The inverted pyramid is about embracing the synergies of an empowered and competent workforce. It's about identifying a career path trajectory of your people that directly supports the success of your customers, your company, and you as a leader.
The ideal is for everyone to be experts at what they do. After all, why would you want anything less? But in order for your people to be experts, you have to help them get there. You have to show them that you have faith that they will get there.
Boosting employee morale and confidence is at least half of the journey to an expert workforce. People work better when they feel appreciated and valued. People are loyal to someone they believe is willing to invest in them.
Take time to get to know your employees and their individual goals and objectives. Collaborate with them on developing career paths. Do they make sense in the position you have them? If not, where could they better serve? You are all serving the company, serving each other and serving yourselves.
Know what they want and help them achieve it. Challenge them to push harder, without pushing them into positions they aren’t ready for. Encourage them to develop a diverse internal employee network. This is what it takes to be a leader.
Send them to classes or workshops related to the skills they need to learn. Look for like-minded business groups in your local area. This will help them build skills and network. You may be surprised at the number of such organizations that exist in many cities.
If you are grooming someone for a management role, you need to make sure you are relying on and encouraging more than just their technical skills. It’s also extremely important to know the details of the role they are being geared for. You must make sure the role is defined and the potential candidate knows what will be expected of them.
Once you’ve clarified the role, you need to clarify the attributes required to fill it. You need to foster those attributes in your employee. Even if this move will put the employee in a position that no longer reports to you, it’s still in everyone’s best interest for you to make sure they are prepared.
Do they have the Abilities necessary? This applies to both the technical abilities of the job and the leadership abilities of the position. Skills such as decision making, conflict resolution, motivation and planning may be new to them. Help them master them.
Do they have the Aptitude to utilize those abilities? Once they have mastered their leadership level abilities, they need to know what skill is needed at what time. They need to be able to read people and know what is needed. This usually takes practice, and an opportunity to use their new skills in lower pressure scenario.
Do they have the right Attitude for the job? If a person has the skills and the aptitude, but not the right attitude, they will not be a boon to your company. Make sure they have developed the values you are looking for, understand the mission of the company and care about their role in it.
Want to learn more about other Organizational Effectiveness trends? Download our eBook: Workplace Trends for 2025.
Aspirant's Organizational Effectiveness experts can help develop and socialize a cohesive plan that keeps your company engaged and actively collaborating. Use the form below to schedule a casual discussion to explore how we can help amp up your team's productivity.