Three Ways to Polish a Diamond Employee In The Rough

As the leader of your team, it is your job to encourage and enrich as much potential as possible in each employee that you oversee.  Real leaders not only see the potential in the obvious places, but in those “diamond in the rough” employees too.  Read on to discover three ways in which you can pull out the best of qualities and polish talent until it shines.

Have a Conversation

The first step in getting the most out of a promising employee is explaining to them your eye for their potential.  People need to be able to trust in you if you want to successfully coach them to a higher level of success, so be willing to lay your cards out on the table and explain to them why you are taking the time to enhance their efforts.

In an effort to get your employee to open up, be vocal about the qualities that you already admire in them before you narrow in on areas that could use improvement.  Try to get your employee in on the conversation as much as possible by asking them to share their input and personal perspective.

Brainstorm and Bond

Once you figure out areas that you think an employee could excel in- its time to brainstorm possible pathways.  Encourage your employee to exercise an air of transparency, feeling free to discuss questions, comments and concerns.  Give your employee a tangible goal with benchmarks to meet along the way, also, establish a deadline for them to reach this goal.

In addition to taking the time to coach your employee, take the time to get to know them as well.  If you can bond with the person beyond the job title, you have a better chance of connecting with them- increasing both compliance and loyalty.  What are their interests?  What is their family life like?  Don’t get too personal but don’t remain stagnant; if you want your employee to grow within your team it would not hurt to build a connection that can be used as a platform for growth.

Communicate and Collaborate

Day in and day out your employees will be working toward the established goal that will condition their greater level of potential.  Your presence will be crucial in fueling their fire.  Communicate with something as simple as a daily check-in.  Knowing that you are still watching will keep them accountable, knowing that you care will keep them committed to the goal and tasks at hand.

Should you see your employee improving within their own talents, be sure to let them know.  More important, continue coaching them to keep the improvements going.  Take the time to show your employee places in which their potential could take them within your company.

As time goes on you might consider plotting out a plan of growth for them within.  Regardless of your approach, always encourage your employee to keep learning and improving within their efforts.  At the end of each day, you will have a better employee to show for it.

How do you bring out the potential in employees?