Last week’s article on trail blazers stretched some a little too far.
Comments about how impossible it is to develop these, and in one case, “I’m just not like that.”
Nonsense.
These things are easy, when you know how.
How do I know that?
Because I’ve done it, and I’ve helped many people in my Private Client Practice to do the same. Naturally, there are some challenges along the way, but it can be done if you put your mind to it, have the right support and, if you believe it can be done.
If you’re willing to give it a try, here’s one template approach I use to support clients to accelerate their personal develop.
- Develop your vision. Who do you want to be? What do you want to be capable of? To stimulate your thinking, return to the top-talent article, pick up on the nine executive capabilities, or maybe, consider the Influence to Thrive model. All of these inform my work with private clients so use these to develop your own ideas on how you’d like to change.
- Identify role-models for each characteristic or capability you wish to develop. Don’t look for someone who displays all of them, they’re likely to be hard to find! So break it down and find someone who you think displays just one of your chosen characteristics, for example Decision Agility or Building Political Theories.
- Dip into the literature. For each characteristic, hunt down the books, articles and videos that talk to that quality. See what the “experts” have to say on the matter. Become familiar with what it means in practice – exactly what you will need to be doing, thinking, being.
- Take a hard look at yourself, against each of the capabilities you wish to develop. Don’t beat yourself up, but look rationally at what you’re good at, not so good at, and try to establish your starting point. Give yourself a score out of 100 for each capability.
- Set some goals, then make a plan. How would you like to score in 3 month’s time? What action are you going to take? This is where it can get a little tricky, so make use of a good coach/mentor to help you think it through.
- Monitor weekly. How are you getting along with your action, and what results are you getting? It’s fine to stumble at the start. A few wrong turns here and then is fine. The important thing is to keep thinking of making more progress towards your vision.
- Formally review at the end of three months by returning to your scoring. How would you grade each characteristic now, out of 100? If you’ve taken this seriously and have been reflecting on progress regularly, you’ll likely have changed quite a bit (at least on those you have been focusing on). Finally, knowing what you know now, what was the real score back when you started? This is quite a great way to recognise how far you have travelled in your development journey.
Now, plan again. What about the next 3 months, what are you going to do, and what scores would you like to be achieving at the end of the next phase?
If you’d like the opportunity to work with me as a Private Client, all you need to do is schedule a call so we can review your situation and give me the chance to check if you’re the sort of person I’d love to work with. Hint, this is not so much about your currently level of achievement, but rather, what’s going on inside your head and your heart.
Colin Gautrey
Provocative Coach/Mentor | Specialism: Impact and Influence
Ready to take the next step? Discover how personalised coaching can ignite your full potential and accelerate your success. When you’re ready, let’s talk about how we can work together to turn your vision into a reality.
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