How to grow your team's skills

by Quentin Demeestère

One of the most important missions of a manager is to develop the skills of their team in order to enable everyone to continually grow and create the most effective team possible. Here are some tips to help you grow your team's skills:

1- Identify the skill set


The first step in developing your team's skills is to identify the skills needed to accomplish tasks and achieve goals. You can do this by analyzing your team’s performance, looking at existing gaps, and determining which are the key missing skills.

To identify the necessary skills for your team, you can:

  • Analyze team performance and identify gaps,
  • Determine key missing skills to achieve previously defined objectives in a tool such as Popwork;
  • Use skills assessments to understand the current skill set of each team member.

For example, if you notice that your marketing team is struggling to reach its lead generation goals, you can identify skills such as content strategy, SEO or online advertising as key missing skills.

2- Offer Training

Once you have identified the skills, you can offer training to your team to help them develop these skills. There are many training options, such as online courses, workshops, conferences, and on-the-job training programs. You may also consider funding certifications for your team to enhance their skills and credibility.

You can plan to:

  • Organize in-house workshops to cover relevant topics.
  • Send your team to external courses or conferences.
  • Use online training platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, or Udemy.

For example, if you have identified that your sales team lacks negotiation skills, you can organize an in-house workshop on negotiation techniques or send your team to an external negotiation training course.

Remember that as a manager, your role is to identify individual or collective skill areas to improve and guide your team to the right resources (whether they exist within your company or need to be put in place).

3- Encourage Self-Learning

In addition to training, you can encourage self-learning for your team by providing resources such as books, articles, videos, and podcasts to help them deepen their understanding of relevant topics. Also, encourage your team to explore new ideas and test new approaches to develop their experience and creativity.

To encourage self-learning for your team, you can:

  • Share resources such as books, articles, videos, and podcasts,
  • Organize knowledge-sharing sessions where team members can share what they have learned,
  • Encourage team members to follow relevant thought leaders in their field on social media.

For example, if you want to encourage your team of developers to learn a new technology, you can provide resources such as online tutorials, books, and podcasts for them to learn at their own pace.

4- Develop a learning culture

It is important to create a learning culture within your company, where employees are encouraged to ask questions, share knowledge, and participate in discussions. You can also organize brainstorming sessions and team reflection sessions to encourage collaboration and mutual learning.

To develop a learning culture, you can:

  • Encourage participation in team discussions and brainstorming sessions,
  • Organize regular events so team members can learn from each other,
  • Implement a mentoring program for inexperienced team members.

For example, you can organize weekly team meetings to discuss new ideas and current challenges, and encourage team members to share their experiences and ideas. Also note that the more you encourage a culture of learning and acceptance of failure (it is normal to make mistakes as long as we learn from them), the more your team will naturally innovate and develop.

5- Giving Constructive Feedback

Finally, it is important to give constructive feedback to your team to help them improve. Offer advice on areas of improvement and recognize successes and progress made. Also, encourage team members to give constructive feedback to each other to create a culture of continuous learning and feedback. To give constructive feedback, you can:

  • Recognize the achievements and progress of the team,
  • Be specific in your feedback to the team on areas for improvement,
  • Encourage team members to give constructive feedback to each other.

To stimulate instant feedback, it is possible to use solutions like Popwork which allow for transparent and regular communication between managers and team members.

For example, if you notice that some members of the Tech team need to improve their web development skills, you can acknowledge the progress they have already made and provide specific feedback on zones for improvement. Also, encourage team members to provide constructive feedback to each other so that they can help each other to improve.

In summary, to develop your team's skills, you can identify the necessary skills, offer training, encourage self-learning, develop a culture of learning, and provide constructive feedback. By taking these measures, you can help your team progress and achieve their goals, while improving the satisfaction, engagement, and retention of employees.

Finally, never forget that it is just as important to continue investing in and progressing on each individual's strengths as it is on their areas for improvement!

Following these tips will help you develop your team's skills and bring them to a higher level of performance. Remember that team skill development is a continuous process, so continue to encourage and support your team throughout their professional development journey.