Leverage Professional Development To Propel Your Career Forward

According to LinkedIn Learning, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. Sound familiar?

In this guide, career development expert and TaskHuman Coach Brenda Bentley reinforces that in today’s rapidly evolving workplace, professional development isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a career essential.

Think about it: the skills that got you where you are today might not be the ones that will propel you forward tomorrow. Those who invest in their professional development take off. Those who don’t, stay stuck. 

With 87% of executives reporting skill gaps in their workforce (Source: McKinsey), the message is clear: the landscape is changing and it’s critical to take our professional development seriously.

Read on for insights from Coach Brenda, combined with research-backed strategies to help you take charge of your career growth.

Whether you’re looking to climb the corporate ladder, pivot to a new field, or stay relevant in your current role, discover practical actions to make it happen and make the most of your time.

What Is Professional Development In Today’s Landscape?

Professional development used to mean attending the occasional mandatory training session or pursuing a certification every few years. Today, it’s evolved into something far more dynamic and essential. 

As Coach Brenda puts it, “It’s about enhancing your skills, education, or training so you can progress in your career, but it’s also about staying on top of trends and changes to advance.” 

Taking professional development into your own hands is crucial these days for many reasons. With the rise of AI technology, shifts in markets and industries, and expectations of customers, professional skills have a shorter half-life than ever. That’s not including unforeseen events that can lead to huge changes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adopting modern professional development is a win-win for everyone involved, including you and your employer. 

From the company’s perspective, investing in employee development is smart business – organizations that offer robust learning opportunities have 30-50% higher retention rates than those that don’t (Source: Harvard Business Review). 

For individuals, the benefits go even deeper. 

Brenda emphasizes, “It provides the opportunity for promotion and visibility that you would not otherwise have had.” In other words, professional development can be your antidote to job stagnation.

You become more valuable to any future employers because you have more to offer. This means improved chances of securing higher-paid jobs, a better salary, more opportunities, and everything that goes along with that.

The key takeaway? 

Find training that directly applies to your work. 

Instead of collecting certificates to gather dust, look for opportunities to learn new skills or techniques you can implement immediately. This immediate application not only helps cement your learning but also demonstrates value to your organization.

The landscape of professional development today offers more opportunities than ever before, from microlearning platforms and virtual mentorship programs to industry conferences and peer learning groups. 

The key is to approach it strategically, aligning your development activities with both your career goals and the evolving demands of your industry.

The Personal-Professional Development Connection

The most successful professionals don’t treat their personal and professional development as separate journeys. Instead, they recognize how deeply intertwined these paths are.

Coach Brenda shares a powerful insight about this connection: “As the gap between professional and personal development decreases, I can start with what I want my life and values to do, then I can start to develop or pivot professionally.” 

This highlights a truth many of us may overlook – our career choices can and should align with our personal values and life goals.

According to a recent McKinsey study, 70% of employees say their sense of purpose is defined by their work. Yet, only 28% say they live their purpose at work (Source: Forbes). 

That’s a disconnect we need to address.

This alignment becomes even more critical when working with a career coach. Coaching can bridge this personal-professional gap in remarkable ways and help you create a career path that feels authentic to who you are as a person.

Here’s what makes this connection so powerful:

• When your work aligns with your personal values, you’re 3x more likely to stay with your organization
• People who find purpose in their work report 4x higher engagement levels
• Companies that help employees connect personal and professional growth see higher employee satisfaction rates and higher profitability

When you start viewing professional development through this holistic lens, you begin making decisions that serve both your career and your personal fulfillment. 

It goes beyond being successful and being happy – it’s about creating a path where both are possible.

Know Thyself: The Foundation Of Career Growth

“Know thyself” – this ancient wisdom from the Oracle of Delphi might seem like an unlikely career advisor, but it’s absolutely crucial for professional success.

It’s a simple principle that can make or break someone’s career trajectory.

Ask yourself, do you have a clear understanding of your unique strengths and how these align with your career goals? If you don’t know who you are, you can’t possibly know where you’re going. 

If you have this knowledge gap, it can lead to career choices that look good on paper but feel unfulfilling in practice.

So, what does it really mean to “know thyself” in a professional context? Create a precise inventory of three key areas:

Your strengths and skills

Not just the ones on your resume but your genuine superpowers – those things that make you lose track of time because you’re so engaged. 

Pro Tip: Tools like O*NET Online can help you map these out systematically to discover strengths you’ve been undervaluing.

Your work-style preferences

Do you thrive in collaborative environments or prefer independent work? Are you energized by deadline pressure, or do you prefer steady, methodical progress? 

Understanding these preferences isn’t just about comfort – it’s about aligning with your natural work style and positioning yourself to perform at your peak. 

Your growth areas

This helps identify opportunities for strategic development. As Brenda notes, “You need to know your skills and strengths as well as what you don’t like. This helps you bridge that gap to get where you want to go.”

Pro tip: Take 30 minutes this week to complete a free personality assessment like the MBTI or CliftonStrengths. Use the results as a foundation for your next career conversation with your manager or mentor. The insights might surprise you, and they’ll definitely inform your professional development choices.

Overcoming Professional Development Challenges

As you likely know, professional development isn’t always smooth sailing. 

In fact, some of the most common challenges might sound familiar to you: “My company doesn’t support development,” “I don’t have time,” or “I’m not sure where to start.”

These perceived obstacles can actually become your greatest growth opportunities, according to Coach Brenda. 

Take rigid leadership, for instance. You might be dealing with a manager who doesn’t actively support professional development. 

According to a Workplace Learning Report, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning, yet only 52% of organizations have formal development programs. 

Use it as motivation to be proactive and take ownership of your growth.

Time constraints are a universal challenge. 

Professional development doesn’t always mean signing up for a lengthy course or certification program. Especially considering the average professional reports having just 24 minutes a day for learning (Source: HR Expert Josh Bersin). 

Integrate learning into your daily work through:

• 10-minute micro-learning sessions during morning coffee
• Lunch-and-learn sessions with colleagues (which 76% of employees find more engaging than traditional training)
• Project post-mortems that double as learning opportunities

The most insidious challenge, though, is what Brenda calls “job complacency” – getting too comfortable in your role. 

In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, this comfort zone can become a danger zone. Some experts state that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet (Source: Dell Technologies). 

This alone should motivate us to stay proactive about our development.

Every challenge in your professional development journey is an invitation to get creative and take control of your growth. 

Strategic Actions For Career Advancement

Career advancement requires deliberate action. And Coach Brenda emphasizes that it starts with confidence. “The only constant in life is change,” she says. “We have to be willing to accept change and uncertainty and step into the flow fearlessly.” 

This isn’t just motivational talk – it’s backed by data. A LinkedIn report found that professionals who regularly update their skills are 11% more likely to be promoted than those who don’t. 

Talk about confidence in action.

Consider this framework for strategic career advancement:

Become visibility-conscious

Strategically showcase your value by documenting your wins and sharing them in ways that matter to your organization. Research shows that employees who regularly communicate their achievements are 54% more likely to be considered for advancement opportunities.

Master the art of skill application

It’s not enough to just learn new skills – you need to apply them in ways that create measurable impact. This could mean following the 70-20-10 rule:

• 70% of your learning should come from challenging assignments and on-the-job experience
• 20% from relationships with others (mentoring, feedback)
• 10% from formal training

Embrace “strategic discomfort” 

According to Deloitte, the most successful professionals spend 15-20% of their time outside their comfort zone. This might mean volunteering for that cross-functional project or leading a presentation when public speaking isn’t your strength.

Another practical tip includes creating a “Growth Portfolio.” This is a monthly record of:

• New skills you’ve learned
• Projects where you’ve applied these skills
• Quantifiable results you’ve achieved
• Areas where you’ve stepped out of your comfort zone

The data shows this works – professionals who track their development this way are 63% more likely to achieve their career goals within their desired timeframe.

The most successful professionals stay one step ahead, anticipating changes and preparing for them before they become urgent. “You can’t sit and wait until someone tells you the job is changing,” reiterates Brenda.

The Art Of The Professional Pivot

Another crucial skill in today’s dynamic workplace is the ability to pivot with purpose. 

Did you know that the average professional now changes careers (not just jobs) 3-7 times in their lifetime (Source: The Bureau Of Labor Statistics)? 

As with everything in life, success in such a journey requires planning and strategic reinvention. In this case, that means pivoting while still excelling in your current role.

So, how do you know when it’s time to pivot? Watch for these signals:

• Your industry is experiencing significant disruption (like the 67% of industries currently being reshaped by AI)
• You’re no longer learning or feeling challenged (which affects 63% of professionals before they make a change)
• Your values and the company’s direction are increasingly misaligned
• You find yourself constantly energized by work outside your current role

Pro tip: Map out your existing skills to new opportunities at onet.org. The platform goes beyond skills matching to help you understand how you like to work, which is crucial for making a successful transition.

Note this proven pivot-readiness strategy:

1. Maintain an always-updated skills inventory (only 37% of professionals do this, but it’s crucial)
2. Keep your resume fresh with quantifiable achievements.
3. Regularly research emerging trends in your industry and adjacent fields
4. Build and nurture your professional network before you need it (LinkedIn data shows 85% of jobs are filled through networking)

Finally, Brenda shares this: “What I’ve found is that people have more often been forced to pivot and didn’t know how to do that.” This is why proactive preparation is so crucial. Think of it like maintaining a career emergency fund – you hope you won’t need it, but you’ll be incredibly grateful to have it if you do.

Conclusion: Taking action

Coach Brenda wisely says, “If you don’t know who you are, you don’t know where to go.” Your professional development journey is about discovering who you are and forging a path that aligns with your aspirations.

Proactive professionals are significantly more likely to achieve their goals and find greater job satisfaction. Start with this 30-Day Action Plan:

• Know Yourself: Use the tools like onet.org to conduct a thorough self-assessment.

• Close the Gap: Identify one skill gap and take concrete steps to address it.

• Engage Your Manager: Discuss your development goals with your manager.

• Document Your Journey: Track your achievements and learning experiences.

• Be Pivot-Ready: Start building a portfolio that showcases your skills and adaptability.

Remember, obstacles are opportunities in disguise. Time constraints, rigid leadership, uncertainty—these are all challenges you can transform into stepping stones.

Professional development isn’t optional; it’s essential. It’s not just about climbing the ladder but about crafting a career that reflects your true potential.

The question isn’t if you should invest in yourself, but how. Commit to one action item today, and take charge of your future.

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