#TLDR: Like the classical thought experiment, you are not the same professional you were last month, year, or decade neither are your stakeholders. How do you stay aware of this fact and leverage it?
Ship of Theseus poses a question: whether an entity that has had all of its original components replaced over time remains the same entity. This same holds true for your professional persona as well as for your stakeholders. We change every day based on our experiences and learning. Over time, we are completely different professionals than we were.
It is one of the biggest leadership mistakes not being aware of this fact about your teams, colleagues and leaders. We all are changing and to evaluate ourselves based on past instances is incomplete at best and dangerous at worst. Reminding yourself that the person you are interacting with now is not the same that you interacted with last year allows you to better communicate, understand and collaborate at the workplace.
Similarly, for your own self, being aware that your professional environment, capabilities, and needs are changing over time is critical. Such awareness allows you to explore new avenues to engage, grow and thrive in the workplace. It also opens up your thinking that your development needs are also changing. If you had done some evaluation a few years back and it had identified certain weaknesses, it is better to reevaluate and check how your weaknesses have shifted.
At PB JAM, we stress this point about continuous professional development being your partner in this constantly changing modern workplace and what it needs for you as well as what you need from it. In our view, professional development is not something that you do once a year or via a six-month course or a week-long workshop. You turn professional development into a daily habit, like going to the gym or practicing good eating.
Over time, you will start to see a sustainable and noticeable change in your professional persona, your own ship of Theseus, and a stronger and better version of you! Engage with PB JAM and keep your ship in great shape...
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