Effective Ways to Develop Your Staff From Within
Today’s workforce has more specialized skills and interests than ever before. However, executive leaders and CEOs are often losing out on the opportunity to connect, nurture, and develop the innate talent within their organizations. As employees seek rewarding career options that go beyond just the annual pay, investing in workplace relationships and providing professional development plans can be key to both attracting and retaining top talent. Reaching out to employees, especially in a rapidly-growing or large corporation can be challenging, however, according to lead CEO professional development consultants, here are the top three ways CEOs can develop their staff to be the leaders that their organization needs.
Know your employees’ goals
How often do CEOs and Executive Leaders ask their employees what they want to achieve both personally and professionally? This is a powerful conversation and can help you create meaningful development plans to help your employees achieve the skills and expertise they want. Without knowing your employees’ goals and without investing time in creating professional development trajectories, you miss the opportunity to nurture natural skills and interests within your teams that could help you take your organization to the next level.
Identify strengths within the first 6 months of hire
All too often, executive leaders fall short in tapping into the strengths of their employees. When you are unaware of what each team member brings to the table and where their interests may lie, you will put people in positions that never tap into their full potential. For example, a customer service representative may have a strong graphic design background and be better suited in a marketing role where they can hone and expand their skill. The key is to connect with your employees to truly understand what strengths they have that can be beneficial to the company. You would also be surprised what passions or interests your employees have that can help them fulfill other roles within the organization. As another example, a sales employee may also be an avid photographer and be able to bring these skills into their role in some capacity or may be able to assist in marketing related projects.
Give them a voice to share ideas
When you make changes in operations or company policies, do you get employee feedback? How often do you ask employees to share their thoughts or ideas? Your employees are your biggest stakeholder. As the CEO you may be more likely to consult with your executive team to make strategic decisions, however, if you want these decisions to be implemented, you will need to generate employee buy-in. The more opportunities you can give your staff to contribute their ideas and feedback, the more you’ll see natural leaders shine and come to the forefront. By allowing staff to contribute also creates a culture of synergy, mutual respect, and collaboration – all things that are great drivers of job satisfaction.
What are some ways that you nurture talent in your company? We’d love to hear what you’re doing in this regard on our Facebook page here.
