To get the most out of a Personal Development Plan, my advice is to focus on the first ‘P’ in PDP. As individuals, each of us has unique strengths and development areas. What’s right for one person, isn’t necessarily right for everyone else.

If you truly want to progress in your role, you must be prepared to acknowledge the areas where there’s room for improvement. Even though that might seem like a daunting challenge.

For me, that was admitting I harbour an irrational fear of presenting. My safe place has always been hiding behind the written word. It’s where I’m most comfortable.

However, I decided to address an issue that is both frustrating and self-limiting in my annual review.

Knowing that the request for support would be met without judgement certainly made it easier to tackle. Through this experience, I’ve discovered that admitting your weaker areas can be empowering. It opens avenues to proactively address a specific problem.

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Thanks to the support of the team and having a brilliant trainer in Maud Davis, I feel my confidence has really grown. Each of our training sessions has focussed on different areas. Each using ‘real life’ presentations and skills that are transferrable to any situation. I’ll be sharing my top tips for presenting as part of the Pinstone Power Listicles series.

So when it comes to initiating a PDP that works for you, it’s worth remembering that as well as more traditional training courses and recognised industry qualifications, your personal development programme might encompass issues that are much closer to home.

As my husband is fond of saying; “the shy child gets nowt.” I recommend taking a few deep breaths and asking for the help that YOU need to perform to the best of your ability.