Take time for these 6 reflective conversations and stay on the path to your self- development.

1. DEVELOPMENT //
critical job satisfiers:
1. having the resources and freedom
to make things happen
2. bigger challenges
3. variety in my work
4. the opportunity to experiment and
try out new approaches
5. working collaboratively with stra-
tegic partners.
None of what she wrote surprised
her. Even though she knew it on a gut
level, when she laid it all out and took
the time to reflect on it, it was unmistak-
ably clear that remaining in her current
position and hoping that more interest-
ing assignments would come along was
not going to satisfy her much longer.
There was no doubt that her talent was
valued within the company, especially
with mounting industry demand and a
new CEO on board who was totally com-
mitted to creating a strong learning and
Take time for these six development platform.
The more she thought about it, the
reflective conversations and stay more convinced she became that she
on the path to your self-development. wanted to be sitting at the table at the
level of a senior learning director. She
considered the possibilities: director of
learning and development, director of
talent management, director of diver-
Mirror, Mirror: sity and inclusion, or learning officer at
the one of the Asian offices.
6 Development Conversations Conversation 2: What do I need to
to Have With Yourself
learn to take the next step in my
By Lois J. Zachary career path?
• Observe successful people who are
doing what you want to do.
Beth had been a learning and Let’s look at six of these. • Make a list of their behaviors.
development specialist for two years • Do a personal gap analysis.
and accomplished everything she’d Conversation 1: Where do I see • Identify learning opportunities.
set out to do and more. myself in five years? What are the “Wherever I eventually land
In addition, she had volunteered possible paths I might take? I am going to need to leverage
to take on extra assignments. Now • Spend some reflective time to think my skills, enhance my leadership
that these assignments were coming about your critical satisfiers. capability, master a potentially
to a close, her job had become rou- • Prioritize them. new domain of knowledge. Just
tine, and she found herself bored and • Think about where your talents are thinking about the possibilities
unchallenged. most valued. energizes me.”
Does this scenario sound familiar • Look at multiple possibilities. Beth started observing her boss and
to you? Are you taking care of everyone Beth had been so caught up in the co-workers with seats at the executive
else’s development and neglecting your immediacy of the day-to-day that she’d table in her organization, as well as
own? If so, you are not alone. Some of put off working on her own develop- leaders in her church and professional
the most important conversations you ment. She decided to close the door to associations. She decided that what she
will ever have will be the developmental her office and go to work on Beth. On admired and respected the most about
conversations you have with yourself. her whiteboard, she listed her five them was that they had presence.
70 | T+D | MAY 2011 Illustration by Emily Morrow

2. “I can’t quite define what it is, direction and capabilities of the Conversation 6: How do I get
but I know it when I see it, and organization, could give her direct and started?
it is really inspiring,” she said. candid feedback, and could help her The initial conversation when
“Someone who has charisma is position herself. recruiting mentors is important
fully attentive and instantly ener- because it sets the tone for the relation-
gizes those around them. That is Conversation 4: Am I ready for ship. You will need to
something I need to get better at.” mentoring? • Reflect on your purpose for creat-
She was also acutely aware that they • Look yourself in the mirror and ing a mentoring board of directors.
possessed what she called a strategic honestly consider if you have the • Be clear about your own goals,
mindset: They consistently focused time, willingness, and commitment objectives, and intention.
on critical issues and future direction. to mentoring. • Consider what it is you are willing
They created a sense of momentum • Think about your prior mentor- to contribute to the relationship.
and were able to build coalitions that ing experiences and how you can • Identify the characteristics you are
drove results. They didn’t let organiza- actively contribute to the success of looking for in your mentors.
tional politics distract them. They were your relationship. Beth used the same skills that had
laser-focused. Beth knew that mentoring was a already taken her far. Instead of wasting
She took a hard look at her current commitment and wanted to make sure time going around in circles, she used
skill sets and decided that she needed that she was ready to completely engage her networks to get recommendations
to connect with people of influence, in a mentoring relationship. She consid- of possible mentors who might help
identify them, and get noticed by them. ered the above questions and answered her in different ways—people who had
She needed to build a fan club of advo- them all with a resounding “yes.” To “been there and done that.”
cates and networks of people who were gauge her commitment, she also asked She needed to make sure that each of
already at the next level. herself these additional questions: them had the knowledge and expertise
Am I sincerely interested in learn- she needed, that they had the desire,
ing? Am I willing to commit time to willingness, and time to mentor her, and
She took a hard look at developing and maintaining a men- that she would feel comfortable with
her current skill sets and toring relationship? Am I willing to them as a mentor. She felt that four of
decided that she needed be open and honest with myself and
another person? Can I participate
the six people she talked to would make
a good “learning fit” for her, and she
to connect with people of without adversely affecting my other asked them to participate in her mentor-
influence, identify them, responsibilities? ing board of directors. To expedite the
and get noticed by them. Conversation 5: What kind of
process, she brought them all together at
the same time and place and convened a
mentoring do I need? meeting to begin the process.
Conversation 3: How could • Be clear about what it is you want Beth was now taking care of her own
mentoring help me? to learn. development. By making time to engage
• Identify what it is you need to learn. • Reflect on your own learning style. in her own reflective conversations, she
• Think about what you need from a • Consider multiple options: peer identified an exciting, engaging, and
mentor. mentoring, group mentoring, one- challenging development opportunity
Beth wasn’t focusing on building her on-one mentoring, or formal or that positioned her for growth. Like
skills or boosting her current perfor- informal mentoring. Beth, having your own reflective con-
mance; she wanted to concentrate on Beth thought about her mentor- versations will help you move forward
developing herself, her career path, and ing options, and the idea of creating a on the path toward professional growth.
who she was going to become in the personal mentoring board of directors
future. She needed to learn the political (multiple mentors at the same time)
landscape: how to address the chal- seemed like a good option for her. She Lois J. Zachary is president of Leadership
lenges of being a strategic leader, how needed people with different skill sets Development Services and author of The
Mentor’s Guide, Creating a Mentoring
to build the right relationships with the and experiences in multiple organiza-
Culture, and The Mentee’s Guide; lzachary@
right people, and how to build coali- tional contexts, and people with whom leadservs.com.
tions and become a thought leader. she would feel safe. She was a collab-
Mentoring seemed like a perfect orative learner and naturally thrived in
INTERESTED IN ORDERING E-PRINTS?
option for her development needs. learning groups. Besides, there were so Would a digital version of this article be a great
What she needed was a safety net and many things she wanted to learn, and fit for your next course, presentation, or event?
a sounding board—someone who she wanted to learn them quickly. Are you interested in e-prints of several T+D
articles on a specific topic?
had a good handle on the strategic Visit astd.org/TD/eprints for more information.
MAY 2011 | T+D | 71

3. TRAINING + DEVELOPMENT
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