The performance culture evolution - Part 1: individual development
PART 1: Organization-Enabled Individual Growth
By Kimberlea Kozachenko, CEO & Founder
In a former reality of workplace habits and behaviours, it's possible that organizations and individuals operated considering their skills, attributes and abilities professionally to be “fixed traits” that cannot be easily altered. Born with the ability to do “x”, conditioned to achieve success with “y”, decidedly not suitable to lead task “z”. Rather than developing skills, this mindset subconsciously encourages stagnation and complacency by implying that skill alone will bring success, providing little desire or even faith in the idea of development to achieve new levels of greatness. Fast forward to current day, where we see the most successful individuals are the ones who are constantly learning and developing. The most lucrative organizations are the ones with the courage to take risks and evolve their brands, offerings and market presence. They’re fostering this notion of “growth mindset” and harnessing it to its full potential, rewarding courageous behaviours and creating a culture of self-accountable growth and group-accountable collaboration.
Reframing the idea of career development to include growth mindset as its core and driving force can completely change the culture we lead in organizations around how we view career and ultimately, business momentum. If we think of growth and career development as personal betterment, intellectual strengthening and performance acceleration for the many, we can more easily focus on the behaviours and activities that will encourage team members to bring out the very BEST in themselves in every sense. Mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Only if our team members are bringing their very best, will our organizations truly thrive.
At many organizations, we know that team members aren’t always aware of all the tools and resources at their disposal for self-accountable growth. We’re also aware that depending on what area of the business you’re working in and what stage you’re at in your career, it can be tough to figure out your next move and how you might deliver increased value at the team level.
Enterprise-wide career development tools can start a cultural revolution around career growth by creating a smart, simple and helpful place for team members to self-discover more about their strengths, competencies and passions, and gain a broader understanding of career options across the organization. To be truly impactful at the individual, leader, team and organizational levels, certain elements of this tool should appeal and speak to varied audiences at just the right time. In other words, they should deliver value and be just as useful for a junior level individual contributor, as it is for a senior leader; As useful for someone who is seeking solid navigation to their journey, as someone who knows their path and may be seeking a jolt of inspiration.
Here’s a snap-shot of what a successful career development tool looks like:
Self Discover: The first destination in career development is the valuable and insightful process of self-discovery. Know yourself. Know your values, interests and strengths - they rev you up, steer you through life and keep your tank full. Self-discovery will help you determine where your next destination could be.
Be Inspired. Everyone has a unique story to tell about their career development journey. Learn about a few of your fellow team members' journeys and the paths that have led them to where they are today. Use the inspiration gained to research the career development options of interest to you.
Connect. Connections are a vital part of career development. Family, friends, fellow team members, your leader, coaches and others all play an important role in encouraging you, motivating you, providing you with feedback, removing barriers, and celebrating your milestones and successes.
Make it happen. Now that you have a full inventory of your values, interests and strengths, and you've had an opportunity to draw inspiration from others, it's time to bring it all together in a career development plan. Identify opportunities that will allow you to grow, pursue your interests and capitalize on your strengths. Then, put it all together into your plan; where you can outline your goals, the actions you'll take to achieve your goals and how you will know when it's time to celebrate.
Success is when team members feel supported and trusted by their leader and the organization to move forward on their own terms. And from a leadership perspective, they would feel supported to have valuable conversations with their team members to help them grow – both through supportive conversations and those necessary difficult conversations.