Quickly learns and integrates new technical skills and knowledge
Is highly adept at learning, integrating and applying new technical skills and knowledge
Has an affinity for quickly learning, integrating, and applying cutting-edge technical skills and knowledge
Participates successfully in technical courses and seminars
Participates successfully in technical courses and seminars; seeks out avenues to enhance technical knowledge
Actively seeks out avenues to learn about advances in relevant technical disciplines, including technical courses, seminars, conferences, professional journals, collegial learning
Continuously seeks out avenues and is committed to learn about advances in relevant technical disciplines, including technical courses, seminars, conferences, professional journals, collegial learning
Incorporates new learning into his or her job
Efficiently incorporates new technical knowledge into his or her job
Effectively incorporates new technical knowledge consistently into his or her job; seeks out opportunities to apply new knowledge
Skillfully applies new technical knowledge toward innovation and performance improvement; continuously seeks out opportunities to apply technical innovation to organizational problems
Describe a situation that required you to learn new technical knowledge and skills. What was it that you needed to learn and how new was it to you? How did you go about learning it and how much time did you commit to it? How did you apply what you learned and what were the results?
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Describe the various approaches you have used over the past year to learn about advances in your discipline. Please describe specific knowledge or skills you needed to build and how you went about doing it. Who initiated the learning?
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Please provide some specific examples of how you incorporated new technical knowledge into your job. What were the results?
Learning on your own: These self-development remedies will help you build your skill(s).
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Find the master professional: Enlist the assistance of a professional in a specific function or technology to teach or tutor you. Ask questions regarding the process, the critical elements to employ, and helpful reference tools.
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Enroll in appropriate professional associations: Sign up as a member and read their literature on emerging technologies. Seek out and participate in workshops and conferences that deal with what you need to know.
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Find the bible on your function or technology: Obtain the standard reference book which is considered to be the "bible" of the specific function or technology. Subscribe to a journal and read the back issues.
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Identify the leaders in your function or technology: Buy books, read articles, and attend lectures or conferences that feature them.
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Enroll in college or university evening or weekend courses that teach your function or technology: Take advantage of training courses offered in the workplace.
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Hire a consultant to tutor you.
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Be an early tester of new and emerging technology: Volunteer to be the first to try new things.
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Buy a home computer: Attend technical trade shows. Acquire and use technical equipment.
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Practice by picking technology somewhat related to your work: Practice it and become an expert. Demonstrate or teach it to others.
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Learn to think as an expert in the technology does: Pick the brain of an expert in the field, asking what is or is not important. Observe them at their skill. Develop five key questions to consider when technical issues arise.
Learning from develop-in-place assignments: These part-time develop-in-place assignments will help you build your skill(s).
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Manage a temporary group of expert people in a project.
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Build a multifunctional project team to tackle a common problem or issue.
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Work on a process-simplification project to reduce steps and costs of a process or procedure.
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Create a contingency plan for an anticipated event or crisis, and present it to others for approval.
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Help someone outside of your department solve a problem.
Learning more from your plan: These additional remedies will help make this development plan more effective for you
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Learning to learn better:
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Study what and how to learn. Use learning techniques and strategies that you have successfully used in previous learning experiences.
Become a student again of how people learn. Review techniques on instructional design.
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Learning from experience, feedback, and other people:
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Solicit and accept feedback from multiple sources, using a variety of methods.
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Get feedback from those in authority. Communicate that you are open to constructive criticism and are willing to work on issues they view as important.
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Get feedback from your direct reports. Set a positive tone, and don’t retaliate if you don't agree.
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Get feedback form peers and colleagues. Promote trust to get honest, quality feedback.
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Be open and non-defensive when others offer feedback. Ask for examples and details, and take notes.
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Learning from courses:
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Take outside technology courses, or courses offered at the workplace.
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Take a survey course. Get a general overview of your topic of interest.
Bennis, Warren G. and Robert J. Thomas, Geeks and Geezers. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
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Friedman, Thomas L. The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization. Landover Hills, MD: Anchor Publishing, 2000.
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Glen, Paul. Leading Geeks: How to Manage the People Who Deliver Technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 2003.
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Hruby, F. Michael. Technoleverage. New York: AMACOM, 1999.
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Maps, James J. Quantum Leap Thinking. Los Angeles: Dove Books, 1996.
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Muirhead, Brian K. and William L. Simon. High Velocity Leadership—The Mars Pathfinder Approach to Faster, Better, Cheaper. New York: Harper Business, 1999.
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Stewart, Thomas A. Intellectual Capital—The New Wealth of Organizations. New York: Doubleday, 1997.
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Tobin, Daniel R. Transformational Learning—Renewing Your Company Through Knowledge and Skills. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996.
