Please keep in mind that this blog is intended for the senior manager to engage in a dialogue, or forum with their managers to help them grow as managers. The question at the top of each section can be asked of the group, and then the facilitator, or trainer can use the answers provided here as a way to guide the discussion. I'd love to hear from managers on their own examples, or amplifying or differing opinions about the information provided here.
Note: The term subordinate is used to mean either a front line worker, an experienced or new individual contributor, or a junior or senior manager, but always junior to the manager reading the text.
Why should a manager spend the time and resources on the personal development of their employees?
- Strengthen the team - As each team member becomes more confident in their position and learns more skills, the more things actually get accomplished and the easier it is to get things done, and the more time the manager gets to focus on strategy and planning. It really is an upward spiral. The more time the manager spends on developing subordinates, the stronger the team becomes and the more time the manager gets to spend on developing the team further, the more the team gets done, etc. etc.
- Make the company more valuable - If the cliche about the biggest asset a company has is its people is true, then the better the employees become, the more valuable the company becomes.
- Improve morale - When the manager takes an interest in their employees as people, and invests in developing their skills, it will improve how the employee views the manager and the company. Good morale doesn't always lead to better performance, but bad morale almost always leads to worse performance.
- Succession planning - There are many aspects to succession planning in the manager's mind that is affected by developing employees in their group. Let's take a look at a few of the main ones:
- What if something happens to the manager - Hopefully it is a promotion, or a better job somewhere else and not the proverbial "run over by a bus" accident. If the manager has done a great job of developing subordinates there may be someone who can step in to the manager's role
- What if the manager wants to leave - The manager may want a promotion or another job in the company, but can't be considered for the job because their current organization can not function well without them at the helm.
- Morale - Employees feel better about a company that not only talks about wanting to promote from within, but systematically prepares existing employees to be ready for promotion.
- Attract better talent - When the word gets out that a manager works to develop the talents of their employees and is good at it, everyone will want to work for them.
- Retention - This works as a retention tool because as long an employee is gaining more skills and developing as a person and an employee, it will take a compelling offer to get them to leave. One potential down side of developing employees is that they become a target for other managers in the company, or other companies, when they need talent. That is not an entirely bad thing for a manager, because it enhances their reputation.
- Allow employees to reach their full potential - Sometimes a manager will spot great potential in an employee to better themselves and bring significant value to the team and the company. The skilled manager can help make this potential become a reality.
- It is a good skill to have - Particularly as a manager becomes more senior, their ability to develop subordinates becomes a part of their primary job description.
- Enhance the reputation of the manager and of the team - This is the net result of all of the above.
In other words, where do employees learn the things that either help or hinder their development?
- Their managers. That's right. One of the biggest developers of employees is the example they see in their bosses. It is not just the good example that will leave an impression. Employees can also learn what not to do from a poor example. Unfortunately, junior employees may not know what is good or bad behavior in a manager and may learn bad habits from the inexperienced, or badly behaving boss. This means that a manager doesn't need to send an employee to a training course, or create a development plan to make an impact on the development of an employee. Just by behaving with high integrity and competence could be the best way to develop subordinates.
- Doing challenging jobs or tasks - figuring out what to do, executing a plan they developed, and seeing the results is another top way employees develop. Both successes and failures can have a profound impact on an employee's development. Trial and error is a great teacher. The pressure of making important decisions that affect their reputation, their careers and sometimes the success of the whole team, builds confidence and resourcefulness in both individual contributors and managers.
- Failures, setbacks, falling short - One of my cliches is "You can tell much more about the character of a person when they get knocked down, than when they win easily". Reflecting on the job not gotten, the bid proposal not accepted, coming in second (or last) can provide unique insight for a person that can be more valuable than the easy win. How a person reacts to these setbacks can be an important component of their development as a person, employee, or leader.
- Life experiences - There are many things that happen outside of work that contribute to the development of a person. A few include - the way they were raised, participation in sports, a family crisis, or development they gain from coaching or volunteer work.
- Formal training - I differentiate between formal training and formal education. An employee can gain valuable skills and expertise from training. These can range from a few hours to a few months in length. Training programs typically concentrate on a narrow scope and provide specific information to be retained and used later.
- Education - Education differs from training in that although the course may provide significant detailed information that can be used on the job, the developmental aspect of the education is more in the ways a person learns to approach problems and research possible solutions. Education refers mainly to college level courses, and ultimately degrees, taken at a school of higher learning.
Now that we've discussed what develops people in the general case, we can now use that information to discuss what a manager can, and should, do to develop their subordinates.
- Provide a positive role model - If a manager wants their team to treat everyone fairly, act with integrity, consider all relevant factors before making a decision, have a balanced work/personal life, then that's how the manager should act. Bottom line - Lead by example.
- Delegate important and challenging tasks - Notice that the first two items listed should happen as the normal work routine. Without even thinking about developing their subordinates, managers that do these two things could be doing a good job of developing them.
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the team as a whole, as well as each individual team member - If the team needs a second baseman, who has the potential to be good at second base? Once the team as a whole has been addressed, then the manager can focus on each person individually in developing them based on their individual strengths, which may or may not be a current need of the team.
- Help the subordinates understand their strengths and weaknesses - this can happen in many formal and informal ways, such as:
- Performance reviews - This is what most companies use as the primary method of forcing a discussion between bosses and their subordinates. These can be effective, but the frequency tends to be only once a year, which is too infrequent to actually have a positive effect. The other problem with annual performance reviews is that in an attempt to make them easier for managers, they have become mostly fill in the blank forms and grading check sheets that don't provide much intimate communication between the manager and their employee.
- Formal career counseling or development plan discussion - These don't occur very often in the work place, but scheduling and conducting a formal career counseling session with an employee can be very illuminating to the manager about the aspirations of their employee and very morale boosting for the subordinate.
- Informal discussions - Every conversation with a superior is usually listened to very attentively by a subordinate and what is said can carry a lot of weight, even though the manager may not be aware of how important their choice of words can be to the subordinate. On the other hand, if the manager listens closely to a casual conversation with a subordinate, they may learn a lot about the direction the subordinate would like their career to take.
- Encouragement and recognition - Positive reinforcement for any behavior has a good chance of encouraging the same behavior in the future. If the manager believes that taking risks is important to development, they should recognize and encourage employees who take calculated and reasonable risks.
- Provide timely feedback - Feedback is a critical assessment of the employees actions close enough in time to the actual effort to help them see what was effective and what was not effective. This should be done continuously and consistently in the spirit of helping, but the manager must be careful not to be perceived as a "micro manager" or "nit picker"
- Hold employees accountable for their performance - Remember that a failure, or setback, can be a huge driver to development. The employee will remember and learn from the manager's candid assessment and consequences of poor performance, a bad decision, or lapse in judgement. There is a reason for the popular phrase "Tough Love".
- Help subordinates see a path to meet their career objectives - Whether it be in job selection, training, education, or volunteer work.
- Map out a development program with the employee's collaboration
- Challenging jobs or tasks
- Identify the need and opportunities for training
- Recommend a reading list
- College courses
- Opportunities outside work
Keep in mind that this is not a performance review, or a superior-subordinate task discussion. It is an attempt by the manager to help a subordinate take actions that will help them in the future, and that future may, or may not, include the current manager. In other words, even though many of the elements are similar to other directed tasks, the manager should take a much softer and collaborative approach to this discussion.
- Pick a short time frame
- Don't rely on the annual review, the time frame is too long
- Plan should be executed inside of 90 days or less
- If longer projects are needed, pick smaller milestones that can be accomplished and assessed inside the 90 day window.
- Be specific in what needs to be done - If it is a training course, which one should be taken and how will it help develop the employee. If it is a project or challenging task, what exactly is expected?
- Define specific success criteria
- Establish a realistic time line
- Focus on strengths, not weaknesses - Managers spend so much time in damage control mode, that it is easy to focus on overcoming the shortcomings of an employee. Most people will get further in their careers by developing their strengths rather than working on what they don't already have.
- Involve the subordinate in developing the plan
- Recognize and reward achievement
Leave a comment, or send me an email. Do you have an example that illustrates a point made here? Have you tried something that didn't work? Did you find the post helpful? Did you forward a link to someone you thought could gain something from the discussion?
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