Personaldevelopmentincludesactivitiesthatimproveawarenessandidentity,developtalentsandpotential,buildhumancapitalandfacilitatesemployability,enhancequalityoflifeandcontributetotherealizationofdreamsandaspirations.Theconceptisnotlimitedtoself-helpbutincludesformalandinformalactivitiesfordevelopingothers,inrolessuchasteacher,guide,counselor,manager,coach,ormentor.Finally,aspersonaldevelopmenttakesplaceinthecontextofinstitutions,itreferstothemethods,programs,tools,techniques,andassessmentsystemsthatsupporthumandevelopmentattheindividuallevelinorganizations.
Attheleveloftheindividual,personaldevelopmentincludesthefollowingactivities:
improvingself-awareness
improvingself-knowledge
buildingorrenewingidentity
developingstrengthsortalents
improvingwealth
spiritualdevelopment
identifyingorimprovingpotential
buildingemployabilityorhumancapital
enhancinglifestyleorthequalityoflife
improvinghealth
fulfillingaspirations
initiatingalifeenterpriseorpersonalautonomy
definingandexecutingpersonaldevelopmentplans
improvingsocialabilities
Theconceptcoversawiderfieldthanself-developmentorself-help:personaldevelopmentalsoincludesdevelopingothers.Thismaytakeplacethroughrolessuchasthoseofateacherormentor,eitherthroughapersonalcompetency(suchastheskillofcertainmanagersindevelopingthepotentialofemployees)oraprofessionalservice(suchasprovidingtraining,assessmentorcoaching).
Beyondimprovingoneselfanddevelopingothers,personaldevelopmentisafieldofpracticeandresearch.Asafieldofpracticeitincludespersonaldevelopmentmethods,learningprograms,assessmentsystems,toolsandtechniques.Asafieldofresearch,personaldevelopmenttopicsincreasinglyappearinscientificjournals,highereducationreviews,managementjournalsandbusinessbooks.
Anysortofdevelopment—whethereconomic,political,biological,organizationalorpersonal—requiresaframeworkifonewishestoknowwhetherchangehasactuallyoccurred.Inthecaseofpersonaldevelopment,anindividualoftenfunctionsastheprimaryjudgeofimprovement,butvalidationofobjectiveimprovementrequiresassessmentusingstandardcriteria.Personaldevelopmentframeworksmayincludegoalsorbenchmarksthatdefinetheend-points,strategiesorplansforreachinggoals,measurementandassessmentofprogress,levelsorstagesthatdefinemilestonesalongadevelopmentpath,andafeedbacksystemtoprovideinformationonchanges.