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The month of February was filled with so many great achievements. The Super Bowl. Winter Olympics. And for most Banks, there were staff promotion announcements, salary increases and bonus payments.
Did you celebrate in February?
If so, CONGRATULATIONS. What did you do differently or better last year to earn your reward?
If not, then I encourage you to commit to learning so you can improve your skills, behaviors and beliefs for greater future success.
You see if you do what you have always done, you won’t get what you’ve always got …. you will eventually get less, because your competition and your colleagues are doing better / more.
Even elite athletes consistently learn new skills and behaviors in order to win a Super Bowl or an Olympic Gold Medal.
Over Christmas, my 19 year old daughter made an effort to learn a few extra skills in her new job and was quickly promoted to Store Manager – within 6 months of starting – much to the chagrin of the other employees who have been there longer but have not bothered to further develop their skills.
When I gained my first job after college as a Bank Teller, I realized quickly that I needed to continue learning other non-technical skills – like how to create amazing customer experiences – if I wanted to succeed in Banking. Within 18 months, I was an Assistant Branch Manager.
There are so many different options available to help you develop your skills, start a learning cadence and become a life long learner. Here are the four that have helped me throughout my career.
Conferences are a great opportunity to gain valuable knowledge beyond your technical skills. They are also a great opportunity to network with other bankers and gain insights / feedback to help your career.
I have had the privilege of attending many conferences over the years and have made a concerted effort each time to learn new things that I can apply and engage with new people I can learn from.
The key is to formally follow up your new learnings and contacts post-conference.
Did your bank host a conference on President’s Day? Did you see it as a chore or a benefit? I hope you saw it as a benefit.
Bank Leaders, I encourage you to host internal staff conferences every year and create an open environment for learning, collaboration and idea sharing.
Learn to Love Conferences:
- Research what industry conferences are available for you to attend.
- Seek to attend at least two conferences a year.
- Be attentive and engaged. Download resources. Take notes.
- Make an effort to meet new people and share best practices. Follow up post-conference.
- Share your conference learnings with your colleagues.
Are your team meetings inspiring …. or are they simply housekeeping discussions? Do you walk out of team meetings armed with new knowledge and ideas to help you achieve greater success?
The team meeting is another great forum for learning. Leverage your team mates to share wins, losses, successes and challenges. Be open to seeking advice from the group.
It is also a wonderful forum for continuous training. Technical training. Compliance training. Process training. And equally as important …. sales and service training or people skills.
I strongly recommend that training be a part of every team meeting agenda.
Learn to Love Team Meetings:
- Formally schedule and commit to regular Team Meetings (at least monthly).
- Set a fixed agenda and make Training / Coaching a regular agenda item.
- Choose a specific skill / behavior to discuss and share best practices.
- Assign a field exercise to practice the skill learned.
- Collate your Team Meeting notes. Complete the field exercise. Share feedback at the next Team Meeting.
To achieve greater success I encourage you to develop an individual activity plan and be open to seeking guidance from a trusted leader. There is so much you can learn from an accountability partner or a mentor.
Throughout my career I have met with my leader/mentor each month for an individual review of my performance and plan. I personally enjoy the one on one catch ups, but I really love the coaching and guidance I receive.
Performance reviews can feel intimidating, but why wait for an annual review when you can have a wonderful coaching discussion every month.
Learn to Love Individual Reviews:
- Develop a P.L.A.N. for success – “Performance Goals + Learnings + Activities + Next Month”.
- Schedule a PLAN review meeting each month with your Leader (mentor or colleague).
- Focus monthly 1×1 discussions on Learnings and Activities.
- Monthly catch ups are wonderful learning / coaching opportunity – not simply a task / pipeline review.
Many bankers and salespeople tell me they do not have time for training. As a bank leader and a professional coach, I have witnessed first hand the lack of commitment to the coaching on offer.
If you want to achieve ALL your career goals and personal dreams, I strongly encourage you to block out time in your calendar for personal development.
Focus on you. Work on you. Be receptive to training. Do a training course. Watch an online coaching video. Read a book. Try something new.
Never feel guilty (or “too busy”) about taking time to develop your skills, behaviors and beliefs. Because EVERYONE (including you) will benefit.
Learn to Love Personal Development:
- Block out one hour a week for personal development in your calendar.
- Choose a day / time when you can best learn.
- Purposely review training material and notes.
- Make a conscious decision to apply at least one new idea / learning every month.
- No rescheduling. No cheating. Otherwise there will be no rewards.
- Get addicted to your personal development routine.
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Please Learn to Love Learning:
- It’s not child’s play. We are never too old to learn new things.
- Learning can be fun. Don’t take it too seriously.
- Life is a one long learning journey. Document your daily learnings.
- Remember you can’t achieve success without getting out of your comfort zone.
- Life-long learners earn great rewards.
When was the last time you learned something new?
What new learning habits will you adopt?
Strive to learn. Be a life-long learner. The rewards are unlimited and worth it.
Click the image below to watch Joe Micallef share some advice on why it is so important to be a life-long learner.
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Article written by Joe Micallef – Sales Strategist & Coach – Grow UP Sales. For more advice on how to be a life long learner please email joe@growupsales.com or visit the webpage www.growupsales.com
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