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5 Tips To Grow Professionally And Personally

Gayle Petrillo May 2022

Career Kuel Thought Leader: Gayle Petrillo

Congratulations, You’ve landed your ideal job!

“The challenge now is to keep learning and growing personally as well as professionally.”

Whether you have gotten a promotion within the organization, you moved to another company or even decided to break away and become your own boss, you’ve worked long and hard to accomplish this. The challenge now is to keep learning and growing personally as well as professionally.

Here Are 5 Tips To Grow Professionally And Personally:

1.Equal Treatment:

If you have employees as direct reports, remember to treat everyone the same. Everyone, from the janitorial staff to the highest ranked person, you come in contact with deserves being treated with dignity and respect.

2. Humility:

Don’t stand out because you ‘know’ and ‘act’ as if you are the smartest person in the room. With an attitude such as this, you will be perceived as overconfident, cocky, and even arrogant. Instead of trying to prove you are knowledgeable and smart outwardly, modesty will most likely help you gain respect and admiration. 

3. Compassion And Empathy:

The more you can relate to others, by showing compassion and empathy, more of your colleagues will want to be around you, not run from you or talk behind your back. 

“we have two ears and one mouth for a reason”

4. Listen And Learn:

Be a sponge. Ask questions early on. Really listen to the answers you are given, without judgment. It will go a long way to build trust, the foundation of strong relationships, within and outside of your work environment. We’ve all heard the adage, “we have two ears and one mouth for a reason; we should be listening more than talking.” It’s especially true when it comes to being in a new situation. I coach my clients with W.A.I.T. Why am I talking? We can’t listen while we are talking. 

By listening to the more experienced generations of those around you, being those older or simply more experienced, you may be surprised at the information you glean. While you may not agree with their ‘how’, their ‘why’ may be more important. That’s why listening to understand can be helpful. You can then fetter out what is ancillary before proceeding.

“In closing, let me remind you of what many of us saw with our own eyes.”

5. Learn The Job:

Another tip is to do even mundane and menial tasks yourself before delegating them. If you ignore or push them off to others too soon, you may lose sight of some of the important pieces of the overall puzzle necessary for you to be successful.

In closing, let me remind you of what many of us saw with our own eyes. This is a great example of how the tip to grow professionally using empathy and compassion works. During the Academy Awards, we watched as Liza Minnelli was assisted by Lady Gaga as she presented the award for Best Picture to Coda. Friends and colleagues who previously had not been fond of Lady Gaga found themselves pulled in by her empathy for her long-time friend. People will remember this scene for years to come and it’s something we all can learn from.

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About the Author:

Gayle Petrillo is President of First Impressions, Image Consulting. Gayle is an image consultant working with both businesses and individuals. Her services include: customer service training; team building skills; secret shopper services; gossip avoidance techniques; closet analysis; wardrobe transformations, personal shopping; employment coaching; and presentation skills.