61 | Professional development when you’re too busy to get up to pee (part 2)

Today, I want to make a case for professional development as an act of self-care, especially when you're on the path to promotion. As a quietly ambitious professional, you understand the importance of meaningful and fulfilling careers, making an impact in the world.

And I believe that investing in your professional growth can be a powerful form of self-care.

In a recent episode of The Rise in your Nine to Five podcast, I explored the idea that professional development can be a nurturing and rejuvenating experience. I share my perspective on three key reasons why professional development can be self-care.

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Now, I understand that not all professional development opportunities are created equal.

To make sure your professional development journey is truly self-care, I recommend looking for four essential elements.

Seek out a small group where you can trust and open up. Find a nurturing environment where you can authentically share and learn from others.

Look for programs that consider the whole person, taking into account your personal life, health, and social connections. A holistic approach to professional development can have a profound impact on your overall well-being.

Find a supportive coach or mentor who can guide you on your journey. Having someone who understands your unique challenges and provides encouragement and support can make all the difference.

Surround yourself with like-minded souls, people who share your purpose and mission. Connecting with others who are on a similar path can be incredibly nourishing for your soul.

 Listen to the episode for more thoughts and insight to selecting a program.

Whether you choose to explore my Rise Leadership Bootcamp or seek out other programs, I encourage you to look for a program where you can equally prioritize your self-care and invest in your growth.

And if you're interested in attending my (free) workshop on navigating the quietly ambitious path to promotion, please visit themintambition.com/workshop to find out more and register.

Thank you for being a part of our community of quietly ambitious professionals.

Together, let's rise and make a lasting impact in the world.

xo
Liz

PS there are two more dates for my free workshop in August. I'll be sharing insights about how to effectively position yourself for a promotion, without feeling braggy or gross. I'd love to see you there.

In this episode today, I want to make a case. The case of that I want to make is that professional development can be self-care. And especially when you're on the path for promotion. So there's a few different reasons for this. And I'm going to share a few of my views on this. And then what I'm going to do is I want to talk about what you should look for. Again, in my perspective, at least it may not be the same as you, or same as others. I'll share my perspective. I have four things that I really recommend you look for in professional development, that can be self care. well, Hey there, I'm Liz St. Jean, and this is the Rise in your Nine to Five podcast. Where I help quietly ambitious leaders who want to have meaningful and fulfilling careers, making an impact in the world. It's where strategy meets intuition to become a better leader with more joy, less stress and endless impact.

So let's break free from perfectionism, imposter thoughts. And that inner rule keeper that keeps you in a career comfort zone. It's time to become unapologetically you. And step into the life you were meant to live. We're going to talk presence, productivity, and having it all. Or as my four-year-old would say, we're going to take over the world. So let's get to it.

Hey friend. Now, just before we jump into this episode, I wanted to check if you've had a chance to register for my workshop, navigating the quietly ambitious path to promotion. This is a great workshop if you are looking for some insight and some tips on navigating that quietly ambitious path.

For example, what I hear from a lot of people is that they struggle to speak up about what they accomplished or what they are accomplishing, and they want to stay authentic and want to stay genuine while at the same time, keeping that integrity. And moving forward in your career, advancing your career, getting to the next level.

So, if that sounds like you, and you're looking for more confidence, more clarity around your leadership style, and you're especially wanting to navigate that really delicate balance between humility on one hand and self-advocacy on the other, then you'll definitely want to check this out.

Head over to the mintambition.com/workshop. That's the mint ambition.com/workshop. And you can get registered for one of the upcoming sessions. Now let's head over to the episode.

Well, hello there. And welcome back to the show. So this episode is called professional development when you're too busy to pee part two. And that's because we do have a part one to this topic. And if you want to check that out, feel free to go on over to episode 40. You don't have to have listened to it for a first before this one. It's just that I happen to record at first.

So if you want to, you can check it out first or you can check it out after this episode. But this topic. Let me just give you a bit of a context and lay the scene for why I'm even tackling this topic. So it came out of a mastermind call that I had, oh, a little while back. Not too long ago, but a little while back. And one of the participants in the mastermind commented, she laughed. And she said, you know, some days I'm just too busy to get up to even, even just to go pee. And everyone laughed and shared their stories of their version of just being so busy, so overrun. And after we laughed, then one of the other members commented. She said, so let me give you the context. We, most of my masterminds, a lot of my courses are on Saturday mornings, Eastern time, which also means that a lot of folks are in different time zones on Saturday. They're giving up part of their Saturday to be with me and being with me in these coaching groups.

So one of the other members just kind of smiled. And just and said to the group, but she's like, yeah, but this is so worth it. It's so worth being here. I feel refreshed. I feel like I gain so much out of being here.

And do you probably relate, especially to that first comment about being so busy that you can't even get up? But I'm guessing you also relate to that second comment about feeling such a sense of rejuvenation by connecting with others, by working on self-growth. And so in this episode today, I want to make a case. The case of that I want to make is that professional development can be self-care. And especially when you're on the path for promotion. So there's a few different reasons for this.

And I'm going to share a few of my views . I'm going to share three of them. And then what I'm going to do is I want to talk about what you should look for. Again, at least in my, in my perspective, at least it may not be the same as you, or same as others. I'll share my perspective. I have four things that I really recommend you look for in professional development that can be self care.

Okay. So let's first start with, why do I believe that professional development can be self-care. The first one. Is the guidance that it gives you, but more than that, it's the support. And even the encouragement you can get. So this is especially the case for folks who are in my audience and in my orbit, who I often refer to as quietly ambitious professionals. So the ones who are not seeking the spotlight don't want to feel braggy or gross or loud. Uh, promoting themselves. Like that feels a little bit. Gosha is a term. I hear a lot. If it feels like that for you to, to be looking at that path to remote promotion, you're not wanting to be like that. Well, getting some really good professional development can give you that supportive, encouraging, nurturing environment. And kind of get you out of the. Sometimes I call it the echo chamber of our own mind can get you kind of out of your own head and talking with others, listening with others, learning from others. And that is so valuable. Uh, when you're, when you're adult wanting to hold back, you're wanting to go forward. You're wanting to go. You're wanting to advance. Having that supportive group and that supportive, supportive, encouraging environment. Is absolutely critical for moving forward and feeling like you have, you know, The phrase I often use is like in groups it's like really linking arms and doing it together. And that is part of what makes itself care because you're going down this path with others in a supportive, nurturing environment.

Okay. Now a second reason that professional development can be self-care. Is that. Depending what you choose, but it will almost always be helpful, helpful for you in your current role to help you relieve stress, relieve the tension. You know, you're going to be learning tools that you can apply right away. That's going to help reduce stress. Make you more productive, make you more efficient or even just simply calming the mind. So we don't have, we're not spending as much mental effort getting the same tasks done. And that's a really critical piece when you're, when you're looking at professional development is looking at things that are going to help you, whether it's helping on that advancement or the specifically around advancement or helping your current role, you want to be choosing things strategically that are going to support you and release. Leave that stress and that tension. And then the third reason that I would argue professional development is self-care is a slightly different way of looking at self care than the standard ways. But I would argue that it is self care because it signals. Your interest in development and that you're in a place of growth and that you're looking to growing. It signals that to your manager, your direct manager, and to others as well. And they start, they see you as someone who's looking for advancement, looking for growth. And to me that is part of self care. You are putting yourself out there, putting yourself first to do this. And that is self care along with those other two reasons that I shared.

Now. You know, I use that phrasing very deliberately. I, when I said professional development can be self-care. It may not necessarily always be self care because it really depends on what you're choosing and what type of professional growth opportunities are getting into. And that's not to say that a, a growth opportunity is, is bad. If it's not self care is not saying that, but there are a few things that I would argue that you really want to look for for, in order to have a professional development opportunity. Be self care.

And so these are the things that I formed the foundation, like the basis of my program that I run. So the Premera primary one is my signature program rise, leadership bootcamp. We rise stands for it. Relationships, impact, strategy and energy. And for those of you who are curious and want to check it out, you can head over to the mid ambition.com/bootcamp to learn more about it. But that I'm going to share with you the four things that were really important to me when I developed. Bootcamp and it really underpins all of my group programs and these are the things that to me allow it to be self care it's not just about pushing ourselves. It's not about getting into the hustle culture and the work 70 hours or 80 90 hours in order to, to, you know, show that you've got what it takes. It's not about that. This, these four things I want to share with you are the underpinnings of professional development. That is self-care. And I would argue that. W whether you want to take my program or someone else's program, doesn't really matter. I would argue though, that finding a program that does these four things will be so valuable for you. So I highly highly encourage you to, to find that and to find that space and really to create that space in your weekly calendar to do this as, as part of your self-care, but you want these four things.

So let me share those, let me share those four things with you. So the first thing that I would argue. That makes it self care. Is finding a professional development opportunity where it is a small group that really opens up to one another. Where you can you feel like you can trust the group? You can be vulnerable. You can listen. You're you're being, you're listening authentically. You're really engaging with others. This is so critical, especially the P especially the piece where you feel like you can bring yourself to that group. You can trust, you can open up. This may be possible in your organization. I can't speak to all organizations. Um, I do find that doing something outside of your own organization is so helpful here, because what happens often when you're in a program Within your organization or for those of you who are in smaller industries as might even be broader than your company, but because you have a smaller industry, you see a lot of the same people. What can happen is that you're not just there for your own growth and development. You're also very mindful of how you're portraying yourself and how it might impact your career. Are you saying the right thing? Can you say that thing about your work situation, but your colleagues, but your boss, you've got part of your mind, that's evaluating what you're sharing and that on its own, just detracts from the experience.

If you're not able to fully engage in numbers, yourself, part of your brain is busy worrying and thinking. Or considering and couching everything you're saying. But more than that, you will almost certainly be self editing at the same time. You're going to be holding yourself back saying things very carefully, kind of saying it in a. You know, a very corporate correct kind of way, because you don't want something to get back. You really want a place where you really feel like you can be open and you can be trusted. Now that said you still want it to be a. Uh, positive place in the sense of, it's not really that helpful to go to a group and, and just vent and complain or be frustrated. That's not going to be very helpful and it's definitely not going to be very self care. What you want is a small group where you can grow together, open up before vulnerable and learn from one another. So that's number one small group that you can trust. The second piece you want to look for is you want to look for a program that It considers the, the whole person. Right. There's a lot of programs out there that really focus in on specific skills, especially when it comes to leading. Like if you're a positional manager and you think about. Let's give an example, like giving feedback to your employees. Right. Really hones in to a really specific topic. I would argue that a professional development that is self-care is a program that looks at the whole person. What's even better is if in the program itself, you are thinking about yourself as a whole person, you're developing the whole person explicitly. That said, uh, even programs that are implicitly whole person, or at least that they've considered the whole person, you know, what you might be having in your personal life. Your health life, your social life, the environment around you. For example, are you in a. Um, Um, return to office situation. Do you have kids or elders that you're caring for? Are you trying to navigate? Okay. How do I manage my friendships on topic? All the work that I have and how do I keep my health and balance all this time as well? You really want to find a program that is at least has considered it. And I would even argue you want to have a program that, that does touch on it. Has you consider it? That will really help make it a self care program. Hey. Then the third one. That you want to look for the third aspect of a professional development as self care. Is you want a supportive coach? You want a nurturing environment. And this is especially the case. If you do identify with that term quietly ambitious professional. It's really helpful to have a supportive coach because at least what I found a lot of people who come through my community and through my programs are what Dr. Brian Little called high self monitors. Hi, self monitor. What that is is it's. It's a trait or a tendency that when someone is very aware of the impact they have on others. Right. Very conscious of it. There's usually very high emotional intelligence, very high empathy skills in this case. Right. Because you're very attuned to the impact we're having on others. The challenge or the kryptonite, so to speak is that when we're very highly aware that we spend a lot of mental energy thinking about it, holding back, and then especially worrying. Ruminating about the, about what people might think about us, what impact we might've had. And that can be really challenging. If you're in a professional development program, that's going to push you re you know, push you way far out, not just out of your comfort zone, but it's going to be giving you pretty, uh, tough feedback.

Let's say. There is a time and place for that. I don't want to take away from it as a time and place for that. And when you want that deep self care, it can be so soothing and wonderful and nurturing and warm. I just imagine this warm environment, like imagine a coffee shop. You're cozying up all these people, a circle, this warm, nurturing circle. Working on professional development. Right. We aren't working on that. And that to me is self-care. In addition to those other programs as well, I would just argue that it is more of a self care in a professional development program to have that nurturing coat, a supportive, encouraging voice. And then the final piece for me of what I would say you should really look for in a program. If you want to program a, to be about self care. Is you want a program of like sold people? That's like sold people. Not necessarily like minded, although we, I think we often use that term like-minded and what we actually mean are people who have similar souls as us. And this comes back to, like I was saying, I worked with a lot of quietly ambitious professionals. I've worked with a lot of folks who show up in a certain way. They want to rise into leadership positions, not for the cufflinks, not for the big bonuses, although we, you know, do like bonuses, of course, but that's not the reason that's not the motivating factor. The, uh, the people that I work with, they want to become positional leaders. They want to get that promotion. And I always want to say for all the right reasons, because they want to empower others. They want to be visionary. They want to be more strategic and make more, I think, a bigger, higher level impact. You know, one phrase I hear a lot from people is kind of a variation, but it's something like I want to have a meaningful career. I want to know I, that I mattered that I made impact. You know, it's, it's not about chasing the spotlight. It's not about. The position title. It's more about, okay, what impact am I going to have? That's what really matters? How am I going to support others? How am I, how, how can I show up? For others. And so what you want to do for a program to be self care is you want that program to have others with that similar purpose or similar motivations, similar mission. I think the mission doesn't have to be exactly the same in the sense of you need to go find a program that everyone has the, that working in the same industry. That can be helpful as well. Um, honestly, I would even argue that. Uh, for it to be self care, having a program with people from different industries from across the world. Is just, is so nourishing for your soul. Like you have those like-minded souls from many different industries. Many different positions, many different backgrounds, multiple countries in one virtual room, maybe a physical room, but if you're from different countries in different time zones, it's probably a virtual room gathering together, sharing stories and realizing, oh, there are other souls out there who are like me. And so going back to what I said at the very top, that's why that mastermind member was saying that she's saying this is such a beautiful moment. Like there is a reason that people who get up at six in the morning on Saturdays and come to a quote professional development training, because it can be so nourishing for the soul.

So, hopefully I have convinced you. And like I said, whether you work with me or someone else is less important than, than I would, I would argue that you finding a professional development option that gives you that self care. I really encourage you to find something, you know, go for a start looking around. Of course, if you're interested in my program, please feel free to reach out and ask any questions. But whether it's my program or someone else's, let's do a quick recap of those four things that I want you to look for. So, number one, I want you to look for a small group that you feel that you can open up with. Be authentic, really trust the group and share vulnerably. Number two. I want you to find a program that at least considers the whole person. I would argue finding a program that actually looks at the whole person and has, you know, at least talks about it at some point, that would be even more helpful for a self care professional development. Number three, look for a supportive coach, a nurturing environment, a place where you really feel like you can grow and have that. Warmth feeling. And then number four, look for a program that, that is inviting other souls, like your soul, like lake sold people find the place where you're going to get that soul nourishment from the group.

So with that. So reminder, if you do want to check out bootcamp, you can head over to the mint ambition.com/bootcamp. But I also do have that workshop available. If you want to check it out, I'd love to see you registered for it. Is that the mint ambition.com/workshop. And it's all about the quietly ambitious path to promotion. And we do go into mindset strategy and tactics in that workshop so come on over and check it out at themintambition.com/workshop

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. Now, before you go, make sure you click to follow the show this way you don't have to go looking for the latest episode. I'll come to you. Just click the plus button or the follow, and you'll get the latest episode fresh off the press. Thanks again. And remember that you are amazing. Now, get out there and RISE.