The importance of a personal development plan

We all dream of starting a job that we love, producing good work, impressing the boss and landing promotions consistently so that we climb the ladder of success at an impressively young age with very little effort, as if the success just fell into our laps. Very few people experience that kind of luck – the rest of us have to plan for it.

What is a PDP?
A personal development plan (PDP) is an action plan that you can use to set goals to reach new levels of success in your personal and professional life. Every person’s situation is unique, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy that will work for every person, but understanding how PDPs work and why they are important could help you set and reach important milestones in your life.

What are the benefits of a PDP?
There are benefits on both an individual and an organisational level to setting up and instilling a personal development plan.

Personal benefits

• Self-awareness: you learn a lot about your values, beliefs, strengths and weaknesses, and find fulfilment in realising and working towards your own aspirations.
• A sense of direction: once you’ve raised your self-awareness, you’ll be much clearer on what you are working towards. Set realistic goals for yourself and celebrate your achievements.
• Improved focus and effectiveness: the more you get into working towards your goals, the easier you will be able to use your strengths to prioritise tasks.
• More motivation: seeing that you are making progress and acknowledging achievements are huge motivators and will only serve to encourage you more.
• Greater resilience: you are sure to face challenges in your journey to success, so resilience is a crucial skill to learn early on. Just remember that you are working towards something that will bring you fulfilment.

Organisational benefits

• Goal alignment: PDPs assist in aligning personal and organisational goals. This means that PDPs will provide employees with the skills they need to have the greatest benefit to the business.
• Employee loyalty: by providing PDP opportunities, organisations earn employee devotion, simultaneously upping company-wide moral and lowering staff turnover (a huge cost-saving benefit).
• Improving business reputation: creating a work environment that promotes personal growth in staff will improve the reputation of the business and cause it to be seen as a sought-after place of employment.

With so many benefits to personal development plans for individuals and businesses alike, there can be no downside, and it’s never too late to put your own plan in place.