How will you guide your team in terms of personal development?
"I will guide my team members by meeting with them individually and creating a personal growth plan for the year. It's important to me that I understand the desires of each staff member and help them to achieve their professional goals."
"As a manager, I fully understand the importance of investing in my employees. For that reason, I will provide at least two off-site learning opportunities per year for each team member. This experience may be a conference, a trade show, or a seminar related to their role, goals, and of course - the company's mission."
"I like to guide my team with learning opportunities. Marketing is always changing, and the rules for digital marketing change overnight. My current agency has an online learning portal, including subscriptions to two online universities. When a team member shows great initiative or has a significant win, we will allocate credits to them to take a course of their choice. These types of continued learning opportunities add significant value to both the employee and the company."
"Many of my employees are recent graduates or students who work part-time. I like to guide their personal development by suggesting books to read or listing influencers to follow. Even if they can listen to a helpful podcast while they study, or drive to work, all of the information will add up and will help them to succeed in their careers and personal lives."
"I work with highly competitive salespeople, so one of my favorite ways to help them in their professional development is through in-office contests. I will have up for grabs, tickets to conferences or seminars of industry influencers. These tickets go to the top performers. My team loves these opportunities, and it also boosts their performance!"
"It's important that I invest in my students regularly. I do not have a large classroom budget, so I often look for book donations from used bookstores so that I can gift new literature to my students. I guide my students' development by encouraging them to discover their world through words."
The interviewer would like to know that you understand the importance of self-development techniques for your team. Some suggestions for employee personal development initiatives:
- Roadmapping of a professional growth plan
- Setting learning goals
- Conferences and other off-site learning opportunities
- Related books, audiobooks, and podcast from industry influencers
- Lunch and learns with exciting topics
- Online learning portal or subscriptions to Udemy and other online universities
- Mentorship partners
- Internal volunteer initiatives or supporting their volunteer interests
- Cross-departmental training opportunities
"I plan to guide my team in personal development by offering unique learning opportunities. My current company has a learning portal where employees can log-in and learn a variety of new skills, from software to leadership. It's an excellent resource. Do you have anything like this in your professional development arsenal?"
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I like to guide by giving learning opportunities. Continued learning is important to both the company and the team. It adds significant value to all involved.
Rachelle's Feedback
Continued education is an important topic- great job working this in!
Anonymous Answer
Through web conferences through our various partners.
Rachelle's Feedback
This response is very targeted to technology which could be missing the point of the question. The interviewer would like to know how you will coach, mentor, and guide your team in terms of their own personal development.
"As a leader, I encourage my team members to seek out growth opportunities in the form of continued education, meaningful volunteer opportunities, or goal setting for their personal life. Growth and discovery are important factors that make an employee feel more satisfied in their everyday work."
Anonymous Answer
I have created an assessment chart for each manager that is based on 15 different criteria; from computer skills to financials, food knowledge, etc.. Each criterion is then ranked from 1 - 5 (5 being the best). We then develop the manager on all the criteria on which they scored the lowest.
Rachelle's Feedback
Amazing! If possible, bring a blind sample with you to the interview, to add impact.
Anonymous Answer
I guide my team by through a 1:1 meeting where we review how they are doing and how I can help them.
Lauren's Feedback
Great response! You can follow-up with describing how 1:1s help improve morale and productivity.
I guide my team by facilitating weekly 1:1 meetings where we review progress goals, and I provide feedback and suggestions. In my experience, 1:1s builds higher rapport, enhanced individual and team morale, and increased productivity. Setting clear goals and providing ways to achieve those goals, make everyone happier and more successful.
Anonymous Answer
I would develop a professional growth plan customized for each team member.
Each year we will set learning goals for new skills.
Conferences and other off-site learning opportunities
Lunch and learns with exciting topics - legal, operations, marketing, sales.
Online learning portal or subscriptions to Udemy
Mentorship partners
Rachelle's Feedback
It seems you have some incredible ideas in store! The interviewer should really appreciate your enthusiasm.
Anonymous Answer
Personal development is extremely important to me. I would ask each member of my team annually to share one area that they would like to pursue to enhance their skills and/or increase their knowledge base. I would encourage them to sign up for a class through the HLC or take advantage of LinkedIn Learning which is provided as a free benefit to Emory employees.
Rachelle's Feedback
Terrific answer! You offer some very achievable solutions while showcasing an interest in developing others, professionally.
Anonymous Answer
By getting to know my team on an individual basis I can help them grow. I will know what direction they are interested in going and give them tools to get there. If that means a class, a book, or just a goal plan, I can help them.
Stephanie's Feedback
Excellent--this response really showcases your growth mindset.
Anonymous Answer
Encourage them to set goals, learn what they want to achieve and encourage them to put a plan together to reach those goals.
Marcie's Feedback
The steps you outline here will definitely help guide your team in their personal development. You might also mention how you will listen to them in order to learn what their goals are and use your communication skills to advise them in creating action plans.
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