2017 has come and gone in a flash and it is the start of a brand new year, where new resolutions are being penned and ticked off the bucket list.

Apart from wanting to attain your ideal physique, what will be your learning and developmental strategies for this year, in helping you accelerate your career development plans? If you have been overlooked in the recent promotion exercise, instead of preparing your resignation letter in a fit of anger, it may be good to perhaps calm down and do the following:

• Evalaute your performance gaps
• Identify the competencies required to equip you for the new leadership role you have been vying for.
• Consult your boss or someone whom you are close to, in the organisation to help identify your blind spot and mentor you
• Draft out an individual development plan

The key point is to remain teachable and to adapt a continuous learning mindset at all times. While change can be disruptive, it can serve its purpose of forcing people and organisations to align themselves or force them out of the game. The skillsets and experience you had acquired over the years might not be entirely relevant in today’s context with organisational change and technological advances happening so rapidly. Your leadership style needs to evolve as time progresses. The workplace culture of today requires successful employees to continually learn new strategies and procedures, and be in the know of the latest developments in their respective industries. Hiring managers are on the lookout for potential candidates who are flexible in adopting such a mindset.

In the 2017 survey on “Global Human Capital Trends” conducted by Deloitte, “Careers and Learning” was identified as one of the top 3 major global trends amongst HR practitioners in Southeast Asia. In fact, Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) have not become catalysts for next-generation careers but highly valued business partners who are also thinking about supporting the overall growth of the business. They are part of delivering the employee experience, in ensuring their people are ingrained in the right skills which will contribute to the learning of other colleagues in the organisation.

Make learning a new skillset and your top priority this year. Do not procrastinate! Instead, set realistic goals and the timeline required to meet your skills gap. Only with such commitment and determination, you will find yourself being a better contributor in the workplace.