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What Planning Tools Are There to Help Me?

There are many sources of help that you can access whilst planning your professional development. You will find ideas throughout the Planning section of this site. Some that you may already have read about are Competence Frameworks, Published Standards, Gap Analysis, Learning Styles, and of course the help of your manager and/or Mentor will be invaluable. Other tools that you might like to try are:-

Mind Mapping

Devised and developed by Tony Buzan, Mind Mapping is a technique used to capture ideas from a brainstorming exercise in an organised and structured way.

Due to copyright we are unable to reproduce the method here, but further information can be found in The Mind Map Book : How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential by Tony Buzan - ISBN: 0452273226

SWOT Analysis

We are often required to undertake a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of a project or other aspect of our work. We can apply the same technique to assessing the possibilities for our own careers.

Understanding what our strengths and weaknesses are will help us to know where we are most likely to be successful and in what areas we will need to work harder to achieve. Likewise, knowing what opportunities are likely to arise will help us ensure that we are ready to take advantage of them; and being aware of possible threats gives us the chance to take action to minimise any negative consequences.

You might like to ask for help in doing this analysis. Your Human Resources department may be able to arrange for you to undertake some psychometric tests to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses. Talking to your manager or mentor may help you identify possible opportunities and threats.

Time Management

Setting aside time on a routine basis to review and update your development plan and records is essential if you are serious about your professional development. Whether you do this daily, weekly, monthly or annually, schedule time in your diary when you can focus on your development needs.

Keeping your records up-to-date is much easier when things are fresh in your mind. Making time to jot something down, even if it’s just in note form, will make your records more accurate and meaningful, and will save time in the long run.

If you have a mentor you will also need to arrange regular discussions to review and plan your progress. It will help you both if you agree what the frequency of these discussions should be and allow yourself some preparation time so that you can get the most out of the meeting.