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Ditch the books and learn lots!

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Looking back on my life I can pinpoint times of rapid and substantial growth and development. On a personal basis they sometimes involved life changing, and even life threatening situations. Professionally they were usually projects and/or roles that I initially didn’t want to do because they seemed too big a stretch. They were high profile and in one way or another, high risk.

One example was when I was serving in the Royal Navy and was asked to set up a residential training unit for the welfare staff of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Army. It was a totally blank sheet including:

  • A new geographical location where I didn’t have a network of support
  • No designated building
  • No budget
  • No experience as a trainer

I had 3 months to find, furnish  and resource a suitable building, and design, deliver and evaluate an 8 week residential programme, complete with volunteer guest speakers.

During that time I learnt many knew skills and discovered strengths I didn’t know I had.  Not from books; not from courses; but from experience. From taking action, reflecting and adjusting as I went along. And that is coming from a coach and trainer! Now, as a lifelong learner I am not saying more traditional forms of learning don’t work at all. What I am saying is that you can achieve deeper, quicker and more sustainable development from stretching, work-based assignments and this is often overlooked.

Although when I was first given the assignment I was scared and doubted my ability to cope with it, I am so grateful to my boss for giving me the opportunity and trusting in my ability. That kind of development opportunity is priceless.

What stretching, scary, development opportunities have you experienced that had a massive impact?

Where can you offer the same opportunities to your team members?


Julie Kay helps you improve individual and team performance by building the strong trusting relationships you rely on for your success. If you are genuinely interested in boosting performance, productivity and profits the answer is just a click away. For more information, just click here


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