Employee Development Starts With Managers—But Not The Way You Think

There is no shortage of data describing how managers are the linchpin of employee engagement and performance in today’s organizations. On top of managing and leading the growth of the organization, managers are tasked with leading the growth and development of their employees. This sounds like a good idea, and it is; however, managers are even more burned out than their employees these days.

Common sense tells us that is unlikely that a burned-out manager will lead an engaging, inspiring and productive employee development conversation. As business leaders, we must help managers put on their own oxygen masks and provide them with the skills to coach and develop themselves, as they coach others.

The stakes are high, and organizations are experiencing an inflection point. The number of employees who plan to quit in late 2023 and early 2024 is greater than the "Great Resignation" in 2021 and 2022, and 93% of organizations are concerned about employee retention.

First, Focus On The Manager

How do we help burned-out managers develop, engage and retain their people? We focus first on the manager—their development, their engagement, their personal and professional goals. We help them realize the power of their own possibility.

When my company looked into the necessity for reinvention, we found there are distinct actions to be taken when coaching ourselves and others to realize that possibility. These are not generic actions, but specific ones that lead to transformation—actions that lead to the realization of our inherent human possibility. They are as follows:

Four Keys To Reinvention

1. Realize your purpose.

The double meaning here is intended. Realizing your purpose is both a reflective act and an iterative process of discovery.

In my experience, there are people out there who know their purpose clearly and act accordingly. More often though, I find that many of us are in the process of realizing that purpose—meaning both the understanding of what it is and the nonlinear way in which trial and error helps us realize that purpose. This requires self-reflection, courage, living from our values and using our internal compass as a guide, not the wishes, desires or directives of others.

2. Make pivotal decisions.

Self-reflection is critical—and it will only get us so far. We need to make choices, actively seek out new opportunities that align with our purpose and set our own goals. Becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable is required; we are being invited to make decisions in the absence of complete information, with no guarantee of a particular outcome. Focus and taking ownership of our growth serve us well.

3. Grow through experimentation and learning.

Having made pivotal decisions, we then have the opportunity to grow through experimentation and learning.

Too often when we make a decision, we go into "action planning" mode, and when the action plan does not work as intended, we deem the decision an incorrect one or a failure. Not so! Reframe the "action plan" as an experiment—an opportunity to learn and grow, to find out what doesn’t work and what does.

Ground yourself in your ability to navigate this phase, with your purpose as your North Star.

4. Work through challenges.

Inevitably, you will meet challenges. In my experience, these run the gamut from "minor test" to "this brought me to my knees." Your resilience, determination and optimism will be forged. You will build critical skills that will serve you in the short, medium and long term of your career, i.e., navigating uncertainty, trusting your intuition and building confidence by embracing calculated risks.

Beyond These Four Steps

There is no standard starting point. These actions are iterative, a circular path to linear progress.

Sometimes a manager is very clear on their purpose and wants to begin the steps of bringing that purpose to life. But in my experience, more often managers start with challenges. Something is not working the way it used to—or maybe it never did. This is a sign that something different is calling you, and it is probably inviting you to make a decision, to do something different. But what?

That’s where experimentation comes in. Not an action plan. Experimentation. Trying stuff to see what works and what doesn’t. Which brings us back to challenges and grounding yourself in the power of your purpose.

It is a messy, iterative process. A process whereby you build skills that will serve you and act as a foundation for what is next. I think of these skills as future-ready skills, which encompass focus, wisdom, persistence and courage.

These are the skills we all need to develop as we navigate what some are calling the most disruptive decade of our collective lifetimes. Static competency frameworks and "going through the motions" performance conversations are actively getting in the way of what is possible.

We have an incredible opportunity before us. The industrial-era 9-to-5 onsite job is gone for many of us. Organizations are being forced to rethink, reimagine and reinvent how they do things. That means the human beings within those organizations also have the opportunity to rethink, reimagine and reinvent themselves.

Final Thoughts

The happiest, most engaged and liveliest managers with whom I have worked are actively living their purpose and making decisions accordingly, learning and growing. We need more managers who are afforded the opportunity to do the same, both for their own development and so they can be positive enablers for many, many others within their organizations.

If you are a manager of people, I invite you to imagine what might be possible if you helped every single person on your team realize their purpose—be that inside or outside your team. But first, start with yourself. It’s your critical first step.

 (This article was first published on the Forbes Coaching Council)