Karlene Meister

You've just attended a skills development seminar and now your brain is brimming with ideas. You got an idea for a project you could start, and you decide that this project will form part of your development plan. You are all excited about putting your newfound skills and ideas to use and are rearing to go.

Fast forward six months. Nothing has happened. You started the project but never completed it, and you are feeling guilty. Does this remind you of New Year's resolutions? You say you are going to lose weight, you start a gym membership, and then three weeks later life gets in the way and you stop?

What happened? Here's what: there was no system in place to track progress, no accountability, no followup. Unless you create a means to track progress, your development plans may gather dust. Here's how to prevent this.

1. Share your plan with your manager, employees, co-workers, friends. Let everyone know what you are working on, and ask for their support. When you make a goal public, that makes you feel more accountable.

2. Schedule reminders on your calendar. This is not a very strong method, but it helps to see your plan in front of you every day.

3. Though you have declared your intentions to everyone, do choose someone who can keep you accountable, whether that's your manager, a coach, a mentor. Make an agreement to call each other regularly to check in on your progress, even if it's every day.

4. Make your goals measurable so that you can keep track of them. Keep a log of your progress.

Do you have any other tips to add? Please share with us.