How To Set And Achieve Personal Development Goals

How To Set And Achieve Personal Development Goals

You are a leader, and, therefore, you likely find yourself always wanting to take your growth to the next level! Developing traits of a leader will help you to advance in your career and every other aspect of life.

So how do you set and achieve personal development goals? Read on to find out!

Discover Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Before you do anything, learn what aspects of yourself that you need to develop.

Have you taken any strengths assessments before? We recommend Gallup Cliftonstrengths. This assessment will give you a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses so that you can either improve on your weaknesses or surround yourself with those on your team who are strong where you are weak.

Sure, you may have a grasp on some of your strengths, but a comprehensive breakdown is really beneficial to helping you see what obstacles may stand between you and your goals. 

Identify Your Learning Style

Personal development and growth require you to open your mind and study to learn new skills and ditch old habits.

Identifying your learning style will help you to determine the best way to get the results you want. While some people better comprehend visuals, many require step-by-step instructions and others need hands-on experience. 

Are you working in an environment that is conducive to your learning style? Is it conducive to your team’s learning style as well? Make sure your work culture doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach to learning and that all learning styles are catered to. 

Create Clear Objectives

Set a goal for yourself. Clearly defined goals will help you narrow your focus and set you up for success. If you do not set clear and direct objectives, you might feel lost about how to proceed.

Your objectives may state what you want to change or where you hope to end up. 

Make it a monthly intention for you and your team to set one or two end goals at a time to work towards. Then hold one another accountable!

Prepare a Plan

For each objective, create a plan for how you will reach that goal. Break it up into baby steps so you do not take on too much at once.

Block off time each day or at least each week to specifically work towards your goal. Putting it on your schedule will ensure that you do not put it off and it does not get forgotten.

Decide how you will implement your learning style into your plan. You might read self-help books, work one-on-one with a mentor, watch inspirational videos, or find a creative approach. 

Record Your Progress

When you set a goal, it’s important to break down that goal into 5 steps to get there. This will make it feel doable while also showing you a realistic path you need to follow. Make a checklist to mark off each step you complete towards your main objective. Goal tracking will help you see your growth when discouragement strikes and fuels you to push forward.

Goal tracking will also alert you when your progress slows, stops, or reverses so that you can revise your plan to get back on track. Do not get down on yourself for setbacks, but do reward yourself for progress!

Surround Yourself With Leaders

To lead, you must first follow. This rule of leadership will take you to success.

Surround yourself with people who already hone the skills you wish to develop. If you feel stuck, simply ask them for pointers. Real leaders love to share tools to help others grow. If you’re looking for a community of leaders to join, we have you covered here. 

Reach Your Personal Development Goals

It takes courage, initiative, and motivation to work towards personal development goals.

We want to help you develop your leadership skills, so be sure to check out our free downloadable resource called Be A Better Boss.