How professional development helped me prioritize my values and communicate better with my manager
As an Employee Services Administrator at UG2, I work directly with our team members on a range of employment-related issues. From providing employment services, such as proof of employment and wage verification for things like mortgage applications and disability claims, to handling wage garnishment and unemployment, my job is to help others. It’s an aspect of my work that I love, even under the toughest circumstances.
But since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of requests and sense of urgency has increased tremendously. It began to feel overwhelming and demotivating, since everything I touch is high priority. I knew there had to be a better way to handle my workload and get things done in a timely manner without feeling quite so stressed.
Fortunately for me, UG2 regularly provides its employees with professional development and career support opportunities. So, I signed up for a virtual training session that featured tools designed to help employees take an active role in the management of their development paths. These included:
- The Edgar Schein Career Anchors Exercise, which helps employees reflect on their values and how they prioritize them.
- The Career Conversations Guide, which provides employees with an outline for approaching conversations about career development with their manager.
According to training facilitators Keith Rovinelli and Lauren Lanzillo, the first step was to approach the career anchors exercise with an open mind. Then, we read through the definitions of the eight anchors, or aspects of a job, which includes things like technical/functional, autonomy/independence, and service/dedication.
Next, each participant filled out their own chart listing current and previous work positions, the positive and negative characteristics of each one, and then the anchors that matched the positive and negative values and motivations for each position.
Generally, I find it difficult to reflect and learn enough about myself to be able to identify what elements of a position are most important to me, so I found this exercise extremely helpful. For example, I realized how important the fourth anchor, security/stability, is to me.
After all the participants on the call finished the exercise, Keith and Lauren opened up the floor so we could share and learn from each other’s’ experiences. They did a great job of creating an environment in which everyone felt comfortable opening up. I gained a lot of insight from employees in other departments and found their feedback very relatable.
For employees in leadership roles, Keith shared some great advice. If an employee expresses interest in career development, managers should make sure to provide them with the “Three Es”:
- Exposure to help them get to the next step in their career,
- Experience to give them the opportunity to take on more responsibility, including as a team leader, and
- Expertise, such as the knowledge you can provide your employees and opportunities to get additional training and certifications.
I also contributed by sharing how much I value the security and stability anchor, stating: “I thrive when there is structure and organization. I become overwhelmed when I am unorganized. So, it’s important to me that there are clear procedures and expectations set in place, because it makes setting goals for my position and for my personal career development easier to envision.”
As a result, I now know what I must do—get more organized, create systems, and develop processes to expedite requests—to feel less overwhelmed when doing my work. In addition, I learned it’s my responsibility as an employee to bring these types of issues to my manager and keep an open line of communication with them about my workload and career goals.
Overall, my key takeaway from this training is that, when it comes to my own career, I’m in the driver’s seat. I can’t sit back and wait for opportunities to fall in my lap. I have to make time to identify my strengths, likes, dislikes, and goals while remaining receptive to constructive criticism. I also need to initiate discussions with my manager on a regular basis to help me grow my career and reach my professional goals. I encourage all my colleagues at UG2 to take advantage of the training and professional development that is offered.