Key Point: Commit to developing at least one new skill that will make you more valuable to your organization and the overall market in 2015. Be mindful and intentional about what it is. Really think about it and develop a bit-by-bit plan to get there. Remember the best investment is in YOU. The following is an excerpt from a recent HBR article on the subject. Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review. Follow her on Twitter at @amyegallo.
“What the Experts Say
‘Mastering new skills is not optional in today’s business environment. ‘In a fast-moving, competitive world, being able to learn new skills is one of the keys to success. It’s not enough to be smart — you need to always be getting smarter,’ says Heidi Grant Halvorson, a motivational psychologist and author of the HBR Single Nine Things Successful People Do Differently. Joseph Weintraub, a professor of management and organizational behavior at Babson College and coauthor of the book, The Coaching Manager: Developing Top Talent in Business, agrees: ‘We need to constantly look for opportunities to stretch ourselves in ways that may not always feel comfortable at first. Continual improvement is necessary to get ahead.’ Here are some principles to follow in your quest for self-improvement:’
Principles to Remember
Do:
– Select a skill that is valued by your organization and manager
– Divide the skill up into smaller, manageable tasks
– Reflect on what you’ve learned and what you still want to accomplish
Don’t:
– Try to learn in a vacuum — ask others for guidance and feedback
– Rely solely on your boss for advice — you may want to involve someone who isn’t responsible for evaluating you
– Assume it’s going to happen overnight — it usually takes at least six months to develop a new skill.
Character Moves:
- Choose wisely and commit. Be thoughtful about what skill(s) you chose and be honest about how ready you are to take the learning on. Be clear about how learning the skill will increase your personal equity. Do not assume a new skill will come to you as a matter of course. If you are not intentional about this, at the end of 2015 you will have another year of experience but little progress regarding progressive and differentiating services to show for the time investment.
- Follow a game plan to get there. Vision is great, but action towards that vision is the difference maker
P.S. yes, I do have my 2015 new learning objectives and game plan
Self-investing in The Triangle,
Lorne
One Millennial View: This is a great reminder and something that a millennial or younger employee might be able to take the best advantage of. As a good friend of mine once said (during a successful job interview, no less): “Hey, I have no kids, no dog, no mortgage…” His message to the interviewer was that his priorities could tailor to the job he was gunning for, and he could make the time to do something like learn extra, valuable skills. I too have no kids, no dog and no mortgage… If I have time to Netflix on a Tuesday, I have time for new skill learning too. Time to draft that game plan.
– Garrett
Edited and published by Garrett Rubis