Mike Clark's Business Bites: Help people achieve dreams they almost dared not have

Having a process and helping people work through this brings focus and momentum into people's lives. Photo / Unsplash

Are you growing your people? Do you know (or care) about the personal goals your people have?

How often do you do one-on-one reviews?

Any organisation can only grow to the level of its people. Whether that person is you, the sole business owner, a small team or a highly skilled group of people, a company will only grow in alignment with the mindset, skills and abilities of its people. It logically follows then that one of the very best and easiest ways to grow your business is to develop your people.

Quick side note - growth is not necessarily expanding for world domination. Growth can be growing your gross profit or net profit, growth can be the increase in your personal time and freedom to make lifestyle choices. Growth can look like feeling more confident and self assured - beating the inevitable imposter syndrome that plagues people charting the way.

When I work with a company doing PDs I call these personal development plans as opposed to professional development plans. A personal plan looks at the whole person and takes into account the personal dreams and aspirations of the individual.

When someone comes to work they do not leave their personal life and baggage at the door (as much as many business owners and managers wish they would) and likewise when they go home they often take work with them. Plans that acknowledge this develop and grow the whole of the person - equipping them to be better at work, home and in the whole of life.

A PD has four parts:

• What are your goals/aspirations for work and home over the short, medium and long term?
• What are your current skills and abilities?
• Where do you see the gap/need for growth if you are to move from where you are to where you want to be?
• What action steps will you take in the next three months towards closing these gaps?

Many people are initially intimidated by this, as few people think that far ahead and fewer still take time to write down goals and fewer again break those goals down into smaller action steps. Having a process and helping people work through this brings focus and momentum into people's lives. It helps people achieve dreams they almost dared not have. People need autonomy and a sense of achievement and PDs help with this.

Have you looked at the skills you need as a business if you are to grow and stay relevant? Do you have a plan for yourself? Could your team do with some assistance in creating a PD for themselves? Be intentional and guide and equip your people and they, in turn, will help guide and grow your business.

• Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.