Harvard Offers Strategies For Getting Support to Develop New Skills on the Job
Rachel O’Meara, Google Sales Executive, Leadership Coach, and Pause author, recently wrote for Harvard Business School‘s Harvard Business Review, offering six effective strategies to convince your current employer to help you develop new skills on the job.
- Identify how you want to learn and grow. “Spend time honing in on exactly what you need. Write down what you want to learn and how you would grow from the experience you’ve identified. The more you can write down, the more aware and real your ideas become.”
- Own it. “Rather than being embarrassed or nervous about asking for time to build an underdeveloped skill, own it as part of your commitment to becoming a better leader.”
- Create your vision statement. “Visions are a great way to orient and stay on track before, during, and after your development work. In one sentence, answer the question: Who will I become as a result of this investment of my time and resources?”
- Connect your goals or outcomes to what the business needs. “To get buy in to support your development, you have to connect…what specific skills or knowledge you can share from your training or experience. Are there issues at work that you could better resolve as a result of this training? In what ways will your company benefit from your improved performance, skills, or knowledge?”
- Prep and practice. “Make a list of what is negotiable – things like timing, budget, and activity. When preparing for the conversation, think about what each person involved in making the decision has to gain. Do your homework and read up on your HR policies.”
- Make your ask. “When you’re ready to sit down with your manager, don’t catch them off guard. Give them ample notice and consider adding it to the agenda for your next one-on-one meeting.”
O’Meara concludes: “There are three likely outcomes: getting what you’ve asked for, getting some of what you asked for, or getting a flat out “no.” By following these steps, you’ll increase the chances that you get a favorable outcome, but that’s not always the case. Even if you don’t get what you asked for, start thinking about ways you can reshape your request in the future.”
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
