Growing Great People

Effective people leaders grow great people one conversation at a time.

The Problem

Most leaders are promoted for their own performance or their technical knowhow, rather than their skills growing the performance of others.

So the conversations that actually develop people (coaching, feedback, expectation-setting, delegation) are often underdeveloped. This is true at all levels in organisations.

The Insight

Great people leaders grow their people one conversation at a time. They do two things deliberately and well: they Stretch their people to grow, and they Support them to succeed. We call this Growing Great People.

What is Growing Great People?

Over more than a decade working with hundreds of leaders and thousands of data points, Michelle Rushton and Shaun Kenny, founders of People of Influence, have learned what separates great people leaders from the rest.

Why is this important?

Around 70% of a person's engagement, and with it their productivity and discretionary effort, is determined by their immediate manager (Gallup). This is true on the front line. It is just as true in the boardroom.

A leader high in Support but low in Stretch keeps people comfortable but not growing. A leader high in Stretch but low in Support leaves people overwhelmed and set up to fail. The leaders who grow great people are high in both.

Key Outcomes

What your leaders walk away with

01
Know what great looks like
Leaders understand what a great people leader does: how to Stretch and Support their people, and what great looks like across the key conversations.
02
See where they stand today
Through the Growing Great People Diagnostic, an honest read on how well each leader currently Stretches and Supports their people.
03
Strategies they can use immediately
A simple, repeatable structure for each of the core conversations, ready for the very next one-to-one.
04
Practise the skill for real
Leaders practise each conversation on real situations, with feedback from colleagues and the facilitator, so they leave with a baseline and clarity on what to work on next.
05
A toolkit and an action plan
Each participant receives a Takeaway Toolkit, plus their action plan built in the session for themselves and their team.
06
Nudges that reinforce over time
Behavioural nudges that remind and reinforce the new habits long after the program.
The Diagnostic

The Growing Great People Diagnostic

The program is built around the Growing Great People Diagnostic, a holistic measurement and improvement tool for being a great people leader. Every leader sees how well they currently Stretch and Support their people, then tracks their progress over time.

Stretch
How well the leader challenges their people to grow, through high expectations, accountability and increasing responsibility.
Support
How well the leader provides the encouragement, coaching and mentoring their people need to succeed.
See the Diagnostic →
The Growing Great People Diagnostic report shown on a laptop
Session Flow

How the program unfolds

A modular program. Modules can be delivered together or as a series, tailored to your people and the time available.

1
What good looks like
The science of growing great people: how the best leaders Stretch and Support, and what great looks like across the key conversations.
2
Hold up the mirror
Each leader sees how they are currently perceived through the Growing Great People Diagnostic, one honest read across Stretch and Support. The organisation's Dashboard shows patterns across the cohort.
3
Coaching ConversationsSupport
Help people solve their own problems and achieve their own goals, building capability, ownership and engagement instead of dependence.
4
Constructive FeedbackStretch
Change a behaviour without damaging the relationship, using a simple, repeatable structure that lands the message and protects trust.
5
Positive FeedbackSupport
Reinforce the behaviours you want more of, in a way that genuinely lands and motivates, rather than a throwaway 'good job'.
6
Expectation-Setting ConversationsStretch
Set clear, high expectations so people know exactly what great looks like, and are stretched to reach it.
7
Delegation ConversationsStretch
Hand over responsibility in a way that stretches people and sets them up to succeed, rather than dumping the task or hovering over it.
8
Make it real
Each leader commits to the specific shifts they will make to grow their people, one conversation at a time.
9
Embedding
Over the following weeks to months: behavioural nudges, facilitated peer group coaching, individual coaching - a range of options depending on the engagement.
10
Re-measure
Leaders re-do the Growing Great People Diagnostic to see what progress they've made and re-calibrate what they need to work on next. The organisation's Dashboard shows progress and patterns across the cohort.
Format & Delivery

Shaped around your context

Duration
2 days, multiple days, or a series of half-day modules
Delivery
In person or virtual
Audience
People leaders at every level
Two ways to work with us

People of Influence is the consultancy through which Michelle Rushton and Shaun Kenny deliver leadership programs, team offsites and impactful conferences.

Contact People of Influence →

Leadership Engine is our proprietary platform for diagnostics, dashboards and roadmaps.

Visit Leadership Engine →