What's Standing in Your Way of Developing New Skills?

Staying relevant in a rapidly changing business environment requires an investment in time to develop new skills. No matter what role you are in, if you are not continuously growing and evolving, you will very quickly go backwards.

Whether it is a salesperson who needs to go from order taker to strategic business person, or a future leader who needs to evolve from a star player to a head coach mentality, everyone needs to evolve their skills in order to succeed.

So what stops us from learning new skills? In our experience, there are five key issues:

1. Too much theory, not enough practice. “Analysis paralysis” can cause us to spend too much time on theory. But learning through rapid trial and error can often be much more beneficial. We recommend applying a new model or approach to a real life situation so you can quickly learn what works and what doesn’t.
2. Fear of failure. There’s a saying that fear stands for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” Our fears are often fueled by irrational beliefs. Try to stay mindful that successful people look at mistakes as outcomes or results, not as failure.
3. Fear of success. It sounds strange, but very often business leaders and business owners hold themselves back – consciously or subconsciously – due to the perceived extra pressures and lifestyle changes that seem apparent with increased success. Remember that success is not a destination, but rather a journey. We recommend revisiting your personal time management skills to reduce waste and accommodate success.
4. Lack of leadership support. Leadership support is essential to share expectations, monitor results, and celebrate outcomes. We recommend treating each day as a new opportunity to “play like a champion today.”
5. Not enough time. We all have 168 hours in a week; no more, no less. How we leverage that time is often the difference between success and failure. Do any of these sound familiar? If these challenges are standing in your way of developing new skills, we encourage you to develop a plan to overcome them.

One tool that can help, particularly if you struggle with not having enough time, is our Time Management Diagnostic. This is a useful tool to evaluate the way you currently invest your time and how to maximize your return on that investment. Click here to take the diagnostic.

Robert S. Olszweski is a director with Kreischer Miller and a specialist for the Center for Private Company Excellence. Contact him at Email.    

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