According to a Gallup survey, merely 31% of employees are genuinely engaged in their roles, leading to issues in productivity, creativity, and overall profits. Edgar Papke, a specialist in leadership psychology and the author of The Elephant in the Boardroom, suggests that emphasizing personal growth for each individual in the organization can serve as an effective solution: “Everything we do is personal and driven by emotions. If you can enable individuals to feel capable, valued, and recognized, you address their fundamental human needs, resulting in greater happiness and productivity.”
S. Chris Edmonds, the founder of the Purposeful Culture Group and writer of The Culture Engine, concurs. “Frequently, leaders perceive employees as interchangeable—hiring, training, and expecting outcomes without significant involvement,” Edmonds points out. “Exceptional managers regard us as valued collaborators.”
Initiatives focusing on personal development within the workplace are quite affordable yet can yield substantial benefits. Edmonds cites one case study where his client defined and communicated the core values of the organization and held senior leaders responsible for adopting these cultural shifts. Within six months, there was a 60% reduction in conflicts, absenteeism, rework, and grievances. In just one year, efficiency soared by over 40%.
Strategies to foster personal development in the workplace
1. Deliberately evaluate how team members are treated in daily interactions.
“Adjust expectations and behaviors to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Make sure that individuals’ ideas, skills, and happiness are all valued,” advises Edmonds.
2. Improve your communication skills.
“Great leaders excel at listening, which goes beyond just making eye contact,” states Papke. Pose questions that encourage dialogue and ensure the other person feels acknowledged and understood.
3. Allocate time and resources for learning.
This might involve setting aside specific hours each week to engage with personal development podcasts and reading materials during work hours, or establishing a yearly budget for seminars and courses.
4. Permit job roles and management structures to evolve naturally.
Fewer management layers within your organization allow for greater flexibility in roles, leading to enhanced respect for individuals’ contributions rather than solely their official titles.
5. Emphasize the importance of personal development among leaders.
“It requires a shift in mindset or heart from senior leaders to redefine their roles as facilitators of a safe, inspiring, and productive work culture,” explains Edmonds. “When leaders adopt this perspective, incredible transformations occur. Team members start addressing long-standing issues, and they engage with renewed energy in tasks, projects, and relationships with colleagues and clients.”
6. Provide unwavering support to employees.
This support should persist even if it means that their personal growth leads them away from the organization.
7. Share your journey of personal growth at work.
Invite your team to read a leadership book alongside you. Encourage staff to engage with your chosen charity. Present a talk about a life experience that has shaped your personal values.
Rick Roussin
Who: Founder, Coast to Coast Computer Products, Los Angeles area
Initiative: Supporting those recovering from addiction
Results: A culture of support enhances employee loyalty.
Thirty years ago, while on my journey to sobriety, I attended my first self-help presentation focused on sales techniques, which profoundly changed my life. I became engrossed in the “automobile university,” where I would drive and listen to personal development audiobooks and motivational speakers. Zig Ziglar remains my favorite. I attribute my success to the insights from those tapes.
Roughly around that period, I started Coast to Coast from my garage. In need of employees, I recruited individuals from Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. On quieter days at the office, we would sometimes close early to attend an AA meeting.
The business has since expanded to 220 employees, with 12-step programs and personal growth at the heart of our culture and success. Approximately 25% of our staff originates from AA referrals. I’ve found them to be outstanding performers and dedicated team members. When you afford someone the opportunity to work while they are rebuilding their lives after a difficult phase, they hold that experience dear. Moreover, during such times, they are exceptionally receptive to learning. Many eventually see great success; seven out of my top ten salespeople are in recovery.
These individuals thrive partly because our environment firmly supports recovery. There exists a genuine bond of sobriety among our workforce. Collectively, Coast to Coast employees boast over 400 years of sobriety.
How Roussin fosters personal development for his employees at work
Our company culture incorporates formal elements. We hold weekly voluntary AA meetings, and we maintain a lending library stocked with personal development books and audiotapes. This initiative began with a small collection but has now expanded into a library with hundreds of resources. I encourage each team member to invest at least 30 minutes each day in personal development, as I believe this is vital for their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
I don’t evaluate the return on this investment in financial terms; it constitutes part of my spiritual journey. When individuals evolve into better versions of themselves, they become superior employees. When they express that working here has changed their lives, it validates my efforts.
Matt Clark
Who: Co-founder, Amazing.com, online business training programs based in Austin, Texas
Initiative: Startup Fridays, eight-week tutorials on launching a business
Results: Enhanced understanding of customer and startup dynamics among Amazing.com’s team.
Our organization operates on the principle that entrepreneurship affords freedom in lifestyle and income opportunities. We aimed to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit within our staff to enrich their grasp of our customers’ experiences.
While we provide stock options to every employee (offering them potential ownership in the company), genuine understanding of the entrepreneurial journey and the challenges our clients face arises from firsthand experience.
How Clark promotes personal growth in the workplace
We initiated Startup Fridays, an eight-week program designed for employees interested in starting their own ventures. In the inaugural course, half of our 50-person staff participated. Each Friday over those two months, participants dedicated their entire day to personal projects. They gained unrestricted access to our library of 20 online courses (some valued at thousands of dollars) and were provided with $3,000 in angel funding. We also connected them with top executives for mentorship.
Participants gained insights into the customer experience and a tangible understanding of our company and product objectives. Employees came up with a range of projects, including an online pet accessory store and a T-shirt company focused on supporting the transgender community (which raised $1,000 within its first three days).
A secondary outcome of Startup Fridays is that staff can relay immediate feedback regarding the courses they took, enabling us to swiftly identify and address areas of concern in the user experience. Most importantly, we now have team members who feel empowered to establish their own businesses and engage in the entrepreneurial economy, which reflects the very mission we advocate for our customers—because we are genuinely invested in their success.
Lisa Donoughe
Who: Founder, Watershed Communications, a food branding agency in Portland, Oregon
Initiative: Company-wide experiential field trips
Results: Fostering unity and creativity among staff members.
Years ago, I launched Foodie Fridays, an initiative where the entire office closes for a day every two months to embark on field trips exploring some aspect of food production. Everyone participates hands-on in the learning process.
During our inaugural field trip, a pickling expert guided us in making pickled green beans. I witnessed how engaged and connected the employees became throughout the experience.
As a result, Foodie Fridays evolved into an anticipated program within our company. Together, we’ve sorted grapes in the vineyards of Oregon, baked focaccia with a renowned chef, navigated the Asian markets in southeastern Portland, and crafted walnut liqueur.
How Donoughe fosters personal growth at work
As a professional services firm, we are recognized as experts and consultants. Encouraging my team to adopt a beginner mindset is powerful. Additionally, research indicates that individuals return from breaks rejuvenated. We come back refreshed and creatively inspired after stepping away from our work and engaging with the real world.
These outings also allow team members to embrace new roles. For example, a young Italian intern with limited English led our team in a pasta-making lesson. After witnessing her willingness to lead despite language challenges, I hired her as a full-time employee, impressed by her creativity and dedication to the team.
This program is both simple and cost-effective. Organizations welcome our visits, and we’ve never had to pay for participation. It’s a fantastic story to share with clients and the media. When people hear about Foodie Fridays, they often express interest in implementing similar programs within their own organizations.
