Episode 46: Why Professional Development Matters
“Remember that when they [your employees] feel heard, productivity rises and when productivity rises, not only does the organization, but so does the individual.” - Erin Diehl
Are you in an entry-level position at your dream company? Or are you a leader who needs guidance on investing in your employees? Failed it! Fam, grab your notebooks, because Erin is going to walk you through why investing in professional development matters, especially in today’s remote world.
In today’s episode, Erin talks to us about:
Her own personal realization of why professional development matters
Why feeling heard and “seen” within your organization leads to higher productivity, which leads to organizational and personal growth
Ways you can incorporate professional development in your life
Links from show discussions:
Check out improve it!’s Zoombie Toolkit Launching 3/29 for 2 weeks – stay tuned on www.learntoimproveit.com
About the Host: Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the failed it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We can’t wait to connect with you online!
(00:00):
To see a people. Let me take that again, Mike. Bloopers on bloopers on bloopers.
(00:09):
Hey there, my name is Erin Diehl and I'm a half Southern half Midwestern mama. Some call this voice a nasal twang who took $5,000 to build and scale a one of a kind experiential organization that improves the lives of corporate professionals through personal development, humanity, and humor. Along the way, I've built client relationships with some of the most notable companies in the country all while attracting a rock star team of experts and hilarious facilitators. Sounds pretty awesome. Right? Well, what I didn't tell you is that my resume also includes a long list of comedy shows I bombed, improv teams I didn't make, companies who told me no and many a heartache when it came to becoming a mother. I want to show you the real deal of the grit, creativity, and determination it takes to overcome your disappointments, embrace the suck and design the career you could only dream about. I believe we all have our own unique gifts that we bring to the world and it is our mistakes that help to unwrap them. Welcome to failed it!
(01:20):
Hey failed it! Fam, I want to start off today's show by reading a review from KMartin093 writes failed it! Is greater than perfection. Who knew listening about failures could be encouragement to try something new? Impressive host, engaging material and a much needed reality source in this ever changing professional world! Kmartin093, reach out to me at info@learntoimproveit.com. Send me an email. You have just gotten yourself an improve you E learning course from improve it. You can pick from 10 different soft skill trainings. And I am so thrilled and just honored that you took the time to write this review. Thank you so much. You can go to learntoimproveit.com/onlinetrainings to check out any one of our soft skill training D I Y E-learning courses.
(02:23):
There's things like confidence in change, active communication. The list goes on and on, but thank you so much for being an awesome failed it! Family member. I'm honored to have you, and thanks to all the failed it! Fam who have been leaving us reviews. If you haven't left one yet, get your, get your neighbor Larry's iPhone and ask Larry to give you a sanitizing wipe, wipe it down, go to his iTunes if you don't have an iPhone and go to the failed it app, or go to the failed it! Podcast, I should say, scroll down, leave us five stars and write a review. You have no idea how much this means to me. This helps us bring more people to the show. And I get so sick of saying, please leave us a review. Please leave us a review. But I will tell you, this is the only way that we get to showcase how awesome this community is to other guests that we want to have on the show. It helps bring more people to this family, and it really just helps us be noticed on Apple charts. So if you could take the time, I would appreciate it. Let's get to failin it.
(03:33):
Hey failed it! Fam. Today's episode is a special one that is near and dear to me, old heart. It's the why of what I do, what I do and what developing yourself can do for your biggest asset - you. Today's episode is the answer to the question that I constantly get asked, why do you do what you do? So this is what lights me up. And I know we have a ton of leaders. Heck all of you are leaders here in some way, shape or form in the failed it! Family. And I want today's show to inspire you to develop not only you, but your team. My aim for today is that you, my friend walk away feeling inspired to improve your life pun intended and therefore the lives of the people you touch.
(04:32):
So I'm going to take a step back really quick and just tell you, it took me a long time to discover my purpose. One of my best friends, I hope you're listening Lauren. She, you know, her and I've had lots of conversations. And I remember my twenties were just this massive act of discovery of who I was, what I wanted to do with my life. And I finally figured it out at about 27 years old. And it took me even longer to come up with how this all worked, how improve it was going to go. But I knew that professional development is my life's calling. So to see a room full of people, walk in one way prior to a training and then walk out a completely different way, a more inclusive, cohesive unit who has done something outside of their comfort zones. And they've laughed through it, brings me joy. So in case you don't know me and you're new to the show, I want to say, first of all, welcome to the failed it! Family. Second I'm Erin, and I'm the founder of a company called improve it. And we use improv comedy to train professionals on soft skills. And we've been in business since late 2014. In fact, we were a completely in person business until March of 2020, where we then became completely virtual until we reach herd immunity and we can safely all return back to work. So with that in mind, today's episode is not a soft sell on my soft skill training company. You see what I did there. However, I'm going to use my lens to tell you the why I don't think, but I know that professional development matters.
(06:30):
In my six ish years of running improve it I have never been more inspired to use professional development, to inspire other people, to feel more connected, more heard, and empowered in their roles. I feel like now is when professional development matters the most, this new hybrid of work from home and in-office working will pose challenges for many organizations in the culture of every organization is vastly different one to the other. Some companies may choose to be completely remote forever. We are here at improve it! And we'll be getting a coworking space to use for meetings and conferences when we feel it safe to do so. But we are now remote. We are going to live and work from home indefinitely, our Chicago team, if they want an office or a co-working space to go to when we feel it's safe to do so, we'll definitely do that. But I now live in Charleston and my team is in Chicago and New York and LA and in Charlotte, North Carolina, and soon to be Atlanta, Georgia, that's where we're going when we can really get back in it.
(07:43):
So we are here remote forever, and some companies are going to do the hoteling option where you work from home, but you rent out desks and office space when needed. And some organizations are going to have half of the office in-house, the other half remote. And some are just counting the days and watching the news tickers to decide when in the world they get to return to work safely because they are all going back. Whatever the case, investing in employees, their growth and opportunities outside and inside of their roles I predict, and let's be real y'all I am not a psychic, but your girl's got some intuition. Okay. I, I predict that professional development will be on the rise once we are all quote unquote, back to normal. Although normal will be completely different, I do know that employees are prioritizing things much differently than they used to.
(08:43):
So there's this graphic that's been floating around on the internet lately that I think sums this up really nicely. So as far back as I could trace it it's from @LizandMollie on Instagram, we'll link to that in the show notes @LizandMollie. And at the top of this graphic is a title that says how you're taught to measure success. And right below that you see a pie chart. And in that pie chart, it's completely split down the middle. So half and half and one half of it says salary. And the other half says job title again, that's the title for this graphic is how we are taught to measure success. Okay? Below this pie chart, you see another pie chart with the title of better measure. And this pie chart is split into six chunks. The biggest four chunks are mental health, physical health, liking what you do, and free time.
(09:39):
And then there's two additional chunks that are smaller. And those are now job title and salary. This post got over 87,000 likes. And I also saw it go viral on LinkedIn. So it got 87,000 on Instagram and went viral on LinkedIn. So mental health, physical health, liking what you do, free time - that all plays a role in professional development. Gone are the days when you work 60 plus hours a week and are normalized and praised for it. Okay. Hopefully here to stay is the fortyish hour work week, the prioritization of time off, and the prioritization of professional development as a tool to help you continue to like what you do.
(10:30):
Hold on. Okay. Let me phone a friend real quick, because I actually have some more data to back me up here. So 94% of employees would stay longer in companies that are willing to invest in their professional development. That's from LinkedIn's 2018 workplace learning trends. 94%, 94%. That's almost the entire workforce, 6% are like nah, see ya. Just let me punch my time card and go home.
(11:04):
74% of employees felt like they weren't reaching their full potential at work due to lack of development opportunities. This is from a study from . University for work-based learning 74%. So 26% of the employees were like, we're cool. We're developed. I want you to think of your organization - Who do you think makeup the 26% of the people that feel invested in. It's most likely the high potential or senior leaders, but professional development starts at the ground level. It starts at the bottom and it makes its way to the top because the employees at the entry level are our highest potential to corporate culture, to growth and career progression within our organization. So developing your employees makes them feel invested in, starting from the very beginning. I absolutely love this quote and I'm going to hopefully get this right. But the CFO asked the CEO what happens if we invest in developing our employees and they leave us? And the CEO responds to that CFO and says, what happens if they don't and they stay? So good, right? I'll never forget. I once had a meeting with a very powerful man in sports, and I'm going to keep this super anonymous and vague because this man was also in charge of overseeing the ticket center for the sports team.
(12:42):
Now, essentially this was a group of employees, mostly fresh out of college who were hoping to get into sports. And it was a great entry level job for them. But of course the pay sucked and they got experience though. And they got free tickets to all the games. So I had an introduction to this big time fella. Okay. And we scheduled a meeting prior to a networking event he was attending. So I met him at this venue that he was going to go into to network and we sat and we talked for over an hour and his direct report had introduced us and really wanted him to use improve it! Because he thought it would be a great way for the team to connect, and to learn. And they would feel invested in and all the things I just listed, right? And this man saw the value of improv itself as a teaching tool.
(13:34):
And he saw the value of improve it, but he did not see the value in training his employees in this particular department. I'll never forget. He said, why would I invest this money and training them when the turnover is so high, they're there for a year. And then they leave. It seems like a waste of time and resources. So, okay. This was the beginning stages of my improve it! Career. And I gave him the best answer I could. But to this day, I wish I would've just said they leave because you don't invest in them, shoulda woulda coulda, but you get my point. Right? And so that my friends is why I am shoulda, woulda, coulda ing all over the place for you today. This is the answer I wish that I had back then to the question to why professional development matters. And it matters before the pandemic, but it certainly matters so much more coming out of what we have all been through from 2020 to 2021.
(14:44):
Hey, failed it! Fam. Do your eyeballs hurt from staring at your screen? Do you walk away at the end of your work from home day with your arms out like Frankenstein, your eyeballs glazed over and feel like you need to do a swift face plan onto your bed, which is also conveniently located next to your laptop? If this sounds like you then stay tuned my friend, we have something coming for ya. Launching on March 29th for only two weeks, we'll be releasing our zoom fatigue, zombie toolkit. Now this is a mini course for you. And ironically, it's not on Zoom to teach you why you get those zoombie feelings after being on one too many video calls, how to build boundaries within your schedule, to minimize video conferences and best practices when you have to present on video. So stay tuned for this to launch with early bird pricing on March 29th. It will only be available for two weeks. So make sure to snag yours before they quickly dissolve into the Zoomsphere.
(15:51):
So let's get to it. I'm going to give you three reasons why professional development matters now more than ever, okay, you ready get ready? Cause this one's good. So first reason, number one, investment in an employee equals yes, and. Hypothetical scenario here. Okay. Failed it! Fam. So let's say Gladys is a Gail okay, Gladys I'm doing air quotes for Gladys, as she's a girl in her mid twenties. And she's just landed her first corporate job at her dream company. And it is legit her dream. She is living it. Living dreams is a phrase that she thought she would use every day and she's doing it. So she gets to work in this fancy trendy office. She puts on real pants and she goes to work every day with creative individuals. And she's learning a ton, until she has to face the reality that her boss will call her Cheryl. Cheryl does not care about her career. Cheryl only cares about making it to the top of the corporate food chain. And she'll do just about anything to get there, including making her direct reports work long hours. And she shows little to no respect for their contributions. Gladys is burnt out. She is tired. And every Sunday she cries before bed because she's trying her best. But Cheryl does not see her nor does Cheryl care. Cheryl is only concerned about one thing and you guessed it - it's herself. So Gladys wants to be seen. She wants to be heard and she wants to be developed and molded professionally. So what happens? Gladys leaves. And she goes to another company. Now this new company is not as shiny as the first, which will now be referred to as company A, but she can tell from interviews with her new boss, Glenda, okay? So Glenda is the new boss.
(17:55):
She's going to love it. Now, new boss, Glenda makes work a joy for Gladys. She sees the strengths that Gladys has, and she provides her with special projects to pull from those strengths. She provides mentorship to Gladys in a way that speaks to her, the hun. And she allows Gladys to come to the table with ideas. Now she also tasked Gladys with coming up with ideas for her own professional development. Gladys is like, heck yes. And she brings these professional development ideas to the table. Linda hears them, or what we call an improv land. Yes, ands them. She listens to these ideas that Gladys has for her own professional development. She does not judge them. And truthfully, she may not even agree with them, but she hears all the ideas that Gladys brings to the table. And together they brainstorm a solution for Gladys' professional development and Gladys feels on top of the world.
(18:55):
So this yes, and is what keeps Gladys happy and getting up every day, coming to work. Although the company she works at with Glenda is not her dream. She loves it because Glenda has invested not only professional development dollars, but the act of listening to Gladys' strengths and providing her with opportunities to feel seen and heard my friends. Professional development does not always have to be a monetary investment. Alright, I'm getting real story timey here with you failed it! Fam, but I want to keep going with this because I got reason number two for you. Why professional development matters so much right now? Okay. So here's reason number two, when employees feel heard, productivity rises. So I'm going to keep on this Gladys and Glenda scenario. All right. So now Gladys is thriving because she truly feels invested in as a person and employee and Gladys now does the following things.
(20:05):
She checks her imposter syndrome at the door. She doesn't question or second guess herself because you know, who believes in her, Glenda. Glenda believing in her and providing her with professional development opportunities through coaching with an offsite mentor, which was Gladys' idea, okay. Allowing Gladys to become a part of associations and encouraging Gladys to speak at those associations. Again, a brainstorm between Gladys and Glenda and then pushing Gladys to do things outside of work that fuel her tank all allow Gladys to feel whole. She is not just a person who sits behind a desk and clocks in and out every day. She is well-rounded, she's a whole human being.
(20:56):
So because of this confidence boost, Gladys is now seen by the senior leaders in her organization as high potential because she is believed in, she wants to show up and remember Gladys didn't walk in a hypo. Gladys came in just through the doors of another organization, somewhat entry level, right? So now through this encouragement from Glenda, she is seen as high potential she's believed in and she wants to show up. So guess what happens? You know what happens? She starts hitting her sales goals. She exceeds her sales goals. She becomes a rising star and is asked by others in the organization to coach them. She wants to continue to hit those goals and she wants to hit 'em hard. She feels heard. She feels seen. And because of it, the company and Glenda are seeing an increase in productivity and an increase in revenue. Bless up. Alright, here is reason number three. So if you don't believe me, believe this when productivity rises, not only does the organization thrive, but so does the individual. So now you've got Gladys hittin' sales goals left and right. Glenda is able to focus on mentoring Gladys, but trusts her. And she gets her full autonomy to come to the table with more ideas because Gladys is feeling herself. Y'all okay. The company growth is impressive and it's like a drug.
(22:25):
We want more growth. Morale is high, high fives are given. Virtually bonuses are given. A recognition is given. Glenda feels great because she's coached and mentored an employee who has done really great things for this organization. The organization feels great because they're seeing numbers like they've never seen before. And people are loving the culture they've created, and guess who's living her best life?
(22:56):
Gladys. You know what? Gladys wants more of? Professional development. She is a life long learner. She wants to continue to find ways to do better and to be better. Her marriage is soaring because Gladys feels good about who she is and what she's adding to the world. She rests her head easy at night. Gone are those Sunday night cries. Okay? Because during the day she's doing what she enjoys and she is good at it. And she believes in it. And she is also believed in. Outside of work, she's trying new hobbies. She's encouraged to take time off and rest. She is driven by the work she is putting into the world for others. And the work she is putting into the world for her self. Gladys is thriving. So the cycle continues. Gladys continues to find outside ways to develop herself professionally and personally, the organization encourages this development. Gladys thinks about her time with Cheryl, from company A and wonders if she had stayed with that organization, would she have ever reached her full potential? Would she become the woman she is become now? Gladys is internally grateful for Glenda. Gladys' family is grateful for Glenda, Gladys and Glenda have a great relationship that is rooted in trust, appreciation, and hard work.
(24:39):
So my failed it! Fam, thank you for listening to the Gladys and Glenda story. I'm going to ask you some questions now. I really want you to think about, are you a Gladys stuck in a Cheryl world? Or are you a Cheryl or a Glenda? And if you are wondering if Glenda is a wicked reference, I mean, I would be lying if I told you it wasn't. So Glenda is the good witch, okay. That's where I got the name. So maybe, you know a Cheryl, maybe you know a Glenda. How could you get yourself to a space where you were operating as a Gladys with a Glenda by her side rooting for you and your corner?
(25:22):
Also, the names were changed here to protect the innocent, but yes, you've guessed it. I am Gladys. My Glenda is by far one of the best mentors, leaders and friends I've ever had. And she will always be a part of my life even though she is not my boss to this day, she's still my boss. You know what I'm saying? So leaders, friends, invest in your Gladys' by yes and-ing them. Remember that when they feel heard productivity rises and when productivity rises, not only does the organization, but so does the individual. So if you are in need of professional development for you or your Gladys', I want you to reach out to me at info@learntoimproveit. We have 11 different soft skill training workshops to help your team become more collaborative, more supportive, more competent, more brave and creative. Okay.
(26:23):
We can do this on an individual or a group basis. If you're having zoom fatigue and you're like, I can't stand another thing online. Let us know, because guess what? We've got a mini course coming your way. It's an individual mini course, and it's going to be complete with a zoombie improv toolkit to help prevent burnout and exhaustion. Now, if improv, isn't your thing. Reach out to me at the same email: info@learntoimproveit.com because I have an entire bag of tricks, including other coaches, other professional development companies, and so much more. I am so lucky to know the best of the best in this industry and can lead you in the right direction if improv or myself is not your gal. Okay? I want you to develop yourself no matter however it may be by reading books, getting outside of your comfort zone, trying new things, coming to the table with ideas, but I never want you to stop investing in you or the people you lead. You owe it to yourself, and to your team. You can become a Gladys or a Glenda. I believe in you so much. And I am rooting for you every single day. Thank you for being part of this community failed it! Fam. Fail yeah. Fail. Yeah.
(27:49):
Hey friends, thanks for tuning into failed It! I'm so happy you're along for the ride. If you enjoyed today's show, head on over to iTunes to rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop every Wednesday. I'll see you next week, but want to leave you with this thought, what will you fail at today and how will that help your future successful self? Think about it. I'm proud of you and you are totally failing it. See you next time.
(28:23):
[Inaudible].