Your Responsibilities as a Leader May Be Different Than You Think

Ask any leader if they understand their job responsibilities and you’re likely to hear some variation of, “Yes, of course!” 

But real-world evidence proves otherwise. 

Across every industry, in organizations of all types and sizes, many leaders fail to focus on one essential responsibility that’s as much a part of their role as any task or metric to which they devote time and energy. And while it’s rarely a conscious or deliberate oversight, it has significant repercussions. 

A Dangerous Fallacy 

The responsibility I’m referring to is helping your team advance their careers by developing new skills, broadening their experiences, and building their capabilities. Whether or not it’s listed in your job description or outlined in your performance objectives, the development of your team is an essential part of your responsibility as a leader.  

The trouble is, it’s perceived as a vicious circle: The more time you spend helping your team develop, the less time you have for the many other tasks you’re responsible for. But that’s actually a fallacy. 

The most effective leaders recognize that helping others directly helps themselves and the organization overall. The more effort you put into helping your direct reports advance their careers, the better equipped you’ll be to achieve your own objectives. Even if your goals are entirely altruistic (which is rarely the case!), it’s difficult to ignore the benefits of supporting your team’s development goals. 

The Challenges of a VUCA World 

Leaders often share that today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world makes it challenging to find time for the hard work it takes to fully support a direct report’s development. After all, it’s not as simple as approving a request for a training program. 

Truly supporting your team’s development goes far beyond that: It involves engaging in targeted, thoughtful, candid conversations about their goals and aspirations, then proactively identifying opportunities to help them achieve what they hope to. 

With the world changing faster than ever, and pressure coming from all sides, can leaders really find the time to do all that it takes to support their team’s career development? Perhaps the better question is: Given these realities, can leaders afford not to fulfill this vital responsibility?   

It Starts with the Right Conversations 

Of course, you can’t support your direct report’s career goals unless you know what they are. Not everyone wants to become the next COO or CEO—and not everyone wants to take a linear path up the ladder—so it’s dangerous to assume you know their end goals.  

While you might view the employee’s annual performance review as a prime opportunity to have those frank discussions, that may not be the best time. It’s important to distinguish between the focus and objectives of a performance review and the intent of a broader career discussion. Ideally, you should invite a separate conversation about each individual’s career goals, creating an environment for open and candid dialogue.    

The Delegation Conundrum 

Inevitably, your conversations about a direct report’s career development will uncover opportunities for you to delegate tasks that can help them grow. Yet, if you fail to optimize how and why you delegate, you’ll inadvertently fail to provide the right level of support. 

If you’re having thoughtful conversations with your team about their goals and aspirations, you’ll gain the insights you need to find the right development opportunities to delegate. In the process, it’s critical to avoid these two common pitfalls:  

• Don’t just delegate the task; transfer the responsibility. Your direct report needs to fully own the task, not just complete it. And they need the latitude to decide how the work is done, free of micromanaging. It can be difficult to let go to that extent, but it’s the only way for your team members to stretch and grow. 
• Don’t just delegate grunt work. It’s easy to fall into the trap of shifting tactical work and keeping all the strategic work. After all, organizations don’t pay leaders to stay in the weeds. But there’s a delicate balance to getting it right. Delegating in a way that supports an individual’s career development isn’t about moving just anything off your plate; it’s about moving the right things, at the right time, for the right reasons. Whether it’s exposure to finance, strategic planning experience, or any other developmental area, always match the opportunity to the individual’s goals.   

The Role of Self-Awareness  

The ability to support your team’s career development demands strong self-awareness. As a leader, you need to be able to step back from the busyness of your daily schedule and evaluate where and how you spend your time. Be prepared to ask yourself questions like these: 

• “What percentage of my week do I think about or work on helping my team develop their skills, capabilities, and experiences to support their career development?” (While there is no magic number, the right answer is never “zero.”) 

• “Do I default to focusing on the responsibilities my own manager (or their manager) finds important, at the expense of considering what my team needs from me?” 
• “If I was asked to list my top five responsibilities, would ‘people development’ make the list?” 

While it’s not easy to take the time and energy to support each direct report in their career development, it’s the true definition of a win-win: They gain the opportunity to build skills and experiences that advance their careers, so they’re more satisfied in the job, more likely to stay, and better equipped to deliver value to the organization. You gain time to work on your own development, taking on opportunities that support your goals, while showing your manager that you’re developing viable candidates to take your place when you’re ready for the next challenge. 

The Leadership Advisory Practice at Odgers Berndtson helps organizations discover and develop leaders, strengthen value-creating teams, and prepare for what’s next. Learn how our highly experienced assessors and coaches can help you and your team make a positive impact on your organization and those around you.