ATD's Action Guide to Talent Development: A Practical Approach to Building Your Organization's TD Effort

CHAPTER 16

Expect Managers to Develop Their Employees

Managers coach and develop employees. It’s natural from a relationship, location, timing, and task perspective. Managers have more knowledge, they work together in the same place as their employees (usually), and their tasks are related. So why doesn’t developing employees happen naturally? There are many reasons; the most likely is that the manager may not acknowledge the responsibility. They may be more focused on doing the technical work rather than developing others to do it. And then, of course, there is a lack of time.

However, managers who want their employees to be productive and engaged need to actively coach them. It is unlikely that most managers spend the amount or quality of time ...