Taking control of your professional development

Post-It notes with phrases about development. Source: Pixabay

If you are a long-term follower of #TTVolMgrs you might remember I wrote about professional development for leaders and managers of volunteers in February last year. It seems this this might be something I’m passionate about.

I wanted to talk about this again, but with a slightly different focus. Why? Well, I think professional development is really important, and it’s been playing on my mind again.

The challenges of professional development

But why do I think it’s important? We’re all professionals. And, quite rightly, we want to do a good job, to do right by the volunteers we support. But we often struggle to get the development opportunities we want or need to help us in our roles.

We know this because when the Association of Volunteer Managers (AVM) ran a survey for International Volunteer Managers Day in 2017, you told us some of your biggest professional challenges were:

• Lack of recognition and understanding of the volunteer manager’s role and skills by your organisation.
• Influencing senior management, and being recognised as a profession.
• Lack of progression as a career.

These are big challenges. And while we can all support one another with this, we also need to be taking charge and shaping our own professional development.

What is professional development?

Blue background with the word ‘training’ repeated. Hands holding jigsaw pieces with the word ‘development’ in a darker blue. Source: Pixabay

So what is professional development? The CIPD explain it well:

"Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you manage your own learning and growth. The focus of CPD is firmly on results – the benefits that professional development can bring you in the real world. Perhaps the most important message is that one size doesn’t fit all. Wherever you are in your career now and whatever you want to achieve, your CPD should be exactly that: yours."

To me, professional development is a process and a state of mind. It’s not a training course, in and of itself. How we learn is changing, not just because our budgets are shrinking. (Hey, we’re volunteer managers, we know all about making more from less.) We are becoming more social and more connected, and that is changing how we learn.

CIPD illustrate this well with their CPD cycle.

The CIPD CPD cycle, key stages explained below. Source: CIPD

There are six key stages of the CPD cycle:

• Identify: Where have you come from, where are you now and where do you want to be? Plan: how can get to where you want to be? What are the outcomes you expect to see, and what milestones will help you track progress?
• Act: Act upon your plan, and be open to a range of learning experiences.
• Reflect: Make the most of your learning by regularly reflecting on things you’ve read, heard or experienced.
• Apply: How can you create opportunities to translate theory into practice and put your learning to work
• Share: How will you share your learning with your peers and networks to generate greater insight and benefit from your learning?
• Impact: How can you measure the overall impact your learning has had on your work?

Taking charge

Post-It notes on a cork board. Large yellow Post-It in the middle states ‘Make things happen’. Source: Pixabay

Last year I focused on how we could support one another in our development. This time I want to discuss what we can also do to take charge of our own development.

I also think it’s not just about learning new ways of doing volunteer management. We need to develop other skills to become better volunteer managers, and other sectors can help expand our knowledge and experiences.

There is so much information and knowledge out there we no longer need to learn everything by sitting in a room being talked at. The world - and the internet - is now our classroom. There is plenty of input for us to engage with (perhaps a bit too much at times). It’s how we take that knowledge and turn it into something useful (or discard if not) that means it is meaningful professional development.

So, what can we do to take charge of our professional development?

• Network. We’re a sharing profession, and there are many networks out there where you can meet like-minded volunteer managers. And if there isn’t, set one up.
• Take part in formal learning. I know I said formal learning isn’t the only way to develop, but it is a way. Check out what AVM, Heritage Volunteering Group (HVG) or your local volunteer centre has to offer. Or join the #LoVolsBookClub on Twitter.
• Get social. So much content is shared on Twitter or LinkedIn you won’t have the time to read or listen to it all. But you can certainly make a start. You can also follow loads of thought-leaders and influencers.
• Find a coach or mentor. Sometimes you need some who can help you through changing or challenging times. And we’re such a friendly profession, many people so be happy to take on that role. (As an aside, AVM are launching a pilot mentoring scheme later this year, so watch out for that.)

Lets chat

Now over to you. At 8pm UK time we’re going to have a Twitter chat where we’ll be discussing five questions around professional development. You can join in by following #TTVolMgrs

Over a striped background are the details of the #TTVolMgrs Twitter chat,explained before the image

If you can’t make that time please share your thoughts anyway. Remember to include #TTVolMgrs in your tweets.

• What does professional development mean to you?
• Does your organisation support you in your professional development?
• How do you achieve your professional development?
• Does social media help you with your professional - & personal - development?
• What are your go to resources for professional development?