There are many ways to develop. One approach is to focus on helping others to develop and, as a by-product, helping yourself to develop. This is an approach that can be followed in your personal and professional life.
This approach is different from just concentrating on your own development. Depending on the situation, it may involve aiming:
To focus on how you can build on your strengths and be a giver – rather than a taker – to help others to succeed;
To, when applying for a job, focus on how you can help the potential employer to succeed rather than trying to sell yourself;
To focus on how you can make a positive contribution during your time on the planet.
This approach is different from one encountered when interviewing a recent graduate who was applying for a role at a company. When asked about why they wanted to do the role, they said:
“It is one that I think will help me to develop.”
At that point we reminded them that they were applying to join a company not a campus. It was about them focusing on what they could do to help the company to develop and, as a by-product, they may develop.
Different people follow this approach in different ways. Let’s explore how it may be possible to translate this into action.
Helping Other People To Develop
This is an approach you can use to help other people. But it is important not to come across as a person who is trying to fix other people.
There may be situations, however, when it can be appropriate to use your strengths to help other people to reach their goals. For example:
When you are encouraging a person who asks for your help in their personal or professional lives;
When you are helping people to develop when working as an educator, coach, mentor, trusted advisor or in another professional role;
When you are working in an organisation that is dedicated to helping people to improve their quality of their lives.
Imagine that somebody has asked for your guidance in working towards their personal or professional goals. You will start by creating an encouraging environment where they feel able to explore.
Bearing in mind what they can control in the situation, you may then aim:
To clarify the real results they want to achieve – the picture of success;
To clarify the possible options going forwards – together with the pluses and minuses of each option – to work towards the picture of success;
To, with their permission, share knowledge and practical tools they can use to achieve their picture of success.
The person is in charge of their life, of course, so it is up to them if they want to use any of these ideas in their own way. Then, if appropriate, you can support them on the way towards achieving their goals.
Helping Customers To Develop
Many people are in roles where they aim is to help customers to develop. They may do this when working as a sales person, account director, trusted advisor or in another role. One approach is:
To keep focusing on how to help the customer to achieve
success rather than to follow the hard sell approach.
Some people aim to act as true partners to customers. Such people often do lots of research before, for example, meeting a customer. They aim:
To clarify what is happening in the customer’s world together with the customer’s challenges and goals;
To clarify how they can use their strengths to help the customer to tackle some of these challenges and achieve their goals;
To clarify how they can position what they offer in a way that is attractive to the customer and help them to achieve their goals.
They focus on the customer’s agenda. They then aim to present ideas in a way that resonate with the customer and will help them to achieve success.
This approach is more like that of a trusted advisor rather than that of an aggressive sales person. When appropriate, it involves building a longer-term partnership that will help the customer to develop.
Helping Organisations To Develop
Different people apply for jobs in different ways. One approach is for a person to focus on how they can contribute to helping the potential employer to succeed. This involves doing lots of research about:
The specific organisation they may want to join – such as the principles it wants its people to follow and its specific goals;
The specific role that is being advertised and the specific outcomes that it will be required to deliver in that role;
The specific people they may meet during an interview and any specific things they will be looking for regarding a person’s suitability for the role.
This approach involves the person focusing on the employer as a potential customer. It is not about so-called personal branding or selling themselves.
Different people then prepare for an interview in different ways. One approach involves completing something like the following framework.
This is based on a format that one company sent to candidates. The candidates were also given a contact in the company they could talk with if they needed more information before the interview. Here is the framework they were asked to follow.
During the interview the company also focused on the person’s strengths and successful patterns. They encouraged the person:
To describe a specific situation in the past when they may have delivered similar kinds of results;
To describe what they did right then – such as the principles they followed and how they translated these into action – to deliver these results;
To describe how they may aim to do some of these things – plus maybe add other elements – to do their best to deliver the desired results.
This approach encouraged the person to focus on how they could make their best contribution to the company.
There are many ways to develop. One approach is for a person to help others to develop and, as a by-product, help themselves to develop. Can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme.
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