Helping Your Team Reach Their Full Potential

I am a huge proponent for personal development. I am even reading my 2 year old the classic personal development book by Dr. Suess Oh, the Places You'll Go!. The other day he turned to me and said “Mom, Life’s a great balancing act”. I thought this was pretty philosophical coming from someone who just turned two. I suppose it is never too early or too late to start exposing ourselves to thoughts and ideas that can help us to grow, learn and improve ourselves and our outlook. I feel that we should all be striving for constant and never ending improvement in all that we do and working towards our potential. But just because I feel personal development is a priority it does not mean that others will agree with me. Sometimes even the amazing people that I have working on my team don’t always have the same passion for reaching their potential that I do. Often times they have no idea how much potential they have. It got me thinking about what can be done to create a work place that fosters personal development. As leaders it is often our job to lift people up and help them see more in themselves. By doing this and touching people and teaching not only job skills but life skills you create an environment of positivity and productivity. There are a number of things you can do to create a culture of personal development in the workplace.

Tips for Creating a Culture of Personal Development in the Workplace

1. Communicate openly about books, articles or programs that have helped you.
2. Give people opportunities to attend seminars that may help develop communication or interpersonal skills.
3. Purchase really great books or distribute articles or audio CDs to your team.
4. Develop self improvement challenges within the workplace such as a competition for most pounds lost or greatest number of books read.
5. Recognize not only business achievements but also personal development milestones of the team members.

Creating a culture within your organization that fosters personal growth and development will not only improve the bottom line but will also help employees reach their greatest potential in all aspects of their lives. How do you help foster a culture of personal growth in your workplace?