Develop Individuals, Not Just Teams

It was during college that Scott McKoin, now a 39-year-old Citigroup executive, learned that leaders should not use a one-size-fits-all approach to developing and motivating followers. As a basketball player at the University of Texas at San Antonio, McKoin, along with his other teammates, prepared for a new season with a “star” freshman player, an All-American who “dominated in each practice,” McKoin said. Yet, when the first game was played, the team’s new star seemed “lost on the court,” took bad shots, and generally played surprisingly poorly. In order to learn how to get results from each team member, especially the new player who had disappointed everyone, McKoin’s coach put the team through extensive personality profiling and self-assessments, learning their strengths and weaknesses, and there were many social gatherings where the coach learned about each individual’s background and values. “He learned what made each of us tick,” McKoin said. And then the coach used his new knowledge in deciding how to develop each player. The All-American, for example, seemed to perform worse if the coach kept bringing to attention his problem areas—he couldn’t handle the pressure of the crowds, fanfare, and referee—so that player got more positive reinforcement. Other players responded better to constructive criticism. “

Everybody on the team wanted to do well—that was a given,” McKoin said. “But the coach treated people differently to achieve the same results.”

Today McKoin has integrated the same strategy into his leadership style as managing director of the western division of CitiFinancial’s $10 billion auto finance group. He manages each of his six direct reports according to their individual goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

A leader’s mission to help his or her team to grow begins with identifying the capabilities and drivers of his or her people; learning their strengths, weaknesses, and needs; and knowing what they seek to achieve in their careers. When asked whether their leaders demonstrate appreciation of others’ concerns, feelings, motives, needs and competencies, 79 percent of 7107 executives did not give their leaders the highest rating. And 91 percent of those executives’ leaders actually agreed.

When asked whether their leaders demonstrate appreciation of others’ concerns, feelings, motives, needs, and competencies, 79 percent of 7107 executives did not give their leaders the highest rating. And 91 percent of those executives’ leaders actually agreed.

Yet this is vital and necessary information for leaders who say that they want to develop their followers. Once leaders know their team members’ talents, motivations, and deficiencies, then they can match them up with the projects, challenges, and resources that will help them to succeed. As a leader, you need to know the following about your followers:

• What do they want from their work besides money?

• What aren’t they getting?

• What are their personal objectives for their career?

• What are their aspirations?

• What would help them to love their work?

• What kinds of tasks and responsibilities would they like to have at work that they do not presently have?

• What skills do they need in order to perform those tasks and responsibilities successfully?

• What do they want to learn more about?

• What is something I do that they would like to learn?

• What are they afraid of?

• What could they do to overcome that fear?

In hunting down the answers to these questions, realize that the process will take time and likely will be ongoing. People and workplaces are constantly changing, so 4-month-old information about an employee’s goals and weaknesses may be obsolete. Whether through frequent conversations or formal personality profiling, seek the answers in ways that fit your leadership style and your organization’s culture.

Pam Bilbrey, senior vice president of corporate development for Baptist Health Care (BHC), which ranked number 10 on Fortune’s 2002 list of the nation’s “Best Companies to Work For,” commits a lot of time to developing each of her eight direct reports. When Bilbrey asked one of them, Rose Slade, what she envisioned for her career, Bilbrey learned that Slade wanted to do something different than her current role as director of HealthSource, a call-in service offered by BHC to consumers. Trained as a nurse, Slade was interested in marketing data analysis, which required skills that Slade not only did not have but also really did not need in her current position. Through 6 months of strategizing, Bilbrey and Slade developed a win-win plan for BHC and Slade. To begin acquiring the marketing data analysis skills she ultimately wanted, Slade enrolled in an evening MBA program. Meanwhile, Bilbrey found a learning opportunity within BHC for Slade, who, while maintaining her current responsibilities, worked on a marketing data analysis project in another area of BHC. Slade’s new skills and knowledge ultimately worked to BHC’s advantage. While HealthSource had never produced revenues (it was an investment BHC made to better serve its customers), Slade found a creative way to package some of the call center’s services, sell them to other organizations, and tap into an income source for BHC.

Bilbrey’s reputation for helping others succeed stretches beyond her own team, and she regularly receives calls from people in other areas of BHC asking for advice and 20 to 30 minutes of her time. One young man, a sports marketer, had only 16 months left before his contract was up, and because the sports market had matured and BHC wanted to downsize its sports marketing program, his contract would not be renewed. Bilbrey spent time mentoring him and helping him to identify his strengths and interests, and eventually he took a position within the fundraising division of BHC. Because of Bilbrey’s investment in the young man, he was able to understand that BHC could still fit his needs, and BHC retained a solid performer. “I look for him to move up in the organization,” Bilbrey said. “He is also very loyal to Baptist and is one of our greatest supporters in the community.”

One of a manager’s fundamental tasks is to provide the tools and conditions necessary for people to grow in their work, yet some managers rarely look beyond their own needs and often view their team members as means to an end. Again, followers must believe that their leaders truly care about them; and leaders must translate their words—“I’m here to help. If you succeed, I succeed. I want you to eventually take my place”—into visible actions. Consider ways that leaders can move beyond mere intentions and show a measurable interest in helping their followers succeed:

Share the baton. What tasks are you performing that someone else could learn to do and grow from? Why does Jim always go to the annual industry meeting? Can someone else go instead? Can John help Linda polish her presentation skills so that she can do the opening overview at the quarterly meeting? There are always opportunities to give your followers developmental challenges, and by doing so, you make “on-the-job training” a reality.

Mike Harreld, CFO of Georgia Power Company, a subsidiary of Southern Company, believes that sharing his responsibilities is one of the best ways to develop his followers. “I tell them I won’t be in the batter’s box knocking them out of the park anymore—they will,” Harreld said. “I’ll be in the dugout with the line-up card, watching them hit the runs.” Having worked at Southern Company for more than 20 years, Harreld feels that it is his duty as one of the organization’s experienced leaders to allow his five direct reports to stretch into his role sometimes. Thus, for instance, they may be the ones standing in front of the team of managing officers explaining the financial numbers; doing so may have “scared them a bit at first,” but they have become accustomed to the task, Harreld said. He also might take one or two of his direct reports along with him when he lunches with his own boss. In addition to pushing them to develop, Harreld’s approach sends a loud message that he has confidence in them and thinks them vital to his success.

Be resource-rich. Helping your followers grow in their careers does not have to begin and end with you alone. Many companies have excellent programs to help their employees learn and develop talents—mentors or learning partners, access to community leadership programs, cross-training opportunities, and in-house universities. As a leader, you should know what is available and what it takes to get your people involved.

Teach them to hunt. Encourage your followers to constantly seek out information that could prove valuable and to never be out of touch with their internal or external customers. Make arrangements for one of your team members to meet with a peer in a different part of the organization for an interview or attend another department’s weekly meeting. He or she will increase his or her knowledge about the business and learn to see things from others’ perspectives. Send a customer service rep out on a call with a sales rep; they both probably will learn something.

Create attack teams. Give your group a problem, and let them go at it. Describe your biggest challenge, and ask for solutions. Or include a problem-solving space on the agenda of your weekly meeting, allowing team members to share an issue they are having difficulty with and letting other members suggest strategies for handling it. Set a time limit so the team does not get bogged down in the process or get too far off on a tangent.

Ken Carty, director of global procurement at Coca-Cola Company, builds his followers’ confidence and skill sets by expecting their full participation in problem solving. Once, when turf issues and various organizational changes had his 14-member team stalled in performance, he took them all off their jobs and sent them to a conference room at an Atlanta Ritz Carlton for a 2-day meeting, which I facilitated. Their mission: Redesign their workflow and be prepared to present the new plan on Friday. Ken purposefully did not attend the meeting. “I can’t do it for them—only they can,” he said. While some of the team members at first were doubtful that they could accomplish the task, all felt great satisfaction when they reached a successful conclusion at the end of the second day.

Do not lose sight of the individual. Remember that development is most effective when it is matched with a follower’s growth areas and personal goals. A leader who works hard in the design phase of his or her team’s development, staying in tune with strengths, weaknesses, and desires, and matches his or her strategies with individuals likely will see bigger results.