Any healthy work environment is going to want its employees to show up as their most authentic selves. After all how often do you hear about the importance of your personal and professional development? Nonetheless, it could be tricky figuring out how to balance your personal life with your work life and if either arena is lacking in something. This post has the eighteen questions you need to answer to see if you’re able to balance both your personal and professional development at work.
We spend a lot of time at work. It’s an integral part of our lives but it’s not all of it. As someone who tends to work ten to twelve hours a day, I know this would be impossible if I wasn’t myself. I also know how important it is to check in on yourself and see how you’re doing. It’s the only thing that can save you from burning out.
After answering these eighteen questions you’ll be able to diagnose if there’s anything missing in your work-life balance. And if you discover there’s something missing or something that should be corrected, then you’ll know how to start working on it.
Essentially self-reflecting is the cure for an unhealthy work-life balance and questions are how it’ll be served on today’s menu.
This post is all about your personal and professional development at work and how you can measure it with these eighteen questions.
18 Questions on Personal and Professional Development
Personal and Professional Development
Questions Related to your Work Life
1) Do you have the opportunity to learn something new at work every day?
There is nothing worse than doing a job that is not challenging in the least. We are not robots and if the idea of spending your life on a repetitive action doesn’t bother you then please enjoy away.
If you are in an environment where you do not have the ability to do more, see more, or create more, then you should look for another job. Or you should ask to take on more responsibilities.
When you take the time to discover new ways to learn at work, you open yourself up to a world of opportunities. People will notice you and give you the chance to prove yourself.
2) Do you know what your strengths are, and what you have to offer?
Sometimes we work so hard and we never take inventory of what our failures and successes are. If you don’t do this you’ll never know where your strengths lie. And then you’ll never be able to capitalize on them.
As people make their way up the hierarchy of a company, they’ll find themselves doing more of what their good at and less of what they’re not able to accomplish very well.
Take stock of what’s easy for you and when people ask for your assistance. If you’re able to package your services in a way that benefits you and the requestor then you’ll both win. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself doing a repetitive task or you won’t have the opportunity to grow your strength.
3) Do you know what your weaknesses are, and do you have an opportunity to work on them? Is there an opportunity to work on your personal and professional development?
It’s almost important to know where you could use a bit of help. Yes, the goal is always to delegate or ask for assistance when it comes to your weakness but that doesn’t mean you’ll completely disassociate yourself from it.
Once you nail down what needs a bit more development, find safe places to work on the skill. This will allow you to better understand how to manage it in the future and keeps you involved with how your colleagues leverage the skillset.
The last thing you want is to not be in the room where it happens. Where decisions are made and opportunities are given.
4) Is there a role you aspire to have?
Look around your workplace. Is there anyone you’d like to be? Any jobs you could do better?
Having a role model is a great way to stay motivated. You could also model your career plan after their resume. Or at least take them out for a coffee and pick their brains.
If there isn’t someone like this in your immediate workplace then find someone outside your walls. That’s the beauty of the internet, information is accessible.
5) Do you have the resources you need to do your job?
Hopefully, you don’t have this issue but if you do then you need to find a solution otherwise you’re allowing a massive bolder to keep steamrolling you.
In your day-to-day functions do you have all the information you need to accomplish your tasks? If you don’t, then speak to your manager and ask to have exposure to what you need.
This may look like asking to participate in different meetings or having access to programs and applications your job utilizes to function. This one can definitely be solved with just a bit of communication.
6) Do you have the tools you need to do your job?
Look at the scale of how your business operates and distinguish whether your tools make your life easier or harder. Also, think about how you like to work and see if you can adapt your tools to perform your needs.
An easy way to think about this is how you organize yourself. Do you have access to excel if you’re dealing with numbers? Do you have access to Outlook or a calendar system if you’re constantly scheduling different matters? These are basic needs every office should provide you with.
However sometimes our needs are a little more specific. So make sure to calculate where you’re losing time and see what work can be outsourced or automated with tools.
7) Are training or learning opportunities available to you? Something related to your personal and professional development?
Employees are a company’s greatest asset and employees are provided with pay, benefits, and opportunities. Opportunities don’t just come in the form of career progression but also in access to education.
Check to see if your company has tuition reimbursement available or if there is training available for you to take. If anything you should ask your boss for the funds to take a class and let them know how this could bring value to the company.
When you don’t take the time and effort to grow, then eventually you’ll find yourself feeling stuck and life will become monotonous.
8) Do you have a mentor or someone that’s helping to guide you?
We could all use a friend or an ally to lean on. It helps you have clarity when you’re analyzing a situation and the advice you’ll receive is priceless.
Getting a mentor may seem intimidating but it depends on your approach. You’ll find more times than not that people are happy and willing to help others get to the top. So how do you start?
The best thing to do is invite someone out for a coffee and pick their brains. Do this with a few people and stay in contact. Slowly you’ll find someone you mesh well with and that wants to stay up-to-date with your development.
That’s how you get a mentor. You don’t ask someone to marry you on your first date.
9) Are there enough hours in a day to do your job?
Yes we all get busy at work and yes we all have downtime but those moments should be the exception, not the norm.
If you find yourself starting work early and leaving late because you’re trying to keep up with deadlines then you are headed for disaster. That is a recipe for hating your job and life. Take a look at how you can better manage your time or take things off your plate so that you can work normal hours.
If you have the opposite problem where you have too much downtime then look at who your business is serving and how it can be done better.
Personal and Professional Development
Questions Related to your Personal Life at work
1) Do you feel like you can be yourself at work?
Do you monitor everything you say for fear of saying the wrong thing? Do you dress in a way that is uncomfortable for you? Do you feel safe sharing personal stories?
If any of these seem to be the case then either your company is not lucky enough to have you or you’re scared of being yourself in fear of being rejected. The best thing you can do is open yourself little by little to some trusted colleagues and see where it takes you. It might surprise you how quickly people will nurture you for who you are.
2) Are you able to collaborate in a way that your thoughts and your colleagues’ ideas are accounted for?
Is anyone listening to what you have to say or are they just hearing you? If you feel like your ideas and thoughts are not being validated that’s usually because of the individual you’re specifically trying to connect with.
If that’s the case share your experience with them by saying something along the lines of, “I really enjoyed our conversation on X. Do you mind giving me some feedback on Y? I’d appreciate any insight you could share.” Then from there, you’ll quickly see if it was an innocent misunderstanding or an HR issue.
3) Do you see a difference between where you started and where you are? Do you like what you see? Do you like who you’re becoming?
We’re all trying to become the best version of ourselves.
Take a look at yourself and think do I like how I treat and work with people? If we’re unhappy with this connection then do something about it. Nothing is more important than your team and when you take care of your team, you take care of yourself and the job. We don’t live in a vacuum.
4) Before work do you feel energized or defeated?
Sometimes you’re not a morning person because you haven’t found the right routine or sometimes it’s because you really dislike your job.
So experiment and find the best morning routine in the world. If that doesn’t do it for you then start looking for another job. One bad morning is one thing, but if every morning is a bad morning then your job is the issue.
5) After work do you feel energized or defeated?
Obviously, we’re all tired after work. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t be carrying the weight of the workday on your shoulders. Find ways to decompress and schedule fun activities for yourself.
After work, I personally like to take a 45-minute walk to let go of the day. Something that simple can help you separate your work life from your personal life. The worst is when everything blends together.
6) What do your evenings and weekends look like? How does personal and professional development relate to your free time?
Have you ever spent a weekend worried about a meeting taking place on Monday? It’s natural if it’s your first time but if these nerves become a habit then we need to work on our boundaries. Your time outside of work is for you to live your life.
Don’t become a prisoner of your responsibilities. Have boundaries in place letting people know when and where they can contact you. Otherwise, make sure you fill your evenings and weekends doing something that brings you joy.
7) Do you have goals outside of work that you’re actively pursuing?
It’s important to have a career goal. To know what you’re life will look like and all the factors that encompass it. But if you’re going to work hard then you need to play hard and have hobbies that can satisfy the different sides of you.
Without outside interests, your life will become dominated by one topic and you close yourself off from the world and you narrow your limitations.
8) Do you have a balance in your life? If your job is very analytical and encourages you to use your mental capabilities are you physical in your free time? If your job is labor-heavy, do you use your mental capabilities in your free time?
Humans have a whole body and what you don’t use you lose. If you become incredibly athletic and don’t read or work on your mental capabilities then you’ll have a difficult time connecting with other human beings or even yourself. There’s power in observing and articulating what you see.
If you’re a complete genius but never use your body, then you’ll lose the stamina and endurance to journey through the outdoors. The things you’ll see and physically experience will be limited.
Let’s not allow ourselves to have limitations.
9) When was the last time you thought this was fun? And how often do you incorporate that into your life?
We all have moments where we smile or laugh so hard it hurts. This is the kind of behavior that needs to become a daily practice. Without it, life would be insufferable.
Above all make sure you make time to enjoy happiness every day.
This post was all about personal and professional development.
Leave a Reply