9 Ways to Improve Your Personal Development Skills

Personal development covers activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitate employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. Not limited to self-help, the concept involves formal and informal activities for developing others in roles such as teacher, guide, counselor, manager, life coach or mentor. When personal development takes place in the context of institutions, it refers to the methods, programs, tools, techniques, and assessment systems that support human development at the individual level in organizations.

What are Personnel Development Skills?

Personal development skills are qualities and abilities that help you grow both personally and professionally. In other words, they are skills that help you nurture your personal development. Understanding and improving these skills can help you maximize your potential. This process is also known as self-development or personal growth.

Why are Personnel Development Skills Important?

Personal development skills are important because they allow you to create strategic and tactical plans for personal and professional growth towards your goals. It can be helpful to hone personal development skills so that you can naturally work them into your daily routines and use them to:

• Achieve personal and career goals
• Advance in your career
• Improve your strengths and talents
• Better yourself
• Find fulfillment and satisfaction

Examples of Personnel Development Skills

Personal development skills can be traits or qualities you already have or ones you can gain through education and training. Individuals will value different personal development skills depending on their goals, but here are some examples of skills people commonly practice to facilitate personal growth :

• Communication
• Interpersonal
• Organization
• Problem-solving
• Self-confidence
• Adaptability
• Integrity
• Work ethic
• Leadership

How to Improve your Personnel Development Skills?

You can enhance your personal development skills by taking classes, learning from the people around you, gaining new talents and improving upon existing ones. Follow these guidelines to develop yourself personally:

1. Overcome your fears. Fear can prevent you from growing and progressing. If you are afraid of public speaking, for instance, take a class or join a group that helps people become better public speakers. If you are afraid of taking risks, find a mentor who can help you make good decisions and build your confidence. Grow and learn by trying things you might not be comfortable doing. If you are shy, try starting a conversation or introducing yourself to new people at a reception or workshop.
   
2. Read. Reading can expand your knowledge and vocabulary and keep you informed. It can also stimulate your mind and can improve your critical thinking skills. Try setting a goal to read at least one educational or motivational article a day, or one book a month.
   
3. Learn something new. Learn a new skill or topic, whether you do it yourself or sign up for a class. You might, for instance, take courses to learn another language, a new software program or how to write creatively. Consider watching a webinar on professional development topics such as entrepreneurship or social media marketing.
   
4. Ask for feedback. Approach a family member, friend, colleague or manager, and ask them to give you feedback on a recent project or accomplishment. Use their positive comments as well as their constructive criticism to find ways to improve. Sometimes you need an outside, unbiased opinion to get a different perspective.
   
5. Observe others. Watch and learn from the people who inspire you. This could be someone you know, such as a supervisor, family member or public figure. Identify the qualities you admire in them, and try to replicate those in yourself.
   
6. Network. By interacting with many types of people, you can learn new ideas and understand how to communicate and work with different personality types. You can also meet people and develop relationships that might help you in the future. Network through industry organizations and shared interest groups, or attend conferences and events on topics that interest you.
   
7. Keep a journal. Writing in a journal every day or week can help you gain self-awareness and reflect on recent events, decisions and conversations. You might keep a hand-written, private journal, or you might choose to share your thoughts and experiences by blogging. Use it to set and assess goals and progress.
   
8. Meditate. Many people meditate to gain clarity and awareness and to reduce stress and anxiety. Meditation can help you focus on your self-development and goals in a healthy, positive and calm way. Even scheduling a break from work or quiet time to yourself can help you relax and focus.
   
9. Get a mentor. If you need help identifying ways to build your self-development skills, talk to a mentor. This individual could be a manager, professor, someone you admire or a professional personal growth mentor.

Personnel Development Plan

Personnel Development Plan is an action plan designed to improve knowledge and abilities. These are typically developed for career planning, performance management or general self-improvement purposes.

In some cases, goals and objectives are planned using formal analysis technique such as SWOT analysis.

5 Steps to Create Successful Career Development Plans

A well-thought-out employee development plan provides your employees with opportunities and clear direction on how to increase their skills and advance their careers. And with a more expanded skill set, they have more tools to help your business forge ahead. It’s a win-win for you and your staff.

But an employee development plan or program shouldn’t be created off the cuff. Follow these five steps to help make sure your employees’ development plans are on point.

Step 1: Consider business goals

Before you set objectives for employee development plan, try to align their development needs with your company’s business needs.

Consider your long- and short-term business objectives. Do you need one of your salespeople to move into a district manager role? Does someone in accounting need to learn to use and implement a new software?

Once you’ve identified your objectives you can identify the necessary skills, knowledge and competencies that support those goals.

For example, if your business will be going through a growth spurt, you may need additional leaders. What skills do these leaders need? Do any of your current employees have the skills – or capability and desire to learn the skills – needed to move into these roles?

Developing internal candidates to bridge the gap between current employee skill sets and skill sets needed for the future would be of great value to the company.

Putting time and effort into employee development now can save you time and money on recruiting, onboarding and training outsiders. Plus, creating a career path and demonstrating advancement and promotion opportunities through development can help you retain top talent.

Step 2: Talk to your employees

Don’t assume you know your employees’ skill level and career aspirations.

Talk with each of your team members to get a better understanding of what their career goals are.

You should also ask your employees to assess their own work and discuss any challenges they’re having in their current position. In what areas do they struggle the most? Would they benefit from additional training, mentoring or a stretch assignment?

Some of your employees may already have development goals in mind, but don’t know how to get started or if the company will support those plans. Other employees may not realize you see potential in them or need encouragement to reach for the next step in their career.

For instance, Samantha may be terrific at sales, but resists the idea of learning Excel or the budgeting process. She may remain reluctant until you help her understand that those skills are required to move into sales management, her ultimate goal.

By talking to employees, you can work together to figure out what role your business can play in their plans as well as what opportunities you can offer them.

Step 3: Recognize potential vs. readiness

As you assess your staff, it’s important to remember that there’s a difference between potential and readiness. For example, Michael may have the potential to become a super star manager, but isn’t yet ready to move into that role.

Readiness comes in a variety of forms, encompassing desire, skills and experience. Michael may be interested in moving into that management role you see for him – but not yet. He may be caring for elderly parents or young children and doesn’t want to travel as much as the new role would require. Or, he may need two to three years of progressively more complex assignments in order to master the project management skills required in the new role.

Keep in mind that not every employee wants to – or should – move into management, no matter how good they are in their current position. Leaders often make the mistake of thinking that someone who is great as a salesperson or widget maker (potential) will in turn be great at managing the sales team or widget manufacturing (readiness). Doing versus managing are very different skills sets and pushing an employee into a job they aren’t ready for can have devastating consequences.

Step 4: Consider all types of training and development

Now that you know what the objectives are, it’s time to figure out how your employee will acquire their new skills.

Developmental programs don’t have to be expensive and may take numerous forms. Formal classroom training or online courses are only one way to help your team expand their talents.

Most learners need to be engaged to deeply learn a new skill or gain knowledge. That’s why other types of development may be even better than a course, and include:

• Stretch assignments and special projects
• Working directly with a subject matter expert
• One-on-one coaching and mentoring
• Local networking groups

Taking on pieces of the next job up the ladder is a particularly good way to prep to take over the whole job one day. It gives less experienced employees the chance to learn and grow, and builds your bench so you can promote from within.

Step 5: Create a plan for before, during and after

Once you’ve identified some specific learning opportunities, create a plan with specific and timely goals. It’s much more difficult to measure an employees’ progress when the objectives are vague, overly broad or don’t have a deadline.

Next, what is it going to take to put your employees’ plan into action? Is there any prep work that needs to be done? Is anyone else involved? Will the employee need to take time away from work? Will someone else need to cover for them while they’re training?

Before the training or new assignment starts, make sure your employees understand why they’re being asked to learn this new skill, what you expect them to learn and how this benefits the company and their careers.

After training, help them apply their new skills in the workplace.

You’re spending a considerable amount of time and possibly money on helping your employees improve their skills. To get your greatest possible return on investment, your employees need to be able to put those new skills to work in your company.

Set up some opportunities where your employees can quickly apply the new skills to the job and get feedback. This will help them reinforce and refine their new skills. If they don’t use the new knowledge when it’s fresh, they’re likely to lose it.