Develop Mindset
Some people believe they have learned everything they need to know upon completing their education or technical training. However, as you move into the work environment, you start to put theory into practice. Understanding your role and how the organization operates, staying informed about any organizational changes, and remaining current within your field are crucial to your career development.
To move to the next position, you need development goals to develop, acquire, or enhance your skill sets. This matters because you want to demonstrate that you have taken the time to gain new knowledge and skill sets while gaining experience.
When you implement the Develop Mindset from the Mérito Mindset Framework, you’re embracing the idea of taking charge of your career and development goals.
What is professional development?
In short, professional development is the process of actively acquiring new knowledge and skills through training, education, or other means to improve job performance, stay current in your field, and advance your career prospects; essentially, it's about continually learning and developing to enhance your professional abilities to remain relevant in the workplace.
Professional development is accumulating knowledge and skills; actively pursuing this is your responsibility. It is not a requirement, but it is always in your best interest to demonstrate your willingness to learn and adapt.
Envision your career trajectory.
Begin by having a clear idea or goal for the position you aspire to achieve. Then, create a professional vision board to envision your future, followed by creating a career trajectory. A career trajectory should be your long-term goal (usually 3-5 years), which includes other positions you would need to complete successfully before attaining your final position.
One way to assess a career trajectory is to review the organizational chart, demonstrating the ascendancy of positions within the organization, another way to asses a career trajectory is to speak with your supervisor so that they can assist you with meeting your career goal. In addition, you can also research industry standards or ask a network connection who is a subject matter expert about how they attained their professional goals.
Think of your career trajectory as your roadmap for what you define as professional success —the final position you deem your professional milestone. It could be the highest position within the organization or a role that allows for a quality work-life balance. Moving into and staying in that position requires professional development regardless of your decision.
Remember that a career trajectory does not have to be finalized; it can change if you believe the position does not connect with your personal and professional fulfillment.
Create your development plan.
A development plan outlines your short- and long-term goals (typically 1-3 years). This is where you will outline the specific actions you will take to achieve your career trajectory. Your development plan will work best when coordinated with your supervisor. This is because your professional development will benefit you and the organization. This coordination will enable an assessment of your development plan, facilitate the exchange of ideas, and facilitate the creation of a declaration of support from the organization when needed. Creating your development plan is possible, but it will take some research.
Refer back to your career trajectory and discuss with your supervisor, training coordinator, or research vacancy announcements similar to the position that interests you. Outline the knowledge and skills required for that position.
Next, research how you plan to meet that development plan. In some instances, you will have no choice but to follow the learning path set by the industry standards; aside from that, there are many ways to develop knowledge and skills, such as:
On-the-job learning: Also known as shadow training and sometimes “other duties assigned,” is considered formal 1:1 training
Stretch or detailed assignments: temporarily assigned to another position for 4-6 months
Training courses: a virtual or in-person instructor-led class
Self-paced learning: certification or course completion through a self-learning process via hard-cover books or a virtual course
Relationship learning: 1:1 informal experiential learning
Reading: learning by reading professional self-help books
A practical development plan includes both short—term and long-term goals. This way, you can achieve your goals within a reasonable time without adding additional stress to your work-life balance.
Executing training/development goals.
Now that you have your development plan outlined, it’s time to set training and development goals that you plan to execute this current year. This is where you put the development plan into action by scheduling and assessing how and when you will complete your training and development goals. For example, will you take an online or in-person course, enroll in a self-paced learning course, or sign up for a stretch assignment? Be sure to coordinate with your supervisor well in advance if your training or development course takes longer than two days, so that they can support your time out of the office or offline.
As mentioned above, you may need to follow the learning path established by industry standards. For example, before obtaining a certification, you may be required to complete 1-2 years of actual work experience before sitting for the certification exam; or if the organization is unable to support your training financially, then you will want to find free training courses that will require a sequence of self-paced learning courses to be completed before being certified. Either way, learning (gaining) and mastering new knowledge or skills takes time and effort and is rarely achieved in a few weeks.
Executing your development goals is not an easy task. Many life circumstances, such as your daily workload, financial challenges, family dynamics, and even your health, can interfere with your ability to focus. Any one of these areas can cause you to pause your development goals. Don’t let those distractions derail you for too long; only through perseverance can you achieve a degree, certification, or technical training.
Additionally, do not hesitate to ask your supervisor for financial support to further your development. It’s a win-win situation for both you and the organization. However, be prepared to sign a commitment agreement for every financial support they provide. For example, you may need to commit to 2-3 months after completing your training or development course. This is a way of ensuring that there are no sudden departures after the organization has provided you with financial support.
Remember that there is a distinct difference between training and development courses. Training is a means to keep you relevant within your position, and development is a means to keep you relevant in your career.
Assess your skills.
Finally, track your training and development courses, and conduct a skills assessment to account for all the knowledge and skills required for the next position.
Your training and development will primarily focus on technical and knowledge development and enhancement. Areas considered advantageous for enhancing your career include tools and applications that streamline your work, as well as professional certifications that validate your knowledge. These are often referred to as your technical, hard, or job-specific skills.
Another area that will require assessment of your skills is your soft skills, also known as behavioral competencies. These are the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that a person must demonstrate to carry out a task, activity, or function successfully. These skills include communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability. Of course, these are only a few skills; there are many more you will need to assess as you take on more responsibilities throughout your career. And yes, there are development courses to learn these types of knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes.
Remember that there is a distinct difference between behavioral competencies, also known as soft skills, and emotional intelligence.
Behavioral competencies refer to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that an individual must demonstrate to perform a task, activity, or function effectively.
Emotional intelligence encompasses recognizing, understanding, and managing emotions, as well as developing self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills.
Recap
The Develop Mindset is a holistic approach to your professional development. Follow these four actions to take “Professional growth in your hands!”
Create a career trajectory that includes other positions you must complete successfully before attaining your final position.
Create a development plan with short and long-term goals of learning actions to achieve your career trajectory.
Outline the development goals you plan to execute the current year.
Reassess your skills to include behavioral competencies (soft skills).
