Career Development

Create a personal development plan

Before your career can blossom, plant the seeds for growth.

BY ERICA HARRIS

Whether you are motivated to get ahead or wish to improve in your current role and develop more meaningful work relationships, a key to success is the creation of a personal development plan (PDP). A PDP reflects your learning, performance, and achievements to plan and monitor your personal, educational, and career development.

Creating a meaningful and useful PDP requires introspection, open communication, self-discipline, and flexibility. Determine what inspires you to action on a daily basis and makes you want to come to the office every day.

Keep this in mind as you move through the following steps to create your PDP.

Self-reflect

Before you formalize a PDP, which is a commitment to yourself and your employer, carefully consider your personal and professional aims. Ask yourself:

• Are you onboard with the practice mission statement?

• Are your goals and objectives similar to those of the practice?

• Do you see yourself working with the practice in five or 10 years?

• Is there a role in the practice you see yourself working towards?

Share your vision

If you answered “yes” to the previous questions, meet with your supervisor. He/she should offer the support you will need to create the PDP. Work closely with your boss to find the time and resources necessary for accomplishing your PDP goals and objectives.

If your boss does not give you the green light to proceed (which is not likely), that will let you know where you stand. However, if your boss agrees that you should create a PDP, consider how you will frame subsequent, more detailed discussions. Make these conversations relevant to your boss, as your vision should benefit both you and the practice.

Pinpoint strengths and weaknesses

After receiving a green light to proceed, perform a SWOT analysis, which lists your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This will help you determine the areas of opportunity within and outside of your skill set. Online surveys, personality tests, and specialized trainings can assist you in the SWOT discovery phase, which could bolster a natural talent or introduce a new skill.

Write down all you discover, then prioritize the list and note common themes. Focus your efforts on these general development areas as they relate to the practice.

Brainstorm with your boss

Schedule a meeting with your boss to present your SWOT findings, request feedback, and discuss opportunities within the practice. This step likely will lead to you both agreeing on a feasible career path.

Be flexible during the meeting. You should have an open and honest dialogue, so make sure your receptivity is apparent. Let your intentions be known. Are you aiming for a management position? Do you want to enroll in a certification program? Your boss likely will know where you might fit best in the practice. Also, if you are comfortable, ask your boss to share his/her experience or the experiences of other team members who have worked through a PDP. This may reveal a natural path of progression within the practice that makes sense to follow.

Your brainstorming session with your boss will likely be fluid and inspire several follow-up meetings. You may be challenged to consider options or opportunities that you did not originally contemplate, which will require additional research. For example, a member of the front desk team who expresses interest in becoming a technician but has demonstrated sound financial acumen might be a better fit for a reimbursement or medical finance career track. Be inquisitive, and you and your boss should eventually come to a consensus to move forward with developing your specific PDP.

Develop your plan

During this step, capture the results of your brainstorming session(s) on paper. The accompanying sample PDP (see Exhibit 1, below) will help guide you in this exercise. Include the following major elements in your plan:

Exhibit 1 - Click image to enlargeEXHIBIT COURTESY OF BSM CONSULTING

• Areas of development. With your boss, identify these growth categories as vital to accomplishing your vision. You will map out your intended path and focus your efforts from these overarching themes.

• Objectives/goals. Think of this section as what you need to accomplish to gain competence in each growth area. Subsequent steps should directly support these objectives and goals.

• Actions steps. Your action steps should capture, in a general manner, how you intend to achieve your goals. Outline specific approaches to achieving your goals to help organize your thoughts at this next level.

• Execution/opportunities. This tactical section includes a list of specific opportunities for executing your action steps. For example, consider areas such as continuing education, training, mentoring, internal resources, and external resources.

• Target and completion dates. Establish a timeline to alleviate stress and help balance your PDP efforts with your regular workload. Your timeline may be difficult to determine in the beginning, especially if you need to coordinate with others. When unsure, simply insert “TBD,” then come back to it when you have a better sense of the timeline.

Monitor progress

Hold regular meetings with your boss, which will give you time to routinely evaluate your progress and revise, if needed. Your PDP is not a static plan — it should evolve through time.

While you may check in with your boss only a few times a year, review the plan with him/her more frequently in the beginning. These meetings are vital to ensuring your goals are met. Also, keep in mind that you may hit bumps in the road, but you should view them as growth opportunities.

Recognize achievements

To keep motivated for the road ahead, celebrate each small success before moving on and reapplying your efforts elsewhere. Reflect on the time and effort it took to accomplish each task, and consider treating yourself to something nice to help feel rejuvenated. The positive reinforcement and “go get ‘em” mentality will keep you driven and focused.

Remain flexible

Life’s surprises will inevitably influence your progress. Positions may be created and eliminated, staff can turn over, and organizational structures may shift unexpectedly, all of which can influence your PDP. A healthy balance of commitment and flexibility will help keep you motivated and prevent disappointments when circumstances change.

Start the process

By developing a PDP, you increase your opportunity for personal and professional growth while aligning yourself with practice leaders and their vision of your future. The important thing is that you start the process. OP

Erica Harris is a corporate service specialist with BSM Consulting in Incline Village, NV. She supports a team of internal and external consultants who provide business-based enhancement programs to medical practices.