Team coach

We can’t support our colleagues’ aspirations if we don’t know what they are. Use your Connect sessions to understand the kind of opportunities your team members are looking for and how you can help them on their journey.

Together, you must identify the skills and experience they need to grow in our business. The ACE Conversation framework will help you to have great career conversations.

We want our colleagues to build skills for life, so give them the space, time and encouragement to make learning and development their priority.

There’s plenty of ways for your team to build their capability. There’s on-the-job coaching, training courses and development programmes as well as opportunities to take part in industry events.

Remember to follow up and ask your colleagues what they’ve learned. It shows you’re interested in their career growth. And you’ll be able to support them as they put their learnings into practice.

You’re the coach: you know that stretching is key to keeping your team career fit.

So give your colleagues opportunities to step up and take the lead in tasks, situations or events that are not part of their current role.

They must be ready and excited to take on the challenge, and they must have your support.

They’ll also need to understand how to balance the demands of taking the lead with the responsibilities of their current role. But that’s what stepping up is all about.

You know your team members are great. Don’t keep it to yourself: share and promote their contributions and successes on your team calls. You could also invite them to present their work to your peer group or a senior team.

You can also increase their visibility by introducing them to people in your network. Helping them to develop broader, deeper relationships will build their knowledge of our business and the opportunities available to them.

Your manager can be a strong sponsor for your team members – so make sure you connect them.

Help your colleagues to develop a relationship with your manager. Encourage them to be an active participant in any roundtables or extended team meetings and to use Q&A sessions to ask questions.

Showcase their contribution to your manager by giving them opportunities to present their work and ask for feedback.

Sometimes, colleagues can be held back because they’re good at what they do and there’s nobody available or able to step into their role. To protect your colleagues and our business, you need to have a succession plan. Then, when the time comes for your colleagues to move to the next stage of their career journey, they can do so freely.

Make sure you identify future team members and colleagues that can move into roles, as well as any gaps in skills or experience and how to fill them. This will help you put the right development plans in place for all your colleagues.

Your team will continue to perform to a high standard and we won’t lose good people due to career frustration.