As a program manager, you are responsible for overseeing multiple projects and ensuring they align with the strategic goals of your organization. But you also have another important role: supporting your team's career development and growth. How can you balance these two objectives and help your team members thrive in their roles? Here are some tips to consider.
The first step is to understand the current skills, strengths, and gaps of your team members, as well as their career aspirations and motivations. You can use various tools and methods to assess your team's skills and needs, such as surveys, interviews, feedback sessions, performance reviews, or skill matrices. By doing so, you can identify the areas where your team members need more training, coaching, mentoring, or support, and the opportunities where they can leverage their talents and interests.
In addition to understanding the baseline skills, it is also important to understand the Zone of Competence and Zone of Genius for your employees (especially the leaders). Understanding this will help you place the right person in the right role, and de-risk you from having dis-engaged employees.
by starting Asses the skills and capitalize to maximize the benefit of eah team member skills by assigning every one on matched activities to build occassional success and trust . this action will motivate the caliber and will foster the career development and will let the whole team to compete to get certified . training and certification will elevate the caliber content and the team member will be exposed to much more high tech opportunkties and challenes and the caliber will be able to achive more success. yearly development schems are essential to keep the teams ready with latest techniques to encourage more proffessional environment can always achieve successfuly.
Start by assessing their skills and needs. Understand the current strengths and areas for improvement within the team. Align career development initiatives with program objectives, ensuring that individual growth contributes to overall project success. Provide diverse learning opportunities, such as training programs and mentorship, to enhance their skills and knowledge. Recognize and reward achievements to motivate and reinforce positive contributions. Foster a culture of continuous learning and growth, encouraging team members to seek challenges and embrace innovation. Additionally, consider factors like regular feedback, flexibility, and work-life balance to create a supportive environment that enhances both individual and team success.
The first step of any change program to know your baseline and existing strengths . And hence first step has to be to assess where we are .
- Set clear roles' expectations and responsibilities - Use a custom approach to learn how team members would like to be managed - Set up employee to success by determining together few KPI's and monitor its trend and progress - Keep the communication open, being accessible and flexible to meet team members' needs - Build a safe and trustworthy environment in which team members can express freely - Promote mentorship programs with internal and external mentors - Have team FUN!
The next step is to align your team's career development with the program objectives and the organizational vision. You can do this by creating individual development plans (IDPs) for each team member that outline their short-term and long-term goals, the actions they need to take to achieve them, the resources and support they need, and the metrics to measure their progress. You can also link their goals to the program outcomes and the value they deliver to the stakeholders and customers. This way, you can help your team members see how their career development contributes to the program success and the organizational mission.
In my mind, this is achieved by setting clear goals, providing regular feedback, and creating a culture of learning. Encouraging employees to work on projects that align with their career goals and the program’s objectives is also important.
We can support our team's Career development and program objectives by: --Establish career pathing by showing them a clear career path --Show them how it aligns with the Organization's vision --Help team members network with peers in and outside of your company which will help them learn and which will ultimately benefit the team at large and the organization. Ultimately employees need to feel engaged and that will help them feel motivated enough to continue to upskill and progress in their career.
I use training mapped to organizational goals. The business benefits, the employees benefit, and everyone is better for it. The employees are empowered to, confident, and marketable.
Consider how you might use "stretch assignments" in a project or program to help develop individual team members. Putting someone in a challenging role can be risky yet doing that in a team setting can help in several ways. It can help them develop as an individual, add different perspectives into the team, and the team can help support the growth of the person. It also provides exposure to other functions and team members across the organization.
- Empower your team mates to work on parts of the program that highlight their strengths and makes them feel good. - Balance that out by also encouraging them to challenge themselves with parts of the program that will help them develop a skillset they aren't already good at.
The third step is to provide your team members with various learning and growth opportunities that match their needs and goals. You can do this by offering them formal training courses, workshops, webinars, or certifications that enhance their knowledge and skills. You can also provide them with informal learning opportunities, such as job rotations, shadowing, cross-functional collaborations, or special assignments that expose them to new challenges and perspectives. You can also encourage them to join professional networks, communities of practice, or mentoring programs that expand their connections and insights.
For any change program to work it is very important to identify your ambassadors and hence rewarding and recognising the people who take the steps to change is critical.
Growth takes work so I find it paramount to explain to team members that the best growth opportunities are often work in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities. It is important to assess everyone's commitment to the goal: career advancement. A leader shows their commitment by creating good opportunities on projects that will expand the employee's skillset, experience, and network. Leaders must also take time out of their week to coach team members through the effort. Team members in turn show their commitment by making time for the added work and by executing to the best of their ability.
I make it a firm practice to have a weekly, one-hour one on one with each of my direct reports, at which I routinely ask, among other things, "Are you learning and growing?" If the answer is "no" or is tepid, I dig in to determine what new assignments I can give to them in order to help them improve. I also made a checklist of the key skills expected for my discipline (product management) which I ask each report to use for a self-assessment. When they (or I) uncover an area of weakness, I use that insight to assign new tasks to address it, or recommend appropriate training, classes, etc.
Do offer continuous learning, growth, and advancement opportunities to ensure that your team remains engaged, motivated, and dedicated to achieving the program's objectives. One way to support individuals in their professional development is by providing training programs, workshops, certifications, or conferences that can help them enhance their skills and knowledge in relevant areas. It may also include assigning demanding projects, tasks, or responsibilities that push their abilities and broaden their capabilities. By prioritizing the growth and development of your team, you not only demonstrate your commitment to their professional growth but also cultivate a highly skilled, adaptable, and successful team.
If an opportunity presents itself to up-skill yourself or a team member- take it, or support it. If you identify for ex: a training course & see the value it would add to your teams performance, if they had access to the course - get creative and ask leadership for the funding to make it happen. The worst that can happen is they say no, but see you as a person that supports and encourages growth.
The fourth step is to recognize and reward your team members for their achievements and progress. You can do this by giving them regular and constructive feedback, praising their efforts and results, celebrating their milestones and successes, and acknowledging their contributions and impact. You can also reward them with monetary or non-monetary incentives, such as bonuses, raises, promotions, recognition awards, or flexible work arrangements. By doing so, you can motivate your team members to continue learning and growing, and show them that you value and appreciate their work.
Good leaders provide recognition. They also understand your team members are motivated differently. Understanding what drives your team is critical to the team’s success.
It is amazing in exit interviews how many people are starved for positive acknowledgment. To be effective it must be: 1. Real- If the acknowledgment is not authentic, then it is better to not say anything. 2. Earned- If the team and the recipient don't understand the award is linked to a result, action, or outcome, then you are not reinforcing good behavior. 3. Personal- This is my secret weapon. Knowing what your team wants gives you the ability to reward in ways that are personal and meaningful. One might want money, another might want PTO, and another might want to work from home on Wednesdays for a month. Personalized rewards help team members feel like they belong and are valued. 4. Praise - Praise in public, correct in private.
This is possibly the most important aspect of program management. Recognize informally and formally, as often as possible. A group email with a job well done to a colleague or a group of colleagues will go along way to showing how much a leader really cares about the people doing the heavy lifting. Be genuine and authentic when you do this and you will inspire others.
En complément, vous pouvez également les inviter à devenir des mentors pour transmettre leur expertise, leur savoir-être, leurs compétences. C’est valorisant et c’est une expérience qui les fait grandir sur le plan humain et technique car le mentoré les emmène à questionner leurs pratiques, leur expertise, à faire preuve de pédagogie, à enrichir leur vision de leur métier. En retour, le mentoré apprend et grandit également. Le mentorat peut donc être un outil complémentaire pour valoriser les membres de son équipe ??
The number one responsibility of a leader is to ensure their team gets the recognition they deserve and the leader takes the “slings and arrows” from upper management. That doesn’t mean protecting them from their own mistakes, just ensuring all are treated fairly.
The final step is to foster a culture of learning and growth within your team and your organization. You can do this by setting an example of continuous learning and improvement, sharing your own goals and challenges, and seeking feedback and support from others. You can also create a safe and supportive environment where your team members can share their ideas, experiences, and lessons learned, ask questions, seek help, and offer feedback and assistance to each other. You can also promote a growth mindset that embraces change, innovation, and experimentation, and encourages learning from failures and setbacks.
In my experience, I recommend using coaching to focus on individual development and helping your employees achieve specific goals. I do believe that other forms of learning, such as training and mentoring, are needed to foster a culture of learning and growth. They tend to focus on teaching or offering advice to groups or individuals. If you provide the opportunity for coaching after training, it converts the knowledge gained in training to shared skills for others in the organization.
Success in any organization comes down to the energy and culture that leaders develop. When leaders challenge their teams to align in common goals and provide recognition for their achievements, everyone thrives. It's all about creating a positive, can-do attitude that inspires greatness in all team members to be hungry for knowledge!
In my experience of more than a decade as a manager, I've observed that fostering a growth mindset within a team is essential to attract & retain top talent, drive innovation, & improve program outcomes. Manager should enable the team to understand the company's objectives, strategies, vision, & future plans, as well as the industry direction & customer pain points. This approach can help them focus on key areas to learn and grow. Finding opportunities for cross-training between teams can help leverage collective knowledge. Providing resources for self-learning, such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, & Coursera, can also be valuable to help team members learn new skills & stay up-to-date in their field. Leaders should lead by example.
It's so important to walk the talk. If your organization talks about continuous improvement, organizational growth, and a supportive culture then its important that there be opportunities available and processes in place to enable team members to achieve and experience that reality.
In my experience make training easily accessible to all, empower SMEs, ask employees what they want to learn through feedback tools like surveys, interviews and ensure learning & individual development is also a priority. Make the supportive environment for employees to learn the needed.
It begins with trusting one-on-ones, where the leader facilitates a thoughtful reflection on team's aspirations, current competencies and areas for development. The leader's role, beyond being an honest mirror, involves expanding perspectives and encouraging the team to explore new options, opening doors to potential career paths (not yet considered). Creating an atmosphere where teams feel comfortable taking risks, with assurance that they have solid support is crucial. This then aligns company needs with teams' skills and aspirations and fosters an environment for development/growth. This leads to increased employee engagement, stronger loyalty, and ensures that the company has the best-suited skills in the right place at the right time.
I must say, it is crucial to cultivate an environment that promotes ongoing learning and teamwork in order to support the growth of individuals and achieve program goals. This entails fostering an environment that promotes knowledge sharing, mentorship, and peer learning among team members, while also fostering cross-functional collaboration and innovation. By creating a work environment that prioritizes support, empowerment, and respect for team members, you can cultivate a culture of excellence and achievement that positively impacts both your team and your program.
In my experience, it says a lot if you’re concerned about someone taking another opportunity. I told my last team that I hope that half of them were gone the next year. I WANT them to get opportunities presented to them and I want to help them achieve growth. Speak to the growth needed inside the organization, but not everyone can stay where they started and you shouldn’t want that if you truly care for your team.
Checking the needs of your team regularly to identify their learning areas. Delegate power and provide opportunities to practice. Always reflect and facilitate feedback tools. Give credits and share the pride! Finally, supper their decision about their career goals.
Supporting your team's career development while hitting program objectives? It's about finding the sweet spot where their growth aligns with project goals. Have one-on-one chats to understand their career aspirations. Then, look for opportunities within the program where they can develop those skills. Offer training or mentorship that helps both their personal growth and project needs. Encourage them to take on new challenges within the program. It’s about creating a win-win – they get to grow and learn, and the project benefits from their expanding skill set. Regular feedback and recognition of their efforts keep them motivated. It's all about balancing their career goals with the program's success.