If you’re not performing as well as you would like to, then there’s a good chance that you would be better off with some new approaches and some new skills under your belt.

Sometimes we know what those new skills are.  As a Coach, it’s amazing how often people tell me that it would really help for them to go on a “Finance for non-Finance Managers” or “Corporate Governance” type, fact-based course.

 

Softer Skills

It’s less often that people immediately volunteer what softer skills development they would benefit from.  Impulse Control, Interpersonal relationships, Self Regard?  We generally know what our strengths and weaknesses are, but I guess it’s not seen as career enhancing to talk to your employer about these things. We may not have had mush exposure to finance, (or marketing, or corporate governance etc.)  so that’s OK, but shouldn’t we have learnt how to manage ourselves and others already?

The reality is that we’re all on a journey.  Some are great at understanding what makes others tick and some aren’t, but everyone can all stand to learn more and develop these skills further.  What’s more, rather than regarding this as a weakness, most people (HR and L&D especially) will applaud anyone who proactively wants to get better at these things.

If you are worried about losing respect by discussing your development needs, then I’d think about gravitas.  Who can you think of that carries themselves with the most gravitas and is widely respected? Chances are they’ll be confident in their own skills and knowledge.  So confident in fact, that they’ll be very comfortable saying “Actually, I don’t know, that’s a great question; Let’s find out!” Their confidence manifests itself as humility and an appetite to learn even more.

So why not invest a little time thinking about what training and development you would benefit from?  Not only will you learn and grow, chances are you’ll be far better perceived by others as well.  If you want your staff to be well trained and to commit to life long learning, then there’s no better approach than leading by example.

 

Click on this link if you want to explore Emotional Intelligence in a bit more detail?

Click on this link if you are finding it hard to get the time to commit to new learning