Continuing Professional Development

Personal Development is Investing in the Future  

Congratulations, you're at the beginning of your career and entered the career pyramid. But just because you're in the pyramid doesn't mean you're guaranteed to stay in the pyramid, and it doesn't mean that you're guaranteed to go up in the pyramid. A management trainee at a famous German grocery chain told me that at the start of every year, each manager was told that they would be either promoted or fired at the end of the year. You can judge yourselves - are you going forward or backwards?

“For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head.” Benjamin Franklin

Truth is, your Continuing Personal Development or CPD is up to you. The word "continuing" highlights that this should be ongoing - at the end of each year, you should be able to reflect on what you learned that year. If you work for a company that believes in personal development and finances it, that's great, but you can't surrender your personal development to them. A company with a proactive HR team probably has thousands of people to look after - help them, and yourself, by being self-aware and conscious of what you need to develop to be more valuable in your career.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi

You probably swotted and did extra work in preparation for your interview; you may have even used FilteredOUT resources. But now you are in the career pyramid, it's up to you to ensure you get ahead. As you grow within the company, you will need more soft and technical skills and knowledge. You will need to develop as a leader better, a team player, a strategist, and a storyteller.

The way to get promoted is to be seen to constantly and reliably deliver results. Get stuff done. The way to do that is to develop and lead teams, create alliances and keep people energised and focused on outputs.
StoryPower® is all about helping smart, ambitious people acquire, hone and develop the skills and knowledge needed to progress their careers and prepare to move up the career pyramid into the various layers of management. Getting into the pyramid was tough enough. Now, you must focus on getting ahead and working on your personal development. Always moving forward. If you're not progressing, you're going backwards.

How StoryPower® can help with Personal Development: 

• 1-2-1 Storytelling, SpeakerCoaching and Soft-skill coaching sessions;
• small group workshops on the modules listed below with interactive exercises and real-life bespoke case studies, group projects and presentations, plus personal and immediately useable feedback; 
• supporting webinars; 
• Ongoing group or 1-2-1 coaching.

StoryPower® Personal Pick'nMix Development Menu

How does this work? You pick whichever courses and modules you like from the menu. Then we agree on a programme (for example, weekly/two-weekly/monthly) to complete based on available time, work pressure, resources, etc. Each course and module is interactive, combining theoretical learning, practical exercises, homework and real-world case studies. This real-world approach ensures participants can understand and effectively and immediately apply the concepts in their professional contexts.

Personal Development Courses

1.  Leadership: Leadership vs. Management; Leadership vs Coaching; Finding your Leadership Style;
2. Meetings: Managing Meetings; Managing Virtual Meetings;
3. Big Live Stages: Presenting at Board Level; How Not to Choke on Stage;
4. Online: Maximising your Online Presence; Presenting Online; Reading, Leading and Owning a Virtual Room;
5. Negotiating: Is Win/Win a thing?; Negotiating with Stakeholders; Sustainable Negotiating;
6. Feedback and a "Constantly Learning" Attitude: learning to love feedback and make it your best friend; how to give and receive feedback;
7. Managing: Mentoring vs. Coaching; Managing introverts - introverts vs. extroverts; Managing a Virtual or WFH+Hybrid Workforce; Keeping your Team Engaged, Happy and Productive;
8. Storytelling (a 6-part course): 1. Fundamentals of Business Storytelling; 2. Storytelling for Leadership and Influence, 3. Data Storytelling: Turning Numbers into Narratives; 4. Storytelling in Sales and Marketing; 5. Storytelling for Organizational Culture and HR; 6. Advanced Storytelling Techniques.

Additional Personal Development Modules

1. Telling Truths to Power;
2. Resilience and Drive;
3. Integrity Under Pressure;
4. Strategy vs Tactics (in various scenarios: presentations/goal-setting/persuasion/team dynamics etc);
5. Social Awareness;
6. Team-working;
7. Self Awareness;
8. Emotional Intelligence.

8 Reasons Why Storytelling is Important for Leadership Development

1. Engagement: Effective storytelling captures the audience's attention and creates an emotional connection. Leaders who can engage their teams through stories can inspire, motivate, and convey their vision more effectively.
2. Communication: Stories simplify complex ideas and make them relatable. Leaders use stories to communicate their values, strategies, and goals, ensuring their message is easily understood and remembered.
3. Inspiration: Stories of personal or collective triumph over challenges can inspire a sense of purpose. Leaders who share such stories can encourage their teams to overcome obstacles and achieve their potential.
4. Relatability: Stories humanise leaders. Leaders who share personal stories or anecdotes are more relatable and approachable, fostering better relationships with their teams.
5. Cultural Transmission: Stories are a powerful means of transmitting organisational culture and values. Leaders can use stories to reinforce and propagate the values and principles they want their teams to uphold.
6. Problem-Solving: Leaders often face complex problems. Storytelling can be a tool for presenting issues, potential solutions, and their consequences in a narrative format, making it easier for teams to grasp and contribute to problem-solving efforts.
7. Influence and Persuasion: Leaders need to influence others and make persuasive arguments. Stories help frame ideas, gain buy-in, and persuade stakeholders effectively.
8. Memory and Learning: Stories are memorable, making it easier for teams to retain information. Leaders who incorporate storytelling into training and development programs can enhance learning and retention.

Storytelling is valuable for leadership development because it enhances communication, engagement, relatability, and influence while transmitting culture and values. Influential leaders use storytelling to connect with their teams, inspire action, and drive positive change. 

Storytelling underpins everything anyone does while trying to grow and build their career. 

"...this is the BEST marketing training I have been on in my 20 years at IBM. Very thought provoking and relevant..."

- Stephanie McCredie ● IBM