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Personal Development Commitments
INTRODUCTION
For our organization to grow, learn and develop, our people must grow, learn and develop.
Today’s business environment is ever-changing. It is continuously challenging us to give our
best.
All of us have areas of strength and areas where we need to grow. As we move through time
these requirements will most likely adjust or change.
The Individual Connection Dialog provides the opportunity to discuss progress-to-plan,
recognize accomplishments and share coaching insights.
Personal development is a two-way street. The Player and Coach need to work together in
identifying the core development areas that will have the biggest impact on the Player’s job
performance, leadership growth and overall effectiveness in the immediate and longer term.
Effective people development requires some discipline and attention, so plan carefully. There
needs to be an agreed-upon focus at the beginning of the journey; clearly measurable
milestones; and meaningful feedback and support along the way. As development milestones
are achieved, well-earned recognition motivates additional learning and growth.
The Personal Development Commitments are an important investment.
Define Three High-Impact Development Goals. Time is always an issue, so we encourage you
to use 80-20 thinking. Generate a list of potential Personal Development Goals. Then narrow
the list to the three highest impact goals. (If you could only achieve three Personal Development
Objectives in the next twelve months, what would they be? What would make the biggest difference?
What development would make the most significant impact on the Player and organization?)
Clearly explain why each Development Goal is important. Provide some insight on why you
selected this goal. (What are you really trying to achieve in this development effort?)
Establish a deadline. Coaches need to actively support the development of their Players
throughout the year. Don’t short-change the process by setting all of your Personal
Development Goals for a December 31st completion.
Plainly define how success will be measured. Set at least three “Measured By” Tasks for each
Development Goal to show that the up-front learning took place (training) and it was effectively
applied in the Player’s day-to-day work (development).
 Please start by reviewing the two SAMPLES on pages 4 and 5 of this worksheet.
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Personal Development Commitments
Date
[Performance Year]
Player
Coach
[Player Name]
[Player Title]
[Plan Date – Current Year]
[Coach Name]
[Coach Title]
Personal Development Commitment ONE:
Development Goal:
Why It’s Important:
Final End Date:
Measured By TASKS:
Comments:
Start
End
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Personal Development Commitments
Personal Development Commitment TWO:
Development Goal:
Why It’s Important:
Final End Date:
Measured By TASKS:
Start
End
Start
End
Comments:
Personal Development Commitment THREE:
Development Goal:
Why It’s Important:
Final End Date:
Measured By TASKS:
Comments:
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Personal Development Commitments
SAMPLE One:
Personal Development Commitment ONE:
Development Goal:
 Learn and apply Microsoft Excel™
Why It’s Important:
Create and format spreadsheets, and analyze and share information
to make more informed decisions
Final End Date:
May 10, 2014
Comments:
Measured By TASKS:
Complete New Horizon Microsoft Excel Course on
basic and advanced features
Start
March 1, 2014
End
March 15, 2014
Create Marketing budget plan in Excel (Share with
Coach; fine-tune if needed)
March 16, 2014
March 25, 2014
Develop a Excel format for analyzing and
presenting our sales results by core product at our
monthly Organizational Dialogs
April 4, 2014
April 30, 2014
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Personal Development Commitments
SAMPLE Two:
Personal Development Commitment ONE:
Development Goal:
 Sharpen my listening skills – don’t interrupt; be able to paraphrase; listen for the
underlying meaning; be more accepting of other views
Why It’s Important:
Final End Date:
Comments:
Build stronger effectiveness in cross-functional project teamwork, and
improve my effectiveness in the Individual Dialogs with my team
August 30, 2014
Measured By TASKS:
Attend the “Dynamic Listening Skills for
Successful Communication” (American
Management Assoc.); and clearly define at least
5 tactics to improve my listening
Start
June 5, 2014
End
June 6, 2014
Research Chapter 21 of the Successful Managers
Handbook, “Listen to Others” for additional
insights on improve my on-the-job listening
ability in the identified areas.
June 8, 2014
June 12, 2014
Spend two months applying these tactics with my
project teams and direct reports. Do a weekly
journal entry describing actual situations, the
tactics I used, my analysis on how they worked,
and the insights gained. Send updates to my
Coach every Monday morning (for the 2 months)
April 4, 2014
August 15, 2014
Prepare a summary of my learning in each of the
five areas describing the impact on me and my
team. Share with my Coach.
August 15, 2014
August 30, 2014