Holding a Development Discussion

2. Ensure your team member is clear on the objectives of the discussion, and understands the importance of development. If you are planning on holding a round of development meetings with your whole team, it makes sense to get them together to have an informal group conversation. Be sure to highlight these positive benefits:

• the acquisition of new skills, abilities and knowledge
• the opportunity to maximize potential
• adding value to the organization
• achieving career aims and objectives
• remaining motivated and focused

3. You need to give your team member time to formulate their own development ideas. You can prompt this by asking them to consider:

• the skills and knowledge they currently have that they would like to develop further
• new skills and knowledge that they would like to acquire
• the value that they feel they could add to your team/organization and what steps need to be taken to achieve this
• where they see themselves in the organization and how they would like to develop within it
• their overall career aspirations
• how they like to learn, and to reflect upon how successful or unsuccessful their previous learning activities were

Ask them to consider the above questions in advance of the meeting and to record their own development ideas.

4. Similar to the above, you should carry out your own assessment of your team member’s development needs. This should involve considering:

• the talents you think they possess that could add value to both your team and to the organization
• the development areas that they have previously expressed interest in and whether you think these are feasible
• the development areas that you personally think they should be considering
• possible development activities or opportunities that you would like to see on their personal development plan (you may need to consult your learning and development division, or department manager, to discuss the options that are available to you)

During the Discussion

1. Make sure that you have all of the documents that you want to refer to during the meeting. If, for example, you gave the self-analysis template out for completion, do you want to have your own copy of this in advance, or are you happy for your team member to relay their ideas to you during the meeting? Other examples of documents you may wish to bring along with you include a record of the learning and development opportunities offered by your organization, or a copy of your department’s business objectives.

2. Start the meeting by asking them to give you their own ideas on their development. If you immediately launch into your own, it will give the impression that you have already decided what is going to happen.

3. As you discuss their development ideas and aspirations, remember you’re trying to establish their reasons why they want to focus on this area, but also to evaluate if you think it’s possible or suitable.

4. Respect each development request made, even if you think it is unrealistic. Sometimes people are not quite sure what is possible and make suggestions without giving them much thought. If you feel that a request is not suitable, give reasons for this, while remaining encouraging. You should, for example, suggest an alternate focus. It is at this point that you might start to refer to your own analysis (e.g. the template above, if you have completed it) and offer up your own ideas.

5. You should discuss how the individual likes to learn. Do they, for example, prefer to study and then apply their knowledge? Or are they the type of person who learns by getting on with a task?

The key thing is to think beyond formal training courses. They are a very valid form of development but are not appropriate for every occasion. For instance, if your team member expresses an interest in project working, you do not need to send them on a project management course when there are other alternatives (e.g. taking a small role on an internal project, or spending time with a project manager).

The list below will give you some ideas for development activities. They are not suitable for everyone or every occasion – you would need to think through if the intended skill lends itself to the method, e.g. reading a book on sales is no replacement for role-playing sales techniques. However, they highlight some of the possibilities that you can investigate.

• On-the job training. Where learning is achieved through performing new tasks and activities, normally under the supervision of an experienced colleague.
• Job-shadowing. This involves spending time with another member of staff to learn about their role and what it involves.
• Delegation. Where individuals are given the responsibility for delivering a task or output. Depending on the activity that is delegated, this can be an excellent way to develop planning, decision-making, problem-solving and leadership skills.
• Reading materials (e.g. books, journals). Reading about a subject matter is often the best way of finding out about it, but this is probably not suitable for more practical subjects.
• E-learning. Many topics can now be studied online, which offers convenience as the resources are normally available 24/7. In a similar vein, distance learning means that study materials are sent directly to the learner and, depending on the course selected, can often be studied at their own pace.
• Coaching. A form of one-to-one support aimed at developing a person’s skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves.
• Mentoring. Similar to coaching, but takes a longer-term approach to facilitating personal and career development.
• Secondments to other departments. Involves sending individuals to different areas of the organization for a period of time to perform a job role relevant to that department. Gives them the opportunity to learn how other departments work, and to acquire skills and knowledge they wouldn’t get from working in your team.
• Project working. Gives individuals the opportunity to work with other departments on defined objectives and outcomes. Can encourage learning about other aspects of the organization, and develop skills such as planning, strategy, communication and team working.
• Blended learning. When the focus is not just on one development activity, but on a variety, e.g. a mix of different activities are used to develop skills and abilities. This can cater for different learning styles and circumstances, and can prevent the learning process from becoming stagnant.

6. As you discuss the potential options, you should start to form a development plan. Your organization may have its own development plan format, and it should allow for the following information to be captured-

• the activity – a short description of the learning activity that will be undertaken
• the purpose of the activity – the aim of the activity, and the value it will bring
• target date – the date the activity should be completed by
• learning applied – details of the learning being used in the workplace, or in another appropriate circumstance
• further action – any follow-up activity that has been identified (this may become its own entry on the development plan)

7. A development plan should be treated as a ‘live’ document that is regularly referred to and updated. If one activity (or batch of activities) on the plan has been completed, this doesn’t mean that development should stop. It is an ongoing process, and activities could be considered as one part of a bigger picture. For example, in the project management scenario outlined above, once your team member spends time with a project manager, the next step might be to take an active role in a small project, followed by a project management course, and then a more significant role in a project.

8. Document the activities that you know are definitely possible on the action plan. Some may require further investigation on either your own or your team member’s part to see if they are feasible. For example, you could decide that an e-learning course is the best method of development, but you may need to find out if one is available, or if the cost is within budget.

9. At the end of the meeting, review what has been put onto the development plan, and agree it with your team member. Run through the follow-up actions that you have agreed you will both undertake after the meeting has finished.

After the Meeting

1. Start to progress your own action points from the discussion, e.g. discuss job-shadowing with a suitable party, consider appropriate tasks to delegate etc. Keep your team member informed about your progress, and ask them how they are doing with their own actions. It may help to record these in some format so that you can keep track of them.

2. Arrange for the development activities to take place. Be sure to ask the individual how things are progressing – it will give them encouragement, and can also alert you to things that may not be going well. If the latter is the case, establish what the issue is and see what can be done to resolve it. It is entirely possible that the wrong development activity has been selected, and this will need to be reviewed before your team member loses heart or starts to question their ability.

3. Once complete, evaluate how the development activity has gone. Ensure that the person gets the chance to apply their new skills appropriately. Through doing this, you may uncover further development areas or establish that the activity wasn’t quite right. These findings could form the basis of subsequent development activities, but these should be discussed before being actioned.

4. Encourage your team member to keep taking an active role in their development. This could involve ensuring their development plan is kept up to date, or to come to you with ideas for their development. Remember, as their manager you are in a key position to encourage, support and advise as needed.