As I grow as a manager, I’m realizing that I need to focus on developing my employees. This process isn’t as straightforward as one might think because there’s no step-by-step plan to follow. Each employee is at a different stage in their development, and they may not even realize they need development. On top of that, there’s often no clear goal for them to reach; the target I’ve set is for them to be able to solve the types of problems I can solve.
To help them grow, I have to challenge them with increasingly difficult tasks over time. However, I struggle to delegate tasks that I find relatively easy, especially when I know I could quickly help. I also feel lazy when I choose not to do the task myself. But the cost of me doing these things is losing the opportunity to focus on higher-level work and hindering the employee’s growth.
I try to remind myself that they may make mistakes or not complete tasks to the same standard I would, but achieving 80% is often good enough—it’s part of their learning process.
There’s also a balance I have to strike. I could help the employee and solve the problem immediately, or I could send them away to figure it out on their own, which means the problem might be solved later, but they’d improve their problem-solving skills over time.
Another factor to consider is that this approach can make some employees uncomfortable. If they come to me for help and I intentionally don’t provide it, they may feel frustrated with me.
One way I try to develop myself is by proactively handling issues so that my manager doesn’t have to deal with them and by anticipating any requests she might make.
Another consideration is developing peers. For instance, my team members are often asked by their peers to handle tasks that are actually their peers’ responsibilities. My team members complete these tasks and then complain to me that they’re doing someone else’s job. I advise them to teach their peers how to do the tasks and then stop doing the work for them, so their peers have a chance to grow too.