A.I.M. For Development Setting Personal Development Objectives that Work

By Hugh Murray...Submitted by Nancy Friedman

The key to self development is motivation. You can make people do a lot of things, but self-development isn’t one of them. People will develop if they want to and they won’t if they don’t. Any approach to encouraging self-development that does not start with this reality will fail.

It is widely agreed today that people should be encouraged to take responsibility for their own development and that managers play a key role in making this happen. But that is really as far as it goes. Most managers are then left to flounder around, trying to help identify personal development plans, in a process that could be described as bureaucratic form-filling.

A.I.M. is a new approach to setting development objectives that actually work – that actually lead to self-development and therefore an improvement in performance.

A for Aspiration

Any manager seeking to help an individual develop, must start with a discussion of the individual’s aspirations. What does he or she want to achieve? Only when this is clear will it be possible to identify areas for development that the individual will want to address. The problem is that most people don’t have a clear idea about what they want to achieve. Questions are the most powerful tools you have to help people to think. Statements invite challenge. Questions invite thought.

"Tell me what you want to achieve in this job" rarely works. Occasionally, this will produce a useful answer but most of us simply don’t think like this and you’re likely to meet either stunned silence or the overly simple: "money!" A better question would be: "What aspects of your current job do you particularly enjoy?" Most people can answer this and the reply may give you a clue to their longer-term aspirations. You can guide people into a discussion of their aspirations by asking them how they might do more of what they like, or less of what they don’t. However you do it, you need to help people get clear in their own minds just what it is that they want to achieve. Only then can you move forward to identify self-development that they will want to do.

I for Interests

Development must be in the interests of the organization and compatible with your corporate goals. If there is no motivation, there will be no development. If the organization does not benefit however, there will be no point. So why not start by identifying development that is in the organization’s interests and then look for ways of motivating someone to develop in that way? The answer is because it does not work. People feel they are being manipulated if you try to fit their aspirations into the organization’s goals.

People respond better if you focus on them—on what they want to achieve—and then look for advantages to the organization later. You will end up with a greatly motivated individual if you begin with him or her. Motivation is more important than any other single aspect of development. So start with what motivates the individual and then apply the organization's interests to select which developments to support.

M for Measurement

How will you know if a development objective has be attained if the outcome is not measured? Development is about improving performance so measure development by measuring performance. For example, measure leadership by observing the effect of the leadership on the team. If leadership has improved the team, performance will have improved.

For a self-development objective to be effective, the measurement of success must be clear. There can be no room for argument about whether the objective has been achieved or not. Choose an observable effect of the improved performance and then agree to a clear measure of that effect.

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Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor®, an international customer service training company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in customer service and telephone skills. She is a KEYNOTE speaker at association conferences and corporate gatherings and is the author of four best selling books. Call 314-291-1012 for more information or visit the website at www.telephonedoctor.com.

Published in Networking Today, May, 2007