By Liliana Chitnis 1/30/2021 3:00PM

Employee development is a combined effort of both the employee and the employer. Great managers constantly aim to groom their employees for leadership roles. As they say, leaders aren’t born; they are made. Guidance and experience can transform an average employee into a great leader. 

Leadership development is thus composed of a series of events and activities related to a particular profession, creating or developing sets of skills, attitudes, and knowledge in people’s performance. The strategies listed below are vital to start developing the skills that will benefit you and your employees.

· Being a mentor to them: Being a mentor is the most functional and practical tool for sustained growth and hone leadership skills. A mentor-mentee relationship also allows employees to discuss their goals, expectations, and challenges while developing leadership skills. 

Cross-training is essential to boost employee and team performance that also prepares employees for expanded roles within the company.

· Providing them growth opportunities: Growth opportunities can include endless options like paying for formal education, internal or external training, bringing in industry professionals for a lunch-and-learn program. 

· Encouraging them to learn how to network: Networking can help turn good employees into great leaders by raising their reputation within the industry. Networking will teach them how to forge powerful connections, initiate conversations with strangers, and act with a leader’s confidence. 

· Always give them feedback: A successful feedback loop measures and reviews employee performance to improve future productivity. Meeting quarterly and discussing individual goals and understanding can help employers identify development opportunities and tailor development plans around the individual. 

· Encourage good communication and transparency: Great leaders can make others inspire and understand their goals, outcomes, and missions. Excellent communication can only be taught by example, and the skill is mastered over time. This adds value and efficiency to leadership and, ultimately, to your business at various levels. Transparency and accountability must be at the epicentre of your organizational culture.

· Helping them with delegating work: Delegating work helps employees learn how to have a productive task-driven workday in their way. This further inspires them to work towards the common goals of the business with positive outcomes.

· Encourage decision making: Involving your team in the decision-making process can benefit your entire organization and help employee growth. This improves the quality of decision making, along with expertise and skills. Employees will also be well prepared and more in sync with each other.

· Always be approachable: Great leaders are those who inspire others and welcome their opinions, challenges, and criticism. They also invite employees to other acting roles. When leadership style thrives and deepens, so will your employees’ leadership as part of your team. Leaders will inspire a future generation and drive sustainable business growth. 

Becoming a great leader takes dedication, compassion, dedication, good communication, and energy. All these qualities can be learned and practised with the right guidance and support. Empathy offers flexible, bespoke coaching and training to turn your managers into great leaders.

Author Bio:

Liliana Chitnis is a former HR professional who now works as a content marketing executive at Naman, an organization that offers end-to-end HR solutions to help companies build a strong human capital base. She strongly believes in the power of consistent training in the workplace. Liliana writes about various topics related to human resources and shares trends, techniques, and tips with her readers. She loves to read and practice yoga regularly, and occasionally binge on Netflix.