3 Reasons Business Owners Should Encourage Personal Development In Their Company

Employee personal development in the workplace has been on my mind a lot lately. Because self-development is so important to me, I naturally talk about it to others in my life. But, in the last year, I’ve become much more intentional about investing in my team at Ballantine. As a partner in a small business, I have the opportunity to encourage my team in their own professional growth journey.

In the coming months, I plan to develop a good framework for small business owners to help them encourage their employees and team members. I think it’s our job as business owners to invest in the people that work for us.

Here are the top benefits I’ve found (and expect) from encouraging professional development in my company:

1. Develop Stronger Team Members 

As a small business, every person on your team plays a vital role in the production and growth of the company. That’s why they must have a growth mindset and become proactive team members. This allows them to grow together as a stronger team and work through the problems they face. 

When the people that work for you are investing in themselves, they’ll be more willing to accept critical feedback from you and others. Also, they’ll be continually learning and trying new things. Ultimately, encouraging professional development will create stronger employees and an overall stronger company. 

Making employee development part of your company culture will make you a team that grows together vs. a static team. The people on your staff interested in this will show up and ask questions and learn soft skills. Even if you only get a ¼ of the people on your team involved, this is a success.

2. Everyone Needs to Work on Personal Development

Anyone that spends time on personal development is likely to have a more fulfilling life. Whether it’s personal or professional…as a good leader, it’s your job to invest in your team. Just as you’d give them the training they need to fulfill their role, they need resources for job satisfaction.

Running a small business usually means developing relationships with everyone on your team. As their leader, you should care about them as people and desire a fulfilling life for them. Not that you can force them to take professional development seriously, but you can create an environment that makes it easy for them to invest in themselves. 

3. Create a Ripple Effect

When we are investing in development (for ourselves and our team), the potential ripple effect magnifies. Just as I have had others investing in my own development…I’m in a place where I can invest in my team. Naturally, my team will share the things that are changing in their lives and start impacting others.

When you invest in employee personal development strategies, they will grow and influence the people around them. The ripple effect is truly exciting!

Thanks for reading. Like I said…I’ll be going into this topic more in future blogs and sharing the things I’ve had success with at Ballantine. It’s a real passion of mine and I can’t wait to share more with you in the coming months.

Key Takeaways: 

-Encourage your employees to invest in themselves

-Create an environment where they can make personal development a priority

-Lead by example