Instead of Trying to Keep Your Best People, Focus on Developing Them

One of the most rewarding aspects of leadership is mentoring the next generation of professionals.

As you look at the staff in your organization, you can often spot those who have drive, talent and aspiration. Recognizing these gems and helping them cultivate their careers takes effort—but it pays off as they achieve their dreams. Here are some tips for helping early-career professionals grow:

Provide opportunities to expand their skills.

For those who aspire to have a broader skill set, identify ways they can tackle challenges outside of their areas of expertise. Assign them to projects that will push the boundaries of their current role and give them a chance to try on other aspects of the work. Expose them to your decision-making process. Let them ask questions about the things about your role that seem mysterious, and give them a chance to try their hand at managing a budget or a team—even if it is allowing them to lead a small project to start.

Let them tackle difficult management challenges.

It can be tempting to jump in when members of your team are in conflict. After all, you are the leader and are responsible for the culture of your unit. But consider allowing your team members to tackle difficult issues on their own. That doesn’t mean turning a blind eye. Rather, sit down and talk through potential paths for navigating the conflict and let them try addressing it. It takes maturity and poise to lead a team. Let your early-career staff members work to develop those traits so they can be more successful when they are sitting in your chair.

Share candid and honest feedback.

As you build a relationship with your mentee, you may find yourself sugarcoating your feedback; however, candid and honest critiques provide more opportunities for personal and professional growth. It is important to be encouraging and positive, but it is equally important to provide honest guidance when you believe a different approach would have been more fruitful. Along the same lines, failure is a powerful teacher. Let your mentee try new approaches or think outside the box. Even if the approach fails, they will learn something from it that they can apply to their next attempt.

You may be reading this thinking, “I am going to train and nurture someone who is going to leave my university and take those skills elsewhere when they are ready to advance.” This very well may be true. But holding people back professionally just so you can keep them around is a no-win situation.

The connection you build with someone as you help them grow is powerful and is a reward in itself. And helping others is just the right thing to do. If you need less altruistic reasons, consider the loyalty and commitment that your efforts will foster. Your team member is less likely to jump ship if you are continually teaching and developing them, as they will continue to find value in working with and for you.