Are You Challenging Your Team (and Yourself) to Develop New Skills?

Few industries evolve as quickly as technology. As leaders and professionals in IT, it’s essential to keep up not only with the ever-changing knowledge, but also with the skills necessary to adapt and excel in this dynamic environment.

However, the time constraints we face make it challenging to acquire new skills or allocate time for training. But neglecting professional growth can lead to stagnation and diminish our relevance to the business. Therefore, it’s important to prioritize professional development for ourselves and our employees.

From a process perspective, I’ve had great success with following this framework for skill development:

1. Require one significant learning goal each year as part of their performance goals. Help your employees identify one specific, sizeable learning goal for the year. This can be a certification, a comprehensive study course, a book study or a training class. Consider whether the goal should be an individual one or part of a team challenge. Certifications such as the ones offered by HDI could be a great option, allowing your team to share the information and the journey to completion. I have required the HDI Help Desk Analyst certification and the Desktop Support certification for my teams in the past. While they do require financial investment, having common knowledge and language has been beneficial in building our service.
2. Require a report or presentation at the end of a learning path.
   This can be delivered from the employee to the manager or from the employee to their entire team. The presentation should include the key components of the learning, personal observations from the material and potential ways that knowledge can benefit their work. Having the employee share the information with a larger group not only gives them practice of presenting ideas, but provides a learning opportunity for others on the team.
3. Reinforce learning in subsequent initiatives or conversations.
   If the employee identified ways in which to put the learning into action, set deadlines for those efforts and discuss ways in which you can support them. Consider conducting a check-in conversation several months after the learning goal was reached to reinforce the concepts and build upon the learning.

How to deal with learning goal challenges

There are several challenges that arise with identifying and completing a learning goal. First, many struggle to identify which goal to pursue. Begin by asking two main questions:

• What opportunity do you see on the horizon which might require a certain credential or skillset?
• What topics or areas align with your interests?

The most valuable certifications that I have found align with current organizational responsibilities but pave the way to future career opportunities. If you are a leader, discuss opportunities on the horizon with your staff as they may not readily see these from their current position. 

The second challenge is locating available resources. While certifications and conferences may require financial investment, there are plenty of other training opportunities available at minimal or no cost. 

Identify courses on platforms such as YouTube or LinkedIn Learning. Investigate local community meetings, such as HDI Local Chapters, or local conferences. I’ve had several memorable experiences with staff doing individual or group book studies, which have yielded great conversations and innovative ideas.

Another challenge is the commitment of time from the employees, in addition to their current responsibilities. The investment in professional development should be shared between the organization and the employee. When feasible, an organization should support training or certification costs. Managers can also help by setting aside time during the business day for employees to focus on their learning goals.

However, not all learning and study time can be guaranteed during business hours. It is important for employees to understand that while the organization supports their learning and growth, they also have a responsibility in that learning process. Ensuring that the learning path is valuable to their overall career growth can help gain buy-in for any personal time that may be needed for additional study.

Building a culture of continual development and learning yields tremendous benefits for both the individual and the organization. Learning prompts us to explore different ideas and perspectives, approach our daily work and current challenges in a new way, and reminds us that we are capable of so much more. 

What are you going to learn next?