Competencies and development tips: Personal orientation

In this article we describe the competency personal orientation and its developability, development goals, development actions and behavioural indicators. You can use these for a Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Also read about the other Competencies and Development tips: Influencing ability, Communication skills, Conceptual ability, Organisation orientation, Organisational ability & Relational ability.

Ambition

Competency

Being driven; wanting to perform above average.

Developability

Ambition is a difficult competency to develop because it concerns a relatively stable personality trait. Some people always want to perform everywhere; others can be ambitious in one area and not at all in another. Sometimes it can be useful to shift attention to the area where the ambition lies. If that is not possible, the level of ambition can be increased by clearly indicating the positive effects, for example: more success, more satisfaction, faster results, etc.

Goal

Name the area in which you want to be more driven, where you want to work with more energy and performance orientation.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of ambition in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. An example is:

Books
It can be inspiring to read autobiographies of well-known people who have achieved certain goals thanks to strong ambition. You might think of the autobiography of your favourite sportsman or sportswoman, or of people who have been successful in business, in politics, etc. A few examples:

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong

Learning through imitation

Look for people around you who are driven and successful. Discuss with them where they get their ambition from and therefore what drives them. Discuss in particular what they see as the "reward" for their drive. There may be useful ideas for you that you had not thought of yourself.

Learning through experimentation

Take on a job with a limited duration and a clear goal as if you are very ambitious. Put all your available energy and concentration into carrying out the job, do it as if you really have to deliver a top performance, do it as if you absolutely have to do this job better than anyone else. Afterwards, look at the result achieved and the feeling you had about it. You may finish faster than usual and actually achieve a better result (and your boss is more satisfied with you, you receive a bonus, you become employee of the month, etc.).

Learning through insight

When you have indeed achieved a better result or more satisfaction, it is important to look at exactly what you did differently and to what extent you can apply that change to other jobs, tasks or projects.

Statements

Is stimulated by competition; wants to be better than others.
Sets high standards for the quality of the work.
Sets high standards for themselves.
Looks for additional tasks alongside current tasks.
Wants to excel; wants to be better than others.
Does more than average.
Wants to keep performing better and improve themselves.
Asks for feedback in order to learn.
Is self-critical with regard to their own performance.
Shows enthusiasm and drive.
Sets challenging goals for the organisation.
Surplus themselves through the will to perform.
Acquires knowledge and experience in order to perform better.
Ensures that work is delivered better and faster than asked.
Tries to exceed set targets.

Decisiveness

Competency

Being able to take decisions quickly and adequately.

Developability

Various factors play a role in taking decisions. The competency of decisiveness is not easy to develop and is related both to taking initiative and to having the courage to take decisions.

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you would like to arrive at concrete results. Consider in which situations in the past you were insufficiently able to achieve your goals.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of decisiveness in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. An example is:

Books

Efficiënte beslissingen nemen by D.F. Folino

Learning through imitation

Try to find others who are known to be decisive. Ask them about difficult situations they have recently experienced and look at what their considerations were. How did they deal with these situations? When did they arrive at decisions and actions, and in which situations did they, for example, postpone a decision? What risks are they prepared to take when deciding without complete information?

Learning through experimentation

Start with a situation in which you know you can and dare take a decision. Make sure that you gradually seek out a more difficult situation every week in which you are expected to decide.

Learning through insight

Ask yourself questions after experimenting. Why did you succeed in taking a decision quickly and satisfactorily in a situation that beforehand seemed difficult? What or who helped you with that? What held you back in another situation? What do you need next time?

Statements

Takes a decision quickly and adequately.
Takes a decision with clients without having consulted all parties involved.
Takes a decision without all information being available.
Takes a decision without all consequences being known.
Takes a decision involving personal risk.
Dares to make a call, even when others are still weighing options.
Takes decisions and carries them out.
Is decisive in taking policy decisions.
Is decisive in taking personnel decisions.
Is decisive in taking financial decisions.
Is decisive in taking decisions on vision and strategy.
Is decisive with external relations.
Is decisive in taking purchasing decisions.
Is decisive with complex problems.
Is decisive when there are differences of opinion in the group.
Dares to make a call in uncertain situations.
Dares to make a call in new situations.
Takes decisions when alternatives are relatively equal.
Takes decisions based on priorities.
Takes decisions based on arguments.

Flexibility

Competency

Being able to switch behavioural style in order to act in a goal-oriented and effective way under different and changing circumstances.

Developability

Flexibility depends on various underlying factors:

Intellectual ability: important when devising alternatives in changing situations.
Personality: the extent to which someone is focused on sticking to the familiar or on finding new paths and approaches.
Skill: the breadth of the behavioural repertoire.

When intellectual ability is the main limiting factor, development is difficult, because intelligence itself is not developable. Personality is hard to change, but it is possible — precisely by gaining more experience and by working more with new skills. Although one should not assume that a very rigid person can develop into a very flexible person, the sharp edges can be softened. When the limitation is at skill level, development is more possible, because skills can be learned.

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you want to be able to act more flexibly. How will you measure that? For example by asking others for feedback.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of flexibility in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. A few examples are:

Courses
Many "Personal effectiveness" courses are offered. Look among other things on Springest for programmes.

Books
You could read biographies of well-known people whom you admire for their flexibility. In this way you can learn from their experiences and the way they responded to situations that required flexibility.

Learning through imitation

Look around you for people you know are seen as flexible. Study their behaviour; look at what they do that you yourself find difficult and therefore too often fail to do.
What can you learn from this? Which mistakes do you want to avoid?
Make notes of this.

Learning through experimentation

You can experiment with flexible behaviour by deliberately seeking out situations in which you need to be flexible. In such situations you can then put into practice what you have learned from others or what you have read.

Take an improvisation course, or try theatre sports.
Let yourself be challenged by friends and acquaintances.
Challenge yourself by not following the usual path for once: do not go to your usual shop, your usual holiday destination and your usual hairdresser, etc.

Learning through insight

Do ask yourself questions after experimenting. What worked well, what worked less well? Evaluate yourself, but also certainly ask for evaluations from others and be open to feedback. Follow the recommendations in a next experiment.

Statements

Responds smoothly and effectively to changes.
Actively looks for ways to continue performing effectively under changing circumstances.
Lets go of existing patterns when they prove inadequate.
Uses different methods and strategies to influence others.
Tries out different strategies to achieve the goal.
Sees deviation from the normal situation as a challenge.
Steps in for others when needed.
Improvises in unexpected situations.
Carries out work of a varied nature.
Responds flexibly to questions from clients and colleagues.
Responds flexibly to organisational developments.
Is prepared to work outside normal working hours and in the evening.
Is prepared to work overtime.
Is prepared to offer temporary solutions in order to provide the permanent solution later.
Is able to function effectively under changing, unexpected circumstances.
Is flexible in unusual circumstances.
Is also flexible in busy, hectic situations.
Is flexible in new situations.
Adjusts proposals based on new information.
Aligns leadership style with the situation and with different people.
Sees opportunities in new situations.
Arranges things quickly and well in between other work.
Easily deviates from a planned approach or method if the goal requires it.
Easily adapts to other cultures.

Initiative

Competency

Being able to initiate matters; independently taking purposeful action.

Developability

This competency is not very easy to develop. The extent to which someone takes initiative depends on several factors, such as energy level and personal characteristics such as the degree of self-confidence and courage. Intellectual ability also plays a role in seeing possible initiatives. Sometimes there turn out to be factors that hinder taking initiative.

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you want to take more initiative. Identify which situations these are and set a timeline for yourself with what you want to have achieved by when. How will you measure this? For example by ticking off a list of actions or by asking colleagues for feedback.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of initiative in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. A few examples are:

Books

Beren op de weg, spinsels in je hoofd by Theo IJzermans and Coen Dirkx

Courses

"Personal effectiveness" from ORGA

Learning through imitation

Seek out colleagues you experience as highly proactive. Ask them how they think, which opportunities and threats they see, and why they carry out some ideas and not others.
The moment you follow their way of thinking, you are already taking initiatives.

Learning through experimentation

You can experiment with taking initiative by seeking out situations in which initiative is required of you. Start by taking a safe initiative at least once a week and expand this slowly.

Learning through insight

Ask yourself questions after experimenting. Ask yourself in which situations you did take initiative and in which you did not. Which factors limit you and why?
Ask others to give you feedback and follow the suggestions in a next experiment.

Statements

Shows initiative in carrying out the work.
Does not wait for a request before taking action.
Takes calculated risks when taking action.
Takes ownership of matters or projects, both internally and with clients.
Takes initiative in informing the client.
Takes initiative to gather information.
Puts forward proposals and ideas to solve problems.
Takes initiative to improve collaboration.
Is actively involved in discussions and meetings and speaks up.
Takes initiative to improve the quality of the organisation.
Comes up with new ideas and proposals of their own accord.
Establishes external contacts and maintains them.
Takes initiative to clarify strategy and vision in the organisation.
Takes work on themselves.
Takes initiative to structure their own work.
Takes initiative to structure work for others.
Takes initiative to improve the atmosphere in the organisation.
Takes initiative to innovate products.

Willingness to learn

Competency

Being willing to develop and expand knowledge and skills through learning.

Developability

Willingness to learn is a difficult competency to develop because many factors play a role. For example: how easily someone learns (partly dependent on intelligence level), the patience someone has to learn, the degree of flexibility, the degree of self-critical ability, perseverance and ambition.

Goal

Name the area in which you want to overcome your resistance to learning, so that you can actually acquire the knowledge and skills you want (or need) to master.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of willingness to learn in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. An example is:

To determine which learning style suits you well, you can complete a Kolb learning style inventory.

Learning through imitation

Look around you for people who enjoy learning and who are continually working on their development. Ask them where that need comes from and what helps them to persevere. There may be useful ideas for you that you had not thought of yourself.

Learning through experimentation

Try to find a learning situation in which the learning goal fits your own goals; that does not necessarily have to be something for work, but can also be in the hobby sphere, for example. Look at what makes learning enjoyable for you here and try to use those characteristics in other learning situations as well.

Learning through insight

The preceding learning methods may have given you ideas that you can apply yourself. It is also important to look at what increased willingness to learn can bring you: more success, more satisfaction in your work and hobbies, a more satisfied boss, more satisfied colleagues, etc. Explore which ways of acquiring knowledge and skill exist and which way suits you best.

Statements

Shows willingness to continue developing knowledge and skills in a dynamic, changing environment.
Has an open attitude when entering a new situation.
Is curious; asks questions and wants to be informed.
Does not react defensively when someone points out that a certain approach does not work.
Seeks out new situations; wants to develop personally.
Is open to experimenting with new behaviour.
Is open to positive and negative feedback.
Knows how to deal with criticism constructively.
Can adjust their own viewpoints and ideas if desired based on new information.
Is open to suggestions from others when devising alternatives.
Takes training and courses as needed in order to develop.
Takes initiatives to create new learning situations for themselves.
Is open to new ways of working and methods.
Regularly looks critically at their own functioning.
Involves others when they cannot reach a solution alone.

Perseverance

Competency

Being focused on completing matters once started, despite setbacks.

Developability

This competency is reasonably difficult to develop. It requires focus on one's own goals, the ability not to be distracted too quickly, and experiencing encountering difficulties as a challenge.

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you would like to persevere and which goals you yourself would like to achieve.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of perseverance in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. A few examples are:

Books

It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
Dromen, durven, doen by Ben Tiggelaar

Internet

http://www.lancelots.nl/ontwikkelen/kernkwaliteiten/doorzettingsvermogen

Courses

Personal effectiveness, Time Management, ORGA

Learning through imitation

Try to seek out as many situations as possible, at work or precisely in sport or leisure time, that you expect may be difficult and in which perseverance is required. Assess your colleagues, friends and acquaintances. What did they do well, at which moments did they persevere, what goal did they have in mind? What do you do differently and what can you learn from?

Learning through experimentation

Start with something you know you can bring to a good conclusion and make it a little more difficult for yourself each time. Therefore seek out situations in the near future that you would actually prefer to avoid because you find them boring, difficult or insufficiently challenging. Formulate in advance what you want to achieve and force yourself to keep that goal in mind and continue. Keep practising, even when things "go against you".

Learning through insight

Ask yourself questions after experimenting. Why did you succeed in persevering with something you were very much dreading beforehand? Why did you not succeed in sticking with something that normally comes easily to you?
Involve people around you and tell them which situations you find difficult from experience. Ask them to observe and ask for their opinion afterwards. Make notes and apply suggestions next time.

Statements

Does not give up in difficult situations.
Remains positive in apparently hopeless situations.
Is able to look to the future after setbacks and disappointments.
Is able to convince a critical client or environment.
Shows persistence when approaching clients.
Does not let resistance throw them off course.
Shows perseverance when it becomes too much for others.
Is able in difficult situations to stimulate and motivate others.
Continues to see opportunities despite setbacks.
Shows belief in achieving the end goal.
Also draws motivation from small successes.
Creates positivity in the organisation by encouraging colleagues to persevere.
Is able to work through in a disciplined way even in less challenging situations.
Is able to finish matters even after interruptions.
Persists in investigating the background of a problem.

Commitment

Competency

Being willing and able to make a significant effort over a long period.

Developability

The developability of this competency depends on how developable or changeable the underlying factors are. When a lack of commitment can, for example, be attributed to physical fatigue or vitamin deficiency, this is easier to address than when certain norms or beliefs underlie it.

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you would like to show more commitment. To measure whether you have made progress on this competency you can: agree result targets and regularly discuss progress (and the obstacles that played a role), measure the result by the amount of work you have done, regularly ask others for feedback on the degree to which this competency is present in you, etc.

Development actions

Which concrete actions you need to take can be determined once insight has been gained into the factors that influence your commitment. When that is clear, you can formulate the development actions.

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of commitment in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. A few examples are:

Books

Boordevol energie in 10 dagen by E. Schwartz & C. Colman, Centrale Uitgeverij
Kenmerken van werk. De constructie van een instrument voor het meten van taakkenmerken die van invloed zijn op de motivatie, satisfactie en prestaties van taakuitvoerenden by Algera, J.A. (1981), Swets & Zeitlinger

Courses

Motivation management from ORGA; to gain insight into those aspects of your work that give you energy and drain energy from you.

Learning through imitation

By comparing yourself with others you can gain insight into the degree of commitment you display. What do others do to increase their commitment? What drives people around you to make an effort and what hinders them in that. Observing others can give you new ideas.

Learning through experimentation

By pushing yourself to show more commitment, you can experience the advantages of demonstrating commitment, which may lead you next time to greater commitment. You can also experiment with the development actions you have formulated. Do these actions increase your commitment or not? Do you perhaps need to experiment with other actions?

Statements

Has a high work pace; is energetic.
Is prepared to work overtime and, if necessary, to work from home.
Starts a task with enthusiasm and does not give up easily.
Works hard and with a great deal of enthusiasm.
Takes on extra work and in that way makes a positive contribution to the whole.
Arrives on time and wastes little time.
Enjoys making an effort and is actively engaged in the work.
Has a high output; produces a lot.
Contagiously enthuses others.
Is decisive; quickly takes action.
Is ready to make extra effort when asked.
Completes extra assignments on time.
Shows an alert attitude when needed.
Shows they can handle the work; is tireless.

Accuracy

Competency

Being able to work carefully and to have an eye for details and connections.

Developability

Although one person works more accurately by nature than another, this competency is reasonably easy to develop. People who are less accurate can also learn skills that enable them to work more carefully, and the result will then be neater than usual.

Goal

Name your goal. In which situations do you want to work more carefully and have more of an eye for detail? How will you measure that? Consider who is most involved in the work you deliver and therefore also suffers the most when you are not accurate. Ask these people for feedback. If the number of errors is easy to measure, you can keep track of that. You can also have colleagues check your work to see whether you have overlooked anything.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

No specific sources.

Learning through imitation

Learn from others. For example, work together with someone who works carefully and in detail. How does this person carry out their tasks and what is the result of that? What can you apply from this in your own work?
Ask colleagues what they consider important details in the work; you may overlook things yourself because you are, for example, too focused on the big picture.

Learning through experimentation

With this competency it is mainly a matter of taking the time and quiet to pause over details and check your work. Force yourself, for example, to check your work twice before you deliver it.
Also schedule those tasks in which you want to develop your accuracy at moments when you will not be disturbed. Make sure your desk is orderly before you start those tasks, so that everything is clearly laid out for you.

Learning through insight

Ask yourself questions after experimenting. What worked well, what less well? Ask colleagues who check your work for feedback. Do they see a difference and what does that consist of? Also ask yourself questions. What do you notice? Do you see improvement and what did you need for that? Why do you normally work less accurately? Why do you find it hard to dot the i's? If you do not enjoy it, think about how you can make the work more attractive for yourself, for example by creating conditions that do motivate you.

Statements

Documents their own administration in such a way that it is clear and easy to find.
Records a great deal in writing, making it transferable.
Ensures that agreements made are easy to retrieve.
Maintains care and accuracy even in routine work.
Maintains care and accuracy even in a stressful environment.
Is accurate and works without errors.
Can concentrate on details for a long time.

Results orientation

Competency

Being driven to achieve concrete goals and results.

Developability

This competency demands relatively a lot of yourself and is therefore not easy or quick to develop. Results orientation is linked to relatively stable personality factors such as drive, perseverance and the ability to name concretely what you are aiming for.
Sometimes this striving is more focused on a process as a whole than on concrete and separately set goals.

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you would like to arrive at concrete results. Consider in which situations in the past you turned out to be insufficiently able to achieve your goals.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of results orientation in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. A few examples are:

Books

Resultaatgericht verbeteren by Berkum, C. van and Thomas, N.
Resultaatgericht werken en zelfsturing by Jaarsveld, J. van.

Internet

http://www.carrieretijger.nl/functioneren/management/leidinggeven/doelen-stellen/smart

Learning through imitation

In your environment you can look for a colleague whom you believe works in a goal-oriented way. Make an appointment with this person and observe their way of working. Which points did they set themselves as goals for a meeting? Which results did they ultimately achieve? What timeline did they set out in order to meet deadlines?
You can discuss their approach together to extract tips from it.

Learning through experimentation

Before you start something, think about what your goal is; how much time it will take, which resources or people you need to achieve your goal, and when you schedule moments to evaluate in between how far you have got. Take the time to examine the stated goal so that you know whether you are pursuing an achievable goal.
For a meeting, for example, you can put on paper the points you want to have covered. It can also help to make a plan every day of all the activities that need to be done. In this way you can free up enough time for matters that are important.

Learning through insight

After a job you can review for yourself which results were precisely achieved. Look at what your contribution was and check which deadlines you did and did not meet. The reason for not achieving something is an important question; try to find out what caused it. Was your goal not stated concretely enough? Were you not motivated? Did planning the work turn out to be more difficult than you had estimated beforehand?

Statements

Shows drive to achieve results.
Achieves results even in the face of setbacks and unexpected difficulties.
Brings matters to a concrete result.
Makes proposals to improve the joint result.
Works actively with the working group to realise all agreements, objectives and expectations.
Takes a clear and assertive stance in order to realise important matters.
Does not lose sight of the end goal during the process.
Thinks in advance about the end result; sets goals.
Works hard to meet deadlines.
Continues to look for solutions in order to meet deadlines.
Works efficiently.
Works towards the result the client has in mind.
Ensures progress in the process.
Is able to hold short, structured meetings.
Is forceful and persistent in striving to achieve a particular goal.

Stress resistance

Competency

Being able to continue functioning effectively under stressful circumstances.

Developability

Stress can have various causes, such as time pressure, setting (too) high expectations of oneself, (too) high expectations from the environment, opposition from others, disappointments, etc. Stress can be reduced by changing the circumstances. It is sometimes also possible to deal with situations more calmly. For example by doing relaxation exercises, by adjusting the expectations you set of your own performance and of others, by planning and organising work better and saying "no" more often. One method for looking at life more calmly is Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). RET teaches people not to let themselves be hindered too much by their own limiting thoughts (such as perfectionism, a strong need for affirmation and low frustration tolerance).

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you were insufficiently stress-resistant in the past and which may occur again. Situations in which next time you do want to be able to handle the stress well.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of stress resistance in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. A few examples are:

Books

Stress Management For Dummies by Allen Elkin, Addison Wesley Longman, 2000
Stressbestendigheid vereist by Jacques Winnubst, Kluwer 1996
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work by Richard Carlson, Uitgeverij Luitingh-Sijthoff, 1998
Effectief tijdbeheer by Ineke Kievit, Academic Service, 1997
First Things First by Stephen Covey, Contact, 2000

Internet

http://www.mindtools.com

Courses

"Personal effectiveness" from ORGA
"Yoga and meditation"

Learning through imitation

Look at how others deal with situations that you experience as stressful. Ask them how they deal with this stress. What do they do differently from you? What can you learn from this?
Make notes of this.

Learning through experimentation

Use the tips you hear from others and what you have picked up from literature, courses or the internet in practice. Experience for example whether relaxation exercises make you feel better and better able to continue functioning well under stress.

Learning through insight

Do ask yourself questions after experimenting. What worked well, what worked less well?

Statements

Keeps an overview and continues to function effectively in complex situations.
Is able to act in a considered way and with awareness of risk under changing, unexpected circumstances.
Is able to deal constructively and smoothly with disappointments or personal setbacks.
Can easily adjust to unexpected circumstances.
Handles question after question calmly when many questions come at once.
Sets priorities; dares to postpone lower priorities.
Creates calm and clarity in hectic circumstances.
Delegates work in good time.
Indicates limitations; dares to say that they do not have time.
Breaks tension in the team through perspective and humour.
Can make strong emotions of themselves and others manageable by placing them in the right context.
First creates overview in an unclear situation.
Increases personal productivity under pressure and solves problems quickly.
Remains calm and functions efficiently under time pressure.
Meets deadlines by working through undisturbed.
Anticipates work pressure; arranges extra support or facilities in good time.

Independence

Competency

Being able to carry out work independently, set goals and give them form and substance.

Developability

The competency of independence is not very easy to develop because it often relates to underlying aspects that are not simply changeable, such as self-confidence, courage, intelligence or need for support. If lack of experience or the rules within the organisation hinder independent action, independence is easier to develop.

Goal

Name your goal based on situations in which you would like to become more independent. In which situations would you, for example, have preferred to show more independence in the past, and which may occur again. To measure whether you have made progress on this competency, it is easiest to ask for feedback from people who have been involved in your work. You can also, for example, count how often you have asked for help, how often you have taken decisions alone, etc.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, broken down into the four ways of learning? You can formulate development actions directly to increase the competency of independence, or focus on development actions for the factors that influence your reduced independence.

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on the subject of independence in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to be found that appeals in tone and content. An example is:

Books

What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School by Mark McCormack

Learning through imitation

Observe colleagues who are known to be independent. What do they show compared with you? Ask these colleagues how they set their goals and in what way they give them form and substance. Compare this with your own approach. What can you learn from them?

Learning through experimentation

Experiment with independently setting goals: what result do you want to arrive at? Think about which actions you need to take to achieve your goal and try to shape these independently. Postpone asking for help for as long as possible. When you do not know how to approach something, first think for yourself about possible options; look up information in books, professional journals, on the internet, etc.
Do not simply accept things from others and do not only do things because that is how it is done or because the rules simply are that way. Form your own opinion and try to argue it in discussions.

Statements

Has self-discipline in situations without clear leadership.
Is able to work independently in situations with few guidelines and little structure.
Takes decisions independently when there are few opportunities for consultation.
Continues to work in an orderly and disciplined way even when there is little supervision.
Is able to carry responsibility.
Stands up for themselves when there is a lot of opposition.
Can work well independently as the only person with a particular expertise.
Takes decisions independently with clients.
Monitors progress themselves.
Spots errors and takes measures themselves.
Is able to structure their own work.
Monitors the quality of the output themselves.
Does not ask too much for confirmation and feedback regarding their own functioning.
Responds alertly to opportunities; picks things up themselves, without direction.
Radiates confidence by being a full conversation partner.
Keeps track for themselves of what still needs to be done; sets priorities themselves.