Progress comes with learning

In last week's column I discussed ways for managers and human resource professionals to help employees grow in their careers. The tips ranged from providing funds or access to training to developing an in-house library of industry-related materials.
This week the focus is on the worker. If you belong to a department or company that emphasizes staff development, the only advice I have is get going. Take advantage of these efforts to develop your skills and expertise. Not doing so is just as wasteful as not collecting matching pension funds when they're offered.
But what if your manager doesn't care a whit about your professional development -- if the extent of your on-site training is to find new ways to write a report or fill out a form, you'll have to take matters into your own hands.
In the end, the responsibility for your career development falls on you. After all, if you decide to change jobs, the interviewer isn't going to be impressed -- or sympathetic -- when you say you wanted to learn but nobody made it easy enough.
Here are some ideas for building your own career:
Pick a direction
Figure out where you want to be professionally. At what level do you want to work, in what kind of company or department, doing what types of tasks? Compare that ideal with where you are now. Unless you need only apply for this better position to get it, it's likely you are not yet ready for this ideal job. What are the gaps between your current job and the one you really want?
Determine the nature of the gaps. Are they based on expertise, skills, contacts or experience? In other words, can the gap be repaired by learning something new, by learning to do something new, by meeting new people or only by the passage of years during which you gain new experiences?
Be careful of the last answer. It's very easy to assume that the passage of time alone will build your skills and your career for you. That is simply not so. Sometimes the years pass, and you get sharper, sometimes you get duller. It's up to you to decide which it will be.
Filling in the gaps
Here's a closer look at each of these types of gaps:
A gap in expertise means you need to know something you don't. It could be the rules governing an area of your work, the national standards for processes you use or the academic foundation for your profession.
A skill-based gap means you need to learn how to do something. Perhaps it's operating a particular piece of equipment, handling a certain process or dealing with a particular client base.
A contact-based gap is one where your personal list of contacts is too limited for effectiveness in your ideal position. It could also be that you need certain contacts to get the position at all. Some types of people you need to know could include experts in the field, vendors or consultants, and managers in your ideal company.
If you have experience-based gaps, there are situations you have not yet encountered in your work. These could be managing problem employees, dealing with budget cutbacks or handling a variety of crises for your customers.
Develop a plan
Based on your analysis, devise steps to bring you closer to your goal.
Here are some to consider:
UAttend professional associations and conferences.
UWrite articles for industry magazines or internal newsletters.
UGive presentations.
UJoin in-house or external committees.
UTake classes.
UEarn new certifications.
UCross-train in-house.
UJoin a nonprofit board.
UJoin the advisory board of a startup in your field.
Whichever steps you choose, stay close to your goal. For example, if you need to meet people outside your company, and you choose to write newsletter articles to do it, be sure the people you interview for the articles are the ones you want to know. On the other hand, if your goal is simply to write better, it won't matter whom you interview, but you may want to work with an editor to critique the articles.
When you have met each goal, move on. Don't get locked into committees or projects that no longer teach you new things.
Always keep your boss informed of what you're learning. If the new information would be helpful to your department or to your supervisor's decision making, create a brief written report. When appropriate, request that copies of your reports or new certificates be included in your personnel file.
XAmy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgren@pioneerpress.com.