DEVELOP OTHERS
WHY IT MATTERS
Leaders take people as they are and help them become something more. They see through people’s limitations to find their potential. Because of their positive influence they lift everyone else around them to a higher standard, and in so doing, lift the entire organization. Their people are continuously more capable of delivering high performance and consistent results because they are continuously acquiring the skills and abilities they need to succeed. Leaders that invest in developing other people receive from their employee’s greater commitment, more sincere engagement, deeper loyalty, and stronger performance. Leaders that don’t develop their people leave their skills, growth, performance, and results potentially stunted.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that develop others believe people can change. They trust them with opportunities to change, even if it means accepting some risk. They see their greatest contribution to the organization as being the legacy of talent they leave behind through their influence on those around them.
Leaders that develop others want to be catalysts in helping people become better than they knew they could become. They know that the lifeblood of their organization is the collective talent, skill, and ability of their workforce. They believe they can only be as good as their people. They know their organization will grow equal to the level their people grow. They do more than preach development; they set the example by using their time to invest in others.
Leaders that develop others know the importance of having a plan. They are insistent that everyone in the organization have a personal development plan that is renewed regularly. They set the example by having a personal development plan themselves. They craft formal processes whereby the organization creates, reviews, and gives a final report on the development of each employee. They ensure those that invest in development are rewarded.
Leaders that develop others ensure people understand their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for development and growth. They provide development assessments people can use to identify where to improve. They create an environment that makes it safe to discuss weaknesses. They ensure development is more than just a nice thing to do. They turn development into a strategic tool that makes a real difference.
Leaders that develop others see development as more than sending people to classes or paying for conference attendance. They look at the more holistic view of what it really takes to grow talent. They ensure development plans include activities such as mentoring, coaching, and focused behavior change. They put in place systems whereby people can participate in cross training, developmental projects, and job rotations.
Leaders that grow other people learn of their long-term employment hopes. They know their people’s career aspirations and help them establish career plans. They map where people want to be in the future and give them the resources and support to get there.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
WORDS OF CAUTION
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
Leaders take people as they are and help them become something more. They see through people’s limitations to find their potential. Because of their positive influence they lift everyone else around them to a higher standard, and in so doing, lift the entire organization. Their people are continuously more capable of delivering high performance and consistent results because they are continuously acquiring the skills and abilities they need to succeed. Leaders that invest in developing other people receive from their employee’s greater commitment, more sincere engagement, deeper loyalty, and stronger performance. Leaders that don’t develop their people leave their skills, growth, performance, and results potentially stunted.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that develop others believe people can change. They trust them with opportunities to change, even if it means accepting some risk. They see their greatest contribution to the organization as being the legacy of talent they leave behind through their influence on those around them.
Leaders that develop others want to be catalysts in helping people become better than they knew they could become. They know that the lifeblood of their organization is the collective talent, skill, and ability of their workforce. They believe they can only be as good as their people. They know their organization will grow equal to the level their people grow. They do more than preach development; they set the example by using their time to invest in others.
Leaders that develop others know the importance of having a plan. They are insistent that everyone in the organization have a personal development plan that is renewed regularly. They set the example by having a personal development plan themselves. They craft formal processes whereby the organization creates, reviews, and gives a final report on the development of each employee. They ensure those that invest in development are rewarded.
Leaders that develop others ensure people understand their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for development and growth. They provide development assessments people can use to identify where to improve. They create an environment that makes it safe to discuss weaknesses. They ensure development is more than just a nice thing to do. They turn development into a strategic tool that makes a real difference.
Leaders that develop others see development as more than sending people to classes or paying for conference attendance. They look at the more holistic view of what it really takes to grow talent. They ensure development plans include activities such as mentoring, coaching, and focused behavior change. They put in place systems whereby people can participate in cross training, developmental projects, and job rotations.
Leaders that grow other people learn of their long-term employment hopes. They know their people’s career aspirations and help them establish career plans. They map where people want to be in the future and give them the resources and support to get there.
BELIEFS
- There is nothing more satisfying to a leader than seeing someone else become better than they thought they could become.
- The greatest legacy you can leave behind as a leader is the legacy of making other people better.
- Developing people isn’t an optional activity, it is a core role and responsibility of true leaders.
- Leaders become leaders not because they can do the work, but because they can teach others how to do the work.
- Organizations thrive or stall based on their ability to grow and improve their workforce.
- Invest in your people and you will see your organization explode in their investment towards you.
- Having a people development philosophy and strategy is an organizational necessity if you want to stay competitive.
- You can’t help someone improve if they don’t want to improve. Development is ultimately a personal decision.
BEST PRACTICES
- Take risks on people and their potential.
- Give people job rotations and stretch assignments.
- Cross-train employees on different skills.
- Make the time to invest in developing others.
- Believe your job is to grow your people.
- Hold people accountable for development.
- Help employees identify strengths and weakness.
- Know the career goals of each individual.
- Give people the confidence to grow.
- Build meaningful development plans.
- Apply a good mix of development methods.
- Meet with people to review their progress.
- Provide timely and honest feedback.
- Be patient with the development process.
- Believe everyone can change and improve.
- Be a mentor for those who come to you.
- Implement a formal development process.
- Reward people for development.
- Ask people to take their development seriously.
- Ensure development plans are measurable.
- Coach people on where they need to develop.
- Make budget available for development.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I want to see other people grow and develop, or do I only concern myself with what they can do for me?
- Do I see the correlation between my investment in people and results, or do I think development is a waste of time?
- Do I ensure everyone in the organization has a development plan, or is development planning not a priority?
- Do I recognize and reward people for acquiring new skills and capabilities, or do I let their efforts go unnoticed?
- Do I establish formal processes and systems for people development in the organization, or do I leave it to chance?
- Do I help people see where they can improve and develop, or do I hesitate to tell people where to improve?
- Do I create an environment that makes it easy to acknowledge weaknesses, or do I make weakness unmentionable?
- Do I take a holistic view towards how people develop, or do I only send them to classes and workshops?
WORDS OF CAUTION
- Don’t take all the fun and creativity out of learning through an over burden of organizational procedures and processes.
- Don’t think your desires to grow people can overcome their own lack of desire to put in the work to better themselves.
- Don’t let your belief that people can improve cause you to continuously tolerate less-than-acceptable performance.
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
- I purposely give assignments that will stretch the abilities of the people who report to me.
- I’m a stickler for making sure there is cross training.
- I know the career goals of my staff.
- I like to promote from within than hire from outside the organization.
- I often visit with staff just to see how their development is going.