Intentional Leadership Development

Bernard Banks, a clinical professor of management and associate dean for leadership development at the Kellogg School who spent 25 years in the U.S. Army before retiring in 2016 as a Brigadier General, shared back in 2017, “All effective leaders are effective leader developers. The challenge becomes, are companies growing the leaders they need for today or the leaders they need for tomorrow?”

Too many companies promote team members because they perform well, however, they don’t necessarily have the skillsets to lead or manage teams.

Banks suggests training future managers when they are still in nonmanagement roles, so that they can develop prior to moving up the ladder. He shares, “For example, a company might place people on teams where they have no formal authority, but are nonetheless expected to work collaboratively with others. Or a company might temporarily provide leadership assignments. When a manager leaves for vacation or is occupied with another assignment for a finite period of time, a nonmanager—rather than a colleague already in a managerial role—might be asked to fill in.”

One in five U.S. adults, or 19%, quit their jobs in 2021, according to Pew Research. 53% of those who quit their jobs and are now working elsewhere, state they have more opportunities for advancement in their new role.

Managers can’t assume employees are happy because they are performing well. Ongoing, inquisitive conversations will help managers better understand employee mindsets, challenges and goals.

Kristi Robinson is EVP, Head of Talent Acquisition at Citizens, which hires more than 5,000 new colleagues annually, suggests “re-recruiting” your employees regularly. In an article published by HRExecutive, she shares, “Think about how your company culture creates a place where employees feel they can thrive and where they feel supported to achieve what’s important to them personally and professionally. With this ‘re-recruit’ mindset, pay special attention to internal growth opportunities. It’s easy to tout internal mobility, but it is difficult to enact. It begins with your company’s culture and how leaders view mobility. Managers who promote growth and mobility become talent magnets for your organization.”

With the Truvelop app, managers can work collaboratively with team members to evaluate performance and monitor progress towards goals. The app fosters two-way communication, allowing employees to respond to comments or to request additional evaluations that could identify areas of improvement and skills to be developed.

An Individual Development Plan is another great way to provide direction and purpose, which can help employees on track for advancement stay motivated and engaged.

An Individual Development Plan, or IDP, is an action-oriented plan to guide employees on their career and development path. An IDP focuses on career goals and is a proactive plan that helps Team Members to achieve their developmental aspirations. Establishing specific milestones, steps and actions that have dates or deadlines and metrics to track will be critical to success.

Contact us today to learn more about our modern approach to performance management and development that actually improves the manager and employee relationship by taking your managers to the next level. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our Customers have to say.