My children have been back at school a few weeks now and we have just about settled back into the routine of it all. My eldest son is now at secondary school and has been subjected to various assessment tests to determine which sets he goes into for the key subjects. This process of working out his strengths and areas for development reminded me, of course, of my ‘day job’. However, it struck me as no coincidence that my360plus saw a marked increase in demand for 360 degree profiling in September.
I think that it is has been ingrained in us that this time of year we all go ‘back to school’. In the world of work there is often a shift from the slower summer mindset to a more focussed attitude. The French even have a word for this: ‘La Rentrée’. Many French people are on vacation for all or part of August, which means that la rentrée, in September, is when everyone is returning home and going back to work.
So as we look at the year ahead, it is a good time to analyse what additional skills or training might be useful, so what should we be considering?
- Talk to our managers and discuss any available training that is related to the job we are doing, or future projects we will be involved in.
- Do we have a good self-awareness regarding our skillset? We should talk to our managers, peers and teams to gain their views.
- Consider what we are naturally good at and would like to develop and use more, rather than just the things we need to improve.
- Another option is mentoring or being mentored, providing the chance to share skills and experience with colleagues.
- If appropriate, talk to our managers regarding changing some responsibilities in order to develop new skills.
- Create a clear development path for the months ahead with distinct goals.
So how could my360plus profiling help you now?
- It creates a simple, straightforward, easy-to-understand profile of strengths and areas for development.
- Our 360 tool is straightforward, quick and easy to use online.
- It is an efficient and cost effective process.
- Our approach does not stop with the production of a report. my360plus sets up ongoing real-time coaching with plain English suggestions on what to work on and how.
- The development is measurable and is directly linked to improved performance.
- The approach is proven, and is underpinned by robust science.