Creating a personal development plan

1. Creating a personal development plan "When Christ calls leaders to Christian ministry, He intends to develop them to their full potential. Each of us in leadership is responsible to continue developing in accordance with God's processing all our life." Bobby Clinton

2. Introduction • As Area Directors, we want to help our people to grow and change. It is part of our mandate. • MM, p. 34, Personnel Development. The Mission recognizes its responsibility for the ongoing development of its members and thus is committed to its personnel to: • 1. Assist in developing ministry and skills. • 2. Encourage alertness to current issues in missions and current events in world and community. • 3. Help strengthen family life and maintain vitality of Christian life. • 4. Contribute to a sense of fulfillment and growth in a vocation.

3. In order to be helping others grow, we also need to be growing • Not just doing our job better or working harder, but increasing our personal capacities and sharpening our focus • Growth does not happen automatically. • Intentional growth activities • Reflection on what God is teaching us • Mediocrity is a bigger problem for mission leadership than failures. • One of Warren's goals - Leaders understand their strengths & weaknesses and are following a personal learning plan

4. Step 1 - Do a self assessment • Increased self-awareness fuels effective self-leadership • Self-awareness = honest with yourself about yourself. Then honest about yourself with others • Why self-assessment is difficult • We all have blind spots • People don't tell you about your weaknesses when you are in leadership • Personal Growth Self-Assessment Tool (annual) • Reflect and refocus questions (quarterly)

5. Step 2 - Get additional outside assessment • The higher you go in leadership, the more intentional you must be in getting feedback • Use questions on p. 8 of self-assessment tool with trusted friends • Use SEND's leadership assessment tool

6. Step 3 - Write Growth Goals • Review self-assessment results • Choose the areas you want to work on. • Write the goal in terms of the end result, rather than the activity you will use.

7. Step 4 - Choose the growth activities that will help you reach your goal • Books you plan to read • People you plan to interview • Seminars you plan to attend • Personal coaches you plan to recruit • Patterns of behaviour you plan to establish • Other growth activities

8. Step 5 - Choose growth partners to help you keep focused on the goal • Who can I enlist to help me stay encouraged and focused on these goals? • Choose more than one growth partner for each goal. • Let growth partners know exactly what they are committing to - pray for me, and contact me on these dates and what questions they should ask me. • Growth partners do not need to be experts in the area of accountability

9. Step 6 - Determine how and when you will evaluate your progress • The time frame and evaluation process you will use to measure progress toward mastery in this area • It is better to have more than one way of getting feedback • Statistical appraisal. Did you do what you said you would do? • Motivational appraisal - Was your heart in it? • Self-evaluation • Evaluation by others

10. Getting started on developing our personal growth plan • How will you set aside time to complete it? • When will you complete it? • To whom will you be accountable for completing it?