By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com
It’s that time of year. Graduations. Commencement speeches. Lots of talk about preparing for a bright future. It made me think about some of the great team members I’ve had the personal joy of watching grow and flourish in their careers.
As a program leader, one tremendous area of responsibility we have is growing our talent. The better the talent performs, the better results you’ll achieve. But it takes some thought, some planning and most of all, gathering insights from your team members to understand their personal growth interests. When I think back to my early career, I had two great mentors who not only taught me so much, but they pushed and challenged me in ways for which I am eternally grateful.
Great talent is an asset to your organization, but it must be taken care of and nourished. With many physician relations teams, the career ladder is sometimes a bit short. Don’t let that stop you. Not everyone is cut out to be a manager or a director. I had a very successful liaison who was fabulous at progressing struggling field reps. She had all the right qualities. She was a great teacher. She gave great feedback, and she knew when to pushed them out of their comfort zone. It sounds like she would make a great manager, right? Well, guess what, she was terrible at management. She loved to coach but didn’t like all the responsibilities that come with being a manager. That was my learning.
Growing and feeding your talent doesn’t have to be in the traditional career ladder model. Ask, listen and observe to uncover the unique gifts of your team members and work to help them develop those talents. It’s a win-win opportunity.
Looking for help assessing and developing your talent? It is our specialty at Barlow/McCarthy! Helping your team grow and get stronger is what we love to do. Please simply email me at sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com and we can set up a time to talk.