Your employees want to grow—but growth doesn’t always mean promotions or raises. It can come from building skills, gaining experience, and expanding capability. Here’s how to create the conditions for growth on your team.
Help people learn how they learn. Use weekly check-ins to observe patterns in how each person develops. Some learn by doing, others by studying, practicing, or shadowing. Pay attention and reflect this back to them. When you help someone understand how they learn best, you can accelerate their progress and make your support more targeted.
Set micro-challenges. Stop relying on annual goals that your team rarely revisits. Instead, define short-term challenges that are visible and measurable. Use check-ins to set a one-month target or assign a new responsibility. Then follow up. These small, frequent challenges create momentum and keep growth top of mind.
Create paths to mastery. People want clear proof of progress. Build defined levels within each role, with specific criteria for advancement. Be consistent in applying them and celebrate every milestone. When you take these levels seriously, your team will too—and they’ll push themselves to reach the next one. |
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This week’s tips are adapted from Marcus Buckingham’s new book, Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business (HBR Press). The book posits that love—the deep connection that makes people feel seen, valued, and inspired—isn’t just a soft feeling, but a measurable driver of performance and growth. Buckingham identifies five feelings leaders must foster in their employees to lead them with love. Each day this week, we’ll be outlining one of these key feelings, and how to nurture it on your team.
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