PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TOO SKILLED FOR YOUR OWN GOOD

TOO SKILLED FOR YOUR OWN GOOD

by Carla Howatt

Sometimes you can do more harm than good by your training choices. That’s right, sometimes you can take training in a topic or skill that will, in the long term, cause you problems.

Too many times people make their decisions on professional development around things that make them feel comfortable or things they feel confident in learning. Like many things in life, staying in your comfort zone can be the least safe place.

Debbie is an entrepreneur, who works from home and is a one-person show. She feels she can’t afford an assistant or to hire out any of her tasks. When it comes time to take some professional development, she gravitates to things she knows she will be good at or that will help her accomplish some of the tasks she thinks she can’t afford to delegate to someone else.

Instead of figuring out what will take her forward in her business or advance her skills and strengths, she takes courses or workshops that will fill in some of the gaps or teach her how to do jobs other people should be doing.

Debbie has taken courses on website development, social media marketing, design, bookkeeping and even how to create a click-funnel. She’s actually keeping herself small by spending her time learning how to do these things and doing them herself.

Now, at first glance, you might think that learning tasks or skills that will save you money would be a good investment of your professional development dollars, wouldn’t you? As an entrepreneur, there are so many things you need to do that you can’t possibly be good at all of them. As a start-up or a small business, it should save some valuable dollars if you can do them yourself. Let’s see if this is true by going back to Debbie. Getting up at seven in the morning, she is sitting at her desk by eight. She starts every day by making a list of things she wants to accomplish. On a typical day, her task list might look like this:

• Make updates to website and troubleshoot existing issue with links • Start working on a click-funnel landing page • Set up new group and page on Facebook • Create video for social media • Edit video • Design ad for promotion on Canva • Do bookkeeping

Usually, Debbie doesn’t complete her to-do list. She carries what she hasn’t done over to the next day and adds more. This list of tasks is recycled, things are added, and Debbie works hard. She is convinced she has it together and she is making her business work.

But have you noticed that there are a few things missing from her list? These are things that never seem to make it on the list, and they are usually the things she doesn’t like to do but that are vital. When is Debbie working on growing her business? Where are the tasks that show what her business is actually about? Is she a web developer? A social media marketer? Maybe a videographer? Nope. She is a freelance writer. She has hopes of one day having contract writers working for her so she can scale her work.

She has taken just enough professional development in areas outside of her core work and mission and outside of growing her business that she spends very little time actually doing the work of her business. She has no time to attend networking events or make sales calls. She certainly has no time to go away for a couple days and plan strategically about how she intends to get to the point in her business that she dreams.

Debbie is a prime example of someone who has taken professional development that is actually hindering the growth of her business. If she continues at this rate, she will never have time to grow her business to where she wants because she is too busy doing tasks she shouldn’t be doing.

Many people may be thinking that it is all well and good to say this, but when you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money. This rationalization only holds up so far. If you add up the cost of all the courses and workshops, it is often not much less than if you had someone just do it for you.

In today’s technologically advanced workplace, there are many affordable options available. There are several online sites that match up people who have skills with those who need that work done. If you would rather not use that approach, investigate local schools – both high school and post-secondary - to see if they have classes in the areas you need. Students who are just learning may be interested in helping you out for a reasonable price. Maybe post something on Facebook or throw your request out to your network to see if they know anyone in your budget who can help.

So, make sure that you are not spending your time and money learning tasks that someone else can do while you do the important work of growing your business and living the life you have chosen to its fullest.

Chapter lead for SHARP Women Heartland, Carla Howatt is a communications professional with more than 20 years experience. Currently she owns a publishing company and she is also an author and a recovering politician.