Duringthis pandemic, a lot of things have been out of our control.
But one thingthat has stayedsquarelywithin our sphere of influence is ourowndevelopment.
If you haven’t already taken the reins of your ownlearning, here are some stepstowardmakingcertain—in this time of uncertainty—thatyourdevelopment continues.Doing sowillbenefityour work, your colleagues, your organization and your career.
- Assess your knowledge and skills.Spend time considering what you know and can dowell right now. Ask yourself what knowledge and skills would help you perform better in your current role. Reflect on what knowledge and skills would help you advance to and perform well in your next role.Consider both “hard” skills—likebecoming an expert inthe software you use every day—and “human” skills—such as communication, relationship-building, problem-solving and taking initiative.After you do your own reflection, ask your supervisor, mentor and/or colleagues how they would assess your knowledge and skills.Write down what you learn.
- Create anindividual development plan.Based on what you wrote down in step 1, lookforofferings thatwould help you filltheknowledge and skills gaps you haveidentified.Manyonline learning opportunitieshave come of age during the pandemic. Going forward,you willalsoable to addin-person learning eventsto your plan.Membershipin some industry organizationsincludeson-demand contentwith tracking functionalitythat maybehelpfulto your efforts.These memberships may also include discountsfor learningprograms.
- Execute onyour developmentplan.Sometimes the hardest part of taking ownership of your own learning isdelivering what you’ve set out to do. Some strategies forcreating a habit of learninginclude blocking time on your calendar for it, starting the day with learning before things get busyand celebrating accomplishmentsalong your path.You can also take stock in your ongoing on-the-job learning. Things like stretch assignments can help you strengthen your skills and apply what you’ve learned in more formal training sessions.
- Take additional actions that will help youretain your new knowledge and skills.According to the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, teaching others helps studentsretain90% of what they read. So,talkwith othersaboutwhat you’relearning.Other good techniques for improving your knowledge retention include taking breaks while you’re learning andquizzing yourself during and after learning.
When you take the reins of your own learning, you can boost the skills you need to excel in the seat you’re in—orbetter position yourself tomove up. Please let me know what strategies workbestfor you.
