Personal development in professional roles

The importance of personal development in professional settings might be intuitive to you. If progressing in your career is important, then you should be committed to a lifetime of learning and growing. At the University of Bolton, we’re creating that nurturing, warm place where you can grow your soft skills, practice networking, develop formal time management skills and prioritise work-life balance. So, today, we’ll look at how you can enhance your professional journey through holistic personal development with some practical tips and ideas that you can try now.

Developing soft skills

Soft skills in the workplace are the abilities you have that are not tied to a profession or job task. Some examples are communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, leadership, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, flexibility, interpersonal skills, decision-making, collaboration, empathy, active listening, negotiation, resilience and cultural awareness. 

To develop these soft skills, you need to invest time and effort. You might attend workshops or hire a life coach. Maybe you love reading and books on leadership or gaining EQ might work for you. Or perhaps you see many of these skills in your professors or peers here at the University of Bolton and you want to ask them about mentorship. That’s a great idea too.

The key here is to put some rigour around building these skills. Try journaling your progress and check in with yourself each month to see how you’ve grown over time. Remember to add the skills you’ve honed to your CV as they are things employers look for when considering your application.

Techniques to try

Improving soft skills requires a lot of practice, self-awareness and intentional effort. Here are just a few things to get you started with better communication, conflict resolution and emotional intelligence. 

Communication

● Practise active listening where you try to understand others before responding
● Ask for constructive criticism from people you trust so you know where to improve
● Follow people who excel in communication and emulate their technique
● Try public speaking or teaching to refine your communication skills

Conflict resolution

● Learn different conflict resolution approaches and try them
● Brush up on brainstorming and SWOT analysis to find creative solutions
● Look to teamwork to collectively solve problems and resolve conflicts
● Reflect on past conflicts to identify successful strategies and areas for growth

EQ

● Explore your own emotions, triggers and biases
● Put yourself in others' shoes to understand their perspective
● Validate others' emotions and demonstrate genuine concern
● Regulate your own emotions and respond appropriately, even when stressed

The networking superpower

There’s a popular phrase “It’s not what you know but who you know that matters” and while no one would have a University education if that were completely true, it does bring up an interesting point about networking. Networking in professional growth is about building and maintaining relationships that are useful to you both. This could be vertical, up and down the chain of command or laterally, with experts and peers in your industry. Today, building a network is about leveraging online platforms like LinkedIn, socialising with colleagues after work, making connections at away days or attending industry events.

Think about how you can offer genuine value and practice reciprocity in your networking efforts. Is there something you’re good at that you can share in trade for advice or work opportunities? Maybe you can show them how to use a tool you’re familiar with or offer to join them on their next podcast episode. In return, perhaps they introduce you to the hiring manager at their company at the next industry conference or review your cover letter for you.

Remember that everyone is at a networking event for the same reason and; while common networking challenges and fears like social anxiety or awkwardness may trouble you, it’s no excuse not to try and meet new people in your field. Feel free to start small with an event here on campus and then branch out into online events on platforms like Meetup with totally new faces until you feel comfortable attending a big in-person one. This will help you to overcome any fears you have and build confidence as you follow each success with another success.

Time management focus

While also a soft skill, we’re spending a little more ‘time’ on time management because it can make or break you in a professional setting. Many people don’t have any structure around how they plan their day and that’s fine for your personal life. However, at work, you’ll need some processes in place to ensure nothing is missed. You could try techniques for efficient time management like eating the frog, time blocking, the Pomodoro technique, the Eisenhower matrix, GTD or batching tasks. It all comes down to:

● Setting SMART goals before you begin a task
● Prioritising what to do when and delegating anything not critical to someone else
● Working to eliminate procrastination and distractions so work time is focused
● Investing in whatever tools or software you need to get things done faster

Work-life harmony

Even while you’re studying, you can begin building this essential life skill. Work-life (or study-life) balance has a massive impact on your overall well-being. You can’t give too much to your school or work so save you from becoming stressed. Some strategies for achieving work-life harmony are:

● Setting boundaries and managing other people’s expectations of your time
● Incorporating self-care routines and hobbies that enrich your life
● Prioritising tasks and activities properly so everything gets done that needs to
● Remaining vigilant for the signs of burnout; getting help if you’re overwhelmed 
● Avoiding taking too much on and practising effective delegation 
● Taking all the time off that you’re entitled to, using it to refresh yourself
● Making sure you spend time with friends and family too

Tying professional development to your career

Linking your personal development efforts to your long-term career goals will help you get ahead faster. Here’s what we recommend:

● Set aside time to make a personalised development plan each year
● List out all your strengths, weaknesses and areas for growth
● Find an example job description for the role you’d want next
● Circle things that appear on both your list and the job post
● Make a plan for how you’ll develop these with milestones and tracking
● Ask people for feedback on how you’re doing and change your plan if you need to
● Once you have all the skills they are looking for, apply for a similar role
● If you’re not successful, ask for the areas you can develop further
● Rinse and repeat!

Remember that lifelong learning is a way of living. It’s not something you do once and then never again. As you progress in your university path, look for opportunities to learn something deeper than just technical knowledge and try to hone the innate skills that will make you successful long after you sit your last exam.

So, in conclusion, professional development in professional roles is about creating a safe space for you to grow your soft skills, build a network, get good at time management and do it all while keeping a healthy work-life balance. As always, we’re in your corner when it comes to your personal development journey. If you need support, talk to us on Facebook or call on 01204 952 747 so we can help you experience #UniAsItShouldBe today.