We often tend to think that once we are employed, we need not worry about our qualifications and skills. We just assume that if we do the job given to us properly, we are good. But, that’s the not the case, and if we do not acquire certain skills we may even have to forego our jobs. These are skills that are not mentioned in a job description but are essential to make us an indispensable part of the organization and are critical in our personal and professional well-being.
Emotional Intelligence: The capability of individuals to recognize and understand their own and others’ emotions is referred to as emotional intelligence or emotional quotient. According to the World Economic Forum, it is emerging as one of the topmost requisite skills, as a person with a high emotional quotient is expected to handle pressure better than others and such an individual is co-operative and open to feedback.
Wide Network: Studies have revealed that employees who have a wide network and enjoy scores of connections with their fellow workers tend to influence others and are highly regarded. It is also identified that an important aspect of achievers is collaborating with others on a regular basis. One of the best ways to expand networks is leaving apprehensions and be open with people, even if it means admitting what we don’t know.
Development Plan: Enhancing skills through a proper development plan is essential to grow professionally. Seeking learning opportunities will make us stand out in the competition due to our quality of taking initiative and shows that we deserve better opportunities and can handle more and new responsibilities. Learning and development need not be from the office programs only; we can attend conferences or seminars and enhance our skills. Also, we can ask our management to consider us for cross-functional and other department tasks that help us to expand our horizons in various skills.
Seek Feedback: Taking feedback at regular intervals lets us understand what the management expects from us and how far we are able to reach those expectations. It is necessary that we take the feedback with a positive attitude and try to work on our weaknesses so as to improve our performance.
Time management: As part of the development plan, it is necessary that we set some realistic goals and try to achieve them. For this, it is crucial that we learn to use time effectively and efficiently. We should take note of the point that when tasks are completed without extending the deadlines, we get recognized for our time management skills and our credibility gets an excellent boost.
Conflict Management: One of the most critical factors in the success of a person’s professional career is conflict management. In situations of conflict, we need to identify the cause of conflict and try to fix it as soon as possible. Apart from this, we all should remember that we are working for an organization and share a common goal. So, getting to the compromise part in the earliest possible time is the most-wanted quality in such situations. By making a resolution to become a better employee and working diligently on the few aspects mentioned here, we all can work towards our professional growth. All these points help us becoming an indispensable part of the organization and help in improving our career prospects.