I quickly scribbled as she talked...

Unknown

I manage a team of 9 incredible people. I’ve only ever met 2 of them; outside, in our coats, for coffee.

We aren’t all in the same country. And the wider global team spans many time-zones. My line manager only shares 5 hours of the same day as me.
 
But the office is starting to open again. Yesterday, a few of the team went in to meet each other and the selfie that came through was a special moment – look! Actually next to each other – sharing air! He’s 6ft4! She’s 5ft2! Who knew?!?

So when I saw the new channel ‘Leading in a Hybrid Workplace’ has just popped out of the incredible Skillsoft magical content making team this week - it could not be better timed for me. Not as a Skillsoft L&D Specialist who should know about this for my customers as great new content; but for me as an individual, for me as a human who has spent the last 2 pandemic years leading other humans digitally and now on the horizon, will be leading sometimes in a physical office too. Well that’s new – how do I do that?

Skillsoft has a learning culture so there should be no reason why I don’t immediately jump on this course and take 30 minutes out of my day, right now, to invest in this critical power skill. I know my line manager would be really encouraging of that. I know I’ve done some great work this week, and my diary is quieter today, so I should login now, and do it.

 So just go and login, to Percipio, now,

and do it..


now…

 
And yet… there’s still a part of me that is reticent to allow myself that time for my own professional development. Is it self-indulgent to take time for myself for learning? Maybe my team need me, maybe my customers need me, check my emails again, cross one more thing off that ‘to do’, write 4 more on it… Even though I know logically this is a good thing to do and a valuable investment, why is there always a slight reticence in doing this for myself? I have the same feeling about exercise – is it selfish to abandon my duties and hit the bike for 30 minutes?

Robin Arzon from Peloton is my absolute ultimate hero, the self-discipline on that one to make the time for the things that you need to do to be better for those around you – inspires me. Listening to Robin at Perspectives Unleashed last week was so inspirational for me; I hung on her every word and even followed her suggestion of writing on a post it note and sticking it to my laptop so I couldn’t miss it. I quickly scribbled as she talked:

‘Be my own coach’? How do I do that? What open questions would I ask myself?

How might this course benefit you? 
How might it benefit your team?
What do you need to do to make it happen?
How might you be able to overcome that barrier?
What is your next step?
What is the risk of not doing this?

So you know what, I am just going to down tools on this Friday afternoon for 30 minutes, to take some time for myself; what I learn will fill my cup back up, improve me professionally and benefit those around me. 'Iron sharpens Iron' after all. Just like exercise, I know I am going to feel so good that I prioritised that in my day.

(But maybe I’ll just write that blog post first… I’ve been wanting to do that all week too…)

Sarah Jones

Hi Charity - thanks for sharing and I love your post and thoughts about self development and being your own coach! I have time set aside in my calendar for learning but it's interesting to know that I still need to push myself to actually act on the reminder! I'm going to add a post-it to my office space too - about being my own coach. Next up...clicking on my recommended learning assets...

Unknown

Hi Charity and Sarah,

Thanks for this post- it was a pleasure to read! I was also inspired by Robin, and all of our great guest speakers at Perspectives. I too am trying to add some learning time to my Outlook calendar for Friday afternoons as a way to "tie a bow" around my week. I hope that a recurring time (Fridays, 3:30-4:00) will help me make this habit stick! I'll check in in a few weeks to post my progress and hope you both do the same- I find that, for me, accountability helps in making a new change/goal stick.

Johanna Asmuss

Hi Charity,

this was such a great read and I am inspired to add a 30-minute block to my calendar for Fridays. Actually, I will do that now. Thanks for the motivation!