Your Professional Development Doesn’t Need to Be Put on Hold
Your Professional Development Doesn’t Need to Be Put on Hold
Your Professional Development Doesn’t Need to Be Put on Hold
By Emily Stone
June 1, 2020
Summary
How does one manage their career and professional development during a pandemic? Cast offered advice during a recent webinar from Kellogg Executive Education, based on research for his book, The Right-and Wrong-Stuff: How Brilliant Careers Are Made and Unmade.
Often during periods of rapid transition-because of a major change to an industry or to a person's specific job-people become stuck in their old ways or are afraid to be vulnerable and try something new.
There are strategies for becoming unstuck, Cast says.
For starters, try dipping your toes in new waters, what Cast calls testing "Your provisional self." For example, if you're thinking about a career switch, maybe start out by doing some consulting in the area you're interested in before you decide to go all in on a new job.
"It's kind of like putting on a new suit and seeing how it fits," he says.
Even in your current role, you may be able to test out new skills or responsibilities in low-risk ways.
What you want to avoid is getting stuck in what Cast calls "Version 1.0," meaning you aren't able to adapt to new circumstances.
"We have to realize there is a seismic shift going on," Cast says.
A key way to explore this is through self-reflection, Cast says.
"You capture what's on your mind. You capture new ideas. You capture things that are worrying you. You capture things that are joyful. You capture areas of gratitude. You capture fears, new ideas you might want to pursue," he says.
Reference
Stone, E. (2020, June 1). Your Professional Development Doesn't Need to Be Put on Hold. Retrieved June 03, 2020, from https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/professional-development-covid