Career Mapping

We recently talked about the foundational work needed to create and nurture your team, in Back to Basics. And, we also discussed the importance of Delegating with context, content, and connection.

This week, we’re continuing our leadership discussion with the topic of career mapping. We’re giving you our best thinking about some ways you can support your employees with their growth.

Whether you’re remote, hybrid, or in-person, it’s important to help your staff think about what their career path could look like. 

In order to Retain your great employees,
you’ll need to engage them
in some future-focused thinking
about their career within your organization.

Take a look at our three suggestions and see if you can work them into some of your regular meetings.

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IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES.

Be intentional about identifying opportunities for your team members. Look to influence them with your thoughts and encourage them to influence you with their thoughts about the kind of work they’d find fulfilling.

• As their manager, it’s important for you to identify the necessary opportunities for them to grow with the business.
• Then, ask them to look for opportunities where they feel they could be a solution in helping the company reach their goals.

You may find things on your to-do list that you can Delegate, that will be good for their development. (Think win-win!) 

CREATE A PLAN.

Together with your employee, create a development plan. Even creating a basic plan can be a big support.

Use questions like the ones below to help you and your employee get started:

• Where would you like to be in one year and how does this support the overall company success?
• What skills do you currently have and what skills (or experience) do you need to develop?
• What skills and strengths do you enjoy using the most?
• What actions will you take to get more experience and develop your skills? 

CHECK IN REGULARLY.

Spend regular 1:1 time walking through the skills and experience they’ll need to develop or use in a new way.

• If it’s a new skill, it might mean that you’ll either need to teach them the actual doing of the task, or you’ll need to invest in external training.
• If it’s using an existing skill in a new way, be sure to check in and ask them to share with you any issues they bump into as they repurpose their skills.

Remember, the goal is for them to learn to think and show up in new ways, and to grow in their skills and experience.

Resist “telling them” what to do. Instead, encourage them to think aloud so that you can help them dissect their next steps into actionable chunks.

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This week, think about those employees who need to continue their growth so that you don’t lose them to The Great Resignation.

If you’re an employee and you know you’re capable of a bigger challenge, ask your manager what you can do to expand your skillset. Review the above list with them and work toward crafting your own career path.

Reach out if we can be helpful.