Invest in your personality

While corporate training is useful for developing technical skills and certain soft skills required at work, the best way to groom your personality is to invest in the self.

In his book The Power to Transform, Chris Majer acknowledges and addresses the thin line between reacting to life and shaping your own life. Through a series of easy-to-do exercises, the author leads you to a transform you. And who is at the centre of the change process? It's you. Anyone who works on personal grooming would know that the person is the central agent in how his/her personality shapes up.
In today's demanding workplace, the individual must take the lead and invest time and effort in his own personality. Not only will this better prepare him better to face stressful times but also to become resilient in any situation. The international workplace works on the principle of survival of the fittest. The term ‘fit' encapsulates both the necessary technical skills and the right personality and attitude. Raja Chidambaram, leadership and change enabler, discusses the key personality traits, "Every person must invest in communication skills and learning about the company's communication style and models enables one to avoid embarrassing situations. The other important personality dimensions are striking a balance between aggression and sensitivity, maintaining confidentiality wherever required and making result-oriented efforts. The boundary between personal and professional life should not get blurred. Respect the other person's after work hours and do not intrude in their personal lives. Time management is also another critical aspect."
Once you have defined the focus of your self-training regime, you must have a clear starting point and self discipline to make the most of it. Nav kishlay, professional trainer, advises, "Start with the most critical personality aspect - decision making. Identify which of the five senses is most active for you? Just like the rainbow has seven colours but you can get new colours on mixing, similarly you can get new results from using your five senses differently. There are various approaches to achieving the final result and personality development is about discovering the approach that works for you. There is, of course, no guarantee of success but one has to be open to risk taking. You must take time off to visualize your goals. Ask yourself questions like where you want to be in the next ten years and then work on your strengths. Don't ask why this is happening to me. One gains nothing from cribbing. While it is important to not repeat your mistakes, you must not negate yourself the possibility of success by being afraid of failure."
Self improvement is a process of discovering your strengths and weaknesses so as to constantly assess your own capabilitie. To work on your personality, use the right resources – reading material, audio books, taking help from guides and mentors or simply by introspecting. Once your journey inwards begins, success in the outside world will already be yours.

Tips for personality development

Join a community group or a training and development course in your area, where you can meet self motivated individuals and learn from their experiences.
Use the internet to access articles and free reading material on personality development.
Use online tests to find out what defined your personality. Are you an achiever, a romantic, an action oriented person or a thinker? Find out now!
Use online forums where you can follow personal development coaches and trainers. Try the virtual chat route to get all your queries answered.

- - Unnati Narang