Most of the managers focus obsessively on their work and organisation an believe they cannot be successful without that single-minded focus. At the same time, they realise that to advance your career you need diverse experiences and explore opportunities in diverse industries, functions and geographies. When you get a challenging assignment, you should give it all the attention to make sure you excel and position yourself for the next level.
However, it may pay off in the short term but it may not help you in the long run.
Volunteering is one activity that would help you invest your time outside of the work in things that you are passionate about and learn things that would help you in your job as well. It is realised that the pace of change and disruption is making it difficult for management schools, executive education programs to keep abreast and train executives. hence executives need to find ways to expand their field of vision and build their knowledge, skills and connections even as they carry on with their daily work.
This goes beyond your industry-related conferences and networking events. Engage in meaningful pursuits in outside activities that expose you to different people, culture and information but are also in some way synergistic with your interests and primary work. This can be memberships on private, public, non-profit boards, teaching, fellowship, publishing. Think of yourself as having a portfolio where your work is in the middle and various outside activities surround and complement it and you deploy what you have learnt in each realm to the others.
How can you make this happen?
Find the time.
One of the biggest constraints is to find the time with your packed schedule. But it is a well-known fact that if you make any activity a priority then you will find the time for it. You can mark off time on your calendar for these activities. You can involve a group of like-minded professionals and others who share your interests and it will help you be committed and compare notes.
How much time to spend on these activities depends entirely on the requirements of the activity. It can be daily for an hour or two or it can be over weekends, month-end. you can space out your commitments to external projects. In short, participate or take up activities that spark your curiosity, meet people you would not encounter in your work or current industry. However, keep in mind that you must deliver in your work and at home before you commit yourself to additional work. No matter how busy you are, you should be learning.
Identify roles
Explore your passions and see if groups connected with them have any positions open that would give you a chance to learn and develop. Seek out friends who already have meaningful volunteering work and offer to help them. Get your name out in the public so that people start presenting the possibilities to you.
You need to be very selective on the roles that you can commit to seriously. When you engage in activities outside your work do for sincere reasons and not to self-promote. Remember if you are spending time on activities that you are passionate about, it is a missed opportunity for both you and your potential beneficiary.
Ensure that you pick a role where you can make a substantial contribution.
Justify your commitment
It is important to take permissions from your workplace and family about your activity, show the relevance, benefits to both self and others. If the company has any reservations then that itself is a red flag and make a note of that.
What are the long term benefits?
Recharge your energy
When you find the time and complete the external activities it can prevent burnouts. It is also seen that the busier you are, the more you can take on and the better you are at whatever you do. You get inspired and broadens your scope of empathy, understanding. The best way to learn is through other people's experiences.
Building knowledge, skills and confidence.
The best external engagement gives you something to bring back to your organisation and personal life. You learn new skills, manage complex projects, and even make mistakes that you rebound from and it will be extremely valuable.
Develop a broader perspective.
When you do important work in other fields, you uncover areas of untapped opportunities for yourself and your organisation. You can develop connections that help you become a better manager and innovator. When you do something outside your comfort zone, you realize how different the world looks from the other side. in many cases, it gives you a different perspective and helps you better identify trends, understand the markets. It brings a different perspective and applies it to whatever we are doing. This cannot be done unless you look for work outside your normal boundaries.
Finding the right engagement outside your work is not easy. However, it opens the doors to many other opportunities and it is your competitive advantage. As the business world becomes more complex, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find solutions in a single field or discipline. To develop a leader you need to leave your comfort zone and that is when personal development occurs.
by Ken Banta and Orlan Boston HBR May–June 2020 Issue
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