Summary

Developing people builds their capability, but also increases the capacity of our teams.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 157 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership.

We are continuing our look at the leadership practices that help us to achieve results through people. We’ve explored the less effective practices of Directing and Avoiding, along with Reflecting and Inspiring. This time around we are focusing on the leadership practice of Developing.

We want to feel competent at work, and be learning new things that matter to us. Effective leaders recognise this and invest time and effort into developing their people. Not only does this help individuals, it also builds the capacity of the team to deliver even more. People can then contribute at higher levels in their existing role, and can also progress in their career.

Developing as a leadership practice involves identifying and developing required skills by providing challenges and coaching aligned to others’ interests. The last part - development being aligned to others’ interests - is fundamentally important. So leaders begin by discussing the skills and capabilities people want and need to develop. Developing often requires coaching rather than telling. Great leaders provide opportunities for people to challenge themselves, together with the coaching and support required to figure out their own way forward. They don’t just tell people what to do. This allows people greater freedom and autonomy in how they approach their work, and this helps to increase motivation. Leaders using this practice invest time, effort and resources into developing people. Developing is never a short-term fix - it is always a longer-term investment.

Developing as a leadership practice makes sense where there are capable people with potential for more. It’s not necessarily the right approach with someone who is a peak performer and not interested in further development - however that’s quite rare.

Over the next few weeks we will explore three other effective leadership practices. It’s a great time to complete our brand new Leadership Practices Assessment. It’s completely free, and you will find a link to it in the show notes. Have a great week.

Access the Leadership Practices Assessment - https://leadership.today/lpa