Career Dynamix: Professional Development

Professional development is essential during all stages of your career, particularly during the stages of early career, mid-career, and re-career.

Generally, professional development is not your only focus in any of these stages; making finding the time and energy to devote to professional development a challenge for many.  You are likely already aware of the many reasons that professional development is easily pushed aside, or brushed off the to-do-list.  Instead, let's address why making time for professional development is important.

Simply put, the more professional skills you  have, the more options are available to you.  That is what it comes down to, but that statement can be interpreted in several  meaningful ways.

1. Tools in your Toolbox:  More options available as solutions to problems you face on the job.
2. Career Opportunities:  More career options available to you.
3. Increase your Value:  More options you have to direct your present position.

There are ways both small and large to develop yourself professionally.  Which should you be doing?  Any of them - and all that you can do.  Whatever you are able to do, using whatever 'time making' strategy works best for you.  Every step is a step forward in professional development.

Which professional development activities can you make time for:

• Reading professional blogs
• Reading monthly professional journals
• Attending continuing education workshops offered by your professional organization
• Meeting (weekly/monthly) with a mentor or a seasoned colleague to learn what they're doing
• Stretching and honing skills you don't utilize in your present position through volunteering
• Working with a career coach
• Taking an occasional skill development course or workshop
• Taking an occasional refresher class to keep current
• Working toward an advanced academic degree

Doing all of these, all of the time, is not realistic for most.  Doing some of these all of the time is successfully managing your career dynamix. 

Organizational Change Dynamix

Simply put, organizational change is necessary to maintain the organization and business relevance.  The need to change is driven by both internal and external forces.  Internal forces; such as, a need to restructure, realign the business model, or reorganize the workforce.  External forces that drive change are often competition, economic conditions and government regulation.

What dynamix does an organization need to thrive?  The short answer to the question is change readiness.  Change readiness must be ingrained in the organizational culture and supported by the organization's leadership, management, and employees - at all levels of the organization.  Creating an organizational culture that is adaptable ready for change requires an assessment of the organization's current state of change readiness and developing a plan to increase the organization's readiness for change.  The plan must be specifically designed to move the organization from the actual current state to the desired state of readiness taking into consideration the unique nature of the organization - this is what we refer to as the organization's change dynamix.  

Simply put, it is unlikely that a mass market "how to" book will meet the specific needs of the organization and be the right recipe for developing an adaptable, change ready organization.  There are numerous change models, methods, and processes that make up the toolbox of an organizational development professional.  Improving an organization's change dynamix can be a costly effort, and not necessarily in terms of the cost of assessing and implementing change.  To succeed; shareholders, management, employees, and customers  must have confidence in the effort succeeding.  Failed attempts undermine future attempts, making it crucial to do it right the first time.