Empowering team members in their career growth is essential for Servant Leaders, who must create a supportive, trust-based environment. This involves fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation, encouraging self-reflection and goal-setting, and providing ownership opportunities. Leaders should promote autonomy, offer feedback, act as mentors, and align tasks with team aspirations while encouraging networking. Celebrating progress and exemplifying a growth mindset further supports personal development, benefiting both individual growth and team cohesion.

A really effective approach is to get them to build a career growth roadmap for themselves. This challenges them to be clear on their career vision and think beyond their current role. Primarily in relation to what skills/learning they need to take on, what roles do they see themselves playing and what attributes would help them progress further. This can be a stretch for many people, however is totally worth doing, as this roadmap aligns with what they want and how they see their skills and strengths. As a leader, you can mentor and guide them and provide key inputs to their plan, so they can amend it accordingly.

I will ask them about what is their purpose aligned with the career growth they are seeking and how they see the next steps played out. What experiences or opportunities they see as growth opportunities and ask how you can support them. Offer guidance and provide feedback on how they can be best prepared to access the growth opportunities that aligned with their aspirations, and be there for them.

As a Servant Leader, empower team members seeking career growth by fostering a supportive environment that encourages self-development. Start by actively listening to their aspirations and providing personalized guidance. Offer opportunities for skill-building through training, mentorship, and project leadership. Encourage them to set individual goals and hold regular check-ins to track progress. By prioritizing their growth and facilitating open communication, you create a culture of accountability and ownership, enabling them to thrive in their careers.