Planning and Organizing Personal and Professional Development

Book excerpt: Chris Sangster’s book is a practical, step-by-step guide to personal and professional development that covers the strategy, techniques and philosophy behind the process. Lifelong learning, the shift from trainer-centred delivery to learner-centred development and the opportunities provided by new technologies, place considerable onus on individuals to take responsibility for their own learning. This guide will help trainers and facilitators to enable learners to do just that. There are, at least, three different participants involved in any meaningful and sustainable process of personal development at work - the learner, his or her line manager and mentor(s), and the training (or development support) function. Chris Sangster provides a route map for each of these three roles. He offers a simple, compelling triangular model to illustrate the interaction of each and places particular emphasis on ’learning outcomes’ - as opposed to inputs, focusing attention and objective measurement on learning that manifests itself through application, achievement and changes in behaviour. Whether you are looking for a complete and holistic process for developing your people or a highly readable guide to unravelling the myths of development - such as the confusion between personal and professional development - this book has it all.