This is a self development post, not the usual money related post. If you are wondering why a FA writes about self development, I feel that growing our internal capabilities is an integral part of growing our wealth. Our income which often reflects our personal capabilities contributes greatly to the amount of resources we can deploy to our financial goals.
If you are new to this blog, I've actually written a self development article once each month during my first year of writing and it's well received. Personal development is also an area of personal interest so I enjoy writing about it so I decided to bring this topic back.
A sample of my earlier self development article: 5 Important Growth Lessons Entrepreneurship Taught Me
The Story Of My Enneagram Coaching Journey
For some who didn't know me, I did pro bono enneagram coaching this year because I wanted to clock my 100 coaching hours to be a certified coach.
No, I don't have an intention to change career and I only went for the enneagram coaching course purely to coach my own team of advisors. Since I embarked on the journey, I thought why not get the coaching license as a self development project.
What I wanted to share about this experience was how we required our coachees to do an enneagram profiling test which is similar to other profiling test you might be familiar with like Strengthsfinder, Meyers Briggs, etc.
The results will provide an analysis of a person's characteristics which helps them to understand themselves better in terms of their developed capabilities and undeveloped capabilities. In enneagram, there are 9 personality types. If you are wondering why some people in the same type are so capable while another similar type is struggling, it is because of the mastery levels of the individual.
To give a simple example, let's use 2 university graduates who graduated from the same school and course. Graduate A might be very capable and can take on projects independently while Graduate B might require hand-holding and is very slow in completing tasks.
Why is both graduates so different if they have the same degree and came from the same school? Graduate A spent a lot of time developing their experience and exposure through CCA leadership, various internship opportunities in big companies and even done a side hustle while Graduate B pretty much just studied as a student with no CCA involvement, limited internship and spent all their school breaks idling.
See the difference? So each enneagram type's mastery levels is similar in terms of the self development work they have done over the years.
My observation from this side project
Disclaimer: all profiling test results are not to judge or characterize people purely based on the result. It provides a guide to help people and those working with them understand themselves better and the information still needs to be validated with real world interactions with the person.
What intrigued me was the findings from some of these enneagram results. There are instances where the results of someone in their mid thirties showcase high negative traits of varying characteristics and low development in the positive traits almost in majority of these characteristics. When you match the results with the person's career progress, it seems justified.
There are also results which are not so extreme. Some are more balanced and there are those with well developed positive traits in most characteristics which also aligned with their career progress.
I'm bringing this up because I was really fascinated that people in their mid thirties and older could have such low mastery in areas like critical thinking, logical reasoning, decisiveness, systems and even high negative traits like people pleasing, avoidance of confrontation, low action taking, etc.
It goes to show age does not equates to competence or experience. In fact, I could go further to interpret that years of working experience does not make a person a more valuable hire compared with someone with a shorter vintage who has better credentials.
A lack of self work
My interactions through these coaching sessions resulted in one finding. Usually, the lack of mastery is a result of a lack of self work. It is possible that these individuals have spent time attending courses. However, most who have less developed traits may have been attending courses which teaches more technical skills related to their job specifically and less on the soft skills.
I had this assumption that if you start off as an executive just by default of working, you learn the necessary soft skills as you grow in your jobs. I believe many working adults also take it for granted that this is the case.
Through my enneagram coaching data, those who practice self work in their own time grow tremendously. It's an explanation why some hold high management roles at a young age. At the same time, for those who just go to work, knock off and switch off, they might be mid thirties and still nowhere near middle management. Unlike school, you don't naturally get promoted because you did your basic job. You have to show relevant competence and this skill is learnt in your own time.
When was the last time you invested in yourself?
Which brings me to the question in the title. When was the last time you invested in yourself in terms of soft skills?
This may or may not be referring to attending courses that cost money. It can be as simple as investing time to do daily reflections to improve your day-to-day interactions with your stakeholders. It can also be reading a book on personal development each month and implementing one thing from it. It can be hiring a coach to guide you (this involves monetary commitment). It can be attending courses that teach you negotiation skills, leadership and decision making. Have you spent your skills future credits? Those above 40 received more skills future credits this year...
Personal Growth works on compounding
Soft skills development work on compounding. In other words, the more we practice, the better we get. The more time spent on it, the more our abilities get enhanced. Nobody can exactly pin point which day or which event triggered the growth, it just happens over time. The best part? Soft skills development acquired is permanent and it is transferrable.
Today if you are working as an engineer and you suddenly have the opportunity to apply for a management role, you need to sell yourself. If you have built communication and marketing abilities, you can.
Most people don't do anything till frustration kicks in when they feel stuck. Then they panic and do something. The thing is, you can't just attend a course and become an influencial speaker or have superb leadership skills thereafter. In fact, if there is one ability many struggle with is self awareness. That's why such profiling tests helps! A lot of the learning in skills development comes from on the job application and adjusting while you apply.
Start investing in yourself early
Investing in ourselves pays the best returns. It builds our ability to command a higher remuneration which funds our lifestyle, our investment resources and our network.
Self development work can cause more procrastination than investing our money. One outsources the task and work for us in our sleep (investing money), while the other requires us to put in the reps on ourselves.
What a lot of people overlook is the pay-off. Investing in ourselves rewards us with both a tangible and intangible return. If we become more capable, we can command higher incomes. Our enhanced capabilities also builds our self esteem and gives us confidence. These intangibles might be worth more than what investing our monies can give us.
If you are thinking about what's next to improve your career progression, start looking at doing some self work over acquiring more technical skills.
After reading this article, you might be keen to have a discussion on working with me. You can reach me by dropping me a message.
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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'.