(E)ducate Yourself Professionally And Proactively

And the survey says…..

  • 57% of U.S. workers say that they have the necessary education and training to get ahead in their current career *
  • 72% of U.S. workers say they have taken special courses or retraining to improve their job skills*

What does this say about occupational wellness and the need to keep thinking and moving ahead?  It’s necessary and a vital part of our workplace wellness.

I am a big proponent of “If your not growing, your growing mold” (Sandra Larkin).  This is a comical statement comparing ourselves to moldy cheese or bread all green, brown and stale.  But… do you want to BE THAT associate who is unwilling to keep up with the job, the industry, new technology and new and innovative ways to try something different or manage our time?  What does that say about the respect for your job, industry and fellow associates?  What does it say about respect for yourself? 

In today’s workplace time and stress go hand in hand.  Sometimes this stress is

  • the people
  • the process
  • inadequate tools
  • lack of proper time management techniques
  • P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N
  • lack of direction
  • less than stellar accountability

No time to take a class.  Too busy.  Gotta go.  See ya! How can we be accountable for huge job responsibilities, when we can’t take care of our own occupational wellness to be and look sharp on the job?  

Accountability - the most dynamic work in the dictionary that keeps us moving forward in any area of life. In this case, with your professional education and commitment to be proactive.  We need to be accountable so that others can count on us to be at our best in the workplace. 

Here are some questions to ask in beginning to move yourself into being proactive about you professional development.

  • I have or keep a list of all the training and development classes I have attended in the last 2 years? 
    • Yes!  Am I USING any of the techniques and improved processes? 
      • Yes!  Pass go and collect your $200 dollars.  This is alot less money that you probably made in a bonus and/or raise because you’ve been using the training you successfully completed.
      •  No!  Go back and revisit the manuals or original trainer to help me move forward in these areas.
    •  No!  Go back and develop the the training list to see exactly what you have taken and can use.
  • Does my management team have a professional development plan for my career at the company?
    • Yes!  Find out the details of what is in store for you in the next 2 years.
    •  No!  Be proactive and request a meeting to discuss your professional development and the benefits to your organization.
  • Does my organization budget professional development dollars for the year that I can tapped into?
    • Yes!  Great.  Look at your development plan and start searching for training on or off-site.
    •  No!   Now we are at the proverbial crossroads.  Do we go into our management and ask for professional development dollars <or> pay for it ourselves?

When our organizations do not have a professional development plan or dollars to accommodate.  What can we do?

  1. Start by looking at your career past, present and future and create a professional map?  This will tell us where we have been and where we want to go in the next 3 to 5 years.
  2. List all the classes you have taken to reach your ultimate goal.
  3. Research your local community colleges and business groups to find out who is offering low cost classes or complimentary engagements (a.k.a. free).  You can learn from business professionals who have already forged the path. 
  4. When there are absolutely no funds available through your company or yourself, go to your local library.  Ask the staff to assist you in finding library resources (books, CD’s magazines, newspapers, local events) to move you towards your professional development goal.
  5. Seek out a mentor in your industry or your workplace.  A mentor can help guide you in the process and plug you into their experience of professional development.
  6. Inquire at your company Human Resource department if there is a company library of books or CD’s to be “checked out”.
  7. Start a workplace occupational development committee to bring in low or no cost speakers for lunch and learns or workshops.

Ready, set, go!  Your now in the drivers seat of your own professional development.  Neither lack of funds, time or an unwilling employer should stop us from being the best at our talents and abilities.  Now, go out and be FABULOUS!

Be healthy and fabulous!

 Sandra Larkin 

<* Source:  Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2006)

January 28th, 2008 - Posted in ABC's, Professional Education, intellectual, occupational, physical | | 3 Comments

Change Is In The Air

Everyday we work in a transitional state towards a new direction or from a current challenge. This can be transitioning from being ill to well, career change, stress on the job, marital status such as divorce or business growth and development. The way in which we approach these transitions is through flexibility. 

Flexibility determines successful results for the long term and produces attraction for more positive ones in the future.  When we are flexible in attitude, we set ourselves up for a long term positive impact on our working relationships as well as promotional goals.  No one wants to work with a person who digs their heels in and refuses to work out project or people difficulities.

I have been through a number of transitions over the past two years. I resigned a long term position and gave up a 20 year corporate career, created a successful business, right-sized my health by participating in a physical fitness boot camp and worked through the rough spots on discovering who I am and where I want to be. This process has taught me that I needed to stop making decisions based on what my preset boundaries where at the time. I learned to physically stop, plant my feet firmly, look at the opportunity, evaluate it with a new set of eyes and sometimes take a chance by risking the outcome.

If you watch a willow tree in a storm or when high winds blow, you will see that it remains flexible to move through its current chaotic state. When the wind blows, it moves in the same direction of the wind ultimately standing up right when the storm passes. Nature has its way of teaching us to move through these transitional periods of our life. Technically, they come and go with little negative impact we somehow seem to manifest in our own minds.

The next time a storm moves in where you live, take a look outside and watch nature move through the transition from sun to dark and back to sun again. You will see that nature remains consistent with its ability to weather the storm.

As we move through the many phases of our life, look to nature to teach you that you can make good and sound decisions by remaining flexible, moving beyond your comfort zone and sometimes just taking a chance. You have everything it takes to make the wrong right and the positive even better consistently.

Be healthy and fabulous!

Sandra

January 5th, 2008 - Posted in Professional Education, change, emotional, occupational, productivity | | 1 Comments