What does a healthy growth environment look like in the corporate workplace? Although there are many considerations, I think there are three critical factors.
1. Committed to employee development. A company must match action with their words in regards to employee development. For some companies employee development is an exercise on paper not backed up by action. A company must make employee development as strategic as other corporate initiatives. A healthy environment also refrains from punishing mistakes. Instead it takes the opportunity to learn from the mistake.
2. Willing to make changes for growth. A company must be willing to create development assignments. It must be willing to provide new opportunities and new challenges. In most cases this will require changes to the organization design. A company organizations structure should be built with the strengths of their employees as an input, rather than trying to fit employees into a fixed structure.
3. Willing to spend money for employee development. A company must invest money in their people… effectively. By effectively, I mean that the opportunities must match the needs. Much of the corporate training these days only provides training that meets the legal requirements related to employment. Also consider development opportunities are not limited to training, and are best if the are matched to individual strengths.
Why should you want to create or work in a growth environment? Because the result of matching good employees and a healthy growth environment creates success.
Compare it to the success of a motion picture:
- If you have a good script but bad actors, your film will barely get noticed.
- If you have a bad script with good actors, your film will fail. And people will wonder why those actors ever signed for that film.
- If you have a bad script and bad actors, no one will ever notice. Very few people will ever see it.
- If you have a good script with good actors, your film will rise above the other films with which you are competing. You will have a winning combination.
Do you want a winning formula? Put great employees in a healthy, growth environment! How is your current environment? What makes it great or poor?