How do you share career development insights?

Leaders play a huge role in employee career development. We should choose the right time for career conversation (for example, not mixing it with performance discussions). We should definitely know our audience better e.g. through active and patient listening, empathy, SWOT analysis, and what are the true motivators for the individual. Similarly, we should also know ourselves better through proper self-reflection. Being authentic is extremely critical to building trust during career development discussions. Finally, once we have understood the individual as well as the expectations, aligning aspirations is necessary. This should be followed by focusing on what is required to reach the next step of the career including necessary learning.

In my experience as a career and Life coach, I learnt that asking questions is a powerful way to get to know your audience. Sometimes people come to see career coaches in a hurry to make the next move, but not sure about the move they want to make and the real reasons why they want to make the move. Asking questions can get them to realize that they did not do enough homework to make a a career choice or even a career change.

Career insights that have been helpful for me: - Identify your interests, areas of competence, and skills and talents that come to you and are likely difficult for other. - Seek counsel and choose to be exposed to others that professionally increase your value. -Set mini attainable goals that lead you to more exposure

I often liken understanding an individual to the process of 'reading a book.' It's essential to not just skim the surface but to delve deeper, grasping the nuances of their aspirations, fears, and challenges. This ensures that my guidance is not just generic but tailor-made to suit their unique narratives.

I agree… every person has their own set of skills, perspective and experience. Learn about theirs and listen to their opinions. Nothing is more satisfying than a robust sensible and informed discussion where everyone learns. I thrive on discussions of new perspectives and we learn quickly what assuming can mean and do.

In today's advanced world you could seek the following: -Identify podcasts, literature, and content that will enlighten you. -Schedule a meeting with a counselor or advisor when applicable -Choose to be open to others that may have taken different paths to where you may possibly want to be by having conversations and journaling your experiences good, bad, and indifferent.

From my many coffee chats to structured presentations, I've seen the magic that the right medium can create. For some, a casual chat over a cup of coffee is enlightening, while others prefer a detailed written analysis. The key is to choose a format that feels natural, ensuring the message isn't lost in translation.

One of my mentors had the insight to identify our strengths through a tool and share this with our team.., ( understanding a strength can be their weakness if overused) additionally another identified how each persons unique communication style will not only help them with their audience and customer to be engaged but their leaders management and colleagues best option of understanding how to engage them and bring them along on their journey. Their style can identify areas they could improve or get experience to keep doing it their way… sometimes doing those one or two things great is better than doing everything below average.

This depends on the available opportunities to discuss career development insights. If the leader works together with the audience (team), there are enough formal as well as candid opportunities to take this forward. However, if it is someone who is outside the organization or completely unknown, it has to be more formal. What is very important is the relatability to the individual so that it is useful. Again, knowing the individual well including the motivators (i.e. what is especially important for him/her) is crucial. So, enough time should be spent to build trust, listen actively, and understand each other before proceeding with the insights.

It will be good to customize the information pack according to the needs of the audience and the mode of delivery. What works for face to face delivery might not necessarily work for virtual delivery. Also what works for a certain level of experience might not work for the next level. Knowing your audience is therefore important.

In my experience, purposeful story telling is a powerful tool and I use it everyday in my daily job as well as with my mentees. Each person’s story is their distinct super power. A story makes for an easy way to illustrate resilience, persistence, ambition, goal oriented… without using any of these words. However, never forget to keep it precise and relevant to the situation. On the other side of a great story teller lives an active listener. Make sure to give room for the other party to tell their story too.

Again the understanding of the audience is important in this aspect. Yes story telling can be a powerful way to drive the message home, however some people don't appreciate story telling and you might lose them along the way. Telling authentic stories goes hand in hand with the willingness to be vulnerable to your audience. If you are not ready to be vulnerable and share your own experiences, it might not be a good idea to tell stories because people will ask questions that might force you to go where you are not ready to go.

I will share tales from the early days of my HR journey – the successes, pivotal moments and especially the blunders! These personal anecdotes, sprinkled with experiences of those I've mentored, serve as relatable touchpoints. While stories create a bond, it's imperative to ensure they're relevant and respect boundaries.

There is infinitely more power in a personal story passionately told than in directive advice. Get vulnerable and let the genuineness of your experience show through. Others will notice and they will remember the authentic story you shared with them.

Story telling has been the best teaching aid since the Dawn of time. Painting a picture in the mind of the audience, connecting to an experience, watching joy sadness and connection from your words while keeping facts, de-identified parties for privacy connects people to emotion builds relationships to the experience. Being vulnerable in the right situation can be uncomfortable… it is not a weakness… emotion connects people and practicing the story builds our own skill at telling it.., another insight from great people I’ve worked with who’ve taught me.

The first thing I do with clients when discussing career development is to take them on a journey to discover their "why". I get to the heart of what is motivating them to begin a career or project, achieve a goal, or learn a new skill. Sometimes, what people think they want or need is not actually the case. Once they know their underlying motivation for furthering their career development, they can begin taking values-aligned actions. Sometimes, this means a major lifestyle change is needed. Other times, this means delegating tasks to team members, reprioritizing goals, or redefining what success looks like for them. Creating clear action steps begins with discovering the underlying desires, needs and motivations of the individual.

Recalling someone I once mentored, it became evident that insights without actionable steps can feel overwhelming. Hence, I always pair my advice with tangible actions, be it a book recommendation, a workshop, new skill to develop or even a networking event. It's about turning insights into a roadmap for success.

Something I’ve found valuable is to embrace the parts of roles which others in similar roles have been shy of or simply not done as it’s not seen valuable to them. Example practice what makes others uncomfortable…like lead meetings, step out of your comfort zone, do the mundane boring spreadsheets, as data is king, learn to present your product flawlessly… the old quote - do what others don’t or won’t - will speak volumes.

Absolutely. After we have identified the driver and true motivators, we need to focus on aligning aspirations. The expectations and the reality need to be analyzed. As an example, how does the industry look like, how does the organization look like and how do the individual expectations fit in the overall environment needs to be understood. Then, there are 2 ways to take the discussion forward (the coaching mode-nudging the individual to come to conclusions and next steps on her/his own, or the mentoring mode, to help the person to come to conclusions together). Once the actions are identified, we need to support them with learning opportunities and necessary resources as well as agree on how to quantify the progress periodically.

For a leader who has a responsibility to shape/develop others’ career it is utmost important to understand the capability and potential of its audience. It’s always imperative to be open to accept the diverse views on any topic even on the ones where any leader considered to be expert. Once you are ready with the long-term plan for career development, its advisable to commence with small steps to move and once you and your audience come on the same wavelength of understanding one can take a pace. A leader should always consider to have feedback mechanism in place in order to adapt the needed changes for ever evolving scenarios.

One of the best ways to share insights regarding career development, or in any other area of life, is to listen first. Really listen. Practicing active, undistracted listening and then reflecting back to the person what you heard is one way to deepen connection and trust. Wait until they are done speaking before you begin to respond. Allow room for silence. And make sure to ask, "Did I hear that right? Am I missing anything?" The person will most likely be more open to your ideas and perspectives once they are able to just get it all out on the table and feel seen and heard.

I tend to think about when I first began my career - the learning curves, moments of vulnerability and the mentors who shaped me. It reminds me that while I have gathered knowledge, there's always more to learn. Every conversation is a two-way exchange, a dance of shared wisdom. Approaching interactions with humility, empathy and respect ensures that everyone leaves enriched.

Being humble is the most important part of leadership, including during such discussions. This makes us more human and acceptable as it is an extremely sensitive discussion. We need to highlight that our view is just another perspective, from a more experienced person, who may have learned from many mistakes. Before the same, we need empathy and active listening to understand the individual. Relatability is crucial, and it should not sound preachy or authoritative. Please have this discussion in a thinking partner mode and as completely equal stakeholders in this process. Only then, it builds the right momentum.

Respect and humility are a MUST. As a leader or follower, as a teacher or student, as an employer or employee respect and humility are non-negotiables. We all love to be respected, so, irrespective of hierarchy, respect for self and for others shouldn’t be too much to ask of ourselves. The term “servant leader” has become mainstream and I would opine it’s because the profession community expects respect and humility even from top leaders.

When formatting outreach, I encourage my team to consider audience, accessibility, and readability. For example, the GOV.UK guidance recommends cropping sentences to 25 words or less. Why? You will lose your audience quickly if you rely on long, overly complex sentences. Similarly, accessibility is essential to reach and retain an audience. Aesthetically pleasing fonts are not always readable. Ask: Can an individual with dyslexia or a screen reader for individuals with low vision read this? Likewise, are any charts used accessible to a colorblind audience? If not, you may exclude 1 in 12 men from your audience. Gathering audience metrics, research, and accessibility and readability feedback enables us to strategically share career insights.