Your Team’s Not Just There to Work. They’re There to Grow.

Let’s be honest: most managers spend more time updating dashboards than developing people.

And it shows.

Burnout is high. Engagement is low. People are quietly quitting—or loudly leaving.

But here’s the truth most leaders miss:

If your team isn’t growing, neither are you.

Too many managers treat development like a checkbox.

📝 Send someone to a conference
📚 Recommend a book
🎯 Talk about goals during performance review season

But real growth? It happens in the everyday leadership moments—the 1:1s, the feedback, the stretch assignments, the questions you ask.

Let’s talk about how to make that kind of development your default.

1. Growth Starts with Curiosity

Want to know what drives your people? Ask them.

“What do you want to get better at?”
“What’s a skill you’ve always wanted to learn?”
“What would make this role more exciting for you?”

You don’t need a corporate training program to start the development conversation—you just need to start asking better questions.

Pro Tip: In your next 1:1, spend five minutes talking about their future—not just project updates. You might be surprised what you learn.

2. Tie Growth to Business Goals

Your people want to grow—but they also want to make a difference.

The sweet spot? Aligning personal development with team objectives.

“You want to get better at public speaking? Let’s have you lead the next team meeting.”
“Want to build strategic thinking? Let’s get you involved in Q2 planning.”

When development feels like it matters to the bigger picture, people get more engaged—and they stick around longer.

3. Give Stretch Assignments (Even If They’re Not Perfect Yet)

Stop waiting for your team to be “ready.”
Growth doesn’t happen after people gain confidence—it’s what creates confidence.

Give people challenges just outside their comfort zone:

• Let them lead a project

• Present to leadership

• Mentor a new hire

• Own a cross-functional initiative

Will they crush it? Maybe. Will they learn something valuable either way? Absolutely.

Remember: A mistake made while growing is better than perfection with no progress.

4. Make Feedback a Habit, Not an Event

Feedback isn’t a formality—it’s fuel for growth.

The best managers:

• Give feedback weekly, not annually

• Normalize it so it doesn’t feel scary

• Mix praise with constructive coaching

“Hey, I noticed how you handled that client call—great poise under pressure.”
“One thing to work on: being more concise in your updates. Want to role-play that together?”

If your team knows feedback is coming regularly, they’ll start to seek it out instead of fear it.

5. Build a Culture of Continuous Development

You don’t need a fancy learning platform (though we can help with that 😉). You just need a mindset:

We’re a team that gets better every week.

Model that as the leader:

• Share what you’re learning

• Be honest about where you’re growing

• Invite input on how you can improve

When your team sees you investing in your own development, they’ll be more likely to invest in theirs.

The Bottom Line

If all your team does is complete tasks, you’ve got a group of workers.
If your team is learning, stretching, failing, trying again? You’re building future leaders.

The best managers don’t just manage output.
They develop people.

So this week, ask yourself:

Is everyone on my team growing in some way?

If the answer is “not really”—good news: you can start today.

Want to develop your team without adding more to your plate?
Leadr helps you build growth conversations, goal tracking, and personalized development into your weekly rhythms—so it’s not just something you talk about. It’s something you live.

👉 With Leadr, team development happens naturally—built into your daily workflows, not bolted on. Take a virtual tour here. And our manager training? Designed to save you time, not take it. Join a sample session to see for yourself.