What the MLB Playoffs Teach Us About Employee Development
We’ve gone a little baseball crazy here in Chicago. With our Cubs facing the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS, we’ve heard a lot lately about the importance of good coaching.
So what makes a good coach? More importantly, what do gifted coaches teach us about managing people more effectively and helping them reach peak professional performance? We took a look at the some habits of great athletic coaches and found that managers can approach employee development in many of the same ways.
“Create a Culture of Continual Growth”
Think about it: no successful teams or companies have ever credited their success to remaining stagnant and refusing to push themselves forward. High-performing teams exist in an environment where improvement is constant. To build this performance-driven culture, you must foster an atmosphere where feedback is given and accepted regularly.
Perhaps just as importantly, feedback can’t just come from the top down. Much like baseball players who give one another advice on their swing or teach each other new techniques, employees can and should learn from one another. Today’s performance development tools allow peers to solicit opinions from one another, from different departments and from their superiors.
“Learn and Develop as a Coach at a Faster Rate Than Your Athletes”
Too many times, the onus of development lies solely on employees. Managers at many organizations are tasked with informing their direct reports of goals during an annual review, and from there, it’s the employee’s responsibility to accomplish them. But managers and employees alike have an equal obligation in the performance development process.
Managers need a way to continuously improve their skills as leaders so they’re better equipped to coach employees toward individual success. To address this, modern performance development solutions include conversation guides so managers can hone their leadership skills while motivating employee development.
At the same time, employees must take ownership of their development. This can be a significant change – especially for older generations in the workforce that are used to a top-down, less frequent approach. Create a culture where employees are encouraged and enabled to initiate conversations with their managers. When employees drive their own development, they’re more likely to achieve their goals but perhaps more importantly, reach out for help when they’re struggling. With this dynamic in place, managers are equipped to coach and employees are empowered to grow.
How do you do it?
Building a growth-focused culture and continuously improving workforce starts with HR leaders embracing their roles as “architects of people development.” By taking a more strategic approach to developing talent and culture, HR can position itself as a more powerful influencer in the business.
To learn more, join an upcoming webinar hosted by the Human Capital Institute and moderated by HRBartender’s Sharlyn Lauby, Lieberman Research Worldwide’s Vice President of Talent Kent Frazier and HighGround’s Chief Customer and Technology Officer Anjoo Rai-Marchant called, “How HR Can Build a Self-Energized Workforce for a More Sustainable Business.”