Personal development: Why building a self-reflection practice can help you grow

Sometimes we can be so preoccupied with our careers and professional lives, that we overlook our personal development. Focusing on the growth in your work-life is only half the picture to becoming an effective leader within your organization, whether it be in cutting-edge tech development firm, leading in a classroom, or somewhere in-between. To be a better “you”, you need to consider personal development along with your professional development plans. Many highly successful people attribute their success to committing to both personal and professional development plans.

“As a lifelong learner and leadership development educator, my perspective is that there is nothing more important than personal development,” says Lillas Hatala, Leadership Development Facilitator, Coach, and instructor at UWinnipeg PACE.

Lillas says personal development is about becoming a whole human being, about developing your potential all four dimensions– physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

“Whole people become whole leaders of their lives – personally, professionally, in their families, teams, organizations, and communities,” she says.

Why Consider Personal Development?

Not everyone has, or will, think about charting a personal development plan for themselves. You might have heard the term bandied about but aren't quite sure what personal development is, or how to go about it.

Personal development helps us answer some fundamental questions says Lillas. "Who am I as character? What are my values?  Who am I as personality?  What is my higher purpose? How do I serve?  Who do I aspire to be?  What is my Ideal Self?  What are my strengths?  What are my developmental areas?  How can I be the best person and leader of my life?"

That might be enough to make your head spin. Those questions challenge you to be introspective, taking a deep dive into your inner self and reflecting upon yourself and your values and then to take conscious actions to shape who you are.

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Grow Self-Awareness

Embarking on your personal development journey starts with self-awareness. Lillas says there are two ways to grow your self-awareness.

The first is to commit to a daily intentional self-inquiry reflective practice. The second is to take self-assessments that can shed some light on your values and positions. A few of these include the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator, VIA Character Strengths, Emotional Intelligence, and the Leadership Practices Inventory but there are many more out there.

Once you have established a good understanding of who you are, you are ready to “step up and out in personal and professional leadership,” says Lillas. Personal development isn’t a one-time event, she says. Lillas says once you have decided to pursue personal development, you are in it for the long-haul.

“You will be working on yourself for the rest of your life as you continue to grow and evolve to meet life’s challenges and opportunities,” she says.

Radical Self Care

Meeting those challenges and opportunities requires something Lillas calls Radical Self Care. It’s one of those buzz words you can read about in everything from Psychology Today to Forbes and any number of blogs and other websites and you might not think it’s for you. But think again.

“If you are a leader, a parent, a student, or a volunteer – a person who gives in service to the wellbeing others, then a high level of self-care is essential,” says Lillas.

“To be the best version of ourselves and the leader we are destined to be; it takes radical self-care.”

Lillas says it seems to be the norm in our culture that everyone is stressed, tired, and busy.  She says it’s time to change that. By taking conscious steps toward personal development we are “helping ourselves and others be energized and in ease, flow, and balance! I recommend during your daily self-inquiry reflection practice to ask yourself a series of questions.”

Daily Self-Inquiry

If you aren’t sure how to guide yourself through a daily self-inquiry, you can follow a series of questions that Lillas uses with her coaching clients and in her leadership training.

• How am I mentally? Do I need a mental recharge? What do I need to learn?
• How am I physically? Do I need a walk in nature, get to my yoga class, get 8 hours of sleep?
• How am I emotionally? What do I feel?  What is at stake for me? If the going is getting tough, who can support or help me?
• How am I spiritually? Do I need some alone time? Do I need to be in nature? How can I best serve others and myself at this time?
• What would take your self-care up a notch? 

Translating Personal Development to Professional Development

Taking the time to be self-aware and reflect allows you to grow not only in your personal life, but also in your professional life. Personal development is all about being the best you can be whether it’s in your home life or work life.

In fact, consciously taking steps to become a better you, has positive impacts on your career development. By becoming more self-aware, you open yourself to chart not only a personal development plan, but also a development plan for your career. These could include following our top 5 ways to boost your career, such as looking for ways to pursue continuing education or setting your sights on gaining a professional designation in your field.

So…whether you are looking to reach the upper echelons of self-development and scale Maslow’s hierarchy, or just want to improve your daily outlook developing yourself both personally and professionally is beneficial. Many highly successful people attribute their success to developing both professionally and personally.