Self-Initiated Development - What is it?

We came up with the self-initiated development model a few years ago when it became apparent to us that those who take responsibility for their own development have more success. In a nutshell, SID consists of six steps:

1. Determine your future goals. Think about where you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years in your career. Try to clearly define your goals.
2. Identify the competencies required for your current and desired position. (more on the competencies in our next blog).
3. Assess your current state. Using either a self assessment (from our book) or a 360 degree leadership assessment, identify those competencies that are your strongest and weakest.
4. Develop Objectives to achieve your goals. Using the information from your assessment and your goals, develop objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (scheduled).
5. Create a Developmental Action Plan. What steps do you need to take to achieve your objectives? List the steps and the resources you require. More on action planning in a later blog.
6. Implement your Action Plan. Monitor your progress each week. Set aside time dedicated to completing the steps in your Action Plan.

For complete details on the self-initiated development (SID) model, get a free copy of our white paper describing each step in detail. Simply go to http://www.benchmarkli.com or e-mail me at ben@benchmarkli.com.