Tips for Mastering Challenging Skills for Career Growth

So how do you sharpen a skill for a career transition or to just advance your current career? I was recently listening to the famous comedy writer Michael Schur speak about his early days as a writer on Saturday Night Live on the excellent Freakonomics podcast. He said he watched the veteran writers he admired and he "became a forensic scientist. I would look at their sketches and I would break them down and I would try to understand what made them good and what made them successful. And eventually, through a combination of observation and genuine mentorship, I kind of got to the point where I could do the job." This resonated with me because of its universal applicability. Here is my condensed version. 1) Talk to people who are actually doing the job you want. Get advice from them. This advice will be far more valuable than anything else in your pursuit. 2) Develop skills using that advice. No matter what your skill is, start working those Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours on that skill. You will get better. 3) Make friends with others with your skill set. Just surrounding yourself with others that are continuously talking about your skill, will make you better. As Schur states, "Be a forensic scientist." 4) Read everything you can on your particular skill by the experts in the field. Implement the stuff they say that makes sense, forget the stuff that doesn't work for you. 5) Tell everyone you know about your skill. Even if they can't help advance your career, it will only build your excitement. Any other tips or tricks from those that have recently honed a new skill?

I wish I did this more in my software engineering journey.👇 Seek out challenging projects. Yep, you read that right... When I think back over my career, I’ve worked with a lot of other engineers who were much smarter than me. It was easy to almost let them take the lead on the difficult projects while I focused on things I was good at. Doing that added up to hurt my growth long term. It’s been the times I leaned into working a difficult project that I grew the most. – Figuring out how to process and save thousands of webhooks / second  – Exceeding the data binding limit in Angular and building a scroll offloader – Optimizing database queries so that they ran in 300ms instead of timing out  – Building/scaling a campaigns tool that’s now sent 750,000,000+ emails None of those projects were easy. Some of them I had a little freak out moment when I started.  Some of them I got stuck on for a while.  But I figured them out. Yes, for sure I had help. I had a team to reach out to if I was stuck.  But I did it! Those projects helped me level up massively 🚀 Now anytime I’m working on something particularly difficult, I get excited because it means I’m really going to grow. 💪 P.S. If you know there’s an area you want to grow in, bring it up to your manager in your 1:1, and see if they can put you on a project to learn those skills. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What’s been a challenging project you worked on that helped you grow? See you in the comments 🙋♀️🙋♂️ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If you liked this post, you’ll love my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e95JH9qH 👉 Follow along as I share everything I’ve learned about becoming a #fullstackengineer and leveling up into a #senior+ engineer and #techlead at a hyper-growth #startup.

I’ve launched over 5 new product categories over my 20+ year career, taking them from $0 to over $10M+ ARR. And this challenged me on scale trajectories I could never have imagined. Here's a candid rundown on why embracing challenges is not just about facing them but acting on them—learning, taking on new responsibilities, and collaborating with new teams. Setting the Stage: The typical advice goes something like what Steve Jobs critiqued: "Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money." This standard narrative is about maintaining the status quo, living comfortably within the confines of what’s been handed down. Jobs then shared a powerful insight: "Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use." This statement resonates deeply with anyone who’s dared to step beyond the traditional paths laid out before them. It's a call to action to reshape the world around us, regardless of the stage of life or career. My realization of growth and challenges takes these insights into perspective. 1️⃣ Learning by Doing Each new challenge is a portal to untapped knowledge. Whether it’s a new skill set, a new market, or a new business model. True learning begins when you roll up your sleeves and get to work. 2️⃣ Breaking Barriers It's about pushing past the usual limits of comfort and expectation. The journey involves navigating through a mix of failures and successes, and it’s these experiences that mold you. 3️⃣ Innovative Action Inspired by Jobs’ words, I’ve applied this 'action-oriented innovation' at various points in my career. From overhauling product strategies based on an intuitive understanding of market needs to adapting pitches in real-time during critical meetings. Thinking ahead of your customers is a critical skill for innovation. The good thing is that this skill can be acquired, honed and scaled over time. TAKEAWAY Facing and embracing challenges is fundamental to growth. It’s not just about what you learn theoretically; it’s about what you apply practically. The barriers you break, the actions you take, and the resilience you build along the way define your trajectory far more than any conventional success ever could. Like Jobs said, realizing that you can influence and create is a transformative discovery. It’s been a ride that's fundamentally changed my approach to business and life ... and what a ride it's been so far. 🚀

"Be brave enough to be bad at something new." Many of us hesitate to start something new out of fear of not being good enough or failing. However, the essence of growth and learning lies in the willingness to be a beginner again. The Fear of Starting The biggest hurdle most people face in starting something new is the fear of failure. We're accustomed to working within our areas of expertise where we feel confident and competent. Stepping out of this comfort zone into a realm where we're unfamiliar and unskilled can feel like a direct challenge to our self-image. Why It's Important to Be 'Bad' Being 'bad' at something new is not just inevitable, it's essential. It's the first step in the learning process. When you allow yourself to be a novice, you open doors to learning and experiences that would otherwise be closed. Each mistake, each struggle, is a stepping stone towards mastery. The Growth Mindset Adopting a growth mindset is crucial in this process. It's about understanding that skills and abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. When you believe your abilities can be developed, you view challenges and failures as opportunities to improve. Taking the Leap So how do you start? The key is to take the first step. It doesn't have to be big or perfect. It just needs to be a step. Whether it's signing up for a class, trying a new hobby, or tackling a project at work, the act of starting is often the most challenging yet most rewarding part. Tips for Embracing New Challenges Start Small: Break down the skill or project into smaller, manageable tasks. Celebrate Small Wins: Acknowledge and celebrate your progress, no matter how small. Seek Feedback: Constructive criticism is a powerful tool for improvement. Stay Curious: Keep an open mind and be willing to learn and adapt. Persist: Remember, progress is rarely linear. Keep pushing through the challenges. Conclusion Remember, every expert was once a beginner. The path to mastery is filled with trials and errors, but it's these very experiences that carve out a path to success. Be kind to yourself in the process and remember that growth often happens outside your comfort zone. Illustrated by: franc0448 #productivity #motivation #work #growth If you enjoyed this post, consider a like or repost ♻️. I also have a newsletter where I share my best tips on similar topics: https://addy.ie