Vince Lombardi, the venerable coach of the Green Bay Packers, always started off training camp by having all of his players sitting around him on the field. He would hold up a football and state to his team, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” His belief was that every year his players needed to start anew to learn the basic and core skills of their profession. He must have done something right as he and his Packers won three NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls.
Many managers make an assumption that their employees come to work generally well formed and ready for action. Sure, they may need some refinement or specific skill development, but we expect them to perform at high levels with minimum support or oversight. And interestingly, as people move up and the tasks become more complex, we have even greater expectations that they should know how to do everything even better.
In truth, however, most people come to work prepared to operate within their technical sphere of expertise. Engineers know how to engineer, programmers know how to code and sales people can go out there and pitch a widget. These technical skills, as important as they are, only represent a small sample of the skills required for business success. As we’ve discussed, strategy-critical competencies play a more vital role across a range of leadership levels and are very different than technical expertise.
Managers and leaders who want to help develop and grow their employees have any number of approaches they can use, but unfortunately the most common one is to avoid development at all. They may volunteer to send someone off to a conference or hand them some articles to read instead of having an intentional approach to aiding that employee in growing professionally both in their technical area and in how they get along with others.
We’ve identified four different approaches that managers can use to help grow their employees. Each of these can play a role in different situations, so it is not a case of one size fitting all. They include:
Mentoring: Mentoring is a favorite development strategy for many leaders as it involves imparting wisdom. The mentor/mentee relationship is conducted over a cup of coffee with understandings and ideas shared, much like an academic experience where high ideals and best-of-world thinking is imparted to younger and thirsty up-and-coming leaders.
Coaching: Coaching involves listening, asking questions, framing discussions and driving change and growth in a structured and collaborative manner. The process advances the coachee’s professional and personal growth in service to the success of the business. The task of coaching is more complex, perhaps, than the other development approaches in that it requires focused time to advance not just solution seeking, but also improving the way the coachee thinks about how he or she approaches their work.
Peering: In a peer situation, everyone is equal. There is much value for today’s managers to see their direct reports as trusted colleagues with good ideas who bring their energy and commitment to the discussion. Peering helps level the playing field and builds a trusting relationship that allows for a free exchange of information. Given expectations of today’s workers, this approach, as a development opportunity, provides the environment to strengthen connections so that colleagues experience mutuality in their relationships, an often overlooked but highly valuable workplace process.
Bossing: Often times, it is necessary to just tell people what to do and this form of development ensures that proper guidelines are adhered to and that learning occurs in a structured and efficient manner. Of course, some people will say that bossing, as a development strategy, is probably overdone. But if it is accomplished in an intentional and mindful manner, then it becomes a powerful tool in ensuring that procedures and actions taken adhere to organizational policies and expectations.
Research shows that employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers. Taking the big step to commit to the development of your employees makes a statement to them and to the organization that you as a leader are committed to building the best and brightest on your team. Try out these four strategies for development and see how your team members respond.
Material for this article is taken from Michael and Richard’s upcoming book “Strategy Driven Leadership: The Playbook for Developing Your Next Generation of Leaders.” To be published by Taylor and Francis later this year