Professional growth and development opportunity

The majority of people naturally work toward professional growth. Being able to develop ourselves as the “best possible person” in both job and life is fulfilling. A sense of pride and accomplishment comes from progressing through stages in our career. There have been numerous books written about career stage development and modeling. In general, most specialists in this field agree that a professional (1) has an identifiable base of knowledge from which he or she practices, (2) has acquired a mastery of that knowledge through extended education, (3) has autonomy in making decisions regarding application of that knowledge, (4) displays a strong commitment to the field, and (5) has a lifelong commitment to professional development. (Kerr, Von Glinow, and Schriesheim, 1977)

The stages are:

• Groundfloor or Entry Stage
• Colleague Stage
• Counselor Stage
• Advisor Stage

Groundlevel or Entry stage is easily understood. It is the time in a career where we first enter either our chosen profession or a new job within the profession. We are interns working to understand the organization’s structure, culture, and purpose. At the entry stage, our goal is to quickly acquire the basic or core technical skills and prove ourselves. To attain any level of career satisfaction, we typically work hard to move out of this stage by moving from dependence to independence. The most successful person seeks out professional opportunities. The driven individual takes advantage of training, inquires about mentor relationships with a senior professional, establishes strong peer relationships and requests career counseling in order to achieve more.

Many professionals find satisfaction operating at the Colleague stage. As long as continuing education or increasing responsibility occur, it is possible to thrive on independent work in this stage. Colleagues build at least one strong area of expertise and are well-respected. Colleagues often become independent contributors in problem solving and establish a professional identity. These are the folks who continue to expand their knowledge in their area of expertise. They often find themselves moving from independency to interdependency – establishing synergy with their greater team.

The Counselor stage signals a desire to take on responsibility for the growth of others. A counselor level person may not take on direct managerial responsibility but does provide professional growth facilitation to others. One of the most rewarding steps in professional growth comes from the ability to stimulate thought in others. Developing coaching and mentoring capabilities and initiating job enrichment and expanding (redesigning) opportunities for peers provides relevance and value during the counselor stage. It is at this stage of career development that the opportunity for self-renewal through job redesign, greater responsibility in decision-making and opportunities for special projects and formal and informal mentor opportunities present themselves. The value that the counselor stage presents is often under-estimated and provides a tremendous amount of personal and professional satisfaction.

Individuals in the Advisor stage play a key role in shaping the future of the organization by “sponsoring” promising people, programs and ideas. The sponsor has often developed a distinct competence in several areas of expertise and often has a regional or national reputation.

Motivators for Professional Development:

* Becoming involved in strategic organizational planning
* Achieving the respect of others in the organization
* Engaging in innovation and risk-taking
* Understanding complex relationships
* Achieving a position of influence
* Sponsoring individuals, programs, and people
* Increasing responsibility
* Expanding knowledge regarding relevant issues
Developmental Opportunities:
* Opportunities to utilize expertise and influence
* Complex and challenging assignments
* Increased responsibility
* Involvement in strategic planning
* Opportunities to represent the organization to internal and external groups
* Obtaining resources
* Career counseling
* Retirement planning

It is important to note that no stage in professional development is superior or inferior to any other position. Each of us owes it to ourselves to examine which stage resonates with us at any point in time. Each stage provides opportunities to achieve a level of self-examination and comfort that determines where we are most comfortable fulfilling our personal and professional goals.

Special credit to Roger A. Rennekamp, Ph.D. and Martha Nall, Ed.D on their Professional Growth: A guide for Professional Development. Many of their ideas are not only well-formed but provide a strong foundation for what we regularly see in leadership and corporate positions.