So you’ve tackled 2020. Look back at how far you've come! You’ve been able to shift your work tasks to manage them remotely. You’ve established workflows to coordinate with your team and accomplish your deliverables in a virtual method. But what about you?
Are you ready for what’s next? Are your skills ready for the challenges ahead?
It’s time to ask your company to invest in you, but are you clear about what you need? Have you defined your strengths and development areas, identifying both the new skills you need to learn and the experiences you’ll need to gain in order to continue your success and performance? You may take advantage of an assessment tool to help you define your strengths and gaps more clearly, and you’ll certainly need input from your supervisor, coach and mentor to clarify priorities. Don’t take on too many action items and set yourself up for failure. Identify the one or two things that will be important for success in your job right now.
And importantly, are you ready to invest in yourself! Successful learning and development involves reflection and evaluation. It’s going to involve some disciplined “self” time. Block time on your calendar to revisit your values and your career goals. I coach my clients to schedule these self-meetings at least on a quarterly basis, and doggedly guard that personal development time. Don’t dismiss this investment for yourself!
Some helpful self-reflection questions to get you started are: Are you being fulfilled in your current role – why or why not? What is the next experience you need to gain? Work with your supervisor so you can get that experience under your belt. Do you need to have experience managing people and there isn’t a current opportunity to lead? Ask to lead a project – indirectly managing people will give you a start with this experience.
You can do it, but you need to take steps to get started. Contact me directly and I can share my helpful Development Plan template, as well as get you started with a free consultation.
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