Assignment submitted! I just completed the capstone project for a nine-week certification course entitled Artificial Intelligence:  Strategies for Leading Business Transformation. The experience reinforced for me the importance of professional development for which I have been a long-time proponent.  

Formally, I became a champion of professional development while serving as a member and ultimately chair of a national organization focused on professional growth. And throughout my career, I have personally benefitted from supervisors who repeatedly encouraged me to push my professional boundaries and learn new skills, and from colleagues who shared “lessons learned” so that I could more readily adapt new ideas and techniques to my work.  

My experience is not unique. The literature on professional development points to clear advantages for the employee and the employer. For employees, professional development improves confidence, creates opportunities for career advancement, and ensures that our skills remain current in an ever-changing world. For employers, professional development opportunities increase employees’ job satisfaction, reduce turnover, and build bench strength among team members (Parsons, Lian.  August 23, 2022.  “Why is Professional Development Important?” Harvard Division of Continuing Education Blog)  

Despite all of the positives, it can be difficult for both employers and employees to prioritize professional development, especially in an environment of limited resources.  But it is important that we look beyond our daily to-do lists and create intentional space in our work lives to learn new skills that elevate our teams and our future potential.  

As an educational institution, the value of learning and personal growth is at Virginia Tech’s core. The university offers several in-house development opportunities, including those offered through our Division of Human Resources, our Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) department, and our office of Continuing and Professional Education. We should also encourage our employees to take advantage of programs offered through trade and professional organizations and other formal and informal opportunities to upskill and broaden perspectives.  

For me, completing a professional certificate in AI strategy was fully supported by my supervisor. I recognized that I was not keeping up with the rapidly changing use of AI in many workplaces and wanted a deeper understanding of how to think about the potential use of AI in university operations or elsewhere in the organization.  AI is not a new concept.  If you use a Google Search engine, shop on Amazon.com, or have a smart phone, you’re already using AI.  Going forward, the question will be how to channel the powerful analytical capacity of generative AI, not to replace humans, but to enhance our knowledge and expand our ability to solve complex problems.  I wanted to be more prepared to answer that question.  The course I selected met my professional needs, but professional development can come in many forms.  When looking for opportunities, format, content, timing, and availability matter. Each employee has unique needs, and as such, professional development plans must be tailored to the individual.

As we gallop towards the end of the academic year, I encourage you to take time to enjoy the rejuvenation of spring and to think about how you might grow in your work in the coming year. If you are a supervisor, take some time with each of your employees to understand their needs and interests and build professional development into your unit’s work goals. For individual employees, look for opportunities to expand your knowledge, step out of your comfort zone and learn a new skill. As former first lady Abigail Adams said over two centuries ago, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.”