career-growth

The GWC Effect: Unlocking Personal and Professional Growth in 5 Easy Steps

Emad Mokhtar

Dec 1, 2024 — 3 min read

I hit a plateau in my career, feeling stuck between frustration and disappointment. This realization sparked a crucial question: what was holding me back? Through introspection, I discovered that I'd fallen into a routine of repetitive tasks with little room for creativity or intellectual stimulation. It dawned on me that sometimes, growth within our daily roles is limited – either the opportunities for advancement aren't aligned with our job responsibilities, or we're stuck on mundane projects. While it's natural for jobs to have ups and downs, there comes a point where we must take proactive steps to reignite our passion and drive.

This realization sparked the idea behind the GWC framework. This is the reason that growth is so important to me.

The Solution

As software engineers, we're wired to tackle problems head-on. Our instincts drive us to find solutions, making us natural problem-solvers. When faced with career stagnation, my own instincts kicked in, prompting me to seek a solution. I began by asking myself: What steps can I take outside of work to reignite growth and development?

This inquiry marked the beginning of a journey that ultimately led to the creation of a straightforward workflow – one designed to help others transition from feeling stuck to taking deliberate action towards personal and professional growth. The workflow consists of 5 steps:

Define
Research
Plan
In-Action
Breaks

Define

First thing first, you need to identify the areas where you’re not growing. In other words, what are the skills you want to grow?

Actions

Reflect on your current skill set: List all the skills or knowledge you have right now. A resume or CV can be a great place to get that.
Identify gaps in your skill set: Consider what skills or knowledge you're missing to excel in your current role or transition into a new area.
Make a list of desired growth areas: Write down the specific skills or areas you'd like to grow in.
Prioritize the list: You can grow in every skill or area at the same time. Re-order your list based on your priority. Priority can be seeking a promotion within the company, or getting a new job.

Research

After you identify where you want to grow, you need to gather some resources that help you in the growth plan.

Ideas

Reddit: On Reddit, there is Subreddit for every topic in life. Seek for a community there and ask for resources.
Dev.to: DEV Community is a community of 2,198,981 amazing developers. They are a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers. It has hackathons that you can join which push you to learn new technologies and tools.
FreeCodeCamp: There are many videos that can help you in passing interview to build a complete project.
Books and courses: a platform like O'Reilly is full of resources.

Plan

You got a list of skill or area you want to grow. Plus the resources for each one of them. Now it's time to plan and schedule the growing time. In the Atomic Habits book the author mentioned that if you don't schedule a time in your calendar, there is a big chance you won't do it. Block and schedule time on your calendar when you sit down and grow your skills.

In-Action

Every week, reflect on what you have done. These are the things that you can think about:

Schedule 📅: Is the time slots were reasonable, or I didn't consider my plans? Do I need to adjust for the next week?
Skill or Area 👨🏻‍🏫: Does it still relevant? Is it something I want to continue?
Resource 📕: Is the resource insightful and useful? Or do I need to find another one?
Celebrate 🎉: Have you done or learn a new thing? Well done 👍🏼 don't forget to reward yourself.

Breaks

Take care of yourself first! Remember that taking breaks can be incredibly rejuvenating, giving you a much-needed boost of energy and enthusiasm. Make time for self-care and prioritize your own well-being – it's essential for maintaining your motivation and drive.