We’ve been talking about the importance of being an Every-Day Leader this month. Another attribute of the Every-Day Leader is to develop and grow your team members. An effective leader is walking the walk and talking the talk as a role model for their employees. Think of this as an invaluable retention tool. After all, wouldn’t you love a workplace where your employees exhibit the core values you are teaching? Most people are highly motivated to work in a place that is invested in and follows through on providing growth opportunities for their people. Let’s take a look at how you can develop your team.
How to Create a Development Plan
What are you doing to provide professional growth for your people? If you can’t answer this question, it’s time to start learning more about this topic.
Here are some essential tips on developing your team members.
- Create Individual Development Plans: Discuss individual interests and career goals. This conversation will help identify the development activities that employees should be undertaking.
- Provide Performance Metrics: It is essential to set specific quantitative metrics to help an employee understand performance expectations. Measuring progress also provides evidence of how development activities are working.
- Provide Opportunities Outside of Their Job Function: This increases awareness and knowledge of the organization while providing understanding of what others’ roles within the company. By getting outside their comfort zone, employees can experience challenges and expand skill sets.
- Give Constructive Feedback: Employees want to know how they are doing. If feedback is used as a tool for growth and development, and not to punish, the process can actually build trust . Effective feedback can make a measurable difference.
- Remove Barriers: Today’s generation of workers are used to change and enjoy open work environments that let them explore. Take the barriers to success away and watch people flourish.
- Link to a Professional Network: Introduce your teams to other professionals that can serve as mentors or coaches. Introduce them to industry associations and networking events, so they feel relevant. These connections can offer ways to get additional support and information on how to grow professionally and personally.
Approaches to Grow Your Team
There are also six different approaches you can take to develop your employees. These tie into the practices above to create a well-rounded employee development plan.
Each employee can create the first draft of their development plan, which gives them more “skin in the game”. Then you can review the draft plan, share your input and together complete the goals and tactics to get the performance outcomes you both desire.
As you can see, being an Every-Day Leader takes a lot of work, yet pays off in the value of employee growth and development. While your employees work on their plans, it’s important for you to share your development plan with your team. This level of transparency will emphasize the importance of continuous improvement and growth for every member of the team. When you’re ready to take this step, contact me. I’ve helped many leaders on their journey to become a more effective Every-Day Leader!