Thursday, August 23, 2012
On today’s video tip, Andria had a special guest arrive to help her out… check it out!
Today’s tip is about growth and development, or, as I like to put it, having a high Learning Orientation. One common characteristic amongst high potential evolving leaders is that they never stop learning and are continually curious. Having a learning orientation means you are not only focused on your own growth and continuous learning but also that of those on your team. This topic is actually a huge one because it centers all around your own growth and development as well as the development of those on your team. Inspiring leaders take time to focus on their own career growth (which you are doing simply by listening to these video tips) and they do this by following five key steps. They are self-reflective; that is they take time to understand what their values and motivators and career goals and aspirations are. Second, they explore career options that align with their values and motivators and will help get them to their ultimate goal or aspiration. Third, they make decisions on where and how to develop themselves based on what is best for them personally and what is best for their organization. This type of decision-making creates mutual value for both the individual and the organization.
Fourth, they set goals and actions based on where they decide to develop and fifth, they implement these actions.
Then, learning oriented leaders follow the same process with their employees’ for their employees’ career development. They support them in self-reflecting, exploring options, making decisions, setting goals and implementing the actions that will help their team grow and develop.
Following these steps helps create a learning oriented environment where employees not only expect to grow but also want to grow because it’s part of the fabric of where they work and of the environment that you are leading.
