This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “It’s Time for a Self-Assessment.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:
Have you done a self-assessment lately? That’s the question we are going to talk about today, because it’s a perfect time to do it. Self-assessment and self-reflection are important to your growth – both personal and professional. The beginning of the calendar year is viewed as a time to reset and to make resolutions or set goals for the year. Put both of these things together – the importance of self-assessment and the start of the new year – and it becomes the perfect time to do a self-evaluation to prepare your personal improvement plan for the coming year.
Years ago, my siblings and I, with our families, were all visiting at my parents’ house. My dad was talking about wanting to build a deck on the back of the house outside of the back door, and in the course of the conversation we decided that the best time to do it was while we were there, so that we could all help. So, my dad grabbed some paper and drew a sketch of what the deck would look like, made a list of materials and supplies he would need, and order them from the local lumberyard to be delivered the next day. When the materials came the next morning, the four of us – my dad, me, and my two brothers – went to work, following my dad’s plans and instructions, and built a beautiful deck before the end of the day. It’s a wonderful memory for me, but the point of the story for today’s question is that before we built the deck, dad did an assessment to determine what we had, what we needed, and how we needed to do it.
That’s the purpose of a self-assessment. It’s to reflect on where you are, where you want to be, and what it’s going to take to get from where you are right now to where you want to be in the next year (and beyond). This process for me evolved over time. It started rather simply. When I first became a teacher, I took time in the summer to determine where I wanted to go in each of my classes and laid out a plan of what I would need to do to get there. Then when I moved into administrative roles, that became my annual practice in preparation for the next school year. I would reflect on the previous year, and determine what changes and growth needed to take place in the next year and prepare a plan of implementation. I didn’t turn this process into a truly personal growth plan until I started my doctoral program, and a process of self-reflection and assessment was built into the early stages of the program. It was then that I started taking time every December and January to reflect on my previous year and set some personal growth goals. Over time, as I grew in my leadership, this process grew into a more formalized process with categories and a template that I use every year to determine my 1- and 5-year goals. A few years ago, I added in the stop of determining my personal “word for the year,” a word that became my focus for that year. (A personal note here – for quite a few years before I did this, my wife would give me word or phrase to hold on to each year that she felt would be great help to me. My wife is amazing).
I believe you need to have a similar process. You need to have an annual process of self-reflection, self-assessment, and self-direction. That means that every year, you should be taking some time to reflect on the previous year, assess where you are in your life (personally, professionally, physically, spiritually, in your relationships, and wherever else you think appropriate), and then you need to determine the progress, goals, and steps you want to put in place for yourself. It doesn’t have to look exactly like mine. In fact, there are lots of different templates and formats that you could follow, but regardless of how you do it, you should have one.
Here’s what you need to take away: It’s the beginning of the calendar year and a time of transition from one year to the next. That makes it a natural time to review and reflect on the past year, evaluate the present, and determine the direction for the coming year. Write it down in whatever format works best for you and refer to it throughout the year. That will be your own personal improvement plan.
The bottom line is that self-assessment is important to your growth, both personally and professionally. Author Laurence J. Peter is said to have said, “If you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else,” and you’ve probably also heard the adage, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If you want to grow in the direction in which you intend, then you need to build this regular or annual discipline into your life. Take time to self-reflect, self-assess, and prepare your plan for the next year. And right now, at the beginning of a calendar year, it’s the perfect time to do it.