The Lana Learn team continuously works on improving personal skills in the workplace to create a more collaborative and higher-performing team.
Personal skills are the abilities and attributes that enable you to interact effectively with others, manage your emotions, cope with stress, and achieve your goals. Now, some of these may sound far too obvious, like communication, teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. However, personal skills are essential for success in any job. Improving personal skills in the workplace can help you collaborate better with your colleagues, customers, and managers and perform your tasks efficiently and effectively. This blog post outlines some of the ways the Lana Learn team focuses on improving personal skills in the workplace,
Learning from Others
Learning from others is one of the best methods to develop your individual skills at work. You can learn a lot from your coworkers. They bring various backgrounds, viewpoints, and strengths. Simply paying attention, asking questions, and giving feedback can bring a lot of value to your personal development. Learning from others can also assist you in forming a growth mindset, which is the belief that your skills can be improved with work and criticism.
So, how do I improve my own skills and knowledge by learning from others?
- Seek feedback. An effective tool for learning and development is feedback. Feedback assists you in discovering new methods of operation as well as your strengths and shortcomings. You can ask your manager, peers, customers, for feedback. Make sure you trust those people to offer you constructive and honest ideas. To evaluate your own performance and talents, you can also use surveys or self-assessment tools. Be receptive, considerate, and open-minded when receiving feedback. Use it as a chance to develop and learn rather than viewing it as criticism or a cause for concern.
- Find a mentor. A mentor is someone who has more experience or expertise than you in a certain area. Mentors can guide, advise, and support you in your personal development. A mentor can help you to set goals, overcome challenges, learn new skills, and expand your network. You can find a mentor within or outside your organization or join a formal mentoring program if possible. In order to make the most of your mentoring relationship, be clear about your expectations and goals. It’s important to communicate regularly, ask questions, listen actively, and follow up on your mentor’s suggestions.
- Join a learning community. A learning community is a group of people who share a common interest or goal. The people in your learning community can learn from each other through collaboration and interaction. Therefore, a learning community can help you acquire new knowledge and skills, exchange ideas and best practices, solve problems, and stay motivated and inspired. You can join a learning community within or outside your organization. These include organizations such as professional associations, network groups, online forums, and course platforms.
- Shadow someone. Shadowing someone means observing them closely as they perform their job duties or tasks. Shadowing someone can help you to learn new skills or techniques and understand different roles or functions better.
- Read. Reading can help you stay informed, pick-up new terminology, and therefore improve your knowledge of the workplace. Furthermore, it will keep you engaged and help you think more critically. Try reading at least one educational or motivational article a day or a book each month.
- Learn something new. Whether you self-teach or sign up for a class, explore learning a new skill or topic. You might, for instance, take courses to learn another language, a new software program, or how to write creatively. Consider watching a webinar on professional development topics such as entrepreneurship or social media marketing.
- Network. Networking is the process of building and maintaining relationships with people. Moreover, these people can help you achieve your goals or share your interests. Networking can also help you to learn from others, exchange ideas and best practices, find opportunities and resources, and expand your influence and visibility. You can network within or outside your organization. For example, attend events, join online groups, reach out to contacts, and volunteer for causes.
- Keep a journal. Keeping a journal is a way of recording your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and goals. It can help you to reflect on your actions, learn from your mistakes, track your progress, express your emotions, and clarify your vision. Keep a journal in any format that suits you, such as a notebook, a digital document, or an app. You can write in your journal daily or weekly, but consistency is key in journal-keeping.
Assisting Your Team
Professional growth is not just an chance for a team to grow. It’s a great opportunity for any leader to assist his/her team in developing their individual abilities. Therefore, anyone in a management position should be encouraging and empoweringn their team through coaching.
So, how can I assist my team in developing their individual abilities?
- Provide feedback. Feedback is essential for learning and improvement. As a supervisor, you should provide your team members with regular, constructive, and specific feedback. Spend time discussing their performance, skills, and goals. You should also encourage them to seek feedback. Feedback should come from management, peers, customers, and anyone else who can offer them valuable insights. When giving feedback, be respectful, honest, and supportive. When receiving feedback, be appreciative, open-minded, and responsive.
- Offer mentoring. Mentoring is a way of sharing your experience, expertise, and guidance with your team members. As a team lead, you can mentor your team members individually or collectively, depending on their needs and preferences. Help them set goals, overcome challenges, learn new skills, and expand their network. Additionally, be open to connecting them with other mentors who can offer them different perspectives and advice. To make the most of your mentoring relationship, be clear about your expectations and goals. Be sure to communicate regularly, ask questions, listen actively, and follow up on your suggestions.
- Create a learning community. A learning community is a group of people who share a common interest or goal. Members learn from each other through collaboration and interaction. As a team lead, you can create a learning community within your team. For example, encourage members to exchange ideas and best practices, solve problems together, and stay motivated and inspired. You can also facilitate their participation in learning communities outside the team. These include professional associations, network groups, online forums, or course platforms.
- Encourage shadowing. Shadowing is a way of observing someone closely as they perform their job duties or tasks. As a team lead, you can encourage your team members to shadow each other or other employees who have different roles or functions. Shadowing allows them to learn new skills and techniques.
- Conduct self-reflection. Self-reflection is the process of examining your own actions, thoughts, feelings, and results. As a team lead, you should conduct self-reflection regularly to assess your current skill set. Make sure to identify your strengths and areas of improvment. Set goals for your own development. You should also encourage your team members to do the same and share your insights and learnings with them. Self-reflection helps you and your team to become more self-aware, accountable, and proactive.
- Observe experienced leaders. Observation is a powerful tool for developing leadership skills. As a team lead, you can observe other leaders who have more experience or expertise than you in certain areas. This allows you to learn from their behaviors, actions, and outcomes. You can also invite your team members to observe you or other leaders and discuss what they noticed and what they can apply to their own situations. Observation can help you and your team to gain new perspectives, insights, and tips from successful role models.
- Volunteer for leadership opportunities. Leadership opportunities are situations where you can demonstrate or practice your leadership skills. For example, leading projects, meetings, workshops, or committees are beneficial to your development. As a team lead, volunteer for leadership opportunities within or outside your organization. Use them as a chance to challenge yourself, learn new skills, and expand your network. You can also create or delegate leadership opportunities for your team members and support them in taking on more responsibilities and initiatives.
- Build a support system. A support system is a group of people who can help you achieve your goals by providing you with advice, feedback, resources, or encouragement. As a team lead, build a support system within or outside your organization. Include people such as your manager, peers, mentors, coaches, or even friends. You can also help your team members to build their own support systems. Connect them with people who can assist them in their development.
