Purposefully investing in the personal development of new and emerging leaders cultivates trust and helps lead to employee success.

In my 20 years of experience, I’ve had the opportunity to serve as the inaugural HR leader at several companies. I have worked with people of all kinds and within many different organizational structures. This has taught me one thing above all else: purposefully investing in the personal development of new and emerging leaders cultivates trust and helps lead to employee success – both inside and outside of the workplace.

Time and time again, I have found that the more I invested in people, the greater return on investment (ROI) the organization received. In fact, I estimate that prioritizing personal employee development can help yield 3x the returns in terms of productivity alone.

I believe that devoting time and resources to the personal development of leadership makes an impact — far beyond financial benefits. Below, I’ll share four of my key objectives for prioritizing the personal aspect of employee development, with a unique blend of approaches suitable for a modern, dynamic work environment.

Create opportunities for growth and learning.

If you want to develop a culture that fosters continual improvement, you need to cultivate safe spaces for employees to ask questions, learn, train, and grow. This starts with encouraging employees to be themselves at work.

When team members feel genuinely supported in the office, they are more likely to buy into the organization’s mission and leadership’s vision. Comfort can have profound effects on productivity. It can foster a positive work environment where collaboration is enhanced and job satisfaction is increased.

Frame missteps as educational and developmental opportunities in the workplace. Humans are not infallible; mistakes are going to happen. The important thing is that when there is a miscalculation or an error, employees feel confident they have the support they need from leadership to fix it.

Meet employees where they are at to help outline customized development plans that fit their needs.

 

When you carve out safe spaces for employees to be their authentic selves, you effectively eliminate doubts. My goal is for employees to be excited to get back to work after a weekend because they know they can be themselves. This environment not only boosts individual morale but also drives team collaboration and innovation.

Tailor development to individual needs.

It seems like common sense, but it bears repeating: Every future leader is a unique individual with distinctive thought processes, learning styles, and lived experiences. It’s my job to meet team members where they are to help them outline customized development plans that fit their needs.

Employee onboarding surveys can effectively kick-start this collaborative process of discovery. Questions to ask include:

  • What are your career aspirations and points of motivation?
  • What skills do you feel you need to develop to achieve your goals?
  • Are there any areas where you feel you can benefit from additional support or training?
  • Are there any particular areas of interest you would like to explore further?

Then, let employees talk about how they envision their career paths by holding regularly scheduled formal check-ins. Simultaneously, informally foster continuous engagement through channels including team meetings, office hours, coffee chats, and meetings devoted to employee-led initiatives. A key part of this is for HR leaders to work closely with managers to continually monitor career development, ensuring everyone is aligned to provide the necessary resources and opportunities for growth.

I recommend focus groups that involve interactive discussions where employees can share their ideas and feedback on company vision and direction.

By tapping into your employee’s individuality, you justify their significance as a valued contributor, helping to foster genuine feelings of loyalty toward your organization. Get to know your team members’ respective motivations for advancement and talk to them about any fears or hesitations that may be holding them back professionally.

Three initiatives that facilitate personal development:

  • Participation in focus groups regarding the organization’s vision statement.
  • Programs that empower team members to improve their management skills.
  • Workshops that educate employees on the paths they can take to move up the ladder internally.

I also recommend focus groups that involve interactive discussions where employees can share their ideas and feedback on company vision and direction. Programs like “Manager Masterclass,” which provide practical training on effective management techniques as well as regular in-house career workshops, outline potential career paths within the organization and the skills needed to advance.

Build self-awareness and confidence.

As a talent leaders, it’s our mission to help people become self-aware so that they can acquire the skills, knowledge and training necessary to realize their full potential. This level and intensity of self-discovery is pervasive and often affects the team member’s professional and personal life positively.

I have worked with many individuals who, for years, separated their work and home lives. Over time, as a result of our personal development efforts, they started to grow more confident in their roles at work, and in turn felt empowered to be their authentic selves in the office.

To help build self-awareness and confidence, some tactics include:

Reflective exercises: Encourage employees to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, and accomplishments. Ask questions like, “What are your key strengths and how can you leverage them in your current role?” or “Can you identify a recent success and what contributed to it?”

Feedback loops: Regularly seek and provide constructive feedback. This helps employees understand their impact and areas for improvement.

Personal development plans: Work with employees to create personalized development plans that outline their goals, required skills, and action steps.

Building trust and creating a culture of vulnerability is critical. By encouraging employees to openly share challenges and fears, we create an environment where they feel safe to take risks and learn from their experiences. This helps to strengthen team cohesion and trust.

Ensure top management supports leadership development.

To conduct effective HR practices and fully support employees on their development journeys, of self-discovery and development, you must have buy-in from organizational leaders. In my role, I serve as the facilitator between HR and leadership. This ensures that the C-suite is on board with HR strategies and that team members have access to the resources they need to succeed.

At YCharts, I quantify talent initiatives using metrics like employee Net Promoter Scores to help the C-suite better understand how HR efforts impact performance. Data can be a powerful tool for communicating HR’s effect on employee retention, commitment, engagement and career pathing.

Data is a powerful tool to communicate HR’s effect on employee retention, commitment, engagement and career pathing.

Demonstrating the reach/breadth of HR’s influence helps to build trust among leadership, granting the necessary freedom, support, and resources to effectively execute initiatives. In addition to Net Promoter Scores, three other metrics to consider incorporating:

Employee surveys:

  • Engagement Scores: Measure overall engagement and satisfaction.
  • Trust Indices: Assess the level of trust within teams and between employees and management.
  • Vulnerability Metrics: Evaluate how comfortable employees feel in expressing concerns or admitting mistakes without fear of repercussions.

Turnover rates: Track employee retention and identify patterns or areas for improvement.

Career progression statistics: Monitor the number of internal promotions and lateral moves to gauge development success.

Here’s the bottom line.

Investing time into providing hyper-personalized resources for personal development can help to pay off in several ways, including employee satisfaction, retention, productivity, and ROI for your business. Your people’s development is not cookie-cutter, so your talent strategies shouldn’t be either.

Consider embedding development initiatives into your organization’s onboarding protocols, annual reviews, and regularly scheduled team meetings. Look at an employee’s potential holistically, and secure support from leadership, using data to communicate the impact of HR initiatives.

By fostering a supportive environment and tailoring development efforts to individual needs, you can cultivate a thriving workplace where emerging leaders feel valued, empowered, and equipped to drive your organization’s success.