5 Reasons You Can’t Afford NOT to Develop Yourself

Focusing on your development and learning can feel selfish. It takes time, and often, it takes money. Developing yourself brings so many benefits – to yourself, to your company, and to others – that you really can’t afford NOT to.

Development isn’t limited to formal classroom training. Practicing a new skill on the job or learning from a colleague or mentor can be every bit as important, and less expensive, too. That said, seminars and workshops can act as catalysts for change. Outside perspectives from instructors and other participants can be exceptionally valuable, and they can give you great ideas for new ways of doing things.

When you’re investing in your development:

1. You’re promotable
2. You’re hireable
3. You’re engaged
4. You’re confident
5. You can support others

You’re promotable

Learning new skills and developing the ones you already have can make you more valuable to your employer and prepare you for your next move. When an opportunity becomes available, you’ll be an obvious choice.

You’re hireable

If you’re promotable internally, chances are good that other companies would consider you an attractive candidate, too.

You’re engaged

It’s exciting to learn new things! And having the opportunity to develop your skills and abilities – and even better, to apply them on the job – makes work even more interesting than it usually is. If you’re a leader, don’t forget that Management by Development can be very effective!

You’re confident

Acquiring new skills and knowledge brings confidence and self-assurance, regardless of the subject. It’s not just the so-called “soft skills” training (like communications, or presentation skills, or interpersonal skills) that build confidence. Learning technical or job-specific skills helps you feel more self-assured, too.

You can support others

When you gain new expertise, it’s natural to share it with others. Through mentoring or sharing your newly gained knowledge, your learning can have a ripple effect for your team.

Always strive for a balance between development and contribution in your job. As you start a new role, you’re developing a lot, and contributing relatively little. There’s natural pressure to start balancing the scales by contributing as quickly as possible.

After you’ve been in the same role for a while, though, you may be contributing a lot, but developing little or not at all. Organizations may be okay with this imbalance, but you should never be – it doesn’t serve you (or them) in the long run.

What was your favorite development experience? Tell us about it below!