How Do You Help Employees Develop?

There has to be a methodolgy for the

There has to be a methodolgy for the way that different companies develop. What we suffer from in my company is a ('lower' the comapnies phrase not mine) workforce apathy, they have the ability to earn more than middle mangement due to their practical skill sets so showing them development and investment time is purely thrown back at me with "how much will I get if I do it?" In the last three years this is a 150% improvement on what we had previously. Feedback is always positive and constructive and it comes down to cash everytime. It makes it difficult to motivate with out £'s

Thanks for another useful podcast,

Thanks for another useful podcast, bringing together the various tools that you've discussed so far.

I was also interested in the 'behaviour' issue. There may be a cultural difference between the States and Europe around this term. But they're not too great. You're right to emphasise behavioural change, rather than concentrate too much on intention, thinking or feeling. Your very first couple of posts were about this very issue, from the point of view of effectiveness. I think that there is also a kind of moral aspect to this, too.

I'm a psychotherapist and a manager. As a therapist I'm very concerned with helping people to change their thoughts and feelings, however they give me permission to do this. As a manager I'm not sure that I have the right to ask my staff to change their thinking or way of feeling. The question I should really be asking is have they performed their tasks well?

Of course there's an overlap. The way a person thinks or feels affects their performance positively or negatively. That's one of the reasons why I try to treat staff with respect and to create a benign organisational culture. And of course, if thoughts and feelings are getting in the way then it's right to address those. But the starting and ending point must be how well staff are performing, that's what I have the right to ask of them and that's what I can observe.

Keep up the good work.

Geoff

Geoff- Thanks for the note. Wow - a

Geoff-

Thanks for the note. Wow - a psychotherapist validating the concept behind our approach - high praise indeed! I have always liked "behavior" because it's externally measurable: "look, there on the videotape!" But measuring one's feelings is a sticky mess.

It's a privilege to serve you - keep the comments coming.

Mark

I totaly agree with Geoff. I'm working

I totaly agree with Geoff. I'm working in the Netherlands where we do have cultural differences with the US, but the things you guys talk about do cover the main issues. Although we behave different here than somewhere else, the tools remain the same. When talking about 'training a dog' you simply don't understand the meaning of the tools. A communication trainer told me once: you are not your behavior. You can't change who you are, but you do can change your behavior. And I think that's the issue. When giving feedback to a staffmember or coworker, you give feedback on there behavior, not to who they are. When they know that, you do can use the feedback you get, to improve the cooperation between eachother.

Keep up the good work, I''m enjoing your shows!

As always, another podcast well done.

As always, another podcast well done. You consistently deliver messages worth hearing, not only for guys like me who are growing their management skills, but also for the more "experienced" managers who are supposed to know what they are doing...

Thanks for taking the time to pass along your insights.

Manager Tools : Indispensible Manager

Manager Tools : Indispensible

Manager Tools is a great place for developing Managers like myself to find tools

Steve- Thanks for the kind words!

Steve-

Thanks for the kind words! Sounds like we know some of the same people.

It's a privilege to serve you,

Mark

Gents, Excellent topic and delivery.

Gents,
Excellent topic and delivery. You have really nailed the concept down well. Development is sort of foundational stuff that most organizatons allow to get lost in learning. Learning is an activity, development is a process and you have accurately cast it as such.

You guys are part of my commute each week and I thank you for putting out such a concise and useful resource.

Keep up the great work,

Pat

Pat- Thanks for the kind

Pat-

Thanks for the kind words.

It's a privilege to serve you.

Mark

I wanted to chime in and say how

I wanted to chime in and say how valuable I find your podcast. I am a new manager (three months now) with a team of four industrial designers. It has been a challenge to find direct and useful information and your work has been a great source of support. Your podcast also justified my purchase of a Nano!
Do you have advise for developing my own skills as a new manager?
How do you coach someone who was once a peer?
Do you have ideas for incentives in a cash strapped office?
thanks again!
James

James- Thanks for the kind words!

James-

Thanks for the kind words! We're doing this for people just like you - who want to be effective an dhave discovered that not a lot is terribly helpful.

As to your questions, not sure what you mean in terms of development. We recently did a show about development - you can certainly coach yourself (use thy coaching model) through many things. Also, if your're registered, you can get the special November podcast only for registered users, where we talk about what you should be reading for development. That's a start, along with continuing to listen.
;-)

Regarding coaching a former peer: you do it the same way you coach anyone else. Use the coaching model. Before you start, sit down with the person and tell them what you're wanting to do, why you want to do it, and that you know it may seem awkward, having been peers. See what HE says - if you act relaxed about it, and make sure he knows it's part of your job, if he choooses to opt out, that's on him for now.

I wouldn't try to coach him until there had been a fair amount of time since the promotion... three months is enough if you've been doing one on ones and feedback.

We're going to do a show on incentives. For now, here's a thought. Everyone knows things are cash-strapped. Sit down with each team member and tell them what the situation is. Ideally, show them the budget - even year over year - so they can see there's not a lot of money. Tell them about corporate profits, etc. Make the point clear that there's not a lot of cash for incentives, raises, etc.

Then, ask them what kinds of non-cash incentives they like. Maybe it's recognition in front of others. Maybe it's helping to get a promotion (those come with more moeny). Maybe it's time to work on a special project.

For me, it would be time off. Unless you have a draconian system, as a manager you should be able to give everybody extra days/time off. This has always been the one that gets the most positive response in my experience. An extra Friday off, leavint at 2 pm, whatever - time off is an awesome one.

Hope this helps - it's a privilege to serve you,

Mark

Another great podcast! I've used your

Another great podcast! I've used your techniques over the years, but it was great to have a refresher. I now find myself working with people that worked for me in the past and I'm so proud to see their accomplishments! So coaching isn't just good for the employee, it gives the manager a really good "feeling" when it is accepted and really helps to launch the employees career.

Terri- Glad you liked it! Always

Terri-

Glad you liked it! Always glad to hear about successes folks have had with these simple tools....

Mark

Mark/Mike, in your podcasts on

Mark/Mike,
in your podcasts on coaching you are enforcing the fact that a coach IS NOT a trainer and that you have to find out resources around.
In this podcast you underline the fact that if you want your collegues act as you prefer, YOU have to give models, guidelines, show them how to do things, be with them while they do things, correct them ... and this seems to me being training.
Can you help me in understanding better?
Ciao,
PierG

PierG- It's a subtle but important

PierG-

It's a subtle but important point. We don't mean to suggest that the manager must be overseeing everything all the time. Yes, when you observe in general, you give feedback. But if I am coaching you in a particular area, I am helping YOU improve YOURSELF. So, I may not be the best person to teach you something specific. You might identify someone else to actually teach (Train) you on the details. I will make sure it gets done, but not actually teach you myself on this one thing.

Better?

Mark

[...] 93. Help your employees learn and

[...] 93. Help your employees learn and develop. [...]

[...] 93. Help your employees learn and

[...] 93. Help your employees learn and develop. [...]