Great leaders make all the difference. They have a unique ability to see things from different perspectives and inspire others to do the same. If you are a manager tasked to develop leaders, you are probably wondering how you can develop them better, faster, and easier. The truth is that identifying talented individuals is not enough — managers must also ensure that these team members receive the training they need to thrive. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common: they need deliberate development in order to become better versions of themselves.
While some people naturally gravitate toward leadership roles, a hostile work environment and a lack of personal commitment to take up more responsibilities are some of the barriers to developing leaders in a team. In addition to this, the failure of some managers to develop leaders can stem from a variety of reasons, including a poorly defined hiring process, a lack of understanding about what the role entails, or misalignment of the manager’s expectations and what the job description entails. If you’re looking to improve your ability to develop leaders, it’s important to make sure you’re not falling into any of these traps. It’s critical to have a clear understanding of the expectations for the role, the type of person you’re looking for, and how the role fits within the organization at large.
To remedy this, Mary Adhiambo, the Community Manager at Writers Guild's All African Bookshop, offers a few tips on how managers can develop leaders in their teams.
Mary Adhiambo
Define clear development paths for your leaders
To understand where your leaders are coming from, it’s important to know where they are going. That’s why you should create a clear development path for every role in your organization. This applies to managers, directors, executives, and more. By having a clear development path, you can translate your strategic plan into something specific to each role. By doing this, you can ensure that each person can see the path they need to take to get to where they want to be in the organization. This helps create clarity for both the manager and the individual in terms of what’s expected from both sides. For example, you might have specific goals for your marketing manager that focus on increasing the number of leads coming through the door and improving retention rates. That same person might also have a long-term goal of transitioning into a C-level position. All managers need to have this level of clarity in their roles so that they know what they need to do to be successful and managers can easily see their potential career path laid out in front of them. By creating a clear development path, you remove the guesswork and allow individuals to see exactly where they’re headed.
Hold regular one-on-one meetings with your leaders
Research shows that managers who have regular one-on-one meetings with their teams are more successful than those who don’t. It’s important to get in the habit of scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with each of your leaders. These meetings should be focused on the employee’s development, challenges, and successes. Ideally, the meetings should take place every four to six weeks and last for around 30 minutes. During these meetings, you should be asking questions such as “What can I do to better support you?” and “What are your top challenges right now?” These meetings are a great way to support your leaders, as well as find out what they need to succeed.
Encourage your leaders to take on additional responsibilities
Some managers might think that they need to hold their teams back, but the opposite is true. To develop your leaders, you need to give them opportunities to stretch their skills and take on additional responsibilities. You should be actively looking for ways to create situations where your leaders can expand their skills in different areas of their job. Maybe you’re going through a large project and need assistance from your team. Instead of assigning the project to one person, give the task to multiple people so that they can learn from each other. Simply delegating work to your team members isn’t enough. You need to allow them to stretch their skills, fail, learn from those mistakes, and develop as a result.
Offer leadership training and resources for your team
One of the best ways to ensure that your team is well-equipped to handle their responsibilities is to provide them with the tools and resources they need to succeed. That same idea can be applied to developing the leaders inside your company. You should be offering coaching, training, and resources to help your leaders succeed. You may also want to consider bringing in an outside coach or consultant to help your leaders find breakthroughs in their professional journey. It’s important to have a plan in place for developing your leaders. This plan should include a variety of different tools, resources, and outside assistance so that you can help your team members succeed in the best way possible.
Celebrate your leaders’ wins and reinforce their growth
One of the best ways to reinforce your leaders’ growth and development is to celebrate their wins. Whether your leaders are kicking butt in the sales department or crushing it in the retention department, it’s important to acknowledge their hard work. You can do this in a variety of ways, including regular one-on-one check-ins, public recognition, or public celebrations. Whatever you do, make sure that you’re reinforcing the fact that their hard work is paying off. By celebrating your leaders’ successes, you are sending a clear message to the rest of the team that performing well is important and will be rewarded. You are also reinforcing the idea that success is a team effort. It is important to celebrate your leaders’ wins because if you don’t, no one else will.
Consequently, many organizations rely on team-building exercises to bring their existing teams together. This is a great way to get people to know one another, grow professionally together, and create a culture of collaboration within your company. There are many different types of team-building activities that you can choose from. Some of the most popular types of activities include team-building exercises that involve sports, team-building games, and team-building puzzles. Regardless of the type of team-building activity you choose, it is important to note that they are great ways to build your team. They are also a lot of fun and can help you create meaningful relationships with your co-workers.