Grow Your Influence: Invest In Yourself

Are you willing to invest in yourself? What could be holding you back? What options are there?

Almost HALF of the leaders I interviewed expressed that they needed more individual development in order to achieve their goals and/or be successful in business. Regardless of the number of years in business, they believed they needed to learn a lot more. Sometimes they mentioned specific things. Technology came up, of course, but more often they were referring to other skills and behaviors (many included in the other fourteen chapters in the book).

I’ve found that the most successful leaders are addicted to progress, and hunger for knowledge.

Unlike the average Joe who hasn’t completed a course since they were in school, successful leaders want to gain additional professional competencies and achieve more success. This comes as a result of investing in themselves.

Admittedly, it can be really tempting to put off learning new skills. It can be daunting to sign up for something new and dive right in while you have a ton of existing obligations. When it comes to learning intentionally, leaders with a lot of responsibility often get sidetracked.

Running a growing business often takes so much time and energy that discretionary education can easily take a back seat.

Some people I know have a decent business or career but are crunching to get their mandatory Continuing Education Units completed by the deadline imposed by the state or industry requirements.

While serving in leadership in a local women’s council, I remember wondering why more people don’t make professional development a priority.  They had a program which subsidized the cost of CEUs each year to encourage members to stay current and develop themselves professionally. Yet, only a small percentage of members took advantage of it each year! I got to know members to varying levels over the years when I was involved with that group, and I could see which members were doing well because they invested in themselves, and which were making excuses. 

Those who invest in their own development tend to be more confident and create more value in business.

Unfortunately, taking the time to come up with a strategic learning plan and execute it feels like something that can wait until later (like when the magic time fairy carves out space for it).

Yet, we’re talking about the need to learn things all the time and how we feel we can’t keep up. We’re afraid of being out of touch and may even feel that not knowing what’s going on in our own industry is irresponsible. 

We need to make it a priority.

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Where’s the disconnect?
If you’re anything like the members in my women’s leadership group, you want to be in the know, be seen as an expert, and continue increasing your knowledge in order to stay relevant in business. Maybe you’ve discovered that continuous learning can have a bit of a Fountain-Of-Youth effect, keeping our minds young and giving us a surge in energy (seriously!).

What do we want to learn?
We want to learn how to overcome things we’re intimidated by, how to perform specific tasks in the software we already invested in, how to hire the right people, maximize them, and direct the fallout gracefully when there are failures. We want to serve our customers better, polish up our processes, round out our strengths, enhance our expertise, acquire professional certifications, or earn a degree. We want to learn what’s working well for others, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to be better versions of ourselves, and thousands of other things we deem useful. Wow, plenty to learn! (What’s driving you to read this book right now?)

What’s preventing you from learning that which you believe will help you?
Reflecting on the interviews, a variety of things, as it turns out.

The most frequently lamented is a perceived lack of time, of course. Beyond that, confidence plays a role, poor assumptions about what’s actually required for us to learn, being overwhelmed by a vast array of options, guilt about level of commitment, perpetually learning without applying any of it, and in some cases, cost is also an obstacle.

Beyond the knowledge itself, the real takeaway from learning is CONFIDENCE!

When we feed our brains with educational information, we can increase mental acuity, and creative thinking. Besides, we gain confidence from new knowledge, as well as effectiveness in our chosen work and other interests. So many people I know aren’t working in their field of study from their university degree, but when we think about it, we realize that one of the most important things we gained was the self-esteem from just finishing it.

So, set yourself a goal.
One year I set a goal to complete 52 hours of “continuing ed,” which for me was self-directed professional development. I planned to pick an appropriate topic to learn for an hour each week and seek to apply it that same week. I didn’t plan it all out, I just held myself to the expectation and surprisingly, I went well over my goal of 52 hours that year! I did it through a combination of things. Early in the year, I reviewed materials from my second coaching certification from a few years earlier, a chapter each week. This was great because I had the opportunity to apply the learning right away as I was working with clients.  Later, I enrolled in a course that was several hours a week for 3 months. I had to drive over an hour to get there and at first I really disliked the time commitment, but I grew to love those drives, because I would either just sit in silence, processing what I’d learned in the course, or more frequently I would listen to professional development audio. I was getting blasted with good stuff from all angles!

I saw a huge growth spurt in my business that same year. Hmmm…

There are so many ways to learn! Sometimes we want to pick the quickest option, so we just jump in and do it...

But take a moment to consider which options will net you the best experience.

Here are some ideas:

Check out your software tutorials.
Once in a while, something will come up in conversation or in a session and I’m shocked by how many business owners don’t know how to use the tools they’ve invested in. Consider the tools you are using on a daily basis that you don’t really know how to use.  Which software program(s) came to mind?

Enroll in a workshop, course or conference.
Classes and conferences are great ways to gain specific knowledge from experts in a reasonable amount of time. They’re also good places to meet fellow learners and can expand your referral network. Courses can be online, local, or in a city you want to visit. I used to love receiving the non-credit course catalogue from my local community college. The options open up whole new worlds! I’ve taken language courses, all kinds of computer classes, and some fun design workshops. There are seemingly endless options to choose from. 

Read books.
I’ve had a LOT of clients say they have a goal to read 1 business book per month, but most of them don’t follow-through. Even if your goal is to read 1 book a year, you’ll be ahead of most people. I include digital, paper books, and audiobooks in this category. Besides soaking up an author’s wisdom, you gain so much insight into their personality when you read certain kinds of books.

Find a forum or online community.
It’s amazing what you can learn from groups online, isn’t it? I scroll through industry and company forums when I’m troubleshooting and in need of tech- or spec-related answers.  I’ve met so many amazing people through online communities, which led to tons of great experiences, business opportunities, and personal wins! Who are you hoping to connect with and for what purpose? Is it more about the personal connection or finding specific information?  There can be some downsides with communities, but the benefits of right-fit groups outweigh negatives by far!

Join a local club or national organization.
In person Mastermind groups and peer coaching groups can be game changers. It really depends on the fit with the leader, other members, and focus of the group. Civic groups like Kiwanis or Rotary have local speakers, book clubs typically have a theme, language clubs, professional networking groups, and some non-profit community groups, etc. (I’ve also had some great experiences meeting people and upping my game through running, triathlon, and yoga clinics and training groups.) Many of these have guest speakers on relevant topics which can be great sources of knowledge, but the key factor for you to consider is what is a typical member like, and are they people you want to add to your network? Mainly: what's the purpose and does this group meet your criteria?

Peruse periodicals.
Subscribe to trade publications or media sources geared toward your topics of interest. I like to check out entrepreneurial articles, women in business, coaching/training industry trends, and some random fun stuff now and then. What topics are you most interested in? Which periodicals have value for you?

Receive (limited) news feeds.
While I do know people who love reading the newspaper daily, doing the crossword, and it’s a cherished part of their routine, I know more people who are upset by the news they read or hear, and especially by the comments made by people with differing views. If this takes too much time, raises your blood pressure, or affects your mood, I suggest going on a “media diet” or cutting it out altogether. I’ve had this conversation countless times with friends and clients who were distracted by having the TV or radio on all day while working. They felt pressured to be up on current events, and claimed to enjoy it, but when they tried turning it off (at least during certain hours), they were pleasantly surprised by how much better they felt!

Have you tried using a news aggregator where you control the parameters? It’s heavenly. These tools allow you to receive only the news you need, so you don’t have to sift through yourself, or try to keep up with everything.

Go formal.
Is there a degree, certificate, or license you’ve been thinking about getting? Many clients have shared their concern that they think they need to get a(nother) degree before they can achieve their dreams. After exploring why they believe this and what they hope to gain, I can say that at least 80% of the time they realize it’s not required. It was a thought they got stuck on, sometimes as an excuse for not going after their dreams/goals (a reason they weren’t pursuing it with gusto, because going back to school is a huge commitment and the timing never seems quite right, etc.). So don’t feel like you have to! What are you expecting to get out of it?  If you decide school is the patch to pursue your dream, explore your options thoroughly and consider whether a degree or certificate is better for you.  Also, note that some heavily marketed certificate programs are big money-makers for the organization presenting it, but not really that valuable for the participant. 

All that said, I admit I’m a bit of a knowledge junkie so of course I support you if you say you’re going for it! With bigger programs, cost can be a factor too, but if this is a legit professional investment you will likely find a way to get a good ROI. Do your “homework” and find the best options to meet your criteria.

Follow experts with useful content.
It’s astounding how much knowledge we have at our fingertips via social media. My husband watches YouTube videos daily. I like flipping through posts on several different platforms and seeing what catches my eye. However it can also be a massive time-suck when unchecked. If this is your preferred method for gaining professional development, you need to implement boundaries and strategy for sure! LinkedIn can be a good place to find articles by experts that are easy to learn from and then get on with your day, as are specific blog sites, masterclasses, webinars, podcasts, authored by your favorite experts. 

Gain more specifics on the above in the Learn chapter of Lead With Moxie plus a checklist to help you make your learning time effective and efficient.

What other options do you have to gain the knowledge and experience that you’re after? You may know someone personally who’d be willing to show you how to do something specific. You can also hire a coach if there are development areas where you want accountability and tailored learning. You could seek a mentor to help you grow in an area of interest if they’re willing to spend time with you and have the experience you need.

Bottom line: make sure your learning is goal oriented.

In other words, ask yourself “What’s the point?” or “How will this help me?” or “How can I be sure this will improve results, and in what ways?” Set a learning-related goal. It doesn’t have to be big, but something specific that you can take action on.

Create your own learning action plan and decide your next steps with questions such as these:
▸What is it that you REALLY want to know?
▸What’s your best path?
▸What are the most important outcomes you hope to achieve?

Here's to your success!

PS- Wanna know what the 111 leaders I interviewed said?  Get the book here!  

PPS- Curious about what it would be like to work with me to overcome your perceived limitations?  Schedule a 20-minute block-busting call with me