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What are your expectations of team members when it comes to their development?

The most recent SmartBrief on Leadership poll question: What are your expectations of team members when it comes to their development?

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Leadership

What are your expectations of team members when it comes to their development?

SmartBrief

SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 200,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our newsletter.

What are your expectations of team members when it comes to their development?

  • They are 100% in charge of their own development. 5%
  • They should drive their development, and I provide some resources. 41&
  • We should partner equally on their development plans and actions. 51%
  • I should drive most of their development efforts with their assistance. 7%
  • I am 100% responsible for their development. 1%

Individuals drive their development. 92% of you state that the individual needs to drive their own development with some assistance from you. While they’re responsible for driving it, be sure you give them the resources they need to do so. Guidance on skill gaps, suggestions on ways they can fill those gaps, access to training, funding for coursework, time away from their desks to develop, and growth opportunities in their roles are things only you can provide. You can tell them they need to drive their development but if you don’t support them with appropriate resources, they’ll get frustrated, disillusioned, and eventually look for a leader who will invest in their development. There are more opportunities than ever to help people learn – guide them to those options and put the conditions in place where they can take advantage of them.

 

Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, which includes TITAN — the firm’s e-learning platform. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a West Point graduate and author of three leadership books: “One Piece of Paper,” “Lead Inside the Box” and “The Elegant Pitch.”