Your team members are struggling to achieve their career goals. What can you do to help them?

Understanding aspirations goes beyond mere comprehension; it involves grasping the motivational factors driving individuals, what ignites their passion, and what they deem indispensable in their career pursuits. Examples include impact, purpose, leadership, knowledge, or work-life balance. Encourage them to articulate their motivations, as it might diverge from what you anticipate. Subsequently, integrate these motivations into their career aspirations, establishing expectations and achievable goals aligned with their motivational drivers.

To cultivate a motivated and fulfilled team, it is imperative to discern the aspirations of each member. Engage in regular career dialogues, attentively listening to their feedback and assessing their performance. Understand their strengths, interests, values, and long-term objectives, thereby crafting personalized support and guidance strategies. By aligning individual aspirations with organizational goals, you foster a culture of empowerment and mutual success, ensuring a dynamic and thriving workforce.

To support struggling team members in achieving their career goals, I'd start by having open, empathetic conversations to understand their aspirations and challenges better. Then, I'd provide personalized guidance, resources, and training opportunities tailored to their needs. Regular check-ins would ensure progress and adjustments as necessary. Encouraging a supportive team environment where knowledge sharing and mentorship thrive can also be invaluable. Lastly, celebrating milestones, no matter how small, boosts morale and motivation. Remember, fostering growth isn't just about individual achievement; it's about nurturing a culture of continuous learning and development within the team.

As a team leader, there are several steps I can take to support my team members in achieving their career goals. Firstly, I'll initiate open and honest conversations to understand each individual's aspirations and challenges. Then, I can provide guidance, mentorship, and resources tailored to their needs. Additionally, I'll create opportunities for skill development, offer constructive feedback, and advocate for their advancement within the organization. Ultimately, by fostering a supportive and empowering environment, I aim to empower my team members to thrive and reach their full potential in their careers.

💡 The one thing I would consider as very important is whether their career goals are in sync with who they are and whether their personal goals are in alignment with the organisation's. How do they picture their growth while adding value. This can be done via the help of psychometric tests and then a deep dive with one on one conversations. 💡Looking at the barriers whether internal factors like beliefs, satisfaction, boredom, appreciation, fears etc. or external factors eg. money, transport, family life, health, office culture. At times both factors could be intertwined, so the managers could coach or hire one. 💡 How can they have a environment that supports their goals, or if any skills/mindset training or resources can help progress.

As a leader, you are in a position to provide opportunities. Give all team members the chance to present suggestions. Allow them to present their ideas to other leaders for feedback. The situation of knowing you have to present encourages team members to rework their ideas until they are more crisp. This allows the team member the experience of idea >> review >> presentation>> communication >> exposure to a wider audience >> feedback. All before the solution has been approved.

As a people leader you're in a unique position where you might know of opportunities or projects or what resources are available for your people. Share that with them. Take the time to understand the career goals of your team and help them find opportunities to achieve them. That might even look like asking someone to mentor them from another team, paying for a course or professional development or connecting them with other people within the company who might know more about their desired career path.

When you provide constructive feedback in an empowering way, this is a gift for your team member. But it's all about how to position this feedback: 1) Start by sharing something great that they did. Shine a light on a positive first, always. 2) Then share constructive feedback on an area they could improve. Provide guidance or resources that will help them take action and make a positive change. 3) Reinforce the other elements of their work that they are doing great at. Feedback is a gift and recognition of others in a public or private way at work is such a vital lifeline to showing people you appreciate all their efforts and that their work doesn't go unnoticed. This is how you build strong, working relationships, cross-functionally.

Acknowledge their efforts and achievements. This boosts confidence and motivation, fueling progress toward their aspirations. Customized support enhances effectiveness in guiding them to success. Make your recognition specific and personal. Instead of a generic "good job," highlight the specific actions or qualities that you appreciate. Recognize both big and small achievements. Celebrating small wins can boost morale and motivation, and acknowledging major milestones can show your team members that their hard work is valued and impactful.

"Alex" was an ambitious employee with a clear vision for their career path, aiming for a leadership position within the organization. However, after leading a major project that did not meet its objectives, Alex's confidence was shaken. This setback not only affected Alex's career trajectory but also their morale and engagement at work. Recognizing the impact of this setback on Alex, I arranged a 1:1 meeting to discuss the situation. I first acknowledged Alex's hard work and dedication to the project, emphasizing that the failure was a part of the learning process. It was important to shift the focus from blame to learning opportunities. Over time, Alex was able to see the setback as a pivotal point for personal and professional growth.

One thing to remember here is autonomy and ownership doesn't mean to leave the person to their own devices. Many leaders think explaining the path and letting them go is helping to achieve autonomy. You need to follow up and help track progress to ensure they are continuing in the right direction and help to avoid pitfalls they may not notice are in front of them because they don't yet have the experience.

First of all...that is pretty rockstar of you that you want to help your colleague. So, hats off to you. When I work with private clients who want to find joy in their lives and careers, I do 3 things with them. 1) Help them figure out who they really are. Not just what they think they are. 2) Help them determine what will truly bring them joy. Not happiness. That is fleeting. I am talking JOY in caps. 3) Help them build a plan that involves daily tasks that will drive them forward. Also, never help them pick a destination. Help them pick a direction. Destinations reached get pretty depressing. But directions taken lead to a pretty interesting life. Let it rip!

Ask them what is holding them back from achieving their goal. For most, it will be fear! Yes, that is the reality in most instances - Fear of failure - Fear of asking for help - Fear in taking action and being judged Now, they won't say it is fear as they will use some other example although when you break it down, it normally equates to fear Sometimes though it is outside influences such as unsupportive management or a lack of resources supplied by the organisation If it is the former, then it is about finding away around the unsupportive management and if it is the latter then they may need to invest in themselves away from the organisation and possibly pay for a course/coaching that will help them achieve their goal

Look at the goals Are they realistic , achievable, measurable and broken into smaller goals If not then first step is do all the above