The world is getting smaller. In this age of globalization, companies can no longer remain insular and thrive using methods developed in the last century. Today, few people enter the job market and retire from the same company, or even the same industry. With the internet, workers have access to information about possibilities their parents never envisioned. Companies move and change; workers move and change. To achieve success, forward thinking organizations and aware individuals look to tools provided by personal development.
The term “personal development” is used in different ways. Broadly speaking, it is the process by which individuals become increasingly self-aware and develop skills that help them move toward their greatest potential. When we grow and become our most highly evolved selves, we move into a state of contentment and joy previously unimaginable to us.
We all want to be happy, but our ideas of happiness evolve over time and experience. When we are teenagers, we may imagine happiness could come from owning a car, or being part of a popular group. Later we may think we could gain happiness by owning a bigger house, or having a wardrobe full of chic clothes. On a deeper level, we may think achieving life goals such as world travel, or having a devoted partner or a happy family will bring us happiness.
It is important to know what we want, and to honor ourselves by structuring our lives so we can have the things we want. Personal development addresses that, and it goes beyond. As we grow into our highest potential, we learn more about ourselves and what gives us deep satisfaction. We grow in self-awareness of our own skills and strengths, and we get in touch with how we can be of most service in the world.
In the modern employment marketplace, it behooves individual employees to invest in themselves by pursuing personal development. Unlike Americans of earlier eras, today’s workers are free to seek opportunities in other areas. However, workers also want the chance to remain with their current employers while having the opportunity to advance into new positions that fit their capabilities and aspirations.
Companies in today’s world must woo employees by offering them support for their personal goals. Once an employee is hired, and a company has invested in that employee, it serves the company to support that worker in his or her ongoing personal development.
When both individuals and companies make personal development a priority, the result is happier employees and more productive organizations. Happier people live better lives, and they also support a company culture of comradeship, achievement, and joy. That outcome serves everyone, including clients and consumers.