Larry Diffie

Arizona State Hospital, Department of Health Services, Human Resources

 

As a manager, this is one of my favorite questions to ask my staff. Responses that I receive in return are incredibly and wonderfully insightful to me. The answers help me to determine many things about my staff in an innocent and fun manner, yet may also provide some professional growth opportunities for them. 

 

By knowing an individual’s career aspirations, I am able to keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities for them. Are there classes that might come available? Is there a job opportunity for them? Can I assign a project to this individual for the basic reason that this is what they want to learn about? Can I encourage/mentor/coach my employee to take the steps necessary to attain their career aspirations?  The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “Yes”! All of which, help me motivate towards successes.

 

I have found that by showing this type of interest and encouragement to an employee, the majority of the time, the employee becomes more interested in their work, more communicative and have better appreciation of their job knowing that their boss is truly interested in them and who they can become.   

 

By asking an employee what they want to be when they grow up and caring what their answer is helps to break communication barriers down, even when the employee does not express any career aspirations. The answers to this question become very important to me, as from time to time, I may have to have a difficult discussion with them and if the employee knows that I care about their well being, then not only are these conversations usually received well, but the issues/concerns are dealt with and corrected more willingly.

 

For me, this vested interest I have leads to involvement, which leads to better communication, which leads to trust and appreciation in the work place, which leads to less stress, more productivity and becoming a work place of choice – where an employee wants to return to every day, even during tough times. 

 

I have the potential to see all these positive outcomes from asking one question and listening to the answer. Ok, reality is being a good manager is not going to happen from just one question, but it sure is a great way to start the process!