By Jennifer I. Tougas, CAPP, PhD

The other day, I spoke with an employee about training that is available to become certified in his line of work. This employee has many years of experience and his response was something to the effect of, “I’ve been doing this job for years. There’s nothing new they can teach me. I don’t need a certificate to prove I know how to do my job”.

On the surface, I see where he’s coming from. After all, he does have years of experience. But this morning, it occurred to me that he was placing limitations on himself.  His “I know what I’m doing” attitude meant he wasn’t open to learning new things.  And since he isn’t willing to learn new things, he’s going to be stuck where he is while the rest of the world moves on without him. What does that mean for his operation or organization? What does this mean to you if you have an employee with a similar attitude?

After all, in an ever-changing world, we can’t drive into the future by looking in the rearview mirror.

Jennifer I. Tougas, CAPP, PhD, is director of parking and transportation services at Western Kentucky University.