In addition to the firm promoting growth through its existing policies and rewarding individual’s growth through promotions, leadership roles, project champions etc, an individual is very much responsible for their own growth and development within the firm and outside of the firm.
What does it mean to pursue GROWTH as a person?
G oals
R ead
O bserve trends
W ork ethics
T eachable (be humble)
H ardwork
Goals
Goals support growth. Each time you set a goal for yourself and achieve it, you have pushed yourself beyond your current status to succeed at a new thing. By doing so, you have grown your knowledge base, your network or even your wealth. Every individual must have goals. I say must because, goals are like lamp posts leading you on the journey of life to a defined purpose.
Goals are defined as
“the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result”
Setting goals for yourself allows you measure progress and push more for performance. I hear people say; setting goals is challenging and even more difficult keeping up, however, discipline and a commitment to one’s growth can help you focus better on succeeding at your goals. Goals must be SMART! – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time based, to allow for a follow through. Also, your goals must cover certain key aspects of your life that enable a well-rounded approach to goal setting; Finance, Spiritual, Professional, Social, Health, Personal etc. For example, this year I wrote out my goals along the various aspects listed above, some of these goals were to start my Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (allows you to work and school), write more columns asides my blogs, work on maintaining a healthy balance to life, write another book, etc- as we are now in March, I have pushed myself to create 3 new columns – Becoming You, The Little Things, Fearlessly Authentic , I have applied to three schools that do the Executive DBA, almost done with the manuscript of the book, amongst other things. Each time I tick off a goal, I am so glad at the milestone, it’s really a good feeling.
Setting goals for yourself allows you measure progress and push more for performance. I hear people say; setting goals is challenging and even more difficult keeping up, however, discipline and a commitment to one’s growth can help you focus better on succeeding at your goals.
Goals must be SMART! – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time based, to allow for a follow through. Also, your goals must cover certain key aspects of your life that enable a well-rounded approach to goal setting; Finance, Spiritual, Professional, Social, Health, Personal etc. For example, this year I wrote out my goals along the various aspects listed above, some of these goals were to start my Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (allows you to work and school), write more columns asides my blogs, work on maintaining a healthy balance to life, write another book, etc- as we are now in March, I have pushed myself to create 3 new columns – Becoming You, The Little Things, Fearlessly Authentic , I have applied to three schools that do the Executive DBA, almost done with the manuscript of the book, amongst other things. Each time I tick off a goal, I am so glad at the milestone, it’s really a good feeling.
I have learnt to push myself beyond what I think I can achieve! We really can do more, we limit ourselves by what we think or by what others think of us. Prove them and yourself wrong- Launch out into the deep. It can be challenging but keep at it and watch yourself grow.
Read
Reading is one important habit that should be imbibed. Reading exposes one to experiences without having to travel. Books give history, books change opinions, books give context, books give information. Reading shouldn’t only cover books, but newspapers, magazines, etc. Information is now readily available at the tips of our fingers because of the world wide web and one shouldn’t be in the dark about anything, as the saying goes “google is your friend’. It is imperative to read to be well informed, with the onset of social media platforms, we tend to waste precious time on Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook etc, it is imperative you manage your time on such platforms and create time to read and be well informed.
An informed person is a treasure to the team and to others. There are some people you meet who seem to know just about anything, if you observe them closely, you will see that they read a lot and are well informed. Start today, set a goal- a book per month- get a reading partner, join a book club, buy books, spend time studying interesting world topics, educate yourself on politics, fashion, entertainment, arts etc. It colours your life and allows you teach others and yourself new things.
Observe Trends
A trend is defined by the free dictionary as a ‘general tendency or a course of events’. Growth as an individual means you must be conversant with the trends in your current industry and, your industry(ies) of interest. For instance, you could be working in the Oil and Gas industry and could be interested in the Health Industry, or you could be working in the Fashion Industry and be interested in the Agro-Processing Industry. Observing both current and future trends in these industries enable you make informed decisions, contribute to projects within the firm, understand the industries better and most of all, grow your knowledge base of information. This can make you a go-to person for others to obtain current information about industries, you can also write articles for journals, become an expert in these areas and generally improve your conversation in these areas. Most people enjoy observing trends in socio-political matters, others in the economies of nations, all good, but needs considerable time and focus. If you inculcate the second point in this write up – reading- observing trends would be second nature to you.
Work Ethics
Remember we are looking at the growth of an individual that enables their growth within the organisation. Work ethics are critical for growth. Organisations typically have written and unwritten code of conduct for the work place. As a staff of any Organisation, it is key to keep to these policies. It is also key to have a personal code of conduct for your behaviour anywhere, it may surprise you but bad news travels so fast that you may be facing a crisis even before you realise what the issues may be. You grow your capabilities for managerial positions or supervisory type roles when you are seen to be a “company champion”; one who represents the brand essence of the organisation or as people would say “the face of the company”. To be this, you need to understand the very heartbeat of your organisation, the brand essence of the organisation and core values of the organisation.
Teachable (Be Humble)
You must be teachable, this means willing to learn new things, to be this, humility is a key trait you need to imbibe. You really can’t know it all but, you can start a journey towards knowing more. Being teachable within the work environment means that you are a ready hand on new projects, with reading up more on stuff, observing trends and imbibing the work ethics of the organisation and being teachable, you would make a fantastic co-worker to most of your colleagues.
Hardwork
Commitment to your goals, reading, observing trends, work ethics and staying humble require a lot of hard work from you. It requires you daily working towards achieving these aspects of GROWTH. It is not a walk in the park, taking responsibility for your growth as an individual will leave you with the power to achieve and be more. Working hard means taking time to research on topics, taking time to read, taking time to also rest and refresh. Hard work pays!
Remember that growth is more of your responsibility than that of the organisation, this is because there are many things you can learn that won’t come from the formal kind of learning an organisation offers. This month, write out your goals, ensure they are SMART, get an accountability partner and start working it all out.
A growing person is an achieving person. Best of Luck!