Google’s Rules

RULE #6 – Help your employees with career development

In my study of highly “likeable” leaders, I discovered that one of the common characteristics of these highly influential leaders is their investment in the development of their subordinates.  Here’s what I reported in an article I wrote as a result of my research:

Highly likeable leaders … “build up” their people by helping them make progress in their careers. They do this by having conversations with employees about their professional development goals; by assisting them to develop a plan; by assigning work and activities that will contribute to that plan; and by occasionally acting as a sponsor for them—helping them gain visibility with other leaders and departments in the organization, and even recommending them for promotion or for other roles at higher levels.

[BTW… The full article presents ten key habits of highly likeable people, with detailed explanations and practical applications.  It’s available on my website at no charge.  You can access it here:  The Top Ten Habits of Highly Likeable People.]

So… Is this really an important part of effective management???

I often ask my classrooms of management students, “Do you think it’s a good idea for you, as a boss, to have the reputation of being a leader who helps their team members get promoted?”  I always get a resounding (and unanimous) “yes” from the group!

This might seem a bit counter-intuitive.

One might think that a team leader would naturally resist constantly losing their best people—always having to deal with the challenge of leadership succession on their team.  Why would they invite this difficulty by purposefully moving their best people up and out of their team? 

What possible benefits would leaders gain by helping their people develop and get promoted????

Leaders with experience know the answer to this question!

1.  The word spreads quickly and widely in any organization:  If you have any kind of potential, get on this manager’s team—they will help you get promoted!

These leaders get the best people knocking on their door, eager to join their team and give their best effort!  They don’t have to spend a lot of time looking for good people for their teams—good people find THEM.

2.  Their team members are highly engaged, highly motivated, and highly effective.  They know that their hard work has a much better chance of being rewarded, by working with a leader who is invested in their advancement.

3.  They create a team culture of high performance that motivates team members to do their best work.  This happens because their team members work with fellow team members who are just like them—highly engaged, hard-working people—who inspire and encourage one another.

4.  They also experience a highly loyal workforce—subordinates who are much more likely to support their decisions; their strategies; their assignments; their leadership.

5.  For all these reasons, team leaders like this gain a high-performing team that supports their success in their position in the organization.  This, in turn, often leads to the advancement of the team leader/manager.   Also…

6.  Beyond the obvious personal advantages to the manager, there are political benefits to the team leader and the team: valuable visibility with key leaders at higher levels; greater consideration for increasing the team’s budget; better chances for gaining additional personnel.  Executives love success, and so they are more likely to support a successful manager by giving them more resources and expanded opportunities.

So… How do you “help your employees with career development”?  I’ll give you one simple, but powerful example of how a great boss I know accomplished this…

Up Close and Personal

Tony Knight—a good friend and former colleague—took over leadership of a team at a call center.  One of his first acts was to meet with each of his team members in one-on-one sessions.  One of his questions in those meetings was, “Where do you want to go in your career?”  For each person, he offered suggestions about resources they might consider using as part of their personal and professional development: e.g. a book they might find thought-provoking; an evening class at the local community college that would add to their professional skills; one of the many free online courses available to them as an employee of the company.  In their regular monthly one-on-one sessions that followed, he would keep the conversation going, asking them about what they read; what courses they took; what learning they accessed online.  Over time, it was obvious to his team members that he cared about them and was invested in their future.  It was one of many reasons why his team was highly engaged, high-performing, and extremely loyal.

Successful GE CEO Jack Welch offered this opinion on the subject:

Great leaders love to see people grow. The day you are afraid of them being better than you is the day you fail as a leader.

If you are looking for ways to become a better team leader, we can help!  We have experience working with teams and team leaders, helping them to work together more effectively.  And we can help you and your team do the same.  Give us a call, and start your journey of leadership growth today!

Until next time… Yours for better leaders and better organizations,

Dr. Jim Dyke – “The Boss Doctor” ™ – Helping you to be a better boss and to have a better boss!