As January dawns, we all have great hopes for 2017! If you are like me, you typically begin the New Year with numerous resolutions: book a fabulous vacation, spend more time with family and friends, and take better care of yourself. One resolution busy professionals often overlook is professional development. We reach a certain point in our career and professional development drops off our radar screens.
Regardless of where you are in your career, maintaining a plan for professional development is essential for three reasons. First, in order to improve your competitiveness in the workplace, you can’t allow your skills or interest to become stagnate. Business is an ever-changing, dynamic environment in which you must equip yourself with the latest tools. Second, you should constantly be questioning and redefining your goals, motivations and values in your workplace. In order to achieve your business goals, seek professional advice to follow the trajectory of your career. Finally, you never know when an opportunity will come your way – keep your professional skills up-to-date so you can take advantage of every opportunity you have been given.
Consideration of these three goals leads to the overarching question of how you can add value to your organization. In other words, ask yourself “how you can be a more valuable employee in December 2017 than you are right now.” You can add value to your organization by doing the following:
- Never stop learning! Be on the lookout for new books, articles and podcasts that will expand your knowledge of not only your chosen professional field but anything of interest to you. Look for professional conferences and dinners to attend to expand your horizons.
- Who you know is just as important as what you know! Ask yourself the following; who in your organization holds the power to assigns projects, appoints team leads, etc.? Who does your boss admire and listen to? Your goal for the next year is to develop relationships with these people.
- Share your professional insight with others. Volunteer to write an article or give a speech about something you find interesting in your line of work. In doing this, you are solidifying your own knowledge and creating your own personal brand.
Here is to growth and happiness in your professional development this year!
January Survival Guide:
Follow these tips to help ease you into the new work year:
- leave the office at lunch time, even if for just a quick walk around the block
- shorten your to-do list – don’t let your list become your nightmare!
- make use of your “out of office” notification if you are trying to focus on a big project (just don’t forget to turn it off!)
- maintain a morning routine to help ease into your day
- focus on delivering results
