Personal development is a big interest of mine. As a FA who specializes in helping clients work out solutions to live their aspirational lives, there is direct co-relation between career success and financial resources. In view of this, sometimes I spend time providing personal development advice as part of the process of growing their financial resources. On top of which, I'm currently building a team of like-minded financial advisors and mentorship is somewhat similar to parenting.

Through the course of my work and interactions with people, I've observed some common skills I feel are inherent in those with accelerated career success. Not all of us have managed to develop these traits in school. Hence, for those of us who are now taking a serious view of our careers, I'd like to share the 5 skills I feel we can develop.

Self & Situational Awareness

At the core of personal development, knowing ourselves is key. In order to work smart, we need to know our strengths and weaknesses. Failing which we will end up working very hard for very little return.

In any problem solving situation, you need to know the root of the issue before you can plug the hole. In solving human problems, it's a similar thing. When we try to fix ourselves, all the more we need to know our areas of inadequacies and areas where we can contribute.

Take time to reflect

Especially in fast pace Singapore, we are often too caught up with our daily tasks. We rarely stop to reflect. With the lockdowns, it has given some of us more time for introspection. Even as we open up, we should develop a habit to reflect on our days. What did we do well and where can we do better? Only when we start to take stock on what is happening around us and within us will we be able to identify our blind spots and fix them.

Increasing our exposure

Critical thinking in my opinion is one of the top skills in the post covid world (if one even exists). However, critical thinking can't be developed overnight. It's not as simple as attending a strategic thinking course and you can suddenly make multifaceted considerations. It is also unlikely one can suddenly think 5 steps ahead in various issues when they originally could only see step 1.

Critical thinking is developed through extensive exposure to various ideas and concepts or what people call experience. Often this is achieved by taking part in plenty of activities, meeting a lot of people and having useful discussions. The more you know, the more information you have to join the dots. This is why it is usually the guy who has been on the job for 10 years who can make wiser decisions assuming all other attributes equal. This is also one of the reasons why employers look at your CCA and other non academic activities assuming all other attributes are equal.

Open-mindedness

As someone who has the opportunity to meet a lot of people, it is observed that high achievers tend to be more receptive towards new ideas.

As a FA, a classic example of close-minded behaviour is how some people simply dismiss investing as scams because they know it's not principal guaranteed and might have heard someone losing money before. A more measured approach even for conservative open-minded people would be to make an effort to understand the instrument and voice their discomfort about the risk, not dismiss the instrument as fraudulent.

In a fast changing world where technology is likely to dominate the global economy, being open-minded to innovative ideas is crucial. It is also my observation that open-mindedness is a key component of learning ability. New perspectives that work are often counter-intuitive. If it was so directly obvious, it would have been implemented long ago. Counter-intuitive often also means uncomfortable. Those with strong open-mindedness are equipped to consider new possibilities and embrace change sooner.

Consider issues from the lens of objectivity not subjectivity

If you think about it, under what circumstance are we unwilling to try new things or do something? It is usually under the circumstance where we are unfamiliar with that new thing. Yet everything new becomes familiar once you understand it. The question is, are we guilty of dismissing the experience without truly understanding how it works?

Try to view issues from pros and cons. It should also help to view issues from a third party perspective. It would be very useful if you can refrain from putting your own likes and preferences in it from the onset of consideration. Personal suitability should be considered after looking at the issue as a standalone.

Learning how to ask the right questions

If you ask good questions, you get good answers. If you ask bad questions (aka generic questions), you get bad answers.

One of the most important skill in a learning process is to know how to ask the right questions. Take for instance, as an entrepreneur running my trade for the first time, there are a lot of ways to skin a cat. I make it a point to catch up with fellow successful practitioners to understand their methodology and look for better ideas to improve my own processes. I've also been on the other end of interviews where people try to discover my methodologies.

Over the years, I've improved my questioning skills. At the beginning, I'd meet up with people and walk away with a general idea how people do it but no clue how to replicate the process. Essentially, it's like knowing but not really knowing. This behaviour is common even when I get questioned about my own methodologies. Sometimes I walk away wondering how did the information help the other party. I somehow even hypothesize this is a result of our 'paiseh' nature where we dare not ask 'intrusive' questions. Although I really have no clue what's the point of knowing something which you can't use...

Read also: How mentorship can accelerate your progress

Nowadays, I ask more specific questions and go in-depth. The goal? To find out how someone really does something to the extent it's implementable should I want to.

If you think about it, it should be applicable across industries. It's very easy to grasp general concepts but still remain ineffective at implementation. I liken this to learning a secret recipe. You can learn how to cook Laksa on Youtube but a famous Laksa stall won't cook it the same way if not every Laksa stall wouldn't have differentiation. The question is, if you want to become a professional Laksa seller and someone is willing to teach you, do you know what questions to ask to make your Laksa stand out?

It's definitely not "how to cook laksa?"

Practice practical humility

Again perhaps part of our 'paiseh' culture, a lot of us try to practice a show of humility. Sometimes, we simply brush off our bad performance as being lousy at something. Very humble but not very useful.

In my view, practical humility entails knowing how to ask for help. Ego is the enemy of humility. Often, we rather shut off and brush off our weaknesses than ask for help. Sometimes, we know we are bad in certain areas, we just feel worse seeking help. It may also be an Asian thing where we simply don't want to trouble others and try to figure everything out ourselves. The point is, if you knew how to figure it out on your own, you won't suck at it now...

I don't subscribe to the 'show of humility simply because I don't want to be branded as arrogant'. It's not very useful. Being humble and grounded links back to self awareness of your weaknesses and being willing to admit you can improve. Then seek out the person suitable (it can even be your competitor or someone you dislike) at helping you level up to become better. Above all, practical humility recognizes that weakness is temporary. You can one day become good at it hence it's foolish to let ego of seeking help get into the way. This is why, I call it practical humility. It is simply acknowledging it is efficient to bow to someone stronger in order to learn but knowing that you can become strong too. You might even become better than the person you once sought help from...

Why are these 5 skills important?

I believe if you read to the end, you resonate with being stuck at some point in your life. We often ask ourselves what should we do to break out of this plateau? I feel that most of us fall into 2 groups. Either the ones who know how to problem solve and are in the midst of unlocking the answers, or the ones who know they are stuck but are clueless how to problem solve.

If you belong to latter, then these 5 skills are probably the foundation you need to build a better life regardless of the industry you come from or wish to switch to.

Read also: 4 Ways To Excel In The Workplace

After reading this article, you be keen to have a discussion on personal development with me. You can reach me by dropping me a message. Be sure to share the article if you feel this information is helpful. You will enable a lot more people to learn about how get unstuck. About Janice I specialize in portfolio optimization (ensuring you get maximum value for every dollar you put in) and retirement planning. I am also building a team of financial advisors who are committed to help responsible individuals attain their goals without misallocating their resources. Do reach out if you would like to explore a career with me. Clients look for me primarily to outsource their retirement planning needs so that they can focus on other aspects of life that interests them. Many of whom are very good in earning their incomes in their respective professions and wish to ensure their monies continue to work harder while they focus on what they are good at. Refer to client testimonials here. I've helped many clients who are referred to me reduce the costs they are paying for their insurance or help provide solutions when they deem they are stuck with huge commitments bought when they were younger but unsuitable for their present life stages. You can reach me at 94313076 or my social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Disclaimer: The content created are based on my personal opinions and may not be representative to everyone or any organisation. If you have any doubts or queries pertaining to insurance or investment, please seek professional advice from a trusted adviser in an official setting. You may also reach out to me if you do not have a present adviser using the message box under 'Let's Talk'.