Being a manager isn’t easy. You have do many things on daily, weekly and monthly basis. However, one thing that many managers overlook is the feedback. If effective feedback is given to the teammates on their progress towards the goals, their performance will significantly improve. Your teammates need to know in a timely manner, how they’re doing, what’s working, and what’s not.
But this is not the end of a manager’s responsibilities. One of the manager’s major responsibilities is to make work enjoyable for his teammates while also making sure that they do their level best.
Today we’re going to talk about an equally important responsibility of every manager: the career conversations.
What are Career Conversations?
Just like they sound, they’re discussions about a person’s career with a focus on their long-term career aspirations. When career conversations are conducted the right way, they help nurturing the top talent in an organization.
How to Conduct Career Conversations the Right Way?
The career conversations should connect a person’s past – gaining a detailed understanding of who they are and what motivates them at work through their life story – with their future – the wildest dreams they have for themselves at the peak of their career.
Why Should Managers Conduct Career Conversations?
The primary reason for conducting career conversations is that people really need your help. I’ve seen a lot of self-defeating tendencies among people thinking about their careers. Flawed thinking, deprioritization, trying to live their parents’ dreams for them… it’s all bad, and people need help. We all do.
Another reason for conducting career conversations is that your teammates are constantly thinking of next step in career, growth and development. They are actively considering all of their career options within as well as outside their current organization. So, by engaging in career conversations with them, you won’t have to be surprised when a teammate suddenly hands over their resignation.
Moreover, you can be a part of that conversation from the beginning and contribute to this decision-making as a trusted adviser. Remember, at times, it might be right for someone to leave but at least you’ll have ample time to get a backup resource ready.
Finally, and extremely importantly, isn’t your job as a leader to help people grow? I hope this is an obvious ‘yes’ to you, but then a very reasonable question is “help them grow into what?”
Career Conversations are all about growth, and growth toward a dream. They will enable you to really help your teammates, to be a leader who invests in the team and makes work more rewarding and more fun.
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