Extend Personal Maturity to Professional Maturity.

One of my favorite quotes from pastor and author Andy Stanley is that leadership requires us to be “the grown-ups in the room!” More and more I value this in staff, colleagues, etc. This got me thinking out loud about when or why some staff members are and some are not. To me, it comes down to the difference between PERSONAL MATURITY and PROFESSIONAL MATURITY.

You see personally mature people may be skilled enough and smart enough to function in any given work environment. They are old enough chronologically to be there but what happens when things become stressful? What about when there are disagreements? How about when they are not equipped to do the job and they start to discover what got them there is no longer sufficient to keep them there? There has been several times in the past where I have inherited staff (probably the most awkward thing that can happen to both of you!) that had been in the environment long before me. The issue was their job was originally X but then it became Y plus Z in terms of skills and new requirements. The reactions have been mixed. Some rose to the occasion while others did not. The point is, you may be leading or working with a personally mature person but are they professionally mature?

Professionally mature people have the advantage and abilities to not just function but to thrive in any given work environment. They are calm under pressure and can, according to the emotional intelligence crowd, recognize when they are becoming stressed or irritated but channel those emotions appropriately. They remain calm and meet their responsibilities. They pay attention to detail and act professionally regardless of how they feel. They get into problem solving mode versus just problem identification. They respond well to the demands of new or additional job responsibilities and think proactively versus retroactively. They anticipate needs and opportunities versus play catch-up. Finally, they keep a positive attitude and tone in their dealings with their own teams and colleagues. Perhaps the best examples of these types of professionals are pilots, medical staff, first-responders, and military leaders.

So the big question becomes, how do we lead ourselves and others to Professional Maturity? Here are a few suggestions:

• IDENTIFY the areas that need to be worked on (i.e. attention to detail, managing emotions, new skill development, etc.).
• Create a GROWTH PLAN that will address areas of both STRENGTH and DEVELOPMENT (i.e. mentoring, workshops, self-study, job shadowing, training, practice and simulation, etc.).
• Set METRICS for improvement (from X to Y by when?).
• MONITOR progress in meeting those growth goals.
• RECOGNIZE and REWARD improvement.
• REPEAT!

As always, if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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