When it comes to individual and team development, do you find it constantly carried over on your to-do list?  Developing team members can be something you do each and every day.  I have outlined a list of seven tips for you to try.  Hopefully these tips will spur you and the team to think of other ideas.

1.    Don’t attend a meeting alone – Unless highly confidential, meetings are great opportunities for team members to gain insight into how decisions are made, problems solved, and ideas uncovered.

2.    Have Team Members Teach Back – Whenever a team member attends a function where learning occurs (e.g. a seminar, workshop, course), have them summarize their learning at your next team meeting.  This will reinforce their learning and grow the team at the same time.

3.    Delegate Your Work – Yes, delegation = development.  Many leaders shy away from delegating some of their work, as they feel like they are “dumping” on team members or they lack time to train team members.   Adopt the 10-80-10 rule.  Spend the first 10% of your time on casting the vision, setting the expectations and encouraging the team member.  The next 80% of time, the team member does the work.  The last 10% of time, spend reviewing the team member’s work and put your finishing touches on the task or project.

4.    Work Side by Side – If the team member is unable to do 80% of the work to 80% of the required standard, then have them work side by side with you.  You will get your work done and they will learn something in the process.  Eventually, you can adopt Tip #3.

5.    Coach Team Members to Solve Their Own Problems – Many leaders think of coaching as telling and advising others on how to solve a problem.  Today’s coaching is about expanding people’s awareness and getting them to think for themselves.  Next time a team member comes to your office and asks you to solve a problem, don’t solve it for them.  Teach them to problem solve by asking them what they think they should do.  Then get back to your work, as they put their solutions into action.

6.    Conduct a Team Mastermind Session – Spend a portion of the team’s meeting time brainstorming solutions to one of the team’s challenges or opportunities.  For example, if something needs to get done but resources are limited, facilitate a round table discussion and ask the team for their ideas on how to solve this dilemma.  As a team, decide which ideas you’ll put forth.   The team will learn facilitation skills by observing you and brainstorming skills too.

7.    Assign a Team Member as “Leader of the Day” – Help team members understand what it’s like to be in a leadership role.  Look for opportunities to assign “acting responsibilities”.  Don’t just leave this spot for when you are on vacation.  Even if you are in town, in the building, but otherwise occupied (e.g. attending an all day meeting, training course, or working uninterrupted on a project), assign someone to take the lead!  Just be sure to be clear about your expectations ahead of time!

Test these or other ideas. Let me know how they work out for you!