Blog

Mike Bennett, Past President, Joanne Royce, Dave Neilly, President, HRPAH

Joanne Royce Accepts Volunteer Position with the HRPAH 

CALL for SPEAKERS 

When it comes to self-development, whose responsibility is it? Studies show organizations investing in the learning and development of its people are more successful than organizations that don’t, however, not every organization has a philosophy or budget for learning and development.

Sometimes I hear: ”My manager won’t pay for that workshop.” or “The company doesn’t pay for continuing education.” So what happens then? Do you abdicate the power of your own self-development because the company won’t pay for it? When we do that we are giving away control of our life.  And whose life is it anyway?

I had an interesting discussion this past week. A participant in a self-development workshop had an AHA moment from an exercise where the facilitator asked “What factors in life created the person you are today?”  Participants in the workshop came up with the following list:

• Genetics – we are born with our own unique DNA ”code”
• Role models - we are impacted by the parents and caregivers we had from birth to 6 years of age
• Life experiences – as we journey through life, critical life experiences have an impact on us

Notice that all of the above are things that are beyond our control or sphere of influence. Of course our life experiences depend, to a certain extent, on our choices but essentially the above factors are beyond our control.

No one came up with the 4th factor which is:

• the amount of time we spend on our own self-development!

Isn’t that interesting!

How much time do you spend each week on your own self-development? We spend time eating, sleeping, exercising our bodies, but how much time do we spend exercising and expanding our minds and our knowledge?

The next time your boss or manager tells you they can’t send you on a workshop or a course, don’t give up power over your own self-development. Here’s what you can do:

• Do some research and find a list of top selling business or self-development books. Then buy them or go to the library and start reading.
• Take some time and search the Internet; there are plenty of free on-line assessments you can take to find out your communication and management style and more. Read articles and information but be careful of the source.
• Talk to highly successful people; what did they do to get to where they are today? What are their favourite business books?
• Schedule time for self-development; I know one person who gets up at 5:00 a.m. every day in order to have some quiet time to read and reflect before the day starts.
• Set goals and a budget for taking continuing education courses or workshops that interest you. You might think you have no energy after working all day, but once you get to class, you will feel energized by the discussions and learning taking place.
• Need more flexibility, check out on-line courses that you can schedule to fit your life style.
• Start a “Business Book Club” at work, or with your business network, and schedule time at lunch or after work to discuss key concepts and learning. Sharing your thoughts with others and listening to their insights deepens the learning experience.
• Start a “Learning Library” at work where people can sign out books to read.

Most organizations can find the budget for a pizza lunch for your “Business Book Club” meetings or funds for purchasing books for a “Learning Library.”

If you are reading this blog, please take the time to share your favourite business / self-development book and why, in the comments section below.

Take the initiative for your own learning and self-development, and don’t give up control! Remember, whose life is it anyway?

What makes an organization a great place to work?  I recently had the opportunity to tour a workplace that made me say, “I want to work for this company!”  Why? Because that is how I “felt” after the tour. So how do you connect a “feeling” to company culture? How can you “read” an organization’s culture? 

One way is by taking a look at the physical surroundings. It tells a story and in this case, a good story. The office was decorated with vibrant colours and modular furniture. The lobby looked like an extension of the outdoors and the same could be said about the boardroom. There are birch tree trunks and birch tree wallpaper in the lobby and in the boardroom which bring the outside into the office! 

Employees personalized their workstations and areas with pictures and knick knacks, and colourful graphics and pictures lined the walls. 

The office furniture was modular and open.  Everyone, including the CEO worked from open cubicles. In fact, the CEO’s cubicle seemed to me to be located in an open walkway! 

The company was getting ready to hold an “Olympics” event where different teams designed obstacles and then competed against each other. The “obstacles” were all over the office and they were very creative! 

Clients are given a “leaf” to commemorate their relationship with the organization. They take the leaf away to be personalized by their own team and return it to hang on the client tree in the company’s cafeteria. 

There is a huge family tree on the wall and every employee customizes a picture of themselves representing who they are as a person. When an employee reaches a certain “years of service” milestone, a bigger picture is placed on the family tree. 

The company has great technology and resources to support employee success. 

So what “story” does your workplace tell about the culture of the organization? Does it say, come work for us?  We’ll make sure you have a great time, be more creative than you have ever been in your life, AND be motivated by working with great clients and co-workers.  Come on in, you’ll be so engaged in what you are doing, you won’t want to leave. 

My tour of Root Learning’s head office in Ohio, USA certainly told me a great story. To learn more about Root Learning and what they do, click here.