Success in the world of work, requires not only the ability to perform according to the requirements of the position, but also the ability to adjust and get along as a member of a working team. In this brief article, I will endeavor to cover a few important aspects of personal development.

1. Know Yourself

When you dislike yourself, you have low self esteem. However, being less than perfect should not cause you to lose self respect. Everyone has faults and imperfections. Just as you can respect and like your friends, who may not be perfect in every way, you should also be able to like yourself - just as you are. Also, liking yourself doesn't mean that you will like everything you do. Self esteem is an appreciation of your special gifts and your value as a human being, and a desire to both be your best and achieve your potential.

2. Self-improvement

The first step in self improvement is to develop a realistic vision of your future self. That vision will give you something to plan for and work towards. Secondly, analyze the personality that you envision and bring specific goals into focus. Then identify specific measurable objectives for each goal. Finally, plan the accomplishment of the objectives, supported by clear action plans.

3. Developing Positive Attitudes

A simple definition of an attitude is how a person feels about something. Your attitudes can cause people to be drawn to you and have positive feeling (or attitudes) towards you. On the other hand, your attitudes can signal others to avoid you. Therefore, the image your friends, co-workers and even casual associates have of you is what you project by your attitudes.

Emotion is the critical factor in the development of attitudes. Emotions such as fear, joy, anxiety or compassion seem to shape our feelings about the events in our lives.

4. Improve your Attitudes

Developing positive attitudes and eliminating negative ones is the best kind of reforming you can do. The following process will help in attitude improvement ;
(a) Identify the attitudes you want to improve
(b) Resolve to develop these attitudes
(c) Use the image of your ideal personality as a model for your behavior.

5. Working with Others

Surveys in many industries indicate that the most common reasons for failure on the job, involves difficulties in working with others. You may spend years studying to become competent for a position, and you may have special talents, but if you cannot get along with others, job success may escape you.
There are specific personal traits and qualities that are valued in the workplace. Think of these as "value added qualities" because they add value to the assets you already possess, such as your professional/technical skills, expertise and work experience. Examples of value added qualities include cheerfulness, empathy, sympathy and willingness to participate. These qualities will make you a better team player.

6. Getting along with your Boss

Your future in the world of work, may hinge on your ability to establish a good working relationship with your Boss. Your boss will most likely determine whether you are retained, promoted or terminated. A good relationship between you and your boss means making a conscious effort to manage your relationship, so that it achieves the best possible results for you, your boss and the organization.

A boss is a real person, who is in charge of one or more workers. Bosses are human beings and they have the same feelings as you. Keep this in mind, as you seek to understand, respect and respond to your boss. Get to know you boss, his or her likes and dislikes, hobbies, personality and other information.

When there is a problem, crisis or new development in your work area, make sure that your boss hears about it from you first. Bosses do not like surprises and they need to be kept aware of what is going on, in order to make quality decisions.

7. Self Motivation

Is there a drive within you to get things done. How can you acquire this drive if you do not possess it now? One way of doing it is called external motivation; which means that the drive to achieve comes from outside yourself.

The other way is internal motivation, which comes from within you. Either way, be willing to work, take on unpleasant tasks, learn on your own, be open and eager to learn and do more and better than expected.