Setting Personal Development Objectives

Shivani Panchal Updated by Shivani Panchal

How to set effective Personal Development Objectives

  • Personal Development Objectives are specific development areas which will help you achieve your Performance Objectives, career goals or improve an aspect of your performance
  • A set of Personal Development Objectives is sometimes referred to as a "Personal Development Plan"
  • A Personal Development Objective could be to develop a specific skill or behaviour, or to increase your knowledge in a particular area
  • Or a Personal Development Objective might highlight an existing strength you plan to develop further to benefit you or the wider team. It can be more beneficial (and motivating) to focus on leveraging strengths as well as bridging development gaps

In addition to being SMART, a good quality Performance Development Objectives should pass relevant aspects of the ‘5As’ test:

  • Agile - the objective should be near-term, and reviewed frequently to keep it relevant and meaningful (usually 1-4 months)
  • Assessable - the objective should be precise and unambiguous with clear success measures (so that it’ll be obvious when it’s been achieved)
  • Aspirational – the objective should be stretching, yet achievable, and delivery should drive high performance

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What are Objectives

What are Personal Development Objectives

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