Taking charge of your development

- When you're leading yourself, even if you have a great boss, it's important to take ownership of your development. Not only does this serve you well in terms of your knowledge base, but it also demonstrates to senior leadership that you value personal growth, which increases your value to the organization. Taking charge of your own learning means finding things that interest you and using those as opportunities to grow. This might take the form of continued education or a seminar, or even a book. When asking your company to invest time or money into your development, you need to make a compelling case. Here are three things you need to cover. First, specificity. Lay out a development path with specific content and actions. If all you're saying is, I want learning and development opportunities, you may as well scream it into the abyss. If you're making the case to your boss or HR, presenting them with something clear will make it easier for them to say yes. Do the homework yourself and know exactly what you want before you ask. The second thing you need to demonstrate is value. When you ask for specific opportunities, emphasize how this will make you more valuable to the organization, and the organization more valuable overall. What kind of results or return should the organization expect from the investment? The third theme is emotion. Yes, your boss and HR want to know the investment will deliver a monetary ROI, but they also want to see that you are excited and really care about it. You can show your enthusiasm about growing your skills or improving your leadership no matter what development you're seeking. When discussing it, do something simple, smile, and make it easy for your leaders to say yes. Tell them why it matters to you. Organizations want passionate people, and even if they don't say yes this time, it leaves you in good standing. But what if, after making your fabulous case, your company isn't willing to invest in your development the way you hoped for? Some organizations have policies that don't allow much flexibility in learning and development. All hope is not lost. You can still take charge of your own development for little or no cost. Think about the goals you wanted to accomplish, or the areas you wanted to shore up. Through that lens, here are some sources of learning and development that can help you get there. The first is of course online learning. You're already here, so it's likely that either you or your organization is investing in your development. While this is a leadership course, there are tons of courses on more role-specific subjects, make use of those. There are also lots of books on every topic. They're affordable and they take your knowledge to the next level. As the author of five books, I can tell you, the writer spent months, sometimes years, pulling together the best content and organizing it in the most helpful way for you, the reader. If reading isn't your style, check out Audible.com for books you can play during your commute or while you exercise. And you can always learn from those around you by networking. Organizations like Meetup offer tons of free events, both in person and virtual for professionals to learn from each other. Even if these people aren't in your exact industry, a well-rounded knowledge base will make you more valuable and teach you a different way to look at things. The main thing you need to remember is this, developing yourself doesn't come from a place of weakness, it's a sign of your strength.