17: Four Ways to Help People Use New Skills

Helping people utilize new skills they are learning is an essential skill for all leaders. In this episode, I’ll examine four ways you can do this as a leader. REFRAME Move people away from just task accomplishment and more towards skill mastery. There’s a difference between having knowledge and being an strong contributor to an organization. Challenge people for practical experience. Challenge them to put what they are learning into action. RECONNECT Engage people during regular development meetings (at least once a month – once a week is ideal). Discouragement and obstacles will happen – we need to provide coaching along the way. Give perspective by using encouragement and also reward progress (not just results). Challenge people to compare themselves with themselves. RENEW Make things new again. You can’t know everyone on January 1st – be ready to add in more, make changes, and adapt Add new challenges and opportunities throughout  the year. Avoid people getting into extremes – either overwhelmed or underutilized. Especially watch out for underutilized. Overwhelmed is easy to stop – underutilized is often only recognized after a person decides they are leaving. RETURN Help them determine how they can return value to the organization. What can they do to teach others? What can they do to teach you? What are new responsibilities that connect back to their long-term goals? Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.