This is the last instalment on 3 forms of professional development you need this year. In case you missed the thread, read part 1 and part 2 here before continuing this articles.
Now to the last part, one of the most underutilised forms of professional development is authoring your idea or you can choose to call it creating unique content.
I realised that when people hear about professional development, it ends with just building employable skills but in my journey, I have learnt first-hand how creating content and sharing your unique insights can be a valid professional development strategy.
Again, this may not be for you at this time, especially if you are new to your industry but who says you can’t have unique insight if you are new to the block?
My first HR Job after university was in a bank. Few years after I started working in HR and actively managing recruitment projects for different roles and organisations, I started creating content based on my unique insight, and my content was targeted at undergraduates because I was at a point where I had certain important lessons to share with them before they graduate. Most of what I shared were what I wished I knew before graduating.
What was my goal? Sharing my unique perspective.
I did this through various means – sharing tips on social media, I launched a podcast, I even went as far as publishing a FREE ebook titled Your First Job: 5 Important tools you need at the start of your career (If you’ve not read it, download it for FREE here). Till date I still receive a lot of positive feedback from sharing my unique perspectives.
Sharing my unique insight was a professional development for me because I realised that the act and habit of writing or podcasting forced me to crystallise my knowledge and ideas into a form that can be easily understood and comprehended by my audience.
So, creating content sharpens your mind and forces you into thinking more deeply about what you have learnt, practised and what has worked for you. To crown it, anytime you share a unique insight, it never leaves you.
Like the popular quote: the best way to learn is to teach. I realised the best way for me to remember any insight is to teach it.
That is why I’m dedicated to writing weekly newsletters to you. It takes a lot but it is one of my ways of developing myself as a writer.
I believe in the principle of Learn, Apply, Become, Share. I share what I practise and this forces me to keep learning and working on my growth.
One more thing I learnt about authoring is that it is also a perfect way to nurture your personal brand. You are a brand, whether you know it or not. But your brand becomes powerful when you nurture it to a point where it can attract opportunities for you in your industry.
When I began to share my insights boldly, people started recognising my value and reaching out to me to speak at their events. If you have a unique perspective to a topic in your industry, share it with others. Whether in the form of podcasts, blog posts, articles or published books. It has tremendous advantages and can earn you respect in your industry.
Do you know that last year I didn’t record any episode of my podcast but people were still listening to old episodes and appreciating them?
P.S.: My podcast schedule is back. Subscribe here
P.P.S.: If you want to start a podcast and you need me to coach you on it, just send a mail to mail@greatowete.com
But hey, even if you don’t do podcasts, find a way to document your unique insights and share them on the platforms you are comfortable with.
That’s it for today!
So far, I have shared 3 aspects of your professional development you can design this year. Whichever you decide to focus on depends largely on where you are on your leadership and career journey. Just be intentional.
Let me know if this has helped you.
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