In the second part of this article, guest author, Susan McKeone, discussed the first Self-development Step: Learn From Experience.
Learning from the experience – the task, the challenge, the work, the goals – is only half of the lesson’s potential. Each experience puts you in touch with people – clients, peers, reports, bosses, teachers and mentors – all of whom have their own sets of lessons for you.
- Seek Diversity of Perspective: Just as you should seek diverse experiences to expand your skill set, you should also seek diverse perspectives to expand your own thinking. We all enjoy and have a comfort level with people who are “like me.” But these people will only reinforce your current thinking without necessarily expanding or challenging you to think differently – and just as in experiences, collecting diverse perspectives results in growth and development.
- Observe Others: Be a people watcher. Be aware of how your colleagues interact with others and assess what works and what doesn’t. Learn from those colleagues who are effective – borrow their strategies and approaches. Learn from those colleagues who are ineffective – guard against making the same mistakes you see them make as they interact.
- Exposure, Exposure, Exposure: Anytime you can work on a project that exposes you to new contacts, new audiences, new networks – do it! Remember this: it isn’t really about who you know but it is all about who knows you.
- Solicit Feedback Regularly and Ask for Support: Okay, so you heard this one already in Step One. It’s that important to hear it again. One way you learn from people is to learn what they think about you and can provide feedback about how effective you are in interacting with them. When you receive feedback that requires you to adjust your behavior or experiment with new ways of interacting, ask your feedback providers to support you and help you to improve by reminding you when you slip back to old patterns or acknowledging you when you successfully implement new ones.
- Networks: Successful people are well networked, period. It may seem as though their broad and loyal networks of friends and associates are effortless and naturally attracted to the successful person’s charismatic style. But the truth is probably more likely that the successful person works hard to keep connected to these networks by remaining cognizant of comings and goings and by keeping proactive and systematic goals to stay connected.
- Manage Your Own Performance Management: Development on the job almost always means needing to learn from your boss. But some of us are more blessed than others when it comes to bosses who are natural coaches and mentors. Don’t let a boss who is poor in performance management deprive you of the lessons you need to learn from him or her. Be proactive and persistent. Manage upwards: schedule time with him or her, come prepared to the meeting with a structured agenda, a self-assessment of recent performance, and be prepared to solicit feedback directly.
In closing, wisdom and success are within everyone’s reach through three steps you should practice daily.
- Know thyself: solicit feedback, reflect, do what you love!
- Learn from experience: use work to learn, challenge yourself, expose yourself to diverse experiences, and apply your lessons of experience.
- Learn from people: seek diversity of perspective, be a people watcher, seek exposure, ask for support, maintain your networks, and take responsibility for your own performance management.
Want to know more about the first Self-development Step: Know Thyself?
