When people first look at my resume or hear what my background is, almost all of them say something along the lines of "Oh, so you're a utility player!" Some of them say it like it's a good thing and others... not so much. I'm here to clear the air and explain what a utility player is and why utility players are an absolute asset on any team.

Utility Player defined: "[A utility player is] a player on a sports team who has the ability to play in several different positions, and often plays in different positions for their club." (Source)

In business, a utility player is basically the same as in sports: someone with many different skill sets that can work in different roles, as opposed to having only one specialty.

Frequently, people will parrot the phrase "a jack of all trades but a master of none," as if being a jack of all trades is a bad thing. They don't realize that the full quote is actually: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one." When problems arise, you want someone on your team that can handle many different types of problems instead of just one.

There are, of course, many benefits to specializing and having specialists on your team. These people have an in depth knowledge of one or two  particular areas, which can be very useful. But to really make sure that your team can handle anything, you need utility players.

Utility players (like me) can take over multiple aspects of a project, depending on their skill set and sometimes, their different skill sets can compliment each other. Using myself as an example, I am a utility player with a background in IT (Information Technology), technical writing, and tech support. These skills combined help me understand the technical aspects of a project at a high level and also allow me to be able to explain them easily to people with less IT experience. How? Let's take a look at how each skill contributes:

• Tech Support: Performing troubleshooting with people that don't understand the technology allows me to understand their thought process and how to talk to them so they'll understand what I'm trying to help them do.
• Technical Writing: Writing guides that are by nature for someone at a basic level of understanding and training people while using those same guides helps me you improve and simplify my explanations, as well as make my guides easier to work with.
  
• IT: Being in technology for most of my career has allowed me to understand basic computing and networking concepts despite not being an engineer or a developer. This allows me to have intelligent and meaningful conversations with those specialists that I mentioned earlier.
  

When you have a solid team that includes at least one utility player, it's like having a Swiss army knife at the ready; someone that can tackle many different tasks or problems with ease. The next time that you're building a project team or a department, make sure to have a utility player on it. You won't regret it!

Thank you,

Alexa Medhus

Hello and welcome back to my now bi-weekly blog!

Last blog, I shared a list of ideas for how to continue your education outside of school. For today's blog, I have decided to share a story from my days as an intern as an example, a story which I have alluded to a few times. Back when I was an intern at Sterling Health Plans (which has gone by several names since then and has since been absorbed into WellCare), I realized that I had a golden opportunity in my hands; I had access to industry professionals who I could learn from. What better way to learn about being a leader than from people actually leading?

​THE QUESTIONS
I created a list of who I wanted to talk to in the company and then created a list of questions I wanted to discuss. The questions I asked were:

1. What school did you go to and what did you study?
2. What's your work background?
3. What is your definition of success?
4. What did you do to work towards your definition of success?
5. What is your definition of a leader?
6. What is your leadership philosophy?
7. What have you done to become a better leader?
8. How did you get to where you are today?
9. What was it like when you first started your position? How did you get people to follow you?
10. What are you responsibilities in the business?
11. What is the best part about your job?
12. What is the hardest part about your job?

Evidently, college me wanted to be thorough.

THE PROJECT
Once I was ready, I kicked off my informal project to learn from the company’s leadership. I talked to (either on the phone, via email, or in person) my list of C-suite executives/VPs/managers.I also arranged a meeting with the CEO for all of the interns to get a chance to talk to him and ask him questions.

Virtually every single person I reached out to was excited to speak with me. People generally want to help people, and I encourage you to put yourself out there no matter where you are in your career!

WHAT I LEARNED
Admittedly, a lot has changed since I interviewed all of these professionals (2011), but what I learned has held up over time. Here are my original notes on the key takeaways, with some new comments included:

• The number one thing stressed to me by multiple people was networking. Each of them got to where they are through developing and MAINTAINING a network of people.
  • I have continued to hear this same piece of advice over the years and have striven to adhere to it.

• GOALS! Have a goal that you have a passion for and have a real desire to achieve it. Set your goals high, but make them achievable. This was another one stressed a lot.
  • I still strongly believe in this and have also heard this advise repeated numerous times. 
• Let people know what you want and listen to them.
• Enhance your marketability- diversify.
• Always volunteer for projects.
  • I would like to add a caveat to this: do not take on more projects than you can effectively handle. Biting off more than you can chew risks things slipping through the cracks. It is, however, very important to volunteer for as many as you can.
• Read and study your industry a lot.
  • Continuous education! 
• Expose yourself to different parts of your company and industry.
• Be self-aware. Know what motivates you and what your strengths/weaknesses are and use/improve them.
  • I definitely agree with this still. I recommend that everyone list out what their personal/professional strengths and weaknesses are. Then, determine how to strengthen your weaknesses and how to best leverage your strengths. 
• Determine how what you do supports the business and understand the business as a whole.
• Plan for the future, but perform excellently at your current job, even if it’s boring. “Grow where you’re planted” and gain full mastery of whatever position you’re in.
• Don’t always take the safe/easy route.
  • Remember what I learned at that recent women's conference? Take risks!
• When you see an opportunity, take it. Never close an opportunity.
• Always look for a way to add value- don’t wait to be asked.
• The people you surround yourself with are key. Hire people that are better and smarter than you and help them achieve their potential.
• Enjoy what you do.

Thank you for stopping by! I would like to note that if you decide to start a project similar to mine, make sure to thank everyone that took the time to work with you. I was going through my old notes while making this blog and found my list of who to send thank you cards to and the address for their office; I suggest you do something similar. A physical card is more meaningful and shows more appreciation than just an email, and I encourage you to send one wherever possible.

One of the core tenants of who I am as a person is constantly trying to improve myself and a part of that improvement comes from continuously learning. I believe that continuous learning at all stages of one's life and career is incredibly important, for both personal and professional growth.

There are a number of ways that you can continue learning outside of going back to school. Below are some ideas based on what I have tried out over the years. I will be focusing on continuous learning for your professional life, though any of these ideas or suggestions can be applied to your personal life as well.

One of my favorite ways to learn is to buy a book on the subject I want to learn about and then read it (I know, that's super basic). I sometimes take notes on pertinent points that I want to remember, similar to learning back in school. A blank notebook is my best friend.

Once I got my first manager position, I purchased several books on management and leadership; I plan on reading and sharing these books here as I am able. Don't be afraid to ask for book suggestions from people/leaders that you admire; that's what I did. People were more than willing to share what books they had read to aid in their professional development.

I also have a collection of articles and videos that I am working through which have either been suggested to me or are something that I found on my own. The internet is a vast treasure trove of knowledge if you know how to use Google right.

Another way that I love to learn is by attending seminars and conferences. Conferences give you the opportunity to hear from and network with other professionals. You may have to pay to attend these, but some places of employment will cover the expenses- just ask your manager. The worst that they can say is no! At the very least, this will signal to them that you are interested in these kinds of opportunities and maybe your name will come up if a vendor or supplier provides free invites to a conference!

​Through a past job, I was introduced to Fred Pryor Seminars; I was fortunate enough to have a manager that purchased annual passes for my coworkers and I. Through this program, I was able to attend unlimited live seminars and view online seminars. There are other options for this sort of program, I am sure, but Fred Pryor is the only one that I have personally tried. I attended and recommend the following live seminars:

• Business Writing for Results
• How to Write Clear and Concise Policies and Procedures
• Project Management
• Managing Multiple Priorities, Projects, and Deadlines
• How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service
• Dealing with Difficult People

Online classes are especially helpful for people in technical fields or those looking to break into the IT sphere. You can find these classes through colleges if you want, but there are other options available. One that I have personally tried is Codecademy. I took their beginning web design class (originally called Codecademy Ready) and really enjoyed the program; they have professionals who provide feedback on your three big projects and the lessons are interactive. Through it, I learned a lot about HTML and CSS and I also learned that website design was not something that I wanted to pursue.

One of the not so obvious benefits of continuous learning is that sometimes, you learn that you're not as interested in something as you thought you were, or maybe you're just not good at it (like me with web design). This is not failing; this is just more learning.

Unless you're a sole proprietor or the top dog in your company, chances are pretty high that there are people working above you in management or people in your company with more experience. Reach out to these people and ask if you can interview them. Compile a list of questions you want to ask them and take lots of notes!

When I was an intern in college, I created the "Learning About Leadership" project, where I reached out to every C-Suite level executive and VP in my company to interview them. You would be amazed at how many people were more than happy to answer my questions in email, over the phone, or even in person- and I was just an intern! People love to share what they know and I highly encourage you to reach out to your network.

There are many clubs and societies out there for a professional to join; you can find them by browsing online, asking colleagues, or even searching somewhere like Meetup.com or LinkedIn.

The organization that I have the most experience with is Toastmasters International. Per their website, "Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development." I was a member of this club back when I was in college and I loved it.

I was the youngest member of my club by decades and as such, I learned a lot. I was able to get feedback from and network with people who were much further along in their careers and in their development as public speakers/leaders than I was. This did more for me than any public speaking class in college ever did.

I enjoyed Toastmasters so much that I have recently rejoined the organization; I joined the "Once Upon a Time" club in Kent, WA. I highly recommend Toastmasters to anyone at any level in their career. They recently revamped their program and have instituted "Pathways," which allow you to hone in on what you want to work on. For example, I chose the Dynamic Leadership path: "This path helps you build your skills as a strategic leader and negotiator. You will work through projects that focus on understanding leadership and communication styles, the effect of conflict on a group and the skills needed to defuse and direct conflict. Each project also emphasizes the development of strategies to facilitate change in an organization or group, interpersonal communication and public speaking. The Dynamic Leadership path culminates in a project focused on applying your leadership skills."

The final suggestion that I have for your today is to write. One way in which writing contributes to continuous learning is through research. When you're writing a blog, for example, you may have to research for the content that you want to provide. When you write, you grow and you remember more of what you are working on than by just reading it.

Writing something like a blog can can also foster discussions on the subject matter, allowing you to hear other people's thoughts and opinions. Don't be afraid to share and discuss what you write!

------------------------------------

Overall, continuous learning is important inside and outside of the office and I hope that you will use some of my suggestions here to expand your base of knowledge.

What are some methods that you use to learn? Let me know in the comments!