What are the three most important things in business?  People, people, people!

Now I know some of you may have been thinking profits or money would be the answer.  But here’s the thing, if you take care of your people, they will take care of the business.  When the focus is just on the numbers and not on the people, a company may do okay for a while, but not in the long term.

So let’s think about your people.  Do you have employees that aren’t performing at their full potential?  Do you have people you’d like to see take on more responsibilities and bigger roles—and maybe even take on some of your responsibilities—but they just aren’t ready yet.  Follow this leadership tip to develop people and you’ll transform your organization.

Why develop people?  Because great leaders do more than just manage the performance of individuals and teams; they serve as coaches who develop their employees’ capabilities and nurture their careers.  And as a leader’s people improve, performance improves, the leader gets freed up to take on greater responsibilities, and the business succeeds in the long run because leaders are creating a pipeline of future leaders.

Concept:  Leaders develop the talent and potential of others.  In doing so, they are serving the employee who in turn as they develop can develop others.  As a leader, you can advocate for opportunities that will help expand the skills of your employees.

Ask Yourself:  How am I helping those I lead develop their talent and skills?

Take Action:  Select an employee and have a conversation about his/her development needs and goals.  (This is not a performance review).  Ask about career aspirations and help identify opportunities for growth to achieve those aspirations. Agree on a development plan going forward and regularly check in with him/her on their progress.

Reflect:  What do I know now about this employee’s career aspirations that I did not know before the meeting?

Next:  Schedule and conduct a development conversation with each employee.  

I would love to hear how taking this leadership action helped you, so please come back and leave a comment.

Thank you for coming along for this ride.  I hope to see you next week when we learn how sharing feedback helps you become a better leader.

If you have a friend of a colleague who would benefit from this information, please share it with them.

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