What skills do you want to learn?

As you progress through your career, you may be lucky enough to have a manager who asks "What do you want to do next in your career? How can I help you get to be where you want to be?"

This is a surprisingly difficult question to answer. For most people, it's difficult to define what role they want fulfill in the future. There is an easier version of this question, which asks "What skill do you want to learn next?" This is easier to answer. It's less paralyzing because we don't have to commit to a certain role. Most roles require a number of different skills so we don't rule anything in or out when committing to skills we'd like to learn. It's also a less complex question because, again, we don't have to define all parts of what our work could be. We just have to identify one specific part where we'd want to put more energy.

For your manager, it's a win too. While they may not be able to readily move you to a whole new role or career path, they can certainly find opportunities for you to develop the new skills which you desire in your current position.