THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO
Raise your hand if you can remember the First Law of Thermodynamics from your high school physics class…It states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. While my high school physics teacher may not appreciate my analogy, I am a firm believe that this law holds true for our own personal development. This concept basically boils down to you only being able to get out as much as you put into something. When I work with junior team members, mentees, or other younger leaders, I like to focus a lot on a growth mindset and I often refer back to this physics example. Its not uncommon to get the question about “how did you get where you are” or “what does it take to do what you do”? The answer is simple – hard work. Personal development and success is a direct result of the effort and work you put into the process. The key is where to focus that effort. Sometimes that means stepping out of your comfort zone to learn something new or going above and beyond what is expected. If you are only willing to put in minimal effort, you will only get minimum return. When working with someone one on one, I try to learn about what their goals are and what direction they want to head. Once I know that, I try to share specific example of where I think targeted and focused efforts in personal development can lead to the biggest return in their time investment…kind of a personal ROI. I can only show them the door. They have to make the commitment to walk through it. As I think back on my personal and professional development, I can trace my success back to the work I put in to get there. It meant early in my career asking to participate in challenging projects that would be outside of my normal area of responsibility. It meant getting involved with community organizations and volunteering my time to take on a leadership role. It meant spending nights and weekends going back to grad school. It meant seeking out professional development opportunities to participate in through work sponsored programs. These aren’t things I had to do, but I wanted to do to help drive my personal development forward. I had the benefit of working with several great leaders over the years who were willing to mentor and coach me to show me the doors I could walk through. I can honestly say that as I look back on the many people I have worked with over the years, the biggest determining factor I have seen in their career trajectory is their own commitment to personal development. To continue to advance, they need to have a growth mindset. Those individuals that were willing to put in their own sweat equity and invest in themselves are putting themselves in the best possible position to succeed. Sitting back and waiting for opportunity to knock at your door is not a strategy. Put the work in to build the door for yourself to walk through.
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About Shawn:My philosophy as an IT leader today is that I believe you must first and foremost be a business leader. It is my goal to be a strategic partner with the business to help it make money, save money, and be the absolute best in the industry at what we do. Having the technology competencies and experience is just your entry fee to sit at the table. Every day, I am bringing 20+ years of IT experience to the table in the areas such as:
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