Ways to Foster Skill Development Within Teams

This week, I facilitated a manager workshop on how to grow and develop people and teams. One question sparked a great conversation: “How do you develop your people outside of formal programs?” It’s a great question. IMO, one of the highest leverage actions a leader can take is making small, but consistent actions to develop their people. While formal learning experiences absolutely a role, there are far more opportunities for growth outside of structured settings from an hours in the day perspective. Helping leaders recognize and embrace this is a major opportunity. I introduced the idea of Practices of Development (PODs) aka small, intentional activities integrated into everyday work that help employees build skills, flex new muscles, and increase their impact. Here are a few examples we discussed: 🌟 Paired Programming: Borrowed from software engineering, this involves pairing an employee with a peer to take on a new task—helping them ramp up quickly, cross-train, or learn by doing. 🌟 Learning Logs: Have team members track what they’re working on, learning, and questioning to encourage reflection. 🌟 Bullpen Sessions: Bring similar roles together for feedback, idea sharing, and collaborative problem-solving, where everyone both A) shares a deliverable they are working on, and B) gets feedback and suggestions for improvement 🌟 Each 1 Teach 1:  Give everyone a chance to teach one work-related skill or insight to the team. 🌟 I Do, We Do, You Do:Adapted from education, this scaffolding approach lets you model a task, then do it together, then hand it off. A simple and effective way to build confidence and skill. 🌟 Back Pocket Ideas:  During strategy/scoping work sessions, ask employees to submit ideas for initiatives tied to a customer problem or personal interest. Select the strongest ones and incorporate them into their role. These are a few examples that have worked well. If you’ve found creative ways to build development opportunities into your employees day to day work, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

Your people want to grow… But you’re not listening. Employees crave development, not just feedback. Leaders miss the bigger picture: ↳ Skill gaps and ambitions. Otherwise, employees feel: 1. Unheard 2. Undervalued 3. Stuck Without growth, engagement drops. Turnover soars… You need more than feedback. You need an actionable strategy. Here’s how: 1. Use Structured Frameworks. - Standardized templates reduce personal biases. - Blend metrics with narratives for actionable insights. - Structured feedback eliminates guesswork. 2. Focus On Future Goals. - Set SMART goals to make development clear. - Shift feedback from past to forward-looking progress. - Align team growth with your company’s goals. 3. Listen To Employees' Voices. - Surveys uncover ambitions often left unspoken. - Safe spaces allow employees to share openly. - Listening fosters trust and deeper engagement. 4. Bridge The Gap For Future Success. - Use benchmarks to prioritize critical skill gaps. - Compare current skills to those your future requires. - Prepare employees today for tomorrow’s challenges. 5. Empower Growth Ownership. - Prompts like “Where do I excel?” spark reflection. - Encourage employees to own development paths. - Regular discussions keep growth consistent and visible. 6. Collaborate On Development Goals. - Build trust with safe, judgment-free feedback spaces. - Visualise their goals, showing progress and alignment. - Collaboration ensures both clarity and accountability. When growth is intentional, businesses succeed. Focus on development now to avoid turnover later. Invest in your people to future-proof your business. Follow Jonathan Raynor. Reshare to help others.

Not every higher ed staff role comes with a promotion path. But that doesn’t mean staff can’t grow. On many campuses, the reality is: 👉 Small teams 👉 Flat org charts 👉 Limited turnover That’s why leadership matters. We have both an opportunity (and an obligation) to help staff develop and grow. And it starts with one thing: knowing your people. ✅ What are their career goals? ✅ What kind of work energizes them? ✅ Where do they want to build new skills? ✅ What’s the next opportunity they hope to pursue—on campus or beyond? You can’t support someone if you don’t know what matters to them. In my experience: 👉 The goal isn’t to keep staff in place as long as possible. 👉 The goal is to help them build the skills, relationships, and experiences that prepare them for what’s next—whatever will fulfill them. Sometimes that’s preparing for their next job. Other times, it’s simply helping them continue to grow as a professional and as a person. And when staff know you’re invested in their development—not just their daily output: ✅ They engage more deeply ✅ They contribute more creatively ✅ They often stay longer—because they trust you’ll support their future, not just your current needs Here are a few practical ways leaders can support that growth: 1️⃣ Build real relationships—know your staff as people, not just job descriptions 2️⃣ Career conversations—not just at annual reviews, but throughout the year 3️⃣ Stretch assignments—offer projects that align with their interests and build new skills 4️⃣ Professional development—invest in training, mentorship, and cross-campus opportunities 5️⃣ Skill-building—help them gain experience that makes them competitive for future roles Bottom line: You may not be able to promise promotions. But you can create an environment where staff learn, grow, and leave more capable than they came. 🚨  If you want to dive deeper - I wrote more about this in my latest issue of The Academic Leader’s Playbook. You can sign up on my profile page. ----------------------------------------- ♻️ Repost this to help other academic leaders.  👉 Newsletter: The Academic Leader’s Playbook—sign up in my profile. 💬 Follow for posts about higher education, leadership, & the arts. #LeadershipGoals #HigherEdSuccess #HigherEducation #academicstaff #deans #provosts #academicleadership #staffdevelopment