Mythbusting your professional development journey | Article

Over the course of your career, there are many opportunities for you to challenge yourself to develop further into a high-performing, collaborative professional. With so many choices, it can be difficult to know which route to take move forward and what is the right step.

This is especially true if you don’t have the right information. Our expert talent and leadership teams find that there are common misconceptions among professionals approaching development opportunities. They’ve outlined common myths about different types of professional development programmes and revealed the truths behind them.

Mentoring

Myth: Mentors are senior leaders who are experienced in the professional field

Truth: Anyone can be a mentor, regardless of seniority, age and other characteristics.

 

Myth: Mentoring is only beneficial for the mentee

Truth: Mentors can gain just as much from mentoring as their mentee. Mentors can feel a sense of satisfaction supporting their mentees development, can find the process of ‘giving back’ rewarding, and can also practice their coaching skills.

 

Myth: Mentoring is only beneficial if you want to move ahead

Truth: Mentoring can help you gain knowledge, guidance, support and different perspectives regardless of whether you are wanting to progress in your career or deal with your day-to-day situations better

 

Leadership Development

Myth: Leaders should have all the answers.

Truth: Leaders don't need to have all the answers; they should encourage open dialogue, seek input from their team, and be willing to learn from others.

 

Myth: Only people at very senior levels in an organisation are leaders.

Truth: Anyone can be a leader in an organisation and leadership programmes are to improve and gain new skills no matter what your level is.

Leadership programmes are designed for individuals at all career levels, including those aspiring to leadership roles. They provide valuable skills and knowledge to help individuals grow into effective leaders.

 

Myth: Leadership programmes are time-consuming and disrupt work.

Truth: Whilst some time and effort needs to be allocated to growth, it is not like taking on another part time job in regard to time and effort required. And often new skills, processes and efficiencies are gained within the programme and the shared knowledge from other participants.

Many leadership programmes offer flexible formats, including online courses, workshops, and self-paced learning, making it possible to balance training with work responsibilities.

 

Secondments

Myth: You'll be thrown in the deep end without support during your secondment.

Truth: Host organisations want you to succeed and most will provide some form of onboarding. You're not just a temporary asset; you're a valued contributor whom they've chosen to invest in

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Myth: Secondments will derail your career progression.

Truth: Properly managed, secondments can actually accelerate your career. By exposing you to new roles, industries, or work cultures, a secondment can make you a more well-rounded professional, improving your prospects for future promotions and opportunities.

We hope that revealing these truths will help you be more confident in your personal development journey.

WIG provides a platform for leaders where learning and collaboration across the sectors can thrive. Only through diverse perspectives, open dialogue and shared effort can we tackle the big, cross-cutting challenges facing the UK.

Discover our suite of talent and leadership development programmes.