The article below mentions something we’ve all seen way too many times. The manager who gets promoted, but never developed any of their reports to do their job, and winds up having to continue doing it. In the worst-case scenario, since the culture was not to develop people to replace you, that person is probably also learning the new role from scratch while still doing a large chunk of their old role.
What a waste of time and talent.
I’ve said it before, but let me repeat it. Regarding technology, what you learned in college is probably pointless within 2-3 years. What you did at work 5-10 years ago is useless. Continuous learning and upskilling are not optional. Talking about skills-based hiring is a new trend, but it’s the trend that made sense even before it became popular. Your degrees and resume don’t matter nearly as much as what you can do right now and what you can learn going forward.
This is the business world we live in now. There is no cushy job where you can do the same thing in the same place for 30 years. That’s ancient history, and our career plans and hiring practices must match the current reality.
My hypothesis, and the reason for my list above, is that leaders don’t talk about being leaders any more than brilliant people talk about being smart or kind people talk about being kind. They just do it, and it shows. Leaders set the example, help others succeed, and solve problems. They share credit and take the blame. They are constantly learning from others instead of setting themselves apart. People follow them because of those characteristics. These are people you want to follow. They don’t have to raise a flag and beg people to follow them any more than the most intelligent people have to remind you of how smart they are. Their actions show it.
The quickest way to cut expenses is to cut staff. This is the way of the world in the 21st Century. Until someone comes along and changes that, it only makes sense to keep your options open. As the article I linked points out, that can mean keeping your knowledge and skills up to date, staying in touch with your network, and possibly looking at side gigs you could hop to if you find yourself in a company that is laying off staff.
I don’t see anything wrong with that. It’s not disloyal to your employer. That’s not the world we work in any longer.
Jim Calloway shared a tip about changing your cursor color and size on his Law Practice Tips blog, and it reminded me of a little bit of a pet peeve that I often have with people doing technology demos or training remotely. They move too fast.
Rather, they move as if we all saw the screen exactly as they do. When you’re doing remote learning like that, you have to account for two things when it comes to your cursor. One is video lag. The other is how small it may appear in the shared-screen environment.
My point was that as a trainer, I do quite a bit of presenting and public speaking. I also do a fair bit of storytelling, but I didn’t learn that skill in business school or from my technical education. I had to learn those skills later in my professional life. So, I take every opportunity to encourage young people to learn those skills. You may not be looking for a career as a speaker, actor, or Improvisational Comedy, but the skills you learn there will make you stand out in the workplace when it comes time to do a presentation or speak up for your ideas.
I was reminded of this again last week when I listened to my friend and former colleague Laura Prael being interviewed on the Aussie podcast Two Drunk Accountants.