While we are in the unknown as to what the job market will look like in the medium and long term, it seems difficult to establish what to focus on for personal development. In my opinion, the surest way to stay relevant in the professional world is to devote your time to the development of others.
Rather than playing dice by specializing in a specialized area of expertise, I suggest that you learn how to recruit and especially develop the people who will decide to become experts.
The ability to develop talent, turn it into performance, provoke dialogue and maintain loyalty will always be relevant. It will allow you to constantly be surrounded by strong people in strategy and operations who will help you navigate volatility, complexity and ambiguity.
Why settle for two arms when you can benefit from the leverage of the people around you?
Before embarking on this adventure, however, you should know that leadership does not belong to us. In fact, employees may be attracted to you for two reasons. First for what you do for the organization by solving problems, giving direction and working with energy. Employees can also be attracted by what you do for them by investing in their development, bringing out the best in everyone, igniting their engine of action, all with respect and transparency.
Fixing problems is definitely good for the organization and gets noticed by upper management, but developing people gives you three distinct advantages.
The first advantage is that it forces you to be better, as demonstrated by Abraham Lincoln, who surrounded himself with a team of thunder, even rivals, when he became President of the United States.
The second advantage, and not insignificant in 2023, makes your subordinates loyal to you. They will follow you because you have made a difference in their professional life.
The third benefit is that the skill and size of the team you develop over time will help ensure your long-term success.
Unfortunately, talent development is too rarely a priority activity in organizations. Although leaders are convinced of the value of focusing on employees, emergencies and activities with which they are more comfortable tend to take over.
You must therefore make sure you understand what is valued in your organization and incorporate this dimension into your development plan.
If you’re overwhelmed with advice, including the ones above, and finding it difficult to choose, I invite you to answer the question that Université Laval professor Caroline Housieaux posed during of the first edition of the Académie Centraide in Quebec City on June 1: do you like your life as you lead it? And if not, what actions will you take?
