insufficient. Why? Because, quite simply,
you dont know yourself and your flaws as well as you think you do. In
fact, theres a part of our mind that rather likes to keep these
deficits out of our awareness. That is why we recommend using a more
objective, validated approach to assessing your work personality. There
are several fine instruments available for this purpose. Motivation:
We know that adults are motivated to learn and change when we appeal to
their personal growth and personal gain. In other words, it is important
to find out WIIFM- Whats In It For Me? Motivation also increases when
enhanced self-esteem and empowerment are part of the deliverables. So,
figure out what you stand to gain by bridging the gaps in your
performance. How will your work performance improve? In what ways will you
become a more effective leader? How will your development affect the team
and your relationship with others? Give
these questions some careful consideration. At the same time, take a hard
look at the consequences of not doing anything to improve your game. Will
you still be seen as progressive in the company? How will not changing
affect your chances for advancement? Will your work relationships suffer?
These consequences can also serve as a motivating influence on your
commitment to change. Make your lists of what you stand to gain and what
you stand to lose. Revisit the issue in a few days and add to your list of
motivators. Change
Partners: Enlist the involvement of others. Change requires support
from others playing a variety of roles: coach, mentor, counselor,
advocate, and more. Change requires change partners! Youve seen from
your own experience that your commitment to change can wax and wane.
(Exercise? Stop smoking? Diets? Temper?) It really helps to have someone
in your corner who is supporting your efforts and gently reminding you to
get back on track if they see you slip. Who
can you involve in your development plans? Which colleagues would support
you in achieving your goal? How can your spouse help you monitor your
progress? Is your supervisor interested in helping you? (They usually are
and usually see your efforts as highly commendable.) Youve
now got the basics for developing yourself and supercharging your career.
Start your own Career Development project today by gathering these three
pieces of the Action Plan! |
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