Are You Derailing Your Career?
I was once asked to manage a person who I will call Bob. Bob made it clear to me from day one that he had quit learning at least 10 years ago. There was never an idea that Bob found valuable, or a recommended alternative that Bob had not already tried. Once Bob "moved on" from my organization, I was able to implement some new approaches that our clients had been screaming for. In fact, one of the ideas Bob shot down for being "so simple it's insulting" was described by the leaders we served, as "the best thing this company had ever done.” As I tried unsuccessfully to explain to Bob, once you stop learning, your career is over.
I wonder how many of us demonstrate some of Bob's behaviors without realizing it. I will admit, I have too often slipped into these as well. The challenge is, how do we keep learning, adapting and stay open to new ideas — or even old ideas we can apply to new situations? Here are seven simple suggestions to activate your learning curve:
Learn something and do something. What are you reading? When is the last time you read a book or article, or attended a development program and found a way to apply an insight on the job.
When is the last time you attended a development program, and more importantly, what did you do with something you learned?
Let someone help you. How do you respond to that annoying sales call? I have learned to view "selling' as, "I have a valuable solution that can help you, so the noble thing to do is to let you know about it". So many of us, self-included, have quickly dismissed or ignored that sales call. While I accept most sales calls may be a complete waste of time, how do I know the solution presented won't be the best idea I've ever heard, or that it won't change my life unless I listen?
Help someone else - and expect nothing in return. When is the last time you made it a point out reach out and offer help to someone else?
Find someone who has a better idea than yours? What can you learn from others? When is the last time you asked someone else for an idea or an opinion? What did you do with it?
Build a new relationship. When is the last time you added someone to your network? I'm not referring to simply connecting with someone on Linked In, although it may start there. Like you, I get a number of requests to connect every week, but rarely does it ever move beyond that. I often wonder, "Why did this person want to connect?", and others likely wonder that about me too. We should make it a point to proactively connect with someone we can learn from and reach out to establish a relationship, not just a virtual connection.
Push your limits. When is the last time you did something outside your comfort zone? Something that made you a bit anxious, or something you've never done before?
Stop being so certain. I was recently facilitating a leadership program for a group of executives. One participant made a habit of challenging just about everything we discussed. In one case, we drifted into a debate on how to handle a difficult coaching conversation. We really got stuck when this leader started arguing not about what I said, but about what he assumed I was about to say next. After I responded with, “But I did not suggest or say that”, a colleague looked at this leader and said, "Why are you so certain?" The leader said, “What do you mean?” “Why are you so certain you're right? That was profound and a reminder to all of us, when we "know we're right”, we should ask ourselves, “Am I open to a different perspective? Is there a better way? Is it possible someone else may have a better idea?”
As we try to do any of the above, we should do it with the mindset of, "What will I learn from this experience?”. “How will I leverage this experience to make me better?”, and “How can I use these experiences to build and maintain thought leadership?”