A short time after awakening to the fact that people are an organization’s only increasing asset, it also dawned on me that it was up to me to continue increasing my value if I wanted to remain relevant for any organization to which I belonged. This meant that I would have to regularly ask myself the question, “What am I doing to increase my value for [insert the name of the organization]?” Additionally, I would need to ask the same question for each organization in which I was a member, be it my family, employer, a community group, etc.
As I reflected on this question with some of my peers, we stumbled upon four steps that we would need to be constantly and consistently working through to increase our value and remain relevant.
The first step is to continuously seek feedback from personal stakeholders—direct leader, peers, direct reports, indirect leader, indirect reports and key customers—internal and external. Of course, this list is focusing on my work based stakeholders. A full view would include others from all parts of my life. Beyond seeking feedback I have to be receptive to what is shared and commit to do something meaningful with it. This is the most productive way to gain insight(s) that reduce blind spots.
Second is to formulate a development plan. Like any journey, planning development, whether personal or professional, requires a clear understanding of two key points—the origin and the destination. My origin was found in the feedback I received from others and in an honest and robust self-assessment. For me a ‘Personal SWOTH Analysis’ worked best.
In other words, an exploration of my Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats/Hurdles. Often our personal threats, or obstacles and hurdles, are found within ourselves in the form of bad attitudes and bad habits.
Once the origin was defined, the destination or desired outcome needed to be understood and articulated.
Third, is to increase knowledge and skills through study, experience, coaching and spaced repetition.
The fourth and final step is to execute or work the plan toward the desired results. In other words, implement it. For me this included the support and honest reinforcement and challenge of an accountability partner.
When I have followed these steps, I have increased my value and reinforced by relevance to the organization as I have achieved improved results. However, to ensure I continue to be an increasingly valuable asset, I have to keep repeating the cycle over and over again.
Please share your successes and struggles in following these steps.
– Wayne Davis, VP of Talent Development
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As a Talent Management/HR executive with over 20 years of talent and human resource management experience, I strive to deliver value generating services to internal and external clients. This has provided me with the ability to lead or influence people in developing solutions to achieve higher levels of measurable success. My professional interests are targeted toward helping clients achieve their optimum performance through people solutions.