Have you got your CPD back to front?
When we think CPD we think of Continual Professional Development. Often the first things that will jump out at us are some sort of formal education, certificates and qualifications relating to the X’s and O’s of our field.
Granted, when we are starting out, we need to get certain certificates and qualifications in order to be deemed ‘fit to practice’, but once we have these essentials, where is the most impactful place for you to place your 3 biggest assets: your time, money and energy?
You work hard to improve and to offer high performance, it might be that the best place for you to invest is not in another technical area. The relentless pursuit of technical excellence can come at the expense of your own personal development, well-being, or professional progression.
Here are 5 areas where you can consider placing your assets to ensure you evolve as a person, and practitioner so that you can create a sustainable career for yourself rich in opportunity, finance and fulfillment.
1. Soft skills
Upskilling in non-technical practitioner skills such as communication, managing people, leadership, networking, feedback, surviving the early years, and career periodisation will not only separate you from the crowd but help you develop as a person for life. Dan Howells of Collaborate Sports is my go-to in this area.
2. Your understanding of self
The common denominator in every job you will have in your life is you. Work to understand how you hold yourself back from having the career you want so that you can live the life you want to lead. Richard Husseiny and Scott Livingston are my go-to’s in this area.
3. Your well-being
When we make the connection between our ability to deliver high performance and be our best selves for the ones we look to serve (athletes, clubs, family, partners, kids, friends), we unlock the potential to do this consistently and enjoy the journey for years to come. Dr. Peter Olusoga is doing some great work in this area and my website Career Blueprint has a ton of free resources to support you.
4. Managing money
I still don’t know why we are not ready to talk about this taboo topic as coaches and support practitioners. Ultimately, we need money to live, so why should we not try to understand 2 really important things? 1. How to optimise the money we do have. 2. How to create more wealth for ourselves. Jason Graystone is my go-to guy for financial management and wealth accumulation
5. Your relationships
Investing in your personal relationships with your time, money, energy and love is going to bring you positive outcomes. In the workplace, your relationships with the hierarchy, your colleagues and your athletes ultimately keep you employed. But more than that, they support you in enjoying going to work and being fulfilled in your job. Outside of work, your relationships are the cornerstone of our lives, if we feed them then they grow and we prosper. If we don’t feed them and prioritise other things/people then they wilt. Richard Husseiny is again my go-to guy on this topic.
Why should you invest in any or all of these 5 over a technical course for example?
Because each of these 5 areas will yield you consistent returns over time which will give you the skills and tools to create a job that serves you. To create an approach and philosophy towards work that allows you to move away from exhaustion, anxiety, burnout and resentment in the workplace. In order to move towards an inspired career which, you are excited to get out of bed for.
Each of the links mentioned above is companies or practitioners doing some fantastic work in that particular area and worth taking a look into because you are more than just a performance practitioner.
In fact, I would go as far as to say, that if we change Continual Professional Development to Continual Personal Development, we can set ourselves up for success.
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