Developing Others | Leadership

Growing the people you lead for their success and yours.

Why Development Matters

For them:

Career growth and opportunity
Engagement and retention
Skill building
Confidence

For you:

Team capability increases
You can delegate more
Succession is possible
Leadership legacy

For the organization:

Talent pipeline
Better performance
Lower turnover
Culture of growth

The Development Mindset

From Manager to Developer

Manager Focus	Developer Focus
Getting work done	Building capability
Solving problems	Teaching problem-solving
Giving answers	Asking questions
Using strengths	Growing strengths
Immediate performance	Long-term development

Your Role

Role	What It Looks Like
Sponsor	Open doors, advocate, provide visibility
Coach	Ask questions, guide discovery
Mentor	Share experience, advise on career
Teacher	Transfer knowledge and skills
Feedback giver	Honest assessment, growth focus

One-on-Ones

Purpose

The one-on-one is your most important leadership tool:

Build relationship
Provide coaching
Give feedback
Remove obstacles
Discuss development

Structure

Timing	Frequency	Duration
Minimum	Weekly	30 minutes
Better	Weekly	45-60 minutes
Skip at your peril	n/a	n/a

Agenda

Their agenda, not yours. Let them set priorities.

Topic	Time
Their priorities/concerns	60%
Your items	20%
Development/career	20%

Questions to Ask

Purpose	Question
General check-in	"What's on your mind?"
Obstacles	"What's getting in your way?"
Support	"How can I help?"
Development	"What do you want to learn?"
Feedback	"What could I do better?"
Career	"Where do you want to go?"

Coaching

Coaching vs. Telling

Telling	Coaching
Gives answers	Asks questions
Creates dependency	Builds capability
Faster short-term	Better long-term
Uses your brain	Uses their brain

The GROW Model

Step	Questions
Goal	What do you want to achieve?
Reality	Where are you now? What's happening?
Options	What could you do? What else?
Way forward	What will you do? By when?

Coaching in Practice

Situation: Team member comes with a problem.

Telling approach: "Here's what you should do..."

Coaching approach:

"What have you tried?"
"What options do you see?"
"What are the pros and cons?"
"What do you think is best?"
"What support do you need?"

When to Coach vs. Tell

Coach When	Tell When
They can figure it out	Urgent situation
Development matters	They truly don't know
Time allows	Quick decision needed
You want ownership	Critical to get it right

Feedback

Principles

Principle	Application
Timely	Close to the event
Specific	Concrete examples
Behavioral	What they did, not who they are
Balanced	Strengths and growth areas
Actionable	What to do differently
Regular	Not just performance review

The Feedback Formula

SBI-I: Situation + Behavior + Impact + Intention

"In yesterday's meeting (situation), when you interrupted three colleagues (behavior), it shut down participation and we missed good ideas (impact). I'd like you to practice waiting until others finish before speaking (intention)."

Creating Feedback Culture

Action	Impact
Ask for feedback yourself	Model vulnerability
Give positive feedback publicly	Reinforce good behavior
Give constructive feedback privately	Protect dignity
Follow up	Show you care about progress
Normalize it	Regular, not exceptional

Stretch Assignments

What Makes a Good Stretch

Element	Example
New skills required	Technical, interpersonal
Higher stakes	Visibility, importance
New context	Different team, function, location
More scope	Bigger project, more people
Less guidance	Figure it out

How to Assign

Step	Action
Assess readiness	Can they stretch without breaking?
Set up for success	Provide resources, support
Define expectations	What does success look like?
Monitor closely	Check in more frequently
Debrief	What did you learn?

Balancing Risk

Risk Level	Project Fit
Low risk	First stretch assignment
Medium risk	Proven track record
High risk	Strong performer with support

Career Development

Career Conversations

Question	Purpose
Where do you want to be in 3-5 years?	Understand aspirations
What energizes you?	Find alignment
What skills do you want to develop?	Target development
What experiences do you need?	Create opportunities
What's getting in your way?	Remove obstacles

Development Plans

Element	Content
Career goal	Where they're headed
Current strengths	What to leverage
Development areas	What to build
Actions	Specific steps
Timeline	When
Support needed	Your role

Types of Development

Type	Example
Training	Courses, certifications
Exposure	Senior meeting attendance, presentations
Experience	Project leadership, rotation
Education	Degrees, executive education
Mentoring	Internal and external mentors

Delegation for Development

Delegation as Development

Delegation develops when you:

Give real responsibility, not just tasks
Allow mistakes as learning
Provide support without taking over
Increase scope over time

What to Delegate

Delegate	Keep
Tasks they can learn from	Your core responsibilities
Decisions in their scope	Strategic decisions
Problems they can solve	Critical issues
Projects that stretch them	Confidential matters

How to Delegate Developmentally

Step	Action
Match to development need	Choose deliberately
Set context	Why this matters
Define success	What good looks like
Give authority	Permission to act
Set checkpoints	Not micromanage, but monitor
Debrief	Extract learning

Common Development Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Assuming they'll figure it out	Be intentional
Only developing high potentials	Everyone can grow
Focusing on weaknesses	Build on strengths
Not making time	Schedule it
Solving their problems	Coach instead
No follow-through	Track progress

Key Takeaways

Development is your job - Not HR's, not optional
One-on-ones are sacred - Never skip them
Coach more than tell - Questions over answers
Feedback is a gift - Give it regularly
Stretch grows people - Push them (with support)
Career conversations matter - Understand their aspirations
Delegation develops - Give real responsibility