Daniel Maranto, Director of the EGADE Business School on Monterrey campus, shares the kinds of skills you can acquire to strengthen your professional profile.
Lifelong learning will help us excel at work in a fast-changing world, says Daniel Maranto, Director of the EGADE Business School on Monterrey campus.
The specialist explains the importance continuous learning becoming a habit which motivates us to investigate, innovate, and acquire new skills.
“We need to strike a balance between work and learning time, so that our continuous learning becomes part of our day-to-day life, part of our agenda”, he highlights.
Maranto, who is a specialist in strategic planning, management skills, service management, and sustainability, shares steps and key skills that you should consider for your continuous training.
5 steps for successful lifelong learning
It’s key to foster the habit of lifelong learning and make it a priority so you can stay up to date. These are the steps Maranto recommends:
1. Evaluate where you want to get to
“The things I know how to do right now are clearly useful, but I must set aside time to learn other things that will allow me to make more strategic and bold decisions,” says Maranto.
It’s essential to be clear about what you want to achieve, regardless of your professional life cycle, he adds.
“If I’m starting out in my professional career, where do I see myself and what do I have to do to be on the right path? If I’m already at a more consolidated stage, what’s the legacy I want to leave?” he encourages us to ask ourselves.
2. Identify needs within your context
Your own professional practice should help you discover what you need to get where you want to be, says the expert.
“For example, if I see in a business context that the financial or logistics director of a company has certain skills and studies, and I want to get there, I will have to prepare myself to achieve that.
“Thus, I need to acquire the knowledge and skills which the people who already occupy those positions have, and add more if possible,” he suggests.
3. Create a strategic plan
Once you’ve identified the skills you require, create a personal plan on which you can highlight the goals you want to achieve and how you’re going to go about it, says Maranto.
“You can acquire these skills through graduate courses, diploma courses, and non-degree programs - such as continuing and executive education - which will help you develop skills,” he highlights.
4. If you are part of an organization, get it involved
If you work for a company or are part of an organization, share your intention to continue growing with them, highlights Maranto.
“Talk with your leaders and with the human resources or human talent area; explain how you see yourself and discuss the options available to you that tie in with your strategic plan. This symbiosis is very important,” he says.
He adds that organizational development based on merit is often called a meritocracy. That means growth within the organization is related to the capacity to generate value. “Thus, it makes sense to want to continue learning so I can produce better results,” he adds.
5. Books and hobbies: a way to learn
The specialist also recommends becoming an avid reader, podcast listener, or pursuing a hobby for further personal and professional growth.
“Look for books with content that contributes to your personal development plan. You may discover that taking up an activity provides you with experiences and helps you to strengthen your skills,” he highlights.
Basic skills for the workplace
If you want to know which skills you can strengthen in your lifelong learning plan, here are the recommendations from the Director of EGADE Business School on Monterrey campus.
Firstly, he noted that those which improve human interaction are key: “when looking for a group leader, it’s key that they have the ability to communicate and listen, and the character necessary to make strategic decisions,” he said.
In addition, the current world of work requires people to be able to participate in several projects simultaneously in an organized manner, but it also places greater value on those who consider human sensitivity and sustainability.
“If I’m very good and produce results, profits, dividends, but don’t take into account the impact that I’ll have later on, such as the use of natural resources or impact on society, that means I wasn’t being strategic: I produced short-term results but didn’t think about the future.
“It’s very important that the value we contribute to organizations is sustainable over time, and that there is a human focus which considers the impact of my decisions on the environment and society; it’s got to be strategic in the long term,” he highlights.
Topics such as innovation, entrepreneurship, economic development, digital technology, and communication continue to be very important, he says.
“It’s essential in current and future work environments to be knowledgeable about digital technology, to be highly skilled in searching for information, in using communications technology, and feeling comfortable doing what we do. This is just what we did during the pandemic: most of us had to work and communicate through applications and tools,” he points out.
Finally, he advises reviewing the UN’s sustainable development goals because they’re pressing challenges faced by humanity, such as creating sustainable communities and taking climate action, to name but a few.
Trust and recognition: benefits of learning to learn
Lifelong learning provides a great competitive advantage, since one of the benefits it offers professionals is preparing them for new challenges.
“Having knowledge and skills acquired through continuous training gives people the confidence to raise their hands and say, ‘I’m interested in a position with more responsibility or career advancement within an organizational structure,’” he says.
Maranto concludes by pointing out that they also gain more respect and recognition within their working environment because they can contribute the skills they’ve been developing in this continuous learning process; their valuable contributions make them stand out within their organization.
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