Developmental Assignments: Creating Learning Experiences Without Changing Jobs. Cynthia D McCauley

else or existing before you took the assignment

      • Problems with employees—dealing with employees who lack adequate experience, are incompetent, or are resistant to change

      • High stakes—managing work with tight deadlines, pressure from above, high visibility, and responsibility for critical decisions

      • Scope and scale—managing work that is broad in scope (involving multiple functions, groups, locations, products, or services) or large in sheer size (for example, workload, number of responsibilities)

      • External pressure—managing the interface with important groups outside the organization, such as customers, vendors, partners, unions, and regulatory agencies

      • Influence without authority—influencing peers, higher management, or other key people over whom you have no authority

      • Work across cultures—working with people from different cultures or with institutions in other countries

      • Work group diversity—being responsible for the work of people of both genders and different racial and ethnic backgrounds

      The research also points to another key dynamic of continuous learning: to continue to develop their repertoire of skills, leaders need to be constantly seeking out these types of challenges. As we worked with leaders who were trying to be more intentional about their development, a more systematic approach—development in place—emerged.

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      DEVELOPMENT IN PLACE

      When you think about seeking out new challenges, the first thing that likely comes to mind is getting a new job—usually one that gives you broader responsibilities and moves you up the hierarchy. Or you may think of a move into a different business unit or function to gain knowledge and practical experience in an important part of the organization. You may even think of moving to a new organization to broaden your industry experience.

      Certainly these major job shifts are often the most developmental experiences in a career. You will likely take on new responsibilities, carry out different tasks, and interact with a whole new set of people. Major job moves are also important as you think about advancing your career. The problem from a developmental perspective with thinking only about these types of moves is that they are infrequent, you face lots of competition for them (particularly the higher up you go in the organization), and you don’t have very much control over whether you get them. For learning and development to be ongoing and for it to be more under your control, seeking out new challenges in the context of your current job is a practical strategy to pursue.