Take Control of Your Career by Taking Control of Your Learning [+Freebie Development Plan]
You need a personal training plan, not just another course
"What do you mean what training do I need this year? The company doesn't provide training courses for my role."
As a long-time Learning & Development professional, I've heard this from employees repeatedly, and they are correct.
Because there isn't a course called "Get Mary Jane in Customer Services ready for her next management role in the pharmaceutical industry."
Why?
Because it's too niche.
Training courses are designed to get large groups of people from being unable to do something, to doing that something competently. They aren't intended for individuals.
Mary Jane doesn't need a course; she needs a development plan.
And so do you.
To create a development plan, you need to clarify:
Where you want to get to in your career or business
What you need to learn to get there
How to access that training or experience
Where is your ladder?
Start by setting clear career or business goals for the next year to 18 months. This will ensure that the training and experience you seek align with your desired destination.
You might be climbing the ladder, but it must be against the right wall.
Do you want to:
Get a promotion at your existing workplace?
Change jobs?
Move to a different industry?
Start or expand a business?
Move from corporate to contracting?
Take a job with fewer responsibilities.
Climb the leadership ladder?
Think about what that looks like. Having a clear vision of your career destination will keep you focused.
Once you know where you want to be, research what skills and experience you need to get there.
Whether you're an employee or an entrepreneur, there is always something to learn.
What development do you need?
For your next career move, you may need:
New skills - such as being able to create an accurate and detailed report
More experience - such as time in an industry or a role
Specific qualifications - a certificate, diploma, degree, or professional qualification
To discover what those are, use Google.
Look for:
Job advertisements
Position descriptions
The LinkedIn profiles of people who do the job you're aiming for
But don't stop there.
I've helped many people prepare for their next role, and some of the common areas of development are:
Industry Knowledge
Are you up to date with your industry's latest research and news? You'll need to level up your knowledge if you want a promotion or move to a new company.
New jargon or legislation, changing ideas of best practice, and industry news are all necessary to stay relevant.
Organizational or Business Knowledge
Do you know what's happening in your organization or the one you want to join?
Are you aware of the company goals and KPIs?
What's in the press and social media?
Have you seen the latest company report?
Do you have defined budgets and goals if you own or are setting up a business? A marketing plan? Do you know the laws around taxes? Are you part of a small business organization?
Occupational Skills
Occupational skills are the tasks you need to be able to do in your job. For example, someone in the marketing team must be competent at managing their organization's social media presence.
Look at your existing role and the role you aspire to and see what you need to learn. A would-be writer needs copywriting or editing skills, whereas if you're targeting an HR Manager role, you'll need to be aware of current employment legislation.
These skills are the nitty-gritty of your daily work life.
Systems
In the workforce, you must know your way around a computer. Every employee has a tablet or smartphone, and most of us navigate many systems and programs daily to get our work done.
You don't have to go full Skynet to get where you want to be, but you may need to up your game.
Would upskilling on any of the following help you get to where you want to be?
Work or industry computer systems
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, Outlook
Other tools like Canva, Grammarly, Notion, Calendly
ChatGPT, Midjourney and other AI tools
Organizational/Time Management Skills
For most jobs, you need to be able to organize your work and manage your time. And this is where I've seen many professionals struggle, especially when moving up the career ladder.
Delivering results to a deadline and managing a deluge of emails and conflicting priorities come naturally to some, but many people are overwhelmed and don't know where to start.
If your organizational skills and time management could be improved, add them to your list.
Report Writing
The need for training in writing, editing, grammar, and report writing comes as a shock to many employees.
After all, how hard can it be to write a report? Especially when a new supervisor's idea of a report is an email that could fit on a page of A4 with room to spare.
Many newly promoted professionals are horrified when asked to deliver an indexed 40-page report with tables, graphs, and detailed analysis.
Business writing, especially report writing, is a skill, but luckily, one that you can learn.
Leadership Skills
Many organizations expect new leaders to work out what works and what doesn't in a bizarre 'sink or swim' scenario.
You want to be a leader, right? You've got the pay rise and the new job title. So, get on with it.
Sadly, this doesn't work, especially if the existing leaders in the new leader's orbit are poor role models.
Don't wait for some mythical leadership training to appear.
There are plenty of ways to learn about leadership if your organization isn't willing to train you.
Interpersonal Skills
Are you a people person who communicates easily? Or do you struggle with workplace interactions at the water cooler and getting your point across in meetings?
Soft skills aren't taught in school but are essential in business and can be learned.
Remember to be specific about what you struggle with, for example:
Small talk
Staying calm
Knowing when to talk in meetings
Striking up a rapport with colleagues
Remember, the more specific you are about your development needs, the easier it will be to find the right resources.
How are you going to get the development You Need?
In a recent newsletter, Tim Denning, author of Unfiltered, listed the skills you need to grow an online business. My development plan for 2025 is that list. I may learn some of it from courses, but not all of it.
Some of it may be from reading, researching, watching YouTube videos, or asking Masterclass buddies.
Yes, you can learn many things from an online or LinkedIn course and should explore courses as an option.
But even if you find a course, it may be only partially relevant, too expensive, or you can't access it.
Luckily, there are plenty of other ways to get the development you need. But you do have to take the time to locate individualized training (it's not called self-directed learning for nothing!).
Hot Tip
As a Learning & Development Manager, I was often approached at my desk to answer questions about Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. When I Googled "How do I do xyz in Word" and got the answer, my colleagues were impressed.
Even though I just Googled it in front of them!
And here's a trade secret. If you are lucky enough to have an L&D professional help you create a training plan, they will use Google to find the necessary resources.
It's that simple.
For example, if you've identified that you need Report Writing Skills, you would Google:
Report Writing Skills Courses online
Report Writing Skills courses free
Report Writing Skills courses in Auckland
Best resources for writing business proposals
Best books about business writing
Online forums about business writing
Your AI Assistant can help, too
I wouldn't rely 100 percent on what ChatGPT, or other AIs tell you, but at a high level, it's fairly accurate.
Put in a detailed prompt, and you'll get some useful information about the skills, experience, and qualifications you need.
Example:
I'm an HR Advisor with three years of experience. I want to move into my first HR Manager role with a small to medium company in NZ. Please design a development plan for me.
As a starting point, ChatGPT is useful, but use other sources and a dose of common sense to check it.
Types of Resources
For most topics, there are masses of resources available, such as:
Books and articles
Research reports
Trade, business, or industry journals
Trade, business, or industry websites
Industry LinkedIn and FB groups
You Tube
Podcasts
Online events
Conferences & Workshops
And don't forget your network. The following people might have the knowledge you need and be willing to help you or at least point you in the right direction:
Your boss
Your team
Workplace subject matter experts
Your friends and family
And at work, ask for:
Stretch projects
Mentoring
Coaching
Acting up opportunities when your boss is away
Summary
Personal training plan, development plan, call it what you will, but if you are ambitious and want to move up the corporate ladder or start or grow a business, you need one.
And you'll have to design it yourself.
Remember:
Decide where you want to be in your career or business and what that looks like in detail
Research what skills, experience, or qualifications you need to get there
Use Google and your network to discover where you can get that development
Congratulations, you've got a training plan!
Next steps:
Block out some time in your calendar to action it!
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