Personal and Professional Growth: Key Skills and Self-Actualization

Introduction

Just like lions and bees, humans are social beings who live in communities, sometimes small and sometimes large. Daily, we relate with one another in various ways, whether at home or at our places of work. Regardless of the form of communication employed — in person, by phone, or by email — our communication and methods of relating with other people leave an impression on them, whether positive or negative. To this effect, there are certain skills that everyone should become proficient in so as to sustain healthy relationships and perform tasks more efficiently. These skills are referred to as the Interaction Essentials. They are helpful in the pursuit of both personal goals — such as being acknowledged and valued — and career goals, by helping us communicate more effectively (Development Dimensions International, 2012–2015, p. 1).

Listed below are several principles derived from years of research that demonstrate the positive effect of certain characteristic behaviors. When these principles are applied, they help ensure that the needs of workers are met and that people feel important, valued, and understood. They can also have a significant effect on the level of enthusiasm and efficiency with which employees carry out their assigned tasks.

Qualities That Contribute to Individual Effectiveness

Develop your self-esteem. Self-esteem can be defined as a person's self-confidence or their assessment of their own self-worth. Maslow ranks this need second in his hierarchy of human needs. People who uphold and develop their own self-esteem, as well as that of others, are regarded as valuable; they enjoy better relationships with their team members and experience less workplace stress.

Learn to have a compassionate mind. A valuable skill to possess is the ability to feel compassion and sympathize with others. Compassionate people do not mind spending their time and resources to help others sustain their self-esteem, preventing them from developing habits that would be detrimental to their lives.

Learn to ask for help and seek others' opinions. People appreciate feeling important and knowing that their thoughts and views are considered relevant. The practice of seeking and providing help in the workplace began in the 1970s and is now a crucial part of many successful organizations.

Share your opinions on issues. Sharing thoughts, views, and the reasoning behind decisions at the workplace helps build an environment of trust. Over the last decade, more than 100,000 publications have been written on the importance of developing workplace trust.

Help others without reassigning tasks. The interdependence characteristic of today's workplaces makes it nearly impossible to complete tasks without seeking assistance. Nevertheless, it is crucial that help be given without reassigning or diminishing the original task. This allows the other worker to grow in their knowledge and capability. Providing help without taking over is a key method of encouraging others (Development Dimensions International, 2012–2015, pp. 1–4).

Abraham Maslow is credited with introducing the concept of self-actualization in his writing on the hierarchy of needs in 1954. Individuals who have achieved self-actualization are characterized by well-defined life objectives and a spirit of selflessness. They also exhibit other notable traits, such as joyfulness, a degree of introversion, spontaneous behavior, and high tolerance for both themselves and others. Maslow identified several useful approaches by which a person could achieve self-actualization.

Five Areas That Lead Toward Self-Actualization

Maslow expressed that people begin their journey toward self-actualization the moment they start to enjoy life to the fullest — living fully, vividly, and selflessly.

When individuals discover that they are distinct and unique, it becomes easier to cultivate the habit of saying what they genuinely want to say. They are also more likely to do what they believe is right, rather than trying to please others by conforming to expectations. As a result, they move in a direction that is authentic to themselves.

Individuals must learn to make choices that reflect who they truly are and how they genuinely think. This enables them to take responsibility when things do not go according to plan — a key characteristic of a person working toward self-actualization.

Individuals must be confident enough to express their likes and dislikes, and to assert themselves when pressured by others.

Teaching oneself not to be overly protective of personal emotions at the expense of others is a crucial lesson on this journey. For instance, individuals should resist the habit of blaming friends or partners when situations become frustrating and unfavorable. Overcoming this tendency plays an important role in the journey toward self-actualization (Maslow, cited in Operation-Meditation Team, 2012).

Conclusion

With this in mind, the following are concrete steps one can take to begin a journey of personal education and development:

Increasing individual effectiveness. Examine personal previous performance ratings, or consult with a manager, co-workers, or HR professionals for feedback and advice.

Benchmarking the job market. Keep up to date with job advertisements related to one's current occupation or the field one wishes to enter.

Updating knowledge. Ensure that one remains informed about developments in a chosen line of work. Individuals can ask relevant questions or conduct research to avoid being left behind by technological advances. Journals, trade publications, industry events, conferences, and personal research are all effective methods. The growth of webinars, online forums, and digital news makes self-development more accessible than ever, even from one's own desk or home.

Developing softer skills. Cultivating strong interpersonal skills is a crucial key to career growth. Training and one-on-one sessions yield strong results, particularly when learners are given opportunities to practice what they have learned (Mills, 2013).

The principles outlined in this paper help us make the best use of our interactions — whether encouraging others, solving problems, or making more effective decisions in our daily relationships with colleagues. In the busy, results-oriented workplaces of today, the limited time spent interacting with others should be used wisely. Whether conversing with one person or a group, in formal or informal settings, face-to-face or over the telephone, we should aim to achieve our goals as effectively as possible.

Each guideline presented above contributes a meaningful and practical element to the overall framework of effective communication. Together, they form a well-defined approach to productive conversation. When these guidelines are combined with the principles described earlier — such as empathy and maintaining self-esteem — they support the realization of both personal and professional goals and, ultimately, lead to more effective and fulfilling interactions (Development Dimensions International, 2012–2015, pp. 4–5).

Development Dimensions International. (2012–2015). Interaction essentials: What they are and why they matter [Monograph]. Development Dimensions International, Inc. Retrieved from

Mills, C. (2013, May 6). Keeping your professional development continuous. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/keeping-professional-development-continuous

Operation-Meditation. (2012). How to reach self-actualization — Maslow's 8 proven methods. Retrieved 7 December 2016 from http://operationmeditation.com/discover/how-to-reach-self-actualization-maslows-8-proven-methods/