Seven years ago, when Penney Leadership launched, I set off in my little solo spacecraft. I exited my home planet on Nonprofit and began my journey across the vast solar system.

Even as I start my seventh year as a fully-fledged business owner, the pressure is on to get to a certain place. I actively resist it every day, and remind myself that I'm right on time. Where I am is developmentally appropriate.

“Professional Development” is a big umbrella. Let’s take a look underneath it in order to understand different types of learning and how they might serve you.

I heard somewhere that there is an equation for confidence:

Confidence = Time + Experience

Like Whyte's piece of paper metaphor, there is no shortcut or blast to get there—instead, it's about steadily building the work, one piece of paper at a time, until one day you look and it's a solid stack with heft and weight.
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I can point to it now and say: I've built a track record with my audience, but I've also built a track record with myself.
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Here's what I've realized about professional confidence:
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​1) There is an element missing from the equation.
​I propose a change:

Confidence = (Time + Experience) + Permission

A client recently scheduled a session to strategize on how they can develop their skills at work.

At the beginning of the conversation, they were thinking small—constrained by working within the limited funds available for professional development at their organization.

Unfortunately, a lot of organizations offer limited (if any) financial support for professional development. But don't let that be the deciding factor on how or if you grow.

There are more resources and opportunities for professional development than ever before.

Get in the driver's seat of your own professional growth by exploring these creative ways to develop your skills (many of which cost $0)…