Rethinking Business Communications Blog

There’s a threat to the growth of every professional that isn’t predicated on opportunity or finances.

This threat doesn’t discriminate by age, race or gender. Nevertheless, those whose expertise is assured, or whose experiences are celebrated, are often the worst hit.

And that threat is the curse of knowledge.  It stifles advancement, limits collaboration and hinders innovation – the death knell in your professional development or business progress.

When you’re mastering a craft, you take steps to improve your skills to advance your career or to build your business. You become proactive in gaining the required knowledge. Thus, you buy the books that illuminate; you apply for the MBA; you study to become certified, and you take the advice of mentors. You do all these things because you realise that unless you invest in yourself, your dream won’t be achievable.

But what happens when you’ve achieved your goal of becoming a subject matter ‘expert’, or you’ve broken that once-impenetrable glass ceiling?

What do you do when you believe that you’ve ‘made it’, and are easily the smartest or most successful in your circles?

You settle.

You become complacent.

And therein lies the danger.

When you’ve determined that you know it all, you believe there’s nothing left to be learned. As a result, you’re unwilling to contemplate trends that challenge your reasoning. In fact, you become convinced that your mastery will continue to serve you brilliantly. At this stage, you’ve already succumbed to the curse of knowledge. In this age of constant disruption, you’d fail to adjust unless you change your mindset and your behaviours.

Recently, while delivering a training workshop, I was reminded of the importance of being open to new thinking, and of how I needed to continually sharpen my communication skills.

What I’ve learned as a communications trainer

Now in my role as a communications coach, and as a communications trainer in my private ventures, I often deliver training sessions and workshops on communication-related themes.

Therefore, a few weeks ago, I was scheduled to deliver a two-day business writing workshop for the staff of a reputable organisation. The sessions were well received and the participants were engaging.

Despite being the facilitator, I learned two lessons that would improve my programmes.

1) Hunger for knowledge

Although the participants were enrolled for the mandatory training at short notice, they were upbeat, and their hunger for self-improvement was refreshing.

From the moment the first session began, to the concluding statement after an intensive session on the second day, they demonstrated a keen desire to acquire knowledge. They requested resources; they asked questions about practical scenarios, and they were mentally present.

Then during classroom exercises, they challenged one of my recommendations and offered solutions that I had never thought about. That moment was a turning point for me; it opened my mind to other possibilities.

If I hadn’t been receptive to different opinions, I wouldn’t have learned anything new from those insightful employees that would improve my delivery.

The biblical verse in Proverbs explains this lesson succinctly: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”.

To become an effective trainer, you must crave knowledge. Become open to new ideas and welcome diverse opinions, even from unlikely sources. Be discerning about what you adopt, if you must. Nevertheless, realise that you’d never know the opportunity that might arise by considering different viewpoints, or where a serendipitous encounter might lead.

Resist the deceptive allure of contentment in your proven skills, experience or qualification, so that you evolve.

Keep sharpening the axe.