Certification Can Make You an MVP
Posted by TestOut Staff on
On Sunday night, Tom Brady (Remember him?) became the only four-time Super Bowl MVP in NFL history, leading the New England Patriots to a 34-28 come-from-behind victory. (Poor Matt Ryan. The recently crowned regular season MVP now must bear the indignity of being the fall guy for a team that led 28-3 in the waning minutes of the third quarter and lost the game anyway. Have you seen the Golden State Falcons logo flying around the internet? 28-3 is the new 3-1.)
The MVP of a game is generally agreed to be the individual performer who contributed most to the overall success of his or her team. The MVP is the difference maker whose effort and poise boosted the entire team to a victorious outcome. (The question is occasionally more nuanced when it comes to seasonal MVPs. In 2012, for example, Adrian Peterson was the consensus AP and PFWA NFL MVP despite playing for a Minnesota Vikings team that posted a less-than-sterling 10-6 record and lost in the wild card round of the playoffs.)
Workplace teams rarely if ever compete for championships, and there is certainly less glamour surrounding success in the workplace than success in the Super Bowl. Most workplace projects, however, have at least one MVP, one individual whose tireless effort and energizing attitude cannot be questioned. It's worth noting, of course, that only a fraction of the hard work that an MVP does, whether in the workplace or in professional sports, happens during the game, or while a project is being completed.
A true MVP recognizes the important of continual improvement, of achieving and maintaining peak conditioning even when there are no outcomes on the line. Striving for excellence when there is no immediate pressure to perform is essential preparation for success. In the IT world, that means constantly adding to your workplace toolkit by learning new skills and refining existing ones. Certification not only adds new information to your stockpile of knowledge, but it keeps you both committed to and familiar with a learning state of mind.
TestOut Continuing Education can help you achieve and maintain a healthy attitude about learning and self improvement. Our top-flight courseware can take you in a variety of different IT directions. You can even give yourself the ultimate test by tackling every certification training course we offer with the TestOut CE Library Suite. A true MVP sees new and different challenges as opportunities to smash through old frontiers and rise to new heights. Start today to put in that extra effort — the next time a workplace outcome in on the line, maybe you will be the one to lead your team to success.