Idea 25: Developing the individual

Go through each heading and question below. If the answers to any are unsatisfactory, draw up a plan to put each of them right. Some you can deal with today or tomorrow; for others you will need to plan ahead.

• Targets: Have they been agreed and as far as possible quantified?
• Induction: Does he/she really know the other team members and the organization?
• Achievement: Does he/she know how his/her work contributes to the overall result?
• Responsibilities: Has he/she got a clear and accurate job description? Can I delegate more to him/her?
• Authority: Does he/she have sufficient authority for his/her task?
• Training: Has adequate provision been made for training or retraining, both technical and as a team member?
• Recognition: Do I emphasize people's successes? In failure, is criticism constructive?
• Growth: Does he/she see the chance of development? Does he/she see some pattern of career?
• Performance: Is this regularly reviewed?
• Reward: Are work, capacity and pay in balance?
• The task: Is he/she in the right job? Has he/she the necessary resources?
• The person: Do I know this person well? What makes him/her different from others?
• Time/attention: Do I spend enough with individuals listening, developing, counselling?
• Grievances: Are these dealt with promptly?
• Security: Does he/she know about pensions, redundancy and so on?
• Appraisal: Is the overall performance of each individual regularly reviewed in face-to-face discussions?