Taking ownership of your personal development

This blog post was published on May 10, 2012 at 02:18 pm GMT

One of the main mantras that prevail in the personal improvement/effectiveness movement is this idea of personal responsibility and ownership. The discourse tends to argue that you can improve yourself by “owning” your own destiny. Take on a new project, develop a “can-do” attitude or change how you see problems. The theory seems to state that we are all happier and more committed when we have a sense of meaning and a level of autonomy in our lives. Apparently, we are less stressed as a result.

Tips three and five in the Harvard Management Tips book builds on this idea by advising you to open your mind to new things and increase your desire to learn. Ask questions and find ways to apply your expertise to different situations. Adopt a learner’s approach. Tip eight advises you to stop making excuses for your bad behaviours and change! Think of the impact your character flaws have on others around you.

How to change your behaviour is outlined in Tip 33. Firstly, you should take ownership and believe you can change. Secondly, be patient and persist with your personal changes. Thirdly, accept any difficulties you encounter on the way. Fourthly, refuse to be distracted. Fifthly maintain your changes constantly. If you can persist with your changes you will find that you are a better leader, apparently!

I guess a good way to start improving yourself is to audit your behaviour and ask others for feedback. Feedback seems to be a key requirement in the self-improvement process. I would accept that it serves as a useful reality check, but only if someone is willing to accept other people’s criticisms of their conduct.

Although I do wonder sometimes, whether our character flaws are what make us human. If we change too many things about ourselves, do we deny the past experiences that brought us there in the first place? Who has the authority to change you? Why should you change if you get things done well? And when do we stop improving? How long does this process continue for? The phrase life-long learning is very popular, but can you really teach an old dog, new tricks? So many questions – I guess I must be opening up my mind!

References:
Harvard Business School, (2011) “Management Tips from Harvard Business Review”, Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard Business Review Press, p5, p7, p10, p43.