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The last month or more has seen me go into a product training tunnel, with a massive amount of prep and many deliveries to the point that I have been delivering about twice as much as normal. However, today I have some training for my own company instead and it has been a welcome change of pace, where I get to chat more with  individuals and work with them directly as humans. 

I just came out of a discussion with one client where we spent the time talking solely about skill development and how we focus the majority of our energy on improving what we already know and are good at with very little gain. At an elite level, there is benefit in being even slightly better than the competition, but in general, there is very little advantage in being highly skilled in a narrow field without other skills, especially in a corporate environment. 


![sunset.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/tarazkp/244xyqttf57erMRxfbCP8miqaXGeM7oeQyrPvvR428wW7ELb1LQriZRYUnUFLwPbCzEFE.jpg)


Of course, no one is *that narrow* that they have no other skills, but there is probably a Pareto principle in play, where for example, 20% of their skill accounts for 80% of their work value. Yet, there is more to it than that also, as generally for a skill to be valuable, it has to be able to be transmitted through the organization, requiring collaboration. If a person is highly skilled but poor at communicating, they will often struggle to be influential enough to be able to maximize the value of their skill or knowledge. It doesn't matter what you say, if no one is listening. 

But, because humans are humans, we are emotionally driven and it is difficult to not put time into areas where we feel confident and competent, in favor of something where we struggle and feel foolish, even if it is in our best interest to do so. When we say that, "everyone acts in their best interest", this doesn't mean that what they are doing is actually the best thing for them, it is just what *they think* is the best for them. 

We all make rational decisions that satisfy some kind of desire. For example, one person might want to become more influential in the organization to better utilize their technical skills, so they learn social skills to support their path. Another person in the same boat, might make the rational decision that to become more influential, they need to be more skilled in their field. How much better can they get, how much difference will it make and importantly, how much energy will it take?

To build a skill already at a high level takes a large amount of work that will barely move the needle upward, as there is a law of diminishing returns in play. However, to build a skill from a low level can see large gains in development with very little effort. If a high-end skill is already held, it is probably wise to see what supporting skills are necessary and which are missing to be able to supercharge the impact of the core skill. A little effort in the right areas can compound for a decent return.

In organizations, each job generally has different skill needs, so if a person is looking to change position at some point, closing the gaps to the new skill needs of the wanted position early will not only help in the job, it will help get the job in the first place, as it shows that there is already interest and progression made. It is far easier to put someone in a job who already holds the skills, than to put a specialist in something in the job, hoping they can stretch to include the additional skill needs.  

We tend to focus where we are comfortable and our decisions to support our "own best interest" is weighted heavily toward maintaining that comfort, not empowering our potential and widening our opportunity. While this can hold us in place, it can also make us quite bitter as we end up focusing on the narrow skill we have where we may be the best in the pool, but we keep getting surpassed by people who we consider are worse than us and feel that we are being treated unfairly, without considering what else*they* bring to the table along with the skill. Their additional skills may be far more important in the new job than the core or, the additional skills are necessary to be effectual in the position. No matter how good a person is at the primary skill, not having them adequate secondary skills can be a deal breaker.

I like these kinds of sessions as it is an area where I feel *comfortable* in my knowledge, as it has been learned through experience, not from books - making it more part of me and practical. However, because each person I train is different, I have to spend time building up a relationship so that we can together work out what their current condition is, future wants may be, the prerequisites to get there and the path to take. This is all done through discussion where we talk about concepts, often through analogy, that shifts their mindset and helps them opt-in on change, making them *feel* agency - they are invested.

Now of course, they are heavily invested because it is their life and career that we are working with, but sometimes we are blind to which investments are actually valuable and supportive of where we want to go. Being able to step back and discuss these things can be very valuable, as it allows us to be in some kind of guided reflection, with an sounding board. It is interesting to see how people change over time and pretty much invariably, they end up in a more natural position, as they have opted-in all the way and often discovered that what they thought they wanted, wasn't what they wanted at all. 

This part of my job is among the most enjoyable work I do and, it is probably the most valuable, yet these days, it isn't where I spend most of my time. But, that is part of working toward adding alternative skills and income streams, as while it can be hard and uncomfortable, it helps me better utilize where my values lay. I think we should all spend time thinking about where our time is best spent, but know that some things require time doing background work to empower the core and the secondary functions to support the primary. 


Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]


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