Robert Hewes, an executive coach with Camden Consulting Group, advises CIOs on how to foster positive change in under-performing team members. Always select one important professional development skill or competence that your staff member needs to develop or improve. To identify that goal, look at the work that needs to be done. Perhaps the person needs to sharpen a technical skill, develop a strategic skill, handle conflict better or communicate more effectively. Talk with your staff member and have them create a short write-up of what the goal is, why it’s valuable and what steps they can take to achieve it. Then—and here is the part that makes a big difference but that most people skip—look for work opportunities where the person can apply this goal. To cap the effort, check in every other month for the next several months to discuss progress toward the goal. Sometimes take the opportunity to offer real-time feedback about an area of professional development in their current role. This is not something you will the have time to do weekly, but keeping an eye out for learning opportunities can make a difference. Providing real-time actionable feedback will go a long way toward meeting your goal of positive change. Additionally, take time once a quarter to conduct group professional development exercises with your whole team. Everyone will get something out of it without anyone feeling singled out. Furthermore, it’s a tremendous way to promote team camaraderie. Never ignore it. Don’t let too much time pass without doing some form of professional development for your people. This is one of the cases where you are making an investment in people. We hear a lot about doing that, but turn the words into actions. Related content brandpost Who’s paying your data integration tax? Reducing your data integration tax will get you one step closer to value—let’s start today. By Sandrine Ghosh Jun 05, 2023 4 mins Data Management feature 13 essential skills for accelerating digital transformation IT leaders too often find themselves behind on business-critical transformation efforts due to gaps in the technical, leadership, and business skills necessary to execute and drive change. By Stephanie Overby Jun 05, 2023 12 mins Digital Transformation IT Skills tip 3 things CIOs must do now to accurately hit net-zero targets More than a third of the world’s largest companies are making their net-zero targets public, yet nearly all will fail to hit them if they don’t double the pace of emissions reduction by 2030. This puts leading executives, CIOs in particul By Diana Bersohn and Mauricio Bermudez-Neubauer Jun 05, 2023 5 mins CIO Accenture Emerging Technology case study Merck Life Sciences banks on RPA to streamline regulatory compliance Automated bots assisted in compliance, thereby enabling the company to increase revenue and save precious human hours, freeing up staff for higher-level tasks. By Yashvendra Singh Jun 05, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation Robotic Process Automation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe