Growth

 

One thing I learned when attending professional development courses, reading leadership white papers/books, participating in trainings, etc. is that we are responsible for our own growth. Managers can't force us to grow, no matter how many tools and seminars they throw our way; it's really up to us to actually do the work. I'm tempted to say that this is especially true now that I work as a freelancer, but upon reflection I have to say that this was just as true when I worked in a more traditional work environment. 

We rarely had assigned online training courses/modules, so I took it upon myself to do them. When I attended a meeting as a representative of my organization, I took it upon myself to take notes and distribute them to the team along with recommendations for improved processes/procedures. When I was promoted to a manager of a direct report, I paid my way to attend an in-depth, multi-day, in-person training for first time managers so that I could set myself up for success. (Every other person in my cohort was sent there by their company, and some didn't even want to be there.) I've been involved in some great book and article clubs at work, and I've also been involved in some really meaningful ones with just a couple of coworkers when we wanted to expand our thinking and hone our skills. 

My sister and I are enjoying our work as freelancers. We have the flexibility we crave while doing work we love. We've been able to pursue our passions. We've also been reminded that we are responsible for our own growth. We seek opportunities to learn and to apply what we've learned into practice. For instance, we've both taken the same online courses and then immediately applied what we learned so that we could better retain it. Because we want to remain valuable to the people that give us work, we push ourselves to our edges so that we can continue to evolve, adapt, and improve. I'm still busy, despite the fact that I can choose what I take on and can create my own schedule. Why? I want to grow.

Are you working at your edge? How do you drive your own growth?