As a career coach in organizations, I've often heard employees lament about lack of learning opportunities in their current jobs.
One such client was a quality assurance tester in a software company. He was becoming restless with his QA role, preferring to move into a software development role. However, his skills were not quite honed to enter this role. How could he work on his skills as a developer if he wasn't ready to move on?

With the help of a mentor, he realized there was an opportunity to do some important development work within his current role - the project he was working on required new testing protocols. Using his QA knowledge, he was able to develop these protocols and stretch his skills at the same time. When the project was completed, he leveraged his new knowledge into a development role within his team. He had successfully used his job as a "learning laboratory."

Another client held an administrative role in a sales organization. She excelled at understanding and resolving questions on legal contracts with sales staff and customers. However, her career goal was to use her customer, product and business knowledge to move into a business development role.

She lacked formal presentation skills and decided to develop these skills by joining Toastmasters International (www.toastmasters.org). Additionally, she concluded that if she wanted to perfect these skills, it would be valuable to create an opportunity to do a presentation within her group. She developed and delivered a presentation on contract issues for the sales force, enhancing her skill and passing on valuable information to her team. She's now evaluating other opportunities to take on or create, assignments toward her goal of transitioning into a business development role.
Consider the following questions as you plan your next learning opportunity:

• What do you want to learn next; what are you curious about?
• What skill would you like to develop, or enhance?
• What new knowledge or skill would add the most value to your current role, business or organization?
• What opportunities can you take advantage of, or create, to satisfy those learning objectives?

You might want to learn a technical skill as the individual above did, or you might want to develop presentation skills or increase your knowledge of business issues. Chances are excellent that that opportunity exists right now - in front of you, in your current role - or for volunteering inside your work or in your community!

Here are some strategies to help you develop learning opportunities within your current role:

1. Be clear about what you want to learn, where you want to grow and develop.
2. Understand the challenges and opportunities available to you now, in your current role, business or organization.
3. Find ways to develop opportunities addressing the challenges/needs of your roles, business or organization and those you want to grow.
4. Consider the following development activities:

• volunteering inside or out of your organization or business
  
• a job rotation to a different function or division,
  a one-time special assignment
  
• filling in for someone on leave or overloaded
  
• shadowing (close observation role) of someone whose skills you'd like to acquire

Shift your view of your current role to see its possibilities rather than its limitations. Generally, the best place to practice and acquire a new skill or quality is in a familiar role. Add the valuable talent you already possess, to the new skill you are developing and you'll be ready to apply your enhanced skills for the next opportunity!

Lenore Mewton is Principal of LM&A/ Lenore Mewton & Associates, a Business, Career and Corporate Coaching firm, and Career Consultant at Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lenore coaches small business owners, developing leaders and individuals on leadership, career and business development. She can be reached at lenore@lenoremewton.com or 781-639-2659. Web: www.lenoremewton.com.