May 19, 2020
Welcome to midweek motivate, where our goal is to build your leadership and give you something practical to try with your team.
We are part way through a six week coverage of the Six Daily Practices of Outstanding Leaders. These practices are based on research I’ve conducted over the past three years across thousands of leaders to identify what outstanding leaders actually do that makes a difference when engaging their people and producing results. So far we’ve looked at the importance of Reflecting and Inspiring. The third daily practice that we will explore today is Developing.
Ongoing development is important to build the capacity of our organisations, but it’s also important in motivating individuals to contribute. Research I’ve conducted shows that those who are developing capability in areas that are important to them have 26% lower negative work-related stress and 60% higher engagement. Not only that, but their likelihood of staying with the organisation for more than a year is 87% higher than those who don’t feel they’re developing capability through their work.
As leaders, we need capable and motivated people. Developing people through their work is an essential investment.
Leaders who focus on Developing regularly undertake four activities:
- Identify capability needs - they assess what skills and capabilities are required to deliver.
- Clarify development interests - they work with their people to identify what they want to learn. Great leaders Invest in that development even if it isn’t core now. It’s about retention, and also building capacity for the future. We don’t always know what skills will be needed, or the benefit of people applying new skills.
- Coach people towards growth - great leaders coach on a daily basis. They ask questions and guide people to come up with their own insights and solutions.
- Recognise and celebrate progress - they make a big deal out of people applying what they have learned. They look for opportunities to catch people getting better.
Developing is great for our organisations and our people. What are you going to try today?