Who is responsible for investing in your professional development?
Who is responsible for investing in your professional development? | I shared a LinkedIn poll asking this question back in April where the results showed the majority of respondents (73%) felt the responsibility of their professional development is shared between their company and themselves while 27% felt that it was purely their responsibility, and no one felt that it was the company's responsibility alone.
After following up with various respondents, I learned that most professionals drive their development by leveraging growth opportunities rather than creating them. This requires the organization they work for to provide - and fund - growth opportunities while it is the professional's responsibility to take advantage of those opportunities. Very rarely are individuals both seeking out and funding their personal development.
With that said, the overwhelming response I received during the announcement of my personal brand, Your Strengths Advisor, earlier this year made me believe there may be a shift taking place for individuals to truly own their professional development.
The two insights I took away from this:
1) Organizations that wish to attract and retain top talent must provide next-gen development opportunities for their employees. While many organizations offer a standardized catalogue of on-the-job training, brand-related learning milestones, and tuition reimbursement programs, today’s professionals are yearning for more personalized, concierge-type approaches like mentorship and coaching. The pandemic has intensified this desire.
I have seen this first-hand with various organizations. For example, my long-standing partnership with PBS includes one-on-one coaching sessions with the leadership team as well as periodic team strengths workshops. This seems best in class to me. As an external partner, my unique perspective illuminates new insights while also validating perceived behaviors and team dynamics.
2) Business professionals who are not offered growth opportunities within their organization need access to external resources. Historically, higher education, executive coaches, and accountability partners were reserved for leaders able to spend top dollar (and likely expense it), but in today’s society these "extracurriculars" are becoming more accessible. For individuals seeking growth, these resources are key to discovering personal potential - especially since career tracks are becoming more ambiguous and top-performers have become more curious in switching tracks all-together.
Professional growth can be a tricky self-guided effort since discovering potential often requires equal doses of praise and tough-love as well as blue-sky thinking and being grounded - it’s all about checks and balances. This is a large part of my role as a strengths advisor which many times is to act as a “sherpa” within the growth journey - understanding personal strengths and advising on how to leverage those strengths.
The key take-away here: Explore your curiosities, find your resources, and embrace your potential. Encourage your organization to expand their professional development offerings but, at the end of the day, know that it is something you can (and should) take responsibility for.
