Self-awareness is probably the answer many would give to this question. You need to be aware of where you were, what you’ve done and where you are now. If you see progress in yourself, then you’ve improved.
I strongly agreed with this statement – and I probably do. But it’s only recently that I’ve realised how hard this is!! There are two situations that I’m realising this in.
Badminton
This is normally pretty easy to monitor improvement in, play tournaments and see if you are getting better results, beating people that you’ve previously lost to. But what happens when you stop playing tournaments and when you start again there’s a whole new group of people to play against, and thus no bench mark. That’s the situation I’m finding myself in. Playing new people, winning some, losing others – but struggling to know if I’m a better player now than I was a year ago, it’s not like I can remember exactly how I played back then.
Business Knowledge
I’m learning a huge amount whilst on placement and being exposed to new things all the time. It’s a wealth of knowledge that’s bound to improve my understanding of business and general decision making in the field. But how can I measure this?
I’m very confident that I know more than I did before starting my placement, but I wonder if other areas of ‘thinking’ or ‘decision making’ that aren’t as prominent during my placement will decline, again I pose the question, how can I measure this?
I think the best solution must be to make yourself vulnerable and accountable to others that will see you grow and develop. They will notice changes and improvements, and if your conversation is open and honest then they will be able to tell you.