<p>While reading this article, you can picture two lines in front of you. One line goes horizontally (from the center to both the east and west), that symbolizes your competency development. One line goes vertically (from south to north) and that symbolizes your capacity development. In general, when we grow both horizontally and vertically, our business will also grow accordingly. </p> <p>Competencies are the skills and knowledge we need to do our job well. </p> <p>Capacities are our abilities to learn, to reflect, to accept and to adapt. The more we grow our capacity, the easier it is to be open to new experiences, see things from a new perspective and make a bigger difference in what we do. </p> <p>For example, a teacher knows the subject she teaches and knows how to communicate what she knows to the students. These are the competencies she obtained as a teacher. At the same time, she knows how to manage herself so she doesn't get frustrated with the students, who are lacking in discipline and respect. She also knows how to inspire the students to learn the difficult topics, despite their resistance. These are the capacities that she possesses to support the full utilization her competencies. </p> <p>Have you heard about the professor rating websites? For example, ratemyprofessors.com has a rating for many professors. My kids always check a professor's rating before they choose a class. Often, they enjoy the teaching of a high rated professor. Do you wonder what made a professor more appealing to the students? Are they easy graders? Not really. From what I have gathered, a professor with higher rating is the one who is knowledgeable on what he/she teaches; can connect to the students to make learning a fun experience and make students feel that they have learned a lot and are rewarded for their work. </p> <p>If people rate your profession, would you be the one receiving a higher rating? </p> <p>Are you good at what you do? Do you continue to develop your competency and capacity? </p> <p>When I was a new coach, I was trained with coaching skills. I also had many years of personal growth experience. I considered myself a competent professional coach with good capacity. During coaching sessions, I often asked myself "what would be a good open-ended question to ask?" "Oh!... I have a good idea that I want to share, should I share?" These were the conversation going on in my head. I started to realize that with all of the conversations occurring in my head, I couldn't be present to my clients. I started to see how important it is to continue my personal growth and to expand my capacities as a coach. Through personal growth, I become more self aware and more skillful on self management. I can put "I" away and listen to my clients attentively without attaching my own agenda. So I have continued my developments in both directions over the last few years. </p> <p>When I started to coach small business owners, I realized that low capacity was the reason that some were defeated by challenges. Personal growth work is just as important for small business owners as for a coach. Business growth depends on personal growth to grow your capacities and, in turn, to support your competencies. </p> <p>Here are some simple tips for developing your capacities. </p> <p><strong>1.</strong> <strong>Regular reading</strong></p> <p>Spend some time reading every day to enrich yourself and be resourceful to your business and your clients.</p> <p><strong>2. Have friends who are interested in developing their capacities and who can give you honest feedback.</strong></p> <p><strong>3. Have a personal growth plan and structure</strong></p> <p>It's always important to plan your work and to work your plan. A plan helps you to focus and a structure helps you to follow through. Personal growth has different aspects: emotional intelligence, spiritual practice, body/mind meditation, language enhancement, subconscious mind discovery; etc. From my experience, when one has regular practices, different aspects&nbsp;grow accordingly.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>4. Hire a coach</strong></p> <p>A professional coach can help you to develop yourself. Make sure your coach is trained and has the competencies to coach you and that he/she is into their own personal growth.</p> 2008-09-18T06:17:02Z -17.5121 823 1691 true 17 5076 capacity-and-competency-two-developments-to-grow-your-business 5 2008-09-18T21:35:38Z 2008-09-18T21:35:38Z

We often wonder if we have what it takes to grow our business. There are two different types of development that need to be attended to.

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