Do you think your coworkers would agree that their careers are not progressing as they had planned five or ten years ago? That they may not be contributing as much to the organization's effectiveness as they had hoped? That they are not adjusting to inevitable organizational changes as well as they should? That many of their careers have derailed?

Effectively mapping professional development is analogous to planning a vacation trip. When mapping out an enjoyable trip, you must identify the starting point as well as your desired destinations, then choose among your alternate routes. Getting back to your career, if you don't fully understand your starting point, your specific desired destinations, and your best routes, is it any surprise that things aren't progressing as expected? Isn't it time to rectify this situation for yourself and your associates?

The quality movement has taught us that many factors affect job performance—some are within your sphere of control; others are not. The key to success is to work on improving the factors you can influence, while developing flexibility to adjust to those you can't control.

Each day, more organizations including Fortune 500 corporations, smaller companies, and a variety of government agencies agree that carefully assessing professional skills is the first important step through the gateway to personal and organizational success. Performance-Based Assessments provide clear snapshots of how individuals are demonstrating the skills crucial for effective performance in both current and future jobs.

Essential for continuing along your trip to success is accurately identifying the business skills on which to focus your personal development efforts.

Here are some examples of general professional skills that AIMM will assist you in measuring:

• Communicating skills—listening, coaching, leading, negotiating, sensitivity, teamwork.
• Self-guiding skills—flexibility, organizing, planning, managing stress, persevering.
• Thinking skills—creating, analyzing, making decisions, innovating, strategizing.
• Achieving skills—controlling, following up, initiating, entrepreneuring.

Developmental assessment programs are currently being used to help organizations:

• develop more productive employees throughout the organization.
• identify their best employees and maximize their performance, thereby reducing burnout, turnover, stress, and other undesirable results.
• deal with change proactively rather than reacting after problems develop.
• execute individualized development plans for positions based on assessment results.
• improve performance management activities by using standards and models of success.