Staff Development: The 80/20 Approach

Source: ConvergenceCoaching, LLC Inspired Ideas

This article presents ideas for investing in your high-potential employees so that they will eventually be ready to step into roles of leadership and responsibility.

The authors recommend investing 80 percent of your leadership development time into 20 percent of your team – the high performers or “rising stars.” When implementing the 80/20 approach, it's critical for firm leadership to have a clear understanding of how the program will be undertaken and communicate it to the team. Whether your firm chooses to be completely open with the entire team or prefers to take a one-on-one career development approach, leadership must be prepared to answer questions from any staff member about the program and the additional attention and opportunities being given to some team members.

Each team member involved in the program should be assigned a coach who will learn about that individual's personal and professional goals and help him or her develop a plan for growth within the firm.

Coaches will clearly communicate the firm's expectations for each level within the firm so that rising stars understand the requirements to move up in the firm. They will further develop their rising stars' technical skills and soft skills. Soft skills include leadership, ownership, communication, managing conflict, and business development. Business process and business model issues should also be addressed to communicate how the firm is operated and makes money.

Coaches will meet monthly with their rising stars to evaluate their progress and their challenges, and to find out how firm leaders can help.

For the complete article, read “Invest in Your Rising Stars.”

From ConvergenceCoaching, LLC Inspired Ideas, Spring 2012, www.convergencecoaching.com.