Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
Anthony J. D’Angelo
As career practitioners it is our responsibility to continue to learn and grow in order to serve our clients best. I was talking with a client the other day and he said, “I can’t believe how much things have changed to find jobs!” Clearly he was frustrated that he could not just open the newspaper, find a job opening, and apply with a resume. It is my job to know the current practices in my profession. It is my job to stay “fresh.” It is my job to be inspired to do good work, so that I can provide the best services to my clients.
It is our responsibility to stay current and to challenge ourselves to learn. For people who have good size budgets for professional development, that may mean attending the National Career Development Association conferences, or taking classes or seminars. For those with little financial support for their professional development, you need to be more creative.
TED Talks are a great way to continue to learn and grow.
- They are free
- Often they are people you would see at national conferences
- They are “bite-size” too, between 10-20 minutes
- They are inspirational and often challenge us to do better
- The diverse range of presentation styles from the speakers is always helpful to identify strategies for improving your own presentation skills
Take 15 minutes (Read my blog on “Take 15” here) each week and put in your earbuds and find a TED Talk that inspires you to be your best or gives you a different angle on a familiar topic. We can all find 15 minutes. Yeah, I know you are busy, but seriously, 15 – 20 minutes somewhere in your 40+ hour workweek. Find it. It’s there.
What about using a TED Talk for staff development? Why not take 20-30 minutes out of your staff meetings once / month to have the entire staff to watch and then discuss a TED Talk? This is where you can grow your team, get to know people better, and possibly provide better service to your students/clients as a result. Have each staff member take a turn at choosing a TED Talk.
No matter what you do…take the 15-20 minutes and keep yourself energized, learning, and growing.
Here are the results from a survey I sent out recently asking people for their favorite TED Talks.
Special thanks to all of you who took the time to fill this out.
I now have a few more “20 minute bite sized professional developments” to watch.
Angela Duckworth talking about GRIT, the power of passion and perseverance 6.12 minutes
Susan Cain, The Power of Introverts in a world that can’t stop talking. Very good talk on how introverts have an important effect on the world. 19.04 minutes
Amy Cuddy Body Language 21 minutes
Astro Teller. The unexpected benefit of celebrating failure 15.33 minutes
Kelly McGonigal’s TED Talk, “How to make stress your friend.” 14.28 minutes. It dovetails with her book, The Upside of Stress: Why stress is good for you and how to get good at it. The book title pretty much says what’s cool about the talk.
Shimon Schoken. What a bike can teach you 15.40 minutes. There are a lot of life lessons tied to athletics, he uses a real example, very touching, nice photos, and only 15 minutes long.
Graham Hill: Less stuff more happiness 5.43 minutes. Touches on minimalism in a short, direct way that reminds the audience that less = more, powerful message, well delivered.
Ruth Chang’s “How to Make Hard Choices.“14.38 minutes. I love to hear/read views on career development from professions outside of career counseling, and she’s a philosopher. I love her message that some decisions are tough because there is no “right” choice. I also like watching her reason out the problem step by step.
Jia Jang’s “What I learned from 100 Days of Rejection” First, because what he did was just amazing. So simple– to go out and look for ways to be rejected so you can desensitize yourself to it. Then, I love his whole manner. He’s funny, and humble. Two of my favorite qualities in a speaker.
Meg Jay, PhD, Why 30 is not the new 20. 14.49 minutes. She had real first hand experiences dealing with a variety of issues facing 20 somethings.
Simon Sinek, although not a TED Talk, Millennials in the Workplace. 15 minutes
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, Princeton Graduation speech. What Matters More Than Your Talents. 18.44 minutes. “Our character is reflected, not in the gifts we are endowed with at birth, but by the choices we make over the course of a lifetime.” I use this as a writing prompt for my students to reflect on what they want to have accomplished. The puzzle of motivation – my client base, high school juniors/seniors, keep me looking for solutions in this area. The happy secret to better work – Reminds me of the importance of setting boundaries between my work and personal life…a major challenge for me.
Mel Robbins, “How to stop screwing yourself over”. 21.39 minutes. Her message about not being complacent (our satisfaction with being “fine”) and her practical advice for a couple ways to kick-start ourselves is inspirational.
Brene Brown-–On vulnerability, which I fully endorse. 20 minutes
I’m a constant learner. You need to be a constant student because things change and you have to change and grow.
And I emphasize the word “grow.” Zig Ziglar
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Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a monthly newsletter for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.
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