If you lead a team, you play a crucial role in supporting your employees’ career growth. You’re not just a manager, but also a leader, coach and advocate. Your staff members are counting on you to guide them and support their career goals. Maybe they aspire to lead a team of their own, or perhaps they’re looking to take on bigger or different projects within your organization.

A Gartner HR Survey finds that more than three-quarters of employees say it has become more important for them to receive support from their boss.

How can you help your direct reports reach new heights in their career? Sean Devlin, an editor at Ragan Communication, has outlined three key ways. We share his suggestions in this issue of PromoPro Daily.

  1. Make yourself available. Devlin says that just as you need the right tools to build a house, your employees need the right opportunities to build their skills and grow their careers at your organization. The first way to do this is to make it easy for your team members to reach you. Think about the current dynamic at your company. Do your staff members feel comfortable knocking on your office door? When you create a culture of communication and availability, you’re teaching the next generation of leaders how to lead well.

  2. Embrace the role of a coach who listens. Think of yourself as an occupational coach. How can you help your staff members reach that next step in their career? Always look for opportunities to help them grow and be willing to share your own experiences. Talk about where you stumbled in your career and the mistakes you made. Then, discuss how you got back up again and got to where you are today. Invite your employees to discuss their career goals and what questions they may have.

  3. Be an advocate for your employees. Let other promo leaders at your company know about your team members’ skills. Devlin says managing up is a big part of employee advocacy. You know your employees’ skills and abilities better than anyone else in the company. Show that by advocating for your team to company leadership. A leader in another department may not know what a sales rep is capable of achieving unless they get a different perspective.

Great leaders support their employees and look for ways to help them develop professionally. Consider the insight above to nurture your talent and empower your staff members to reach their full potential.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.