Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.
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Employees don’t just want their skills used, they want them stretched. If your team members are spending a lot of time fixing other peoples’ problems or have become increasingly, but inexplicably, negative, it might be time to make them feel challenged again. Just remember, the goal is to stretch them, not break them, so offer guidance along the way.
o Increase the difficulty. Try giving them higher-stakes work that addresses more complex problems and a more diverse set of stakeholders.
o Turn them into rookies. Invite people to tackle projects in which they don’t have the full knowledge and skills required. Their comfort zones will expand, and they’ll take pride in mastering new things.
o Pivot them to a new problem. Have people point their existing expertise at new problems.
Adapted from “An Easy Way to Make Your Employees Happier” by Liz Wiseman.
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Also, you may wish to check out an anthology, Management Tips from Harvard Business Review, by clicking here.