In a recently concluded training program, a young participant (who had been nominated by his manager to attend the program) had a question,” What’s the use of learning this skill if we don’t have the opportunity to use it in our current job?”
Many executives, both young and tenured, have this question. For instance, a software developer might wonder where he can try out his skills of presentation after attending a training program on ‘How to make powerful presentations’. His professional interaction with his team mates is limited to a few exchanges in an entire day. He probably makes one technical presentation in several months.
This presents a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma. What comes first?
- The opportunity for growth?
Or
- Developing the skill sets necessary even before the opportunity presents itself?
I believe that a fundamental difference in the mindset of professionals who think like leaders and those professionals who are content to be led, is in the way they prepare themselves to face opportunities, even before the opportunities present themselves.
Leaders are proactive. They do not wait for opportunities to present themselves. They actively pursue opportunities by continuously learning and up-skilling themselves. As they continue to learn new skills and upgrade existing ones, they gain fresh perspective about their roles.
That is when they see new opportunity in their existing jobs.