Back to School Isn’t Just for Kids!

Summer is winding down and it’s that time of year where many kids are heading back to school. But why just the kids? I always say: “school is never out!” This is especially true for leaders.

I have heard a lot of managers tell me that their employer does not invest in them as a leader, and there is no path or opportunity for advancement where they work. I respond by saying they have two choices:

1. One is to quit and find another job where they might find the same scenario.
2. The other is to invest in themselves, build their own training and development plan and execute on it.

The Hard, Cold Facts…

Every senior and executive leader I have ever met got to where they are by investing in themselves. No one ever came by with a magic wand, tapped them on the head and ‘Poof!’ they were promoted.

If you want to advance your career (whatever "advance" means to you), you have to be the master of your own destiny.

I also hear young or junior level leaders say they do not have the time to take courses, read a book, work with a mentor or coach, listen to books in their car, etc. ?I respond by saying that in my 30’s, I worked full-time, took university courses at night, all while having two small kids at home and a wife that did shift work in the hospital. I figured out a way to get it done.

Your destiny is in your own hands.?If you don’t have a plan for where you want to go and how you are going to develop yourself, someone else will have a plan for you. And… You may not like their plan.

Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based?Business Strategy Consultant,?#1 Best Selling Author, and?International Keynote Speaker.