No matter how proficient we may be at our job, we can always find ways to be better.
To do that, we have to first become aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Then, actively work to improve in areas relevant to our job goals.
For managers, that means motivating and coaching your team to collective and individual success during their performance review.
For anyone in the workforce who wants to land their dream job, that means honing in on your talents and building up any blind spots.
A performance review can be a great opportunity to focus on areas of improvement. We've compiled the top 20 areas of growth, along with questions, so you can thrive - and skyrocket your career.
Professional development is essential to improve and learn new skills. This makes you more likely to succeed and advance in your career. You can support self-development through:
Workers are more likely to be engaged and happy at work when managers push for professional and personal development. Performance evaluations can assist in identifying areas for improvement. This allows for professional growth. Improving professional skills makes people more valuable to the company.
Your manager is likely to provide one-on-one performance reviews to support your growth and evaluate your work contributions - while also sharing opportunities for improvement. With a little bit of preparation, you can use this as an opportunity to highlight your skills and the value you bring to the organization. Let's look at some common areas of improvement so you can walk into your performance review with confidence.
Integrity involves being honest and upholding strong ethics and morals. It’s an essential component of building trust. Without integrity, even the most capable and talented employee will have limited success.
Some questions to ask:
Initiative refers to a person’s ability to take action autonomously. A person with initiative steps forward to get the job done, even when no one asks them to.
Some questions to ask yourself:
Ambitious workers show that they have drive. They want to improve themselves and help the company do well. An employee with ambition aspires to be better than they are now. They seek career growth and often have a personal development plan.
Here are some questions to ask:
Time management involves organizational skills to make the most of your time at work. This can be achieved by planning tasks, setting priorities, and setting goals. Effective time management requires applying certain principles and tactics. Something as simple as scheduling software for time tracking can ensure achievable goals are met. These concepts and approaches can assist individuals in developing time management skills.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Contrary to popular belief, leadership isn’t just for senior management and executives. Every team member should work on their ability to lead and influence others. Developing leadership skills can lead to career advancement and success in any organization.
Here are some questions to ask:
Delegation refers to assigning tasks to someone else. Especially if the other person is better suited for the task. Strong communication skills are important when delegating work. Make sure that tasks are clear, done right, and done quickly. Delegating also helps a team build trust and demonstrates teamwork skills.
Here are some questions to ask:
Effective communication is a highly sought-after skill. It’s crucial to evaluate how you relay and receive information at work. There are a variety of communication tools that can enhance an employee's skills in this area.
Here are some questions to ask:
Your company hires many people, each with a key skill set and role. However, for the company as a whole to succeed, each employee must work together. Every employee must have excellent communication skills and emotional intelligence to get the best result possible.
Here are some questions to ask:
You can set yourself up for success by recognizing your unique work style and communication preference. With effective communication, you can save time, money, and energy.
At F4S we use revolutionary AI-powered technology that enhances teamwork and collaboration. The F4S work style assessment asks questions that measure the 48 distinct work traits that influence how a person conveys and processes information. A detailed report is provided, showing your unique strengths and blind spots. It compares your work motivations to top performers in the industry and equips you with data insights. Using this guide you’ll gain key strategies to be an effective communicator while increasing your wellbeing and performance.
Plus personalized coaching is available to help you crush your career goals.
You like some variety, radical changes, doing new and different things in some of your work or business.
With a little bit of development you can become more socially aware of yourself and others.
No matter the role, decision-making skills are essential. You want to make good decisions regardless of your decision making style.
Here are some questions to ask:
Without goals, you will become aimless and stagnant. Setting and achieving goals is essential to professional development. It's important to define your own SMART goals. Or better yet, focus on goals with F4S and then start a coaching program such as Goal Catcher—90% of users complete their goal at the end of the program!
Here are some questions to ask:
Empathy is a sought-after "soft skill" for good reason. One benefit is that it can improve company retention rates. Empathy is a critical skill for managers too. Showing empathy will make people feel valued.
Here are some questions to ask:
Creativity refers to the novel ways you carry out a project or solve a problem. Creativity helps every company stand out and enhances customer service. Using creativity is linked with a higher level of problem-solving skills.
Here are some questions to ask:
You were hired for a specific role. You need to make sure you have the knowledge to do the wide range of tasks listed in your job description.
Here are some questions to ask:
Productivity levels refer to the amount of work done and how well you utilize your time. Valuable team members are effective contributors, even in difficult times.
Here are some questions to ask:
Quality of work assesses the accuracy and excellence of the work you produce. You may be very productive in the sense that you make a lot of something, but what you deliver may be low quality.
Here are some questions to ask:
Dependability means you can be relied upon to do what you say you’ll do. It is an essential skill for any employee to have.
Here are some questions to ask:
While every job comes with a description, every role can expand into new areas. This is especially true for a successful career at startups, where things change quickly. For that reason, employees must be flexible.
Here are some questions to ask:
Interpersonal skills allow you to interact with others through words and body language. These skills also allow individuals to build relationships with others. They affect how well people work with others in a team setting. Great interpersonal skills are demonstrated through words and positive body language. You can develop these skills with the free F4S coaching program, Increase Emotional Intelligence.
Here are some questions to ask:
Strong organizational skills are essential for maximizing workplace productivity and efficiency. Many techniques can aid in organization. Organization skills include the ALPEN method, making lists, scheduling tasks, and Trello boards. Learning to be organized can set employees up for success and help the team as a whole work better.
Here are some questions to ask:
To solve a problem well, you have to look at the situation, think about your options, and choose the best one. These skills help you handle challenging situations and find creative solutions. Strong problem-solving skills can be very helpful at work. These traits are important for the growth and success of an organization. They're also crucial for conflict resolution skills and leadership roles.
Here are some questions to ask:
Now that you've thought about the key areas of improvement, be sure to have examples to back them up. Think about some key examples that demonstrate the areas in which you thrive - and even the areas in which you can still improve. It's a strength to know your weaknesses, especially if you're aiming to improve them.
So how do you get started?
Take the F4S assessment so you can learn more about your strengths and your blind spots. The blind spots will identify areas where continued learning can help so you can set clearer goals.
Your area of focus will be highly dependent on your personal goals. That's why we leverage our AI Coach Marlee, who will share personalized coaching plans to support your success.
Whether you want to be a strong leader, improve your conflict management skills, use more creative thinking, or reduce your stress levels, F4S can help.
Once you've taken the F4S assessment you'll see the results of the 48 workplace traits.
At a glance, you will see your top five motivations. These reveal the best ways to ensure you are fulfilled and energized at work. They are generally related to your passions and natural talents.
You'll also see the areas in which you are the lowest. This simply means you are less motivated in these categories. Even if you are good at them, they can feel draining.
So how does this tie into your areas of improvement?
Let's say you are low in Group Environment, meaning you prefer to work in a private space. If you work in an environment where there are large groups, your productivity might drop. To be more efficient, you might start your work day early or stay late so that you have uninterrupted time to yourself.
The more you understand your workplace motivations, the more room there is for professional improvement.
Answer the questions in our assessment to learn about your motivations and blind spots. See your results using our real-time dashboard to better understand key areas of improvement.
Identifying areas of improvement allows you to enhance your skills and overcome weaknesses, which can significantly contribute to your personal and professional growth.
Start by self-assessment or take the free F4S assessment. It's also a good ideas to start seeking feedback from colleagues, supervisors, or mentors. This will help you gain insights into where you excel and areas that need improvement.
Professional growth keeps your skills up-to-date, making you more competitive and valuable in the job market. It also opens doors to new opportunities and career advancements.
Companies can facilitate professional development through performance coaching, internal training programs, and by encouraging employees to explore external learning opportunities. F4S is a research backed self-development platform that offers personal insights, as well as free AI coaching.
Begin by identifying areas where you can improve. Take the free F4S assessment to gain insights into your strengths and weaknesses. Leverage personalized coaching plans to work on specific skills and enhance your career trajectory.
Our expert coaches have designed hyper-effective programs that will help
you improve your mental health, wellbeing, productivity, leadership and more.
Coach Marlee (your amazing AI-powered personal coach) will analyse your unique traits and goals to let you know which program to start with (and if there are any you should skip)!
Your recommended programs include:
Our expert coaches have designed hyper-effective programs that will help you improve your mental health, wellbeing, productivity, leadership and more.
Coach Marlee (your amazing AI-powered personal coach) will analyse your unique traits and goals to let you know which program to start with (and if there are any you should skip)!
Your recommended programs include:
Take your teaming to the next level in this high impact 9-week team coaching program with Coach Marlee. Discover and optimize complementary strengths and unique talents with your team, reach decisions together quickly, enjoy team cohesion, high energy and motivation as a bonded team.
Impress yourself and others with your attention to detail! Develop a genuine appreciation, energy and stamina for detailed thinking to execute your vision, measure performance in yourself and others while also accelerating your ability to learn and change.
In this high impact eight week program Coach Marlee will help you increase your comfort and confidence to be in positions of influence and leadership, navigate organizational politics and also help you develop greater confidence to compete and influence at the top of your industry or field.
Multiply your impact by embracing the experience and genius within others. During this eight week program Coach Marlee will help you to develop a genuine appreciation for experimentation and data and a willingness to empower the opinions, feedback and insights within your team and others in your life.
Explore, strengthen and stand by what you believe in at work and in life. Trust in your ‘gut feel’ and point of view is especially helpful for influencing, starting your own business, having your personal needs met and for living an authentic and meaningful life.
Inspire yourself and others to see the bigger picture! Increase your comfort and use of abstract and strategic thinking to gain a broader perspective in work and life. Big picture thinking is key in communication, leadership, businesses, selling, marketing, and situations where you need to get the gist of things quickly.
Develop ‘step back’ mastery for increased self-awareness and developing mindsets and tools for constant improvement. Reflection and patience is core to consolidating learning, development, strategic thinking, recharging and living an authentic and meaningful life.
Close the gap between your great ideas and starting them. Energy and drive for starting is key for inventing new things, starting businesses, selling, marketing, socializing or in situations where you need to think on your feet.
Explore, develop or strengthen your emotional intelligence (EQ). Awareness of your and others’ emotions is at the heart of influencing, ‘reading people’, impactful communication, deep relating and authentic connection at work and in life.
Inspire yourself and others to see and achieve grand visions and goals. A focus on goals is especially helpful for inspirational leaders, starting your own business, impactful communication, or for achieving awesome outcomes at work and in life.
"Attention to detail coaching program was profoundly simple but impactful. I am seeing detail more than I have ever before!"
"Marlee really helped me to understand how to cue in on body language and tone when speaking with others, in order to connect on a deeper level"
“The Team Building program was a great tool to get to know my team and to explore how can we improve our way of working”
“The only way to move ahead is to work out the next action and then schedule a time to do it!”
“Trust Your Gut coaching program helped me build deeper levels of self-esteem and how I valued myself vis-a-vis the greater world. It also taught me courage to believe in my beliefs, and that it is not about success or failure, but that we give it a go, a try”
"Marlee really helped me to understand how to cue in on body language and tone when speaking with others, in order to connect on a deeper level"
"With attention to detail program, I learned a whole new way to see and approach projects"
“Marlee helped me to work on my self-belief”
Our tools are trusted by teams like Canva to help improve:
Subscribe to our newsletter for free access to the latest research and expert tips on Mental Health, Wellbeing, Leadership, Career Skills, Team Building & more!
Get started for free with personal (or team) coaching.
Programs are designed by world-renowned coaches & delivered by our incredible (AI-powered) Coach Marlee.
Sessions take just a few minutes and are 100% personalized to fit your unique traits and goals.
Name Surname
Position, Company name
Name Surname
Position, Company name
Name Surname
Position, Company name
Name Surname
Position, Company name
Name Surname
Position, Company name
Name Surname
Position, Company name