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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA 210-K-98-002
Institute for Individual and Organizational Excellence
(3605)
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Developing Your
Strengths
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Guidance for Individual Development
and Continuous Personal Improvement
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Why Develop Your Strengths?
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make your job more engagfp^pB rewarding
increase your value to ymirtor^anization
begin Ijajning a lot more about matters that are interesting to you
anil rql^tffit to the Agency's work
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This is a do-it-yourself guide tp^lp 5^911 create, in just a few weeks,
an individual development plan to'&hnarice your career and your
overall group or team contribution.
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Peak Work Experiences
Looking at your entire life experience, can you recall a time when you felt most alive, OH;
excited about your job ? (Think about current and earlier work experiences, or
Recall efforts that went well; in which you invested time and energy.)
involved, or most
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de or work.
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What made, tfiaae experienced
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VcllUGS -- What are the qualities you value most about:
Yourself — Without being humble, what do you value the most about yourself— a^ hu;
friend, a family member? (For example, "I care about other people and I value that.;
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Your work — What do you value about your work?
Your organization — What is it about the organization that you value?
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AC h leve merit Areas — Describe two or three pieces of work or projects of which you are
P? particularly proud.
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What was it about you — your unique qualities, skills, knowledges, or strengths -- that made it possible to
1 achieve these results? ; -V
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STRENGTHS
Consider your strongest areas. These strengths are not necessarily what is expected of
the ones that stand out. If there are one to three people with whom you can talk
abilities or qualities, ask each to suggest a few strengths^ Add that information to!
p Write down
Inmost valuable
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YOUR ORGANIZATION'S PLANS
Next, let's get clear on what's expected of your organization. If he or she hasn't,^
know, ask your supervisor or team leader to identify your organization's goals. Wnat^y^uiCs
hook for" this year? E"1
Your group
don't
"on the
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DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES
Work assignments are often the most effective way to enhance and make use of your maJQr strengths. The
kinds of tasks, activities, and projects that you enjoy most are most likely to be orije£ yojjjjdfe gjtacid at. To the
extent that your strengths support your organization's goals and activities, the moip^^^^Qgelcinds of
things, the more your organization will benefit.
where you are strongest and less with activities
idea to explore ho
id.
Jld be working more
Compare the list you just prepared on Page 7 to^ffuig
apply a strength you have to one or two of those efforts.
Possible work assignments
strengths on page 6. Identify ways that you could
Colleagues comments
Talk with your supervisor, team leader, or colleagues about these possibilities afid adH33t%f'ideas they may
have. At this point, the list of possible assignments may look too long. Don't commit ybufself to any of these
yet, but find out what matters your colleagues would welcome getting your help with or handing off to you -
note that information above.
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Self Development Activities — Imagine becoming truly expert at each of your strengths
plish this with self development activities such as independent and library readinf
signments, or enrollment in an institution of higher learning. These kinds of activj
without significant cost and can help you a lot i
those ideas on page 19 under "Self Development".
nsibility for your
can accom-
volunteer as-
e undertaken
pment. (Note
Formal Programs — These activities include* |lp$r^injfraining, distance learning courses, details, rotational
assignments, or other structured developmental activities aimed at improving your ability to perform your job.
(Record these possibilities on page 19.)
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Your development is primarily your responsibility; your supervisor will also be interested. You may want to
ask your Supervisor, Team leader, or someone else to coach you. Coaching is a way of unlocking a person's
potential to maximize their work performance. A good coach helps you learn by sharing arid guiding rather
than teaching. A coach works with you to help you envision new possibilities an^ugd^|'i^|l&fnatives which
will allow you to act in new ways. Getting Coached— For each of your 3-4 key strength kreas, identify 2-3
people who could coach you. :iErf* «J8Jfcj!&
Key strength
Potential coach .
If you have a coach in mind, ask them if they'd be willing to coach you. (They 'IIprobably say yes.)
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FUNCTIONS WHICH DONT MATCH WELL WITH YOUR STRENGTHS
The important part of self-development is maximizing strengths. But let's face it — all jobs include tasks that
must lie performed regardless of our level of skill. So in our planning we need to adddp^pigse tasks. List
below two or three parts of your job you avoid doing, don't enjoy doing, don't knjQijjw n^|fcffl^|^DUt, or don't
think you are very good at. If the task will continue to be important in your orgar^ym^^^y^S could easily
learn to do it well, jot down a plan for learning jjpjjj
Function
y/reading, training,
or practice:
for getting good at it
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If someone else could do the function a lot better, propose handing it off.
If you must continue to do the task, is there someone who knows how it should be dorje who could coach
you?
Function .
nd off or coa
In any case, if you're expected to carry out this work, learn how to do it, get it done, and do it on time.
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COMPLETING YOUR IDP FORM
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From this point, transferring the information and recommendations you've deveJpped$nJjp*V6)iir IDP form
shouldn't be difficult. Your plans should link to organizational goals, maximiimg.|^||tren^hs to bene-
fit you and your organization. Your plans should ahjia;jninimize the negative inij^K^^^uf weaknesses.
List as activities on the IDP form the work as^^|n%nW®|' development activitie$$mn formal programs
that you've thought of. . jS-
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Consider your copy of the IDP as a draft versioli a|lyou"discuss it with your supervisor. She or he will
want to use it as a workforce planning tool, comparing your strengths and recommendations with those of
your peers. You and;yoyr supervisor will work together in preparing a final IDP that works best for you
and strengthens yojff plrganjzation.
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Initial meettwiitk^tip^rvisor — Working on strengths - Have an initial conversation with your supervi-
sor about hovv^jjfjyiiwbuld like to help the organization more while practicing your personal skills. Mutual
agreement on such matters may not be easy to reach, but if yoi|,|an work more in your strength areas while
helping the organization, everyone wins. (Your siiperyispr y>H|ljjf(robably need to talk to your colleagues
and check on funding for training before
Working on your least favorite tasks - Also go over your initial thinking on these from pages 11-12 and
propose adjustments or training in those areas.
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Follow-up meeting with supervisor and post-meeting follow up — Once the supervisor has had an opportu-
I nity to meet with your colleagues and check .gn funding, you may
be able to agree on your development planjj^oji"'i|nd your super-
visor should then sign the final IDP y^rmiahd Uiscuss follow-up
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| needed tojarry out those agreementjp^'-'
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topment is primarily your"responsibility, your su-
iirobably rely on you to set up follow-up meetings
wgfi'cQlJSagfies, complete training requests, and make travel
preparations, if needed. It's wise to prepare and execute training
forms for the year within two weeks after this meeting with your
supervisor. The two of you should set 2-3 specific goals for your
development during this discussion and note them on page 17 un-
der "Developmental Goals "
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PERFORMS and Your IDP
PERFORMS, EPA's two-tier performance rating system, represents the Agencpfc
sional development and management coaching as k^evs, to organizational succes1|j|
longer seen as a luxury or a reward. It is a nedi^^s|l^^||j|||ting the entire
for employees and supervisors to complete
oped. Your completed agreement will
objectives, and an appreciation of individual*!*
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The
H-profes-
ent is no
intention is
tier and use it as a discussion piece as it is devel-
Tmutual understanding of organizational goals and
Sontributions.
Employee - This isjp h|elp you plan your development and increase the value you add to your organiza-
tion. It will..be efij^fij^ ;Q.nly if you take an active role in your development, and direct positive energy to
what you can inffifreft'ce;;v
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Supervisor ->:lEmptf'k coaching tool to help you align your employees' efforts with your organization's
work, while increasing their individual capability. ,< .r "f
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INSTRUCTIONS
Pages 11 and 12 should reflect your thinking about the activities whjgh yoj^^a^end to
like as much, but which need to be done. Make sure you've completed "
P. 17 Enter your name. Enter the effected
Under "Development Plans / Ac
From the possible work assignment!? y||f'li3?ed on page 8, select 1-3 which you believe
make sense and which your colleagues are receptive to. Consult with your Team Leader or
Supervisor about those choices if possible, and incorporate their ideas. List those in the left
column, describe each, list any support you'd need, ajidj define wjh£t
look like for the assignment. In the right column, show beginning and
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To find out what formal programs are available, ;g£t p copy of the USD A Graduate School
Training Opportunities brochure or see your !T[^qing Officer.
P. 1 9 Page 9 called for you to note possible seljjxteveloprhent activities and formal programs on
page 19. If you have not yet completed the left column of page 19, do it now. Then, com-
plete thg middle and right columns as you did on pages 17 and 18.
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
INDIVIDUAL PEVELQPMENT Pl^N
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Work Assignments
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Description/Support requirecj, Success Measures ' Time Frame,
Work Assignments
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(Cont. from previous page — if necessary)
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Description/Support required, Success Measures . ^ flm
Self Development Activities
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Formal Programs
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DEVELOPMENT PLANS /ACTIVITIES Description/Support required, Success Measures! ' Time Frame
Self Development Activities (Cont. from previous page — if necessary)
Formal Programs
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J Pescription/Support re^[ufr«cIvSucces» Me^sares , Time frame ,J
(Cont. from previous page — if necessary)
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Note
Additional self-development tools are available on the Human Resources website.
Bibliography
The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry. 1998, Sue Annis Hammond, SueHammond@AOL.com
"The Executive as Coach," James Waldrop and Timothy Butler, Harvard Business Review, 1996
Developing Organizational Talent, Development Dimensions International, Pittsburgh, PA 1986
EPA Strategic Plan. EPA-190-R-97-002
Jack Davis and Eduardo Rodela, "Mid-Career Transition," The Haworth Press, 1990
Lee Salmon, EPA, Coaching as an Enhancement to Performs, Lecture, October 1997
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