How to Have a Career Development Discussion

Earlier this month, I outlined why managers must have career development discussions with all their employees. Today, I’m going to explain how to have a career development discussion with an employee.

Fighting Your Fears

Career development discussions are vital for both employees’ and managers’ career success, but not all managers are prepared to address career development because they’re paralyzed by fears that:

• Career development discussions will take up time they don’t have and create more work.
• Employees will want jobs or opportunities on unrealistic timelines.
• Employees will have aspirations that don’t match their current skill levels.
• Employees will take conversations about their career as a promise of promotion.
• Employees will leave after they’ve developed new skills.

Overcoming these fears starts with recognizing that as a manager, your main job is to engage your employees in a very important topic: their careers.If an employee’s expectations are on an unrealistic time frame, you can explore having him use his time to pursue experiences and activities that will engage, prepare or encourage him to look beyond one particular job to other opportunities.If he expresses career ambitions beyond his skill set, that’s an opportunity to talk about the next level skills and experiences that might help prepare him to get where he wants to go. It’s critical to share the attributes, behaviors and skills he needs to grow.If you’re concerned a career development discussion could be construed as a promise of a promotion, focus the conversation around development and future contribution rather than on getting a specific job at a particular time. Encourage him to focus on the journey and not to get too focused on the destination.It’s certainly possible an employee will leave after acquiring new skills, but it’s also possible he will leave because he doesn’t think you and your organization are interested in his career and professional development. Engaging every employee and showing you care about them and their development is a much smarter strategy for retention.

Preparing for the Discussion

Think About the Employee’s Strengths and Successes

It’s your job to learn more about every employee you manage -- her skills, interests and aspirations. And the tone of every career development discussion you have should be encouraging, curious, interested and invested, so spend a little time thinking about:

• The employee’s key strengths and successes.
• Times she was engaged.
• Opportunities for her development.
• Her hard skills in technical or functional areas.
• Her strong leadership competencies.

Career development discussions shouldn’t be “off the cuff,” but instead thoughtfully prepared conversations. During these conversations, you want to be able to offer your employees feedback and suggestions, and to ask pertinent questions.

Consider Questions the Employee Will Likely Ask

Employees want feedback on their strengths, performance and potential, so think through and be prepared to answer questions such as:

• What would you say are my key strengths?
• What skills should I build on?
• Are there any developmental opportunities you think would be helpful for me?
• What would you suggest as a potential career path?
• Who else should I speak to for help in this process?

It’s important you give thought to these questions before your meeting. Write down your answers so your conversation flows smoothly, and you have the information readily available.

Having the Discussion

Maintain the Right Frame of Mind

To have a successful career development discussion, you must maintain a frame of mind that – again – allows for curiosity, as well as openness to your employee’s ideas, thoughts and goals.Make sure you go out of your way to make him feel comfortable at the start of the meeting by having him express his goals for the conversation. If you understand his goals, you can help him explore his options for reaching them.Don’t judge what he says. Remember, different people will have different career aspirations and it’s important to allow for that.  But, this is also your time to provide him with suggestions and recommendations, and -- if possible -- connect him with available resources to support his identified career goals.Make sure you follow up on the goals and activities he identifies. This is not just a one-time conversation; revisiting the topic ensures he knows you “walk the talk” in supporting his career development. Doing this also models a corporate value of accountability and helps to build trust with your team.

Be Open About Your Own Career Development

Finally, be open about your own career development. This means you’re not only willing to hear your employees’ goals, but are also willing to share your own career path as well. Be open to questions your employees may have about your experiences and lessons you’ve learned in your career.Let us know if you’d like our help coaching your organization’s managers on how to have career development discussions with their employees.Success Labs is a full-service, strategic organizational and leadership development company located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.