One of the critical areas to create lasting high-impact effects on your team is to focus on development. Looking at where your team is currently in their growth journey and where you want them to be and then providing the training, coaching, and mentoring needed to move ahead is a fundamental responsibility of any leader. Without your consistent guidance built into your Leadership Rhythm, your team members may grow stagnant in their development and flounder as they try to meet your expectations. We cannot simply leave development to chance. We must continually, relentlessly focus on the behaviors that will help our teams grow.
Here are some tips to build into your Leadership Rhythm:
Analyze:
Look at who is already delivering behaviors that deliver the purpose, goals, or expectations and who is not. Look at your top performers for learning opportunities.
Seek information about where your team is in their growth journey. Leverage the Habit Ladder to clarify any missing elements of development.
Do they have Knowledge, Importance, or Action Gaps?
If your team meets expectations, what behaviors drive them, and what can be replicated or repeated?
If your team is not, what behavior changes need to happen?
Take Action:
Build out development plans based on your learnings.
Determine what training looks like for those underperforming and those delivering your top results.
Build actions to close Performance Gaps. (Knowledge, Importance, or Action)
Choose mentors performing to the expectations and leverage them to help underperformers. Meet with them regularly to monitor effectiveness and provide coaching.
Develop teaching initiatives that you will lead to inspire and develop the team.
While the tips above speak to the process to use for your team and how you help them develop, the same things can be said about your own growth journey. Without assembling a strategic development plan, you, too, may fall into stagnancy and produce less-than-ideal leadership in your own role.
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