How Youths Can Develop Their Potential For Professional Excellence
Samuel Osho, SPHRi
Recruiter | People Processes | Organization Development | LinkedIn Optimization Expert
Development can be accelerated when the majority of youth in any country are able to make significant contributions to economic, social, and political life in a way that lifts countries out of poverty, ensures greater stability, and promotes healthier societies (USAID Youth in Development Policy, 2012).
As a youth, discovering your potential is very essential in evolving into the better version of yourself. For you to maximize the gift of life, you must live up to your potential. To discover your potential, you must:
- Define your passions, purpose, mission, goals and vision.
- Appreciate your personality.
- Assess your personality based on your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT).
- Pursue personal growth.
Did you know that today’s world is becoming ever more Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA)? VUCA is based on the leadership theories of two American professors, Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus. VUCA was first used in 1987 but it is still relevant in today's world hence the need for youths to develop competencies to stand out in a VUCA world.
Developing Competencies for Excellence
Between your present “you” and the best “you” is the will to tow the path of maximizing your potential. Excellence in leadership is not dependent on your type of temperament but on your WHY! You need to know how to maximize your strengths to relate with people and develop competencies. You must consistently develop your skills and qualifications to fit into the current realities in your academics or profession.
Top 20 Competencies You Must Have and Develop:
- Emotional intelligence
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- Design thinking
- Innovation
- Attention to detail
- Analytics
- Problem-solving
- Responsibility
- Collaboration
- Continuous learning
- Leadership
- Time management
- Results orientation
- Trustworthiness
- Communication
- Decision-making
- Empathy
- Growth mindset
- Positive thinking
How To Create Personal and Professional Presence
One of our greatest ambitions is to gain power and be in authority in our domain. Your inward capability determines your outward influence. Until you discover yourself, you cannot live up to your true worth.
To build a great career, you need to put your resources into making life meaningful for yourself and others. You need to build your credibility and promote your brand. To become relevant and marketable during a disruption, you need to be value-driven. Nobody will give you a chance if you don’t create the chance to be heard.
Once you can create personal and professional presence, you will command respect in any situation. You will rise above the crowd and become a thought leader.
Positive Thinking and Right Attitude
You need to be willing to face the facts and challenges of the present but see the possibilities beyond your current challenges. Every difficult situation comes with a hidden opportunity. Train yourself to see positivity always. To succeed in life, you must possess the right attitude. Circumstances and forces bow before you and respect your thoughts, decisions and actions if you are resolute enough.
Engage in positive thinking for positive results. To be progressive and successful in life, you must never allow negative thoughts into your mind. They kill your sense of reasoning and diminish your self-worth. Be a positive-minded person. Progressive and forward-thinking are products of positive thoughts. To think positively, surround yourself with positive people. To surround yourself with positive people, you must enhance your interpersonal and communication skills.
Enhancing Your Interpersonal and Communication Skills
In your interpersonal relationships, you should never forget that all your associates are human beings and hunger for appreciation. Success in dealing with people depends on being able to understand the other persons' viewpoint. Interpersonal skills are the attitudes and strategies that a person uses to communicate effectively with others.
Developing your interpersonal skills will not only help you to get promotions faster but it will guide you through any kind of connection. Building people’s confidence in you, impressing your colleagues, conflict resolution, building trustworthiness, persuading someone, being able to maintain healthy relations are some of the advantages of enhancing your interpersonal & communication skills.
In conclusion, you must develop a quest for excellence if you want to stand out and remain relevant. Thank you.