7. Develop the Team

Acquiring and, by extension, passing knowledge represents the single most crucial ability of human beings; thousands of years ago, the duration of human beings’ life span depended predominantly on that capability. Even in a modern context, where unexpected fatal events are limited to occasional situations, learning and teaching remain crucial to determine our hierarchical position in any social context. Your ability to develop your team members increases the group’s perception of your leadership effectiveness, and it has a profound impact on several crucial business aspects of your organization, such as but not limited to the discretionary effort and the intention to leave. In this chapter, you will learn how to develop your team. You will explore the three fundamental approaches to development and learn how to establish the social and cognitive preconditions for learning and use the investigational tools of coaching. You will explore how to connect with the team to develop trustworthy, respectful, and psychologically safe relationships, discover their superpowers, and mitigate their shadow side. You will examine how to communicate about performance promoting social exchanges where feedback can be leveraged to initiate candid and productive conversations without generating psychological strain and being perceived as a social threat. You will also analyze the two dimensions of coaching and how to use this tool to support and improve both results and relationships.