Talent Conversations:
Should You Be Having Them?
 The other day a hand shot up in my Leadership and Supervision workshop, followed by a question:
"As a manager, is it really my role to be talking with employees about career goals? Shouldn't we just focus on the job at hand?"
I could certainly empathize with the I've-already-got-way-too-much-to-do exasperation in the questioner's voice. And yet I would argue that "the job at hand" she referred to might actually be BETTER discussed in the context of what it has to do with this employee's long-term career goals.
A Better Carrot
If you don't know, for example, that Max wants to end up in a senior management role, would you have the best motivating carrot to ask him to lead more meetings--to develop a key talent he will need in order to get noticed as management potential? Won't your feedback about the opinionated details in Tara's reports stick better if it's tied to the professional presentation that will be expected in order for her to rise to the next level?
Becoming Talent-Developer-in-Chief
You'll actually be in the best position to direct your employees if you see your role as "Talent Developer in Chief." Here are some ways to do that:
- Think of connecting with each employee about their goals and their learning/development needs on a regular basis, not just at performance-review time.
- Also do it at performance-review time. How better to collaborate on setting goals for the upcoming year?
- Plan these conversations. One good source of guidance is "Talent Conversations: What They Are, Why They're Crucial, and How to Do Them Right" by Roland Smith and Michael Campbell. (Click here to learn more.)
- Ask how you can support the person in reaching his or her goals.
- Remember to listen more than you talk. (Check out the article below for more on that.)
Send us your questions, success stories, and so-called growth opportunities. We'd love to hear from you!
Copyright 2012, Diana Brooks Associates. All rights reserved. |
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Two Tips to Improve Leadership Communication
Here's a recent question from my Leadership Development Group on Linked In: What are your two best ideas for improving leadership communication skill? These were my two:
1. Get face-to-face with people at least twice as often as you think you need to. This is how human beings establish trust and connection. Notice how difficult those things can be with remote/virtual coworkers.
2. Listen more than you talk. A CEO I coached explained it this way: "As long as you're the one talking, you're not learning anything." 'Nuff said!
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