Leverage your learning: the blurring of personal and professional development.

The more I speak to people about my career, the more I get asked about professional and personal development. Usually, these conversations focus on professional qualifications – uncertainty over which path to choose, or the frustration of knowing what you want to do but not being able to get there.
My own learning (I rarely distinguish between ‘personal’ and ‘professional’ development, for reasons I’ll clarify later on) has been a mix of informal training and formal qualifications. This is almost always with an academic focus, simply because that’s my preferred learning style. I have a BA Ed (Hons), two level fives in residential childcare (one for each side of the bridge), a level six certificate in management from the CMI, and a level seven in senior leadership also from the CMI. Just as important to me, has been my informal learning gleaned from books, podcasts, YouTube and other sources. If you have any particular sources of informal learning you can share in the comments, I’m always interested.
It sounds glib written like that, as if I’ve picked what I’ve wanted to do and waltzed through it. But like many who pursue ongoing development, I’ve had to overcome several obstacles to achieve what I wanted.
Barriers to development.
Chief among them, particularly early in my career, has been money. I’d always been as interested in the business side of our industry as I have been in the delivery side of care. When I was supporting a young family on a carer’s wage, the Open University seemed an obvious route to better my position – at least until I worked out the cost. I already hold some social care qualifications with them, and was considering some business qualifications to top up to a combined studies degree. My decision to turn away from the OU was also influenced by David Cameron’s cuts to higher education funding.
At the same time, I had my eye on what was then the NVQ Level Four in care. Working in England meant I wasn’t able to access the same funding as my Welsh colleagues, which brings me on to my second barrier: poor employers.
You’d think all employers would be keen to develop their staff team and benefit from their newfound skills and knowledge. It’s certainly a driving ethos of my approach to management. Sadly, not all employers have this perspective. When I asked one particular employer to support me to access the aforementioned level four qualification, my manager was incredulous. “Why would we train our staff to leave?”, was her response, oblivious to the fact I was prepared to leave to access the training elsewhere. Which I promptly did.
The third barrier that has impacted upon my learning has been that of time. Trying to fit meaningful learning around other commitments such as work, family, hobbies, etc can be a real challenge. Especially so if your role involves shift work. Bluntly, it’s tiring; and given the choice between loafing on the sofa in front of the TV or repeatedly reading the same thing because you’re too tired to retain much of it, often the option of lower cognitive load wins out.
I’m sure there are more barriers than these; what circumstances do you feel have limited your opportunity to learn?
The Blurring Lines of Personal and Professional Growth.
So, what to do?
The first thing is to figure out why you want to learn. Is it to develop your professional skills? Develop a personal interest? Is it a networking opportunity? Or is it simply a means to an end? I have to confess, by the time I’d found an employer willing to support my progression, the level five qualifications were a drawn-out box-ticking exercise. I had enough experience by that point (and a level six management certificate) that there was little to learn at that level. I simply needed the accreditation to get the job I wanted (registered manager). If the objective is to achieve the role that requires the qualification, then options are limited. You have to do what is prescribed.
The best learning offers a mix of professional and personal development, hence my comment above: my level seven has offered some intellectual challenges as well as practical experiences that have been relevant to my role and will remain relevant in the future. Some of the modules have prompted me to analyse my values and perspectives as well as revisit old experiences in a different light. The learning from the course has also been augmented by my reading and listening outside of the course materials. Once you know what you want to learn and why, it’s time to look again at the barriers described above.
The Financial Hurdle.
There aren’t any easy answers to this problem. I’m certainly not going to suggest you could easily fund an MBA by giving up your morning Costa. But there are different funding models available depending on the course you want to do and where you live. But with the many learning opportunities available, you may not need a formal qualification. For example, if you wish to develop your IT skills there are many tutorials available on YouTube, and even free certified courses available online (see below). If your goals is to upskill, refresh your CV or you are studying for personal enrichment, these options may be worth checking out.
Poor employers.
I still struggle to understand why an employer would obstruct (or refuse to support) a good employee from developing skills that would be of benefit to the company. However, it still happens, and I hear about it often. If you find yourself in the situation where you need a qualification to progress but your employer is unwilling to support you, perhaps you need to consider whether that employer is worth your time.
Leverage your time.
This is the one you have the most control over, and the area in which technology can be a saviour. Sometimes, it is a matter of priorities. If I’ve got time to watch an episode of Shogun (or any other programme I need to concentrate on to follow), then I can probably get a bit of study done. Or what about during the commute? I have an Audible account, and over the past twelve months have listened to many books that have made me think about my approaches to management and communication. Some people enjoy podcasts, though I must admit I prefer the longer form of an audiobook. If I’ve got time to watch a second episode of Shogun, then perhaps I could watch an educational video instead.
Further Resources.
There are many resources available for free (or very cheaply) online.
https://alison.com/ offers many free online courses, in areas such as IT, personal development and management.
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue from the Open University offers free courses over a very broad range of subjects.
https://www.reed.co.uk/ Reed offers a range of courses and differing prices. I’m currently completing an Excel course which, although geared towards an older version of Excel, has proven to be very useful in developing my skills, knowledge and understanding of the program - as well as highlighting things I didn’t know I didn’t know.
For me, the lines between personal and professional development are more blurred than ever. One thing that has become clear to me is that my personal development feeds into my professional development, and vice-versa. There is a clear feedback loop between the two. For example, my learning on diversity and mental models has prompted me to look at other skills such as organisation and time management in a way different that the traditional models would suggest. As a result I became very interested in the use of AI to develop my organisational skills and to challenge my thinking. This in turn has prompted me to look at how I can use AI more effectively to manage my life outside of work, freeing me up somewhat to engage in more reading and learning.

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