Self Development & Career Planning

willingness to learn new skills
seeks opportunities for professional development
identifies opportunities to contribute to organizational goals
measures own organizational and personal effectiveness

Development Suggestions

Workbooks

"Rate Your Skills as a Manager: A Crisp Assessment Profile"
Managers can measure their performance with the twelve primary management functions and self-evaluations presented in this book.
Contact Library Human Resources at cu-lto@cornell.edu or 5-8587 to checkout book or to ask any questions.

"Giving & Receiving Feedback" by Patti Hathaway
This workbook is packed with valuable insights and suggestions for giving and receiving feedback. One chapter of this practical handbook provides guidelines for giving positive feedback effectively. Also, you'll discover the secrets to giving meaningful yet motivating criticism, as well as how to receive critical feedback in a positive and professional manner. Includes exercises, tips and a four-step guide to giving specific feedback that produces results in both your business and personal life.
Contact Library Human Resources at cu-lto@cornell.edu or 5-8587 to checkout book or to ask any questions.

"Business Etiquette and Professionalism" by M. Kay DuPont
This is a superb guide to the subtleties and complexities of business etiquette. A modern approach, this book shows how to maintain a professional and competitive edge by understanding basic business etiquette. In addition to the exercises and activities on making introductions, dining out, sending and receiving gifts, public manners, tipping, and attire, there is information on electronic etiquette.
This workbook can be found in the Engineering Library at call number HF 5389.D93 (1990).

"The Business of Listening" By Diane Bone
It's a fact-most of us use only one-third of our listening capacity! Learn how to expand your listening abilities and become a more effective communicator with this concise self-study book. Easy step-by-step improvement program teaches you how to take in greater amounts of information, remember more, and hear between the lines.
Contact Library Human Resources at cu-lto@cornell.edu or 5-8587 to checkout book or to ask any questions.

"Listening: The Forgotten Skill - A Self Study Guide" by Madelyn Burley-Allen
A winning program for mastering this essential aspect of communication. Offers excellent techniques for overcoming language barriers, interpreting body language, asking constructive non-threatening questions, and more. Features a wealth of worksheets, charts and graphs to make learning this skill easy. Each chapter concludes with a self-test to check progress.
This workbook can be found in Mann Library at call number BF323.L5 B96 (1982).

"7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges. Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more. This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you'll want to study this book, not skim it. When you finish, you'll probably have Post-it notes or hand-written annotations in every chapter, and you'll feel like you've taken a powerful seminar.
This book can be found at the Hotel Administration Library and Mann Library at call number BF637.S8 C67x (1990). It is also available in the ILR Library Reserve - 2 hour loan at call number BF637.S8 C87 (1990).

Books

"Personal Accountability" by John G. Miller
Why do we have to go through all this change? When is someone going to solve the problem? Who dropped the ball? These types of questions create division, erode performance and damage morale. During more than a dozen years as a salesperson, consultant, and speaker, John Miller has discovered that these questions and others like them are indicators of three dangerous and unhealthy patterns: Procrastination, Blame, and Victim Thinking. This book helps up replace these patterns with more productive ones by learning practical methods for solving problems, improving performance and building relationships.
This book can be found in the ILR Library at call number HD58.7.M643 (1998).

Other

Exploring Careers Webpage
This webpage covers a variety of career development topics including information on occupations and an extensive section on self exploration complete with personality tests and occupational overviews for each personality.
Visit the Exploring Careers Webpage.

Franklin Covey Mission Statement Builder
This site will provide you the opportunity to examine your values and put together a mission to guide your life and development. In the words of Stephen Covey, "Creating a Personal Mission Statement will be, without question, one of the most powerful and significant things you will ever do to take leadership of your life. In it you will identify the first, most important roles, relationships, and things in your life--who you want to be, what you want to do, to whom and what you want to give your life, the principles you want to anchor your life to, the legacy you want to leave. All the goals and decisions you will make in the future will be based upon it. It's like deciding first which wall you want to lean your ladder of life against, and then beginning to climb. It will be a compass--a strong source of guidance amid the stormy seas and pressing, pulling currents of your life."


Personal Learning Style Inventory
This site allows you to work through an inventory that will automatically score and tell you how you learn best. This information can be of use when you are trying to develop a plan for your development - by choose development options that fit with the way you learn, you should be able to learn more effectively.
Visit the Personal Learning Style Inventory site click on "how do you learn best?" to take the inventory.

Mentor Opportunities
Mentoring provides you the opportunity to work with someone in another area who has the knowledge or skills you are seeking. It is an opportunity to meet others and build a new relationship, which may be formal or informal in nature. Cornell offers a formal mentoring program through Organizational Development & Employment Services. They will help pair you with someone who possesses the knowledge or skills you are interested in learning. The library also offer formal mentoring arrangements - the Professional Development Committee (for academic employees) will work to match you with a mentor as will Library Human Resources. Many professional organizations run mentoring programs as well. Informal situations are those set up by you, many times simply asking someone to help you with a specific skill is effective.
For information about Cornell Mentoring programs, contact JoAnn Shepherd, the Mentoring Committee Chair, at 254-8393 or js60@cornell.edu. For Library Mentoring contact Nan Hyland at 255-8125 or nch9@cornell.edu if you are an academic employee or Library Human Resources at 255-8587 or at lib-hr@cornell.edu if you are a non-academic employee.

Committee Membership
The library and the University offer many opportunities to serve on interdepartmental and cross-functional committees. In addition, there are committees within professional organizations in your field or within the field you are interested in. The committees may be job-related or just related to an area you are interested in learning about. Some committees are open others you must be nominated and elected to join. Committees can increase your profile on campus and in the community and are a great networking tool.
For more information about library committees visit http://www.library.cornell.edu/staffweb/Standindex.html. University committees include the Employee Assembly and the Cornell Recreation Connection among others.

Cross-Training
Cross-training is when you learn how to do another job or how to do the same job in another department/unit. It can increase your skills and help you become more of an asset to your department. The length and purpose of the arrangement can be determined between you and your supervisor and others involved.
To set up a cross-training arrangement, first speak with your supervisor about the position or area you would like to be trained in, outlining the benefits to you and the department/unit. Then, you can either work directly with the person you want to train with or ask Library Human Resources at lib-hr@cornell.edu to help set it up.
Individual Development Plan

On-The-Job Tips

Ask your supervisor to consider development needs in addition to operational needs in setting objectives and assigning work. When possible, take on a variety of work assignments such as cross-departmental committees, cross-training, or training a new employee in your department/unit.

Before you attend a training class, establish a mutual understanding with your supervisor about what you are expected to and hope to learn. After training, consider what you have learned and decide how you are going to use this new information or skills at your job. Tell your supervisor what you plan to do to gain support, then do it.

Ask your supervisor for immediate feedback whenever possible. Ask for honest, specific feedback complete with examples. Don't become defensive when receiving negative feedback, consider how to improve behavior and develop a plan to do it. If you become defensive, others will be reluctant to give you feedback in the future, and you will cut off critical information for your development.

Maintain a development file on yourself. Keep track of successes, failures, development needs and identified steps for improvement. Pull out this file when doing a self-assessment for your performance dialogue.

Watch for articles and development tips that could be of help to others; pass them on to the appropriate individuals.

Effective development programs include a variety of activities. Make sure you utilize a mix of on-the-job activities, readings, training classes, and other activities to maximize your learning. Even include items such as cross-training in another department/unit/position, mentoring another employee or being mentored or being a member of cross-departmental teams.

Seek out opportunities to teach others. It is a great way to further develop your own capabilities.

Take time at the beginning of a new assignment to identify things you would like to learn and how you can use the assignment to strengthen your skills.

Listen a lot more than you talk. Treat every meeting and every interaction as an opportunity to learn something you didn't know before. Be curious; ask "why?" and "how?" a lot.

Make it a normal practice to debrief with those you worked with after major projects are completed. Honestly assess what could have been done better.

Observe others who are particularly skilled in the areas you are attempting to develop. Note how they perform and integrate the positive aspects into your own behavior. Ask them how they developed particular skills.

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Revised and updated 8/04/00, by Library Human Resources.