Last week, Julie Winkle Giulioni (co-author of Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go) and I spoke at the SHRM conference in New Orleans. Our session was entitled Career Development: Today’s Meta-Priority. The session was so well received, I wanted to share concepts from it in this blog.

In the past, career development was often considered a “nice-to-do” or “when you get around to it” activity. Today more and more organizations are viewing it as a necessity, as several studies link career and talent development to valued business metrics.

Leaders who prioritize career development think and act differently. They’ve incorporated ways to make career development a priority into their daily habits. Demonstrate your commitment to the development of your employees by trying one or more of these priorities.

Priority 1: Assume that everyone has the potential to learn and grow.

This mindset will inspire greater confidence in your employees.

 

Priority 2: Focus on an opportunity-filled future.

Realize that opportunity still knocks….it just opens different doors!

 

 

Priority 3: Cultivate peripheral vision.

Continuously refine your view of the big picture. Be aware of factors that affect your business, industry, and culture.

 

Priority 4: Treat career development as a daily part of the leadership role.
Recognize and seize small moments within the context of daily work to connect with your employees.

Priority 5: View talent as an enterprise-wide resource.

Don’t hoard talent!

 

 

Julie and I wrote an article for Talent Management entitled “It’s Time to Prioritize Career Development”. In the article we go into more detail about these priorities and others. You can download it here.