Initiating Improvement
I once read this somewhere: “Nobody’s perfect. I am nobody.”
As tickling as that may be, it’s something to consider. Often times, when we have held the same old responsibilities at work for a considerable amount of time, it’s easy to slip into this cosy assumption that we’re doing great and that there’s no need to put in any more effort for improvement. In other words, we think we’ve pretty much perfected our skills and then start to take it easy and rest on our laurels.
The truth is that there’s always something that we can work at making better. Every process or procedure can always be made more efficient in one way or another, and so can our abilities. Some of us may be privileged to have bosses who look into continuously stretching us and evaluating how we can grow further in our career, but not all of us are this lucky. Most of us will need to take our own initiative to examine how we may boost our own work capabilities in order to expand our career advancement opportunities.
Here are some simple and practical options you might want to consider for improving yourself at work:
Read regularly
As busy as your schedule may be, there are bound to be pockets of time where you can squeeze in reading a page or two each day. This could be whilst waiting for transport, or when winding down at the end of the day. Choose titles that are relevant to your profession, or self improvement books to help you in areas you are weak in. You will be surprised at how much extra knowledge or tips you can pick up just by reading.
Subscribe to websites or mailing lists
Identify a source of information that would be able to contribute towards increasing your competency for your job, then request to join the mailing list or email list. For example, this could be an association for those in your profession, where you can glean updates on the latest industry standards or find out about relevant upcoming events such as seminars or workshops within your area of expertise.
Learn from seniors
During your spare time at work, seek out a senior whom you look up to and engage them in a fruitful conversation about areas in your job that concern you. Try to ask them how they would handle some of the difficult situations you face, and learn from the advice and real life experiences that they share with you. It will save you the trouble of having to learn from your own mistakes.
Attend courses
Admittedly, there’s less time to pursue further education or training for our profession when we’re in full time employment. However, perhaps you can negotiate for some time off to attend a seminar or short term course that is relevant to what you do at work. Remember to be prepared to justify to your boss why it would be beneficial for you to go for a particular course or training session. If you ask nicely enough, maybe you could end up getting subsidized by the company for attending the course too.
Self evaluation
Once in awhile, take a breather during work hours and evaluate how your current performance has been. Are there things you would like to do better? Weaknesses or challenges you would like to overcome? Examine yourself and make a list of what you’d like to see change, and then work out steps you can take to achieve those goals. Sometimes it might not require much for the improvement to take place – just a little extra conscious initiative on your part could really go a long way.
These are certainly not the only ways to improve yourself at work, but are good for starters. In due time, you’ll find your own unique techniques for enhancing your capabilities. No matter the method, what’s most important is that there is a consistent state of progress. In the long run, you can be sure that you’ll definitely reap the benefits of your efforts.
As tickling as that may be, it’s something to consider. Often times, when we have held the same old responsibilities at work for a considerable amount of time, it’s easy to slip into this cosy assumption that we’re doing great and that there’s no need to put in any more effort for improvement. In other words, we think we’ve pretty much perfected our skills and then start to take it easy and rest on our laurels.
The truth is that there’s always something that we can work at making better. Every process or procedure can always be made more efficient in one way or another, and so can our abilities. Some of us may be privileged to have bosses who look into continuously stretching us and evaluating how we can grow further in our career, but not all of us are this lucky. Most of us will need to take our own initiative to examine how we may boost our own work capabilities in order to expand our career advancement opportunities.
Here are some simple and practical options you might want to consider for improving yourself at work:
Read regularly
As busy as your schedule may be, there are bound to be pockets of time where you can squeeze in reading a page or two each day. This could be whilst waiting for transport, or when winding down at the end of the day. Choose titles that are relevant to your profession, or self improvement books to help you in areas you are weak in. You will be surprised at how much extra knowledge or tips you can pick up just by reading.
Subscribe to websites or mailing lists
Identify a source of information that would be able to contribute towards increasing your competency for your job, then request to join the mailing list or email list. For example, this could be an association for those in your profession, where you can glean updates on the latest industry standards or find out about relevant upcoming events such as seminars or workshops within your area of expertise.
Learn from seniors
During your spare time at work, seek out a senior whom you look up to and engage them in a fruitful conversation about areas in your job that concern you. Try to ask them how they would handle some of the difficult situations you face, and learn from the advice and real life experiences that they share with you. It will save you the trouble of having to learn from your own mistakes.
Attend courses
Admittedly, there’s less time to pursue further education or training for our profession when we’re in full time employment. However, perhaps you can negotiate for some time off to attend a seminar or short term course that is relevant to what you do at work. Remember to be prepared to justify to your boss why it would be beneficial for you to go for a particular course or training session. If you ask nicely enough, maybe you could end up getting subsidized by the company for attending the course too.
Self evaluation
Once in awhile, take a breather during work hours and evaluate how your current performance has been. Are there things you would like to do better? Weaknesses or challenges you would like to overcome? Examine yourself and make a list of what you’d like to see change, and then work out steps you can take to achieve those goals. Sometimes it might not require much for the improvement to take place – just a little extra conscious initiative on your part could really go a long way.
These are certainly not the only ways to improve yourself at work, but are good for starters. In due time, you’ll find your own unique techniques for enhancing your capabilities. No matter the method, what’s most important is that there is a consistent state of progress. In the long run, you can be sure that you’ll definitely reap the benefits of your efforts.
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