Finding out what your people need to drive their careers forward
Suit: Supported by my manager
Can you honestly say you know what makes each of your team members tick? As a manager, your role in supporting their career progression is to understand their goals and help them figure out how they can get there. But what makes a good progression opportunity? Which ones will be right for your particular team members? Do you truly know what drives each of them? If not, it’s time to find out.
Many assume money is the main motivator and whilst most of us have to work for a living, salary alone does not dictate who people choose to work for, which organisation they select, which teams they join or which projects they take on. So you’ll have to dig deeper than external motivators to find out their true internal drivers. For example, ask each team member to pick five words that sum up their drivers, then reduce this to a top three shortlist.
Once you understand your people and get to know them better, you’ll be able to support their progression much better too. Knowing that someone would like regular recognition, to reach a particular salary bracket, to be able to improve their community or simply a more balanced lifestyle will ensure you present them with the right career opportunities. This could be a path to a promotion, working on a high profile project, or even the chance to set up a foundation that contributes to a particular cause.
However, bear in mind this exercise could also lead to some difficult conversations. Knowing what drives your team members could highlight the fact they may not be able to reach their goals within your organisation. Some may require a working schedule you cannot offer, or a promotion you know will not be available to them. But whilst this may throw up some unforeseen consequences, at Let’s Talk Talent, we believe in honesty and transparency. In fact, it’s one of our values. So get to know your people, understand what drives them and be gently aware that some may need to look elsewhere in order to fulfil their career goals.
And if you’d like to know more about how managers can help create collaborative and innovative teams, have a look at our recent blog post.
Career Coaching Cards: Explained
This is a new series of blog posts, that explain our Career Coaching cards in more depth.
Our deck of cards contain 52 questions that help guide better career conversations and connect more with the individuals you’re having these conversations with.
Each week we are releasing a question from our deck with a little more information about why we think this question is a good question and what you are looking to get out of it when you ask it.
How to drive high performing teams
Let’s Talk Talent shows you how everyone can play their part in creating collaborative, high-performance teams that delivers results.