There’s a stereotype about Millennials expecting high-paying jobs and impressive titles right out of school, with little to no experience. I also see these expectations from professionals in their thirties and forties expecting to be named vice president without considering the skills and capabilities they bring to the table.
No matter your age, these expectations are not realistic and can lead to disappointment. Instead, I encourage you to focus on learning, growth, and cultivating a mindset of possibility.
Let’s talk about why it’s important to invest in your own professional development —even if your company doesn’t—and how to do this effectively.
At one time, having an MBA may have gotten new professionals on the fast track to impressive roles. But that’s just not reality in today’s world, despite what people may learn from their professors at university. Going to school no longer sets us apart, so it’s up to each of us to blaze our own trail. How can we do that most efficiently? Through professional development, building a strong network of mentors, being curious, and challenging yourself to learn new things. When we learn and apply new skills, we grow and it’s this growth that fuels our career.
Three strategies to make professional development work for you
Professional development is a lot of things—it can be anything from reading to taking courses to working with a sponsor or mentor. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by all the options and take a scattered approach to professional growth.
Instead, I encourage you to think about professional development strategically by focusing on these three areas:
- Overcoming the most common skills gap.
- Doing an honest self-assessment.
- Mapping out your own career path.
Let’s look at each of these areas more closely.
Professional development strategy #1: Overcome the most common skills gap
The biggest gap I see in leaders of all ages and stages is related to the development of their power skills. These skills include communication, trust-building, and emotional intelligence. They aren’t taught in school and the transition from university learning to real-world experiences can be difficult. For some people, this transition lasts decades before they realize how important communication skills truly are.
Using these power skills effectively allows you to create purposeful conversation, build trust, and truly connect with your colleagues, customers, and partners, at all levels.
Professional development strategy #2: Do an honest self-assessment
If you’ve read my writing before, you’ll know I often see leaders, especially women, talk themselves out of going for the next big role. In these scenarios, self-assessment often leads to a positive reality check that allows people to feel the fear and do it anyway. (That’s the title of a great book by Susan Jeffers, and if you’re doubting your real skills, I encourage you to read it.)
However, today I’m talking about the other side of the coin—when people think they deserve the next big title because they’ve been around a certain amount of time, or they’re at the right age.
Use these questions to start your self-assessment:
- What is the role and what are the competencies required?
- How do I measure against those requirements?
- How could I overcome those gaps by building a team around me?
- What investment do I need to make in myself to be prepared for this type of role?
- How would me being promoted to this role impact all the people I’ll encounter?
Answering these questions by yourself or with the help of a coach might not be easy, but it gives you real insights into where you are, where you want to go and what to do in between.
Professional development strategy #3: Map out your own career path
In today’s working world, especially for younger people, the average career span in one organization is two years. And if they’re not promoted, they’ll move to another company to get the next role. But whether you’d prefer to stay in one place or move around, it’s essential to map out your career path and make sure your skills complement that path.
Most people wait for their leader to build them a career path, but why? Of course, having great leadership is a big help, but it’s ultimately your responsibility to take control of your timeline, career path, and legacy. It’s your life!
While you’re mapping out your career path, I encourage you to do these four things:
- Promote yourself — Self-promotion is an important part of your own development. Start by raising your hand and saying, “Here are the skills and competencies I bring to this role.”
- Build your internal network — Building relationships and meaningful connections across your organization and beyond is an important part of professional development. Think about this: When your name comes up for something, who will speak about you when you’re not in the room? And what will they say?
- Be open to the possibilities — While I encourage you to map your career, being stuck on your plan may lead to missing important opportunities. If you want to join the marketing team, but your mentor says your analytical skills would be a great fit for supply chain management or operations, consider that feedback carefully.
- Just say yes — Is there something you’re excited about, but don’t quite meet all the criteria? As I mentioned earlier, this scenario often prevents qualified women from taking a leap in their careers. You don’t need to check off 100% of the boxes. Say yes to the opportunity and trust that you’ll figure out the rest. A client of mine was recently let go from her leadership position but during the severance process, she was offered another role in the company because of her skill set. She turned down that opportunity, partly because she was upset about being fired and partly because she didn’t have 100% of the qualifications. Well, neither did the guy who said yes. Unfortunately, my client still regrets this decision.
- Be intentional about your own development — Don’t wait for somebody else. Most companies offer some type of professional development so talk to human resources to see what’s available. Listen to leadership podcasts to gain valuable insight from others. Read books! One of the best leadership books that I’ve read in the last couple of years is called Red Teaming: How Your Business Can Conquer the Competition by Challenging Everything by Bryce G. Hoffman.
Storytime: But I’m in sales, not merchandising!
I spent my early career in operations and sales and I was really good in those areas. When I went to work for Marks and Spencer as the vice president of sales, my boss put me in every aspect of the business, including many places I had never worked: merchandise, marketing, human resources, and store design and construction. He opened my mind to the different components of the business, though I was resistant at first because I was still doing the role of sales and operations.
But it was a phenomenal experience. I realized I had a great eye for the design and the construction part of the business because I understood the functionality of what we needed from an operational perspective. When we decided we wanted to be known as a destination for jeans, I worked with merchandising and marketing to pull together this story that was well-executed in the stores. Having the total picture in mind was a huge part of the success.
Being pulled out of my day-to-day role in sales and operations allowed me to work on other aspects of the business and helped me grow as a leader. This well-rounded experience as the VP of sales helped me move into the role of president at the Bombay Furniture Company. I believe that saying yes and becoming known as someone who could work in any part of the company truly set me up for success with Bombay and the work that I do today.
Final thoughts on investing in yourself
No matter what stage of your career you’re in, don’t wait for someone else to invest in your growth. It’s your responsibility and nobody else can make these decisions better than you can.
If you’re looking for ways to further develop professionally, WIL Empowered offers several courses to help you elevate your power skills and learn how to navigate any kind of corporate environment while you build your career path. If this sounds good, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for a meet-and-greet discovery call.
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Hi, I’m Vicki Bradley, an executive coach in Toronto and the Founder and CEO of Women in Leadership Empowered.
I work with women pursuing success in executive leadership roles and the presidents and CEOs who understand that strong businesses are built with strong, diverse leadership.
WIL Empowered is a group coaching program where we focus on all four aspects of leadership development through coaching, networking, peer-to-peer mentoring, and developing soft skills. Our mission is to help women develop the skills, motivation, and accountability required to succeed in their business and personal lives.
Take our five-minute leadership quiz to discover where your leadership skills are now and where you’d like them to be this time next year.
To learn more about WIL Empowered, visit our website at WILempowered.com or reach out to Vicki@wilempowered.com for a discovery call.
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