In August 2015, TAP-Boston decided it was time to put an end to the quarter-life crisis – or at least try to. In the past, our professional development programming has addressed skill development and networking, but we noticed another professional problem that we were not addressing: there were members who were not satisfied in their careers and did not know how to fix the issue. So this year, we decided we needed to start asking the tough questions.
Why do you do your job?
Are you in the right job?
Do you have the right skills and personality to “succeed”?
How do you define success?
Since work is such a big part of our lives, we believe that answering these questions can lead to more fulfilling and ultimately happier lives. We realized that our members sought professional programming not purely for professional reasons, but also for deeply personal purposes. We used this as a starting point to create the key tenets of a program that would serve a real need in our community:
- Actively engaging in self-reflection and improvement makes life more meaningful and fun. This is our purpose and why the new program should exist.
- Personal growth is tough to do alone. It takes long term focus, and there is often no instant gratification for one’s efforts. Our new program should be run in a social and collaborative group setting. A group helps everyone exchange new ideas and get motivated.
- One size does not fit all – professional and personal development programs work better when tailored to each individual’s unique personality and talents. We should make it a smaller, closed group to allow for programming that evolves to fit each person’s unique personality. There should be an environment of trust and open-mindedness.
From these, TAP Propel was born. Propel is an individualized personal and professional growth program where members can debate new ideas, challenge beliefs, and provide support and accountability to one another. Over the course of the year, each member (or Propeller, as we call ourselves) will identify personal or professional development goals and share their progress and challenges with the group. Propel is part skills workshop and part group therapy session.
TAP Propel’s inaugural class was established in September 2015 and comprises ten professionals from diverse fields including business, design, health, non-profit, and research. We hit the ground running by tackling our definitions of success and their origins, led by wellness and leadership coach Tammy Chang. In subsequent sessions, we have explored “The Science of Happiness” and “Finding Your Core Values,” and challenged each other to fulfill 30-day goals, such as waking up at 4am, spending 30 minutes creating art, and keeping a gratitude journal.
In 2016, we hope to develop personal mission statements and long-term goals to more meaningfully align our lives with our aspirations. Ultimately, we want to turn 10 people who constantly ask “Who am I?” into 10 people who wake up knowing what they want to achieve and why. We want to help each other propel into more confident and better versions of ourselves.
If you would like to learn more, please email pamela.hung@tap-boston.org.