Dear Queenie,
I have a coworker who seems to have one full-time job. Attending training courses. Every few weeks, there's another workshop, webinar, certification, leadership programme, lunch-and-learn, or professional development session. His email signature grows longer every month. His LinkedIn profile must need extra storage. Meanwhile... The rest of us are covering his actual work. When deadlines approach, he's "in training." When a project needs finishing, he's "at a conference." When clients call, he's "out of office." He returns with a notebook full of fresh ideas and tells us how we could all work more efficiently. If only he had time to actually do some work. Management seems impressed because he's always "developing himself." The rest of us are developing repetitive strain injuries from picking up the slack. I believe in lifelong learning. I just didn't realize it was a substitute for lifelong working. Queenie, am I being unfair, or is there such a thing as too much professional development? —Certified Fed Up
Dear Certified Fed Up,
Professional development is a wonderful thing. An organization that invests in learning usually invests in its future. But there is one small detail that often gets overlooked. Someone still has to do the work. Training should make you better at your job. It should not become your job. From your letter, it sounds as though your colleague has become a collector. Not of knowledge...but of certificates. Some people collect stamps. Some collect magnets from their travels. Others collect credentials like they're trying to complete a loyalty card. Now, don't misunderstand me. Perhaps your colleague is genuinely ambitious. Perhaps management keeps selecting him. Perhaps he says yes because saying no to opportunities feels risky. The real question is not how many courses he attends. It's whether anyone notices the cost. Every hour spent in a seminar is an hour someone else is answering emails, covering meetings, or meeting deadlines. If that burden always falls on the same people, resentment is inevitable. This is less a colleague problem than a management problem. Good managers don't measure development by the number of certificates on the wall. They measure whether new skills translate into better performance. If you're forever learning about teamwork while your teammates are forever covering for you... the lesson hasn't landed. One final thought. Knowledge is valuable. Application is priceless. A certificate may decorate a résumé. Doing your job well builds a reputation. And between the two, I'll take the reputation every time. —Queenie
