It seems like every new employee wants to know about growth opportunities upon being hired. In order to grow, your employees need to be motivated and able to lead. But leadership skills are rarely intuitive and need to be developed over time. Fostering leadership in your organization can lead to a more cohesive workforce and more secure succession plans. Here are four ways to accomplish that.
Provide Autonomy
Autonomy; the right or condition of self-government. Some people thrive with autonomy and others don’t. By providing it, you determine who might be fit to be a leader and who might struggle. Whether it be in the form of a personal project, or simply the freedom to make decisions regarding an employee’s day-to-day tasks, autonomy can give employees the chance to prove they can make critical decisions and accomplish objectives with little clarity.
Offer Mentorship
Offering mentorship is a way of showing that you care. You care about your employee’s professional development. This shouldn’t be a forced relationship, rather determine when you think your employee’s need it most. If you can see that someone is struggling, see if they want help. They’ll either want to figure it out themselves or they’ll seek out help.
Communicate Effectively
Don’t leave your employees in the dark. Share strategies with your potential leaders to ensure their productivity and goals are aligned with the company’s. By sharing the strategy you’re also showing that you are trusting your employees with the sensitive information you’ve given them. This will help establish a better relationship with them.
Increase Responsibilities
Nobody ever became a leader by never challenging themselves. Help your employees grow by giving them additional responsibilities. The ones who want to be leaders will seek out this challenge and look to prove their worth. This is not to say you should burn-out your employees, but rather provide an opportunity for them to show their work-ethic and decision-making skills.
Growing leaders in your organization can be difficult. If you nurture the situation as best you can, you may be able to grow top leadership talent from your own team. Take these four tips and try them out in your organization. If you’re looking to grow your team, reach out to one of our account managers today and we’d be happy to help.
