From Struggles to Success: How to Empower Team Members with New Skills

Last time we chatted about assembling a team of exceptional individuals, didn’t we? But being a manager involves more than just having fantastic team members. Today let’s explore another aspect that can help you achieve remarkable results. 💪📰

When you have an incredible team working together, their abilities and skills complement one another. However, there may still be some gaps hiding in the mix. Your team may get a lot of things right but can get stuck at a few critical points. The key lies in identifying and filling those skill gaps to ensure your team members don’t get stuck in bottlenecks. 🔍🧩

Let’s check in on our dream team!

Let’s consider a marketing team in a small e-commerce company as an example. The team comprises four members: Sarah, Lisa, Michael, and Annie. Each team member has a specific role in digital marketing, content creation, social media management, or data analysis.

Sarah and Lisa consistently hit their targets and produced top-notch work. Their manager is happy with their performance and mentions that in the feedback as well. However, Michael and Annie often struggle to meet deadlines and deliver satisfactory results. Upon a closer look, their manager understood that Michael lacks data analysis skills, while Annie faces challenges in content creation. 🎯📊🖋️

Identifying Gaps in the Team

So, what does their manager, Mark, do in this situation? Well, they conduct a skill gap analysis to dig deeper and understand the root of the problem. This analysis helps them pinpoint the areas that need improvement and provides insights into suitable training methods. In addition to understanding what training the team would need, it helped Mark ensure their team was not just using old ideas. 📝✅

Guiding Growth as a Manager

But let’s be honest, managing learning alongside work can be quite challenging, especially when it involves creative aspects and requires a free mind – as was the case with Michael and Annie. While they started learning, their team continued working. It quickly went to chaos – with a mix of study materials and task lists flying everywhere.

Moreover, taking time away from work can demotivate many team members. It singles their needs out. In such cases, the manager needs to ensure that the team member understands the need for those initiatives and gets proper encouragement. 😅💼

To do this, Mark gave Michael and Annie’s tasks related to their new learnings. Taking this further, Mark ensured that they received proper feedback from their instructors as well. Feedback is not just about saying well done but instead allowing Mark and the trainers to develop a path that suits Michael and Annie’s needs. It helped them correct mistakes, encouraged them to learn more, and provided guidance in a new area.

Giving Learning it’s due!

Additionally, Mark devised an intriguing solution: a learning sabbatical for Michael and Annie. It allows them to take a break from their daily routines and focus on personal development through activities like traveling, attending courses or workshops, or pursuing hobbies. Not just learning, a sabbatical lets team members rejuvenate and get back to their work with a new zeal. A learning sabbatical adds a fresh perspective and renewed energy that creative professionals often need. 🌴✈️💡

Great managers like Mark make a lasting impact on their teams through effective initiatives. Sometimes, they think outside the box and come up with unique solutions to help their team members grow. And other times, they create trouble out of cups! 🌟 (see the other Mark and the mark he creates below 👇)

Resources for you:

Risely is bringing to you an amazing opportunity to learn the secrets of effective behavioral interviewing from experts next week with the webinar on 3 Tips for Spotting High-Performers in Your Interviews. Here’s your last chance to book your seats.