Wanting growth is human. Most of us need to feel our brains work as we take on new challenges at work. But how can you do that intentionally and with your own interests in mind?
Start by defining what your work interests are. In many workplaces, there is a path forward that’s been laid out, but that path may very well not suit you. Don’t dismiss it without consideration, of course, but do think it through a bit. Look at people you know who have taken that path. Are they taking vacations like normal? Do they exhibit signs of persistent stress? Does that focus area seem appealing to you? If something in this particular career trajectory doesn’t quite fit, it’s time to consider other areas of growth.
To define those, start by making some notes about what parts of your workday are energizing for you. What still feels good to accomplish? Which tasks do you complete with a sense of satisfaction? List these so you can see any patterns or areas of focus they suggest.
Next, take a peek around you. Who’s doing what? Are there any areas that nobody is paying attention to? Are there things you see that could be done better? Is someone doing a task by default but you would be a better fit for it? List these thoughts as well—I am a great believer in capturing things in writing so you can look them over later on.
Then think about what kind of training or mentoring each of those areas would require. Think, too, about what kind of training you would enjoy. For example, I was once sent to a terrible manager training session because the people in my office had heard the sessions were good, but it was all people from the management training company (what even is that?) talking about what to do. Yes, it was two older cis white men, as you could probably guess. They didn’t appear to have any credentials besides being older cis white men, and they didn’t offer any proof that the technique worked. If I’d chosen my own training, I would have sought something more discourse-based, with evidence of some sort of focus on diversity and some sort of emphasis on proof that the tools worked.
That actually leads me to an important side note: sometimes your workplace will just send you to trainings someone feels you need. If you can, request complimentary trainings or different avenues than those, being sure to state your rationale. In the case of my crummy leadership training session, I wish I had asked for a follow-up that had a DEI focus or maybe something around best practices for different age groups.
If your work doesn’t have any particular notions of where to get the training you want, you get to do some research. That means you get to ask how the trainer teaches, what that person’s background is, who the target audience is. You also get to see if you can find information that there are people who share your interests who have taken the training before, or of any of the testimonials people have submitted resonate with you. Think about things like class size, learning format, learning outcomes. Look up the instructors’ biographies and their LinkedIn profiles. Regardless of who’s paying (this really should be your employer), the time you’re spending is yours, so things should feel exciting.
Finally, remember that, for many of us, growth isn’t always going to be linear. You might find you want to learn about what another department does, or maybe take a deeper dive into a task that has fallen by the wayside. You deserve to grow in the ways that make sense to you! Bonus: if you can do that, you will be far more effective in your job.
