You can build a great career based on your skill set and talent alone.
However, if you want to build a legacy, you have to learn to build and develop other leaders.
Calling out and nurturing the potential of those on your team not only solidifies your leadership, it also promises your organization will stay strong without you having to be around to make every decision.
One of the best ways to develop the individuals on your team is through an annual Performance & Development review. In fact, most leaders I know do this near the end of the year (there’s still time if you don’t already have this on the calendar!)
There’s A LOT you can accomplish in these reviews. Part of our coaching process is actually helping leaders implement a high-impact performance & development system in their organization. In addition, we share our Performance & Development Review for you to use on your own.
To get you started, here are the 3 overarching areas you need to focus on when evaluating those on your team:
1. Actions
What are the people on your team actually DOING?
What have and are they accomplishing? Comb back through the year. Celebrate and evaluate both their major wins and losses.
While you don’t want to focus solely on their mistakes, you can’t ignore them. Their mistake today can make them better tomorrow.
Be sure you speak into the decisions they make, get inside their head to discover reasoning, give feedback on their performance and correct what you do not like. Tell them what was wrong and ask them why they did it. Then be quiet. Listen. Hear their responses.
2. Attitudes
Don’t just evaluate what your team is doing, but also pay close attention to HOW they are doing it.
Provide feedback and coaching in areas such as personality, people skills, body language and overall attitude. It’s ok to for a team member to have a stronger personality, but it’s not ok if other tiptoe around them because of it.
One of the key attitudes you want to develop in your team: Teachability. Do they receive coaching well or are they defensive? Are they thick-skinned or do they crumble if they’re coached? Are they willing to re-learn what they already know or are they quick to remind you of their expertise?
Coach and develop attitudes because today’s attitudes quickly become tomorrow’s actions.
3. Aspirations
Evaluate what a team member is doing, how they are doing it, but there is power in discussing WHY they are doing it.
To help people win in the future, you need to know how to define a win for their future. Remember, you are evaluating a person, not a machine. You need to know what makes that person tick. What is their personal why? What are they dreaming about? What are they passionate about? Where is their energy invested?
Getting a sense of what an individual on your team aspires to not only helps you know how to coach them, it also makes clear if they are still the right fit for the team. People and dreams evolve over time. It is important to know the heart of a team member is still aligned with yours. You need to be headed in the same direction. Synergy beats isolation every time.
Evaluation, development and coaching need a system. Create space in the calendar to have frequent one-on-one dialogue with those you lead and focus on these three areas: Actions, Attitudes and Aspirations.
At CourageToLead we help leaders and organizations develop an impactful performance and development process. To get started with that you can schedule a free Strategy Session with one of our coaches or download the free e-book on Performance and Development Reviews.
