If you’re looking for a career boost, brush up on critical skills that can increase your career potential. These are skills that everyone needs to learn, and it never hurts to re-asses and find ways to improve them.
Great Communication Skills
Candidates with strong communication abilities are important when working with teams, clients and co-workers. It’s important to also talk to your team and discuss ways to communicate effectively. In doing so, you create public speaking sessions that will open the team up to each other to provide feedback and support. Always remember to be clear and concise when delivering messages.
The key to developing good communications skills is to stay challenged. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and work hard to get better. Continue to network both casually and professionally. Change things up with small interactions, like using new conversation starters or talking to strangers more often. Improve one thing at a time to improve your professional communication.
Leadership Abilities
By developing great communication skills, you’ll further develop your skills as a leader.
In group settings, work on unifying the group and placing trust and responsibility in your co-workers. Not everyone in the group will agree on the same thing, so it’s your job to make sure everyone is heard while also making compromises to come up with a cohesive plan.
Teamwork
Working on a team is a skill that you will constantly have to learn and improve for the rest of your career. There are so many benefits from working collectively, especially in a challenging and engaging environment.
Working with a team teaches you how to become a better listener and how to keep an open mind. Understand everyone’s strengths and weaknesses so you can balance out the areas that need improvement. Teamwork also involves individuals with certain strengths to step up and embrace certain skills that others on the team don’t have. By staying engaged and excited about projects, you will boost the team morale.
While there are plenty of ways to learn in your day-to-day job, if you’re really ready to invest in your personal growth, look into a program like UVA’s McIntire Business Institute, which can give you the focus you need to develop these skills.
There will always be many ways to learn in your career. Invest in personal growth, build relationships, think strategically about your company as a whole, and be seen as a leader among your co-workers. Always challenge yourself!