Lisa Spinelli is a career and leadership coach and someone who has seen the value and impact of career development at the individual and organizational level. Throughout the course of her career, Lisa spent time partnering with employees to help them become the best versions of themselves. During our conversation, Lisa spoke about what’s new and different about career development today, and how companies and organizations can invest in career development to achieve business objectives. Lisa also shared what she’d like to see all employees do to grow their careers, and her advice for creating a better world of work.
The Edge of Work: What is your role, and what inspires you to do the work you do each day?
I am a Career and Leadership Coach, a workshop facilitator and instructor, and I develop career centers for conferences. What brings me joy about my work is helping people become the best versions of themselves, whether that is through finding the right career fit for them, helping them develop a certain skill set, or increasing their self awareness (and leadership practices), all of it leads to them leading a more productive, satisfying life.
The Edge of Work: Let’s talk about career development. These are not new topics to organizations, but why is it important, and perhaps, what is new, or different today (2024)?
This could be a book!! Briefly, career development is important because organizations are made up of people. People need at least a sliver of joy or satisfaction at work to be engaged and they need to feel valued. If there are no career development programs or pathways at work, people do feel valued or respected and therefore become disengaged (this is just one of the elements why) and they leave. This attrition costs organizations thousands to millions in dollars of lost productivity, goods and services, not to mention staff morale. That’s the business side of things.
For the individual, they need to develop their skill set (and we’re talking about growth in one area here), because the world is ever-changing. What worked for one’s role 10 years ago, doesn’t work any longer. If you want to be an engaged, productive, and well-paid individual, you have to continue to grow your skill sets and network.
Future/now trends: We all are hearing about AI and yes it will be replacing some roles and we will have to learn to work with it to augment our work, so of course in some element we all have to learn a bit about AI and how to use it effectively, understand its limitations, and how we use it to become more productive.
We are also hearing a lot about (and this is in Julie Winkle Guilioni’s book Promotions Are So Yesterday) how the younger generations need a lot more than money to feel satisfied at work, and professional development was one of the top areas they feel valued at an organization and stay loyal to their company. This career growth-focus is a trend I don’t see ending any time soon.
The Edge of Work: In your experience, where do companies struggle with career development? What holds them back?
The biggest issues are threefold:
- A lack of understanding about the employee lifecycle and how that ultimately affects the bottom line (most organizations start with the revenue generating departments as their priorities);
- Resources, they don’t have the people and money to spend on career development programs or people to run them; and
- Communication issues, which lead to cultural issues in general. Without open communication and a culture of open communication, workers will not express what they need, leadership won’t listen, people will not grow and people will leave.
The Edge of Work: What are some examples of some things you’ve seen organizations do that demonstrate their commitment to career development?
Some ways organizations can show a commitment to career development are having standardized one-on-ones weekly or bi-weekly between managers and employees where they go over their career desires, skills gaps, and career paths.
I’ve experienced this first-hand and it does a lot for helping explore what it is you want to do, what is possible to do given the resources at the organization, and how your leader can support you.
Another area I have seen is having learning systems readily available and accessible to employees along with educational stipends and benefits so employees can partake in outside learning and training. Resources like LinkedIn Learning, an LXP (Learning Experience Platform), free certification classes, and access to internal and external training are all helpful as well.
The Edge of Work: In a perfect world, what are some things you’d like to see companies do to promote career development in their organization?
For organizations to really thrive as learning and career growth cultures, they need to have a lot of things in place, but it can start simply. A good communication plan as to what the benefits are, what is possible, and having an open dialogue or mode of communication for what the employees actually want and need is a great start toward ensuring you are open and listening to what your employees need to grow their careers.
In addition, shadow programs/rotation programs could be instilled, especially for more entry-level employees, to have a chance to see what other areas of the business do and what other possibilities are out there for them. It’s also great for all levels to see how the other departments operate and how everything is interconnected, but that’s a tangential benefit.
Coaching and mentoring programs are always amazing to offer, and stretch assignments (with the time to do them as well) and training for developing not just technical skills, but soft skills like communication and well-being practices.
And of course having access to LinkedIn Learning and those tools internally and externally are key in helping people develop at their own pace.
What cannot be overlooked is the manager or supervisor’s part in all this. Without a strong dedication from the manager toward a culture of learning, the employees will never feel they are empowered. Instilling this learning and professional development in managers and leaders at the organization can go a very long way.
The Edge of Work: One question that often comes up is “what if there isn’t a role for me?” How can we think beyond roles with respect to career development? Are there other opportunities to develop & grow?
We talked a bit about those rotational programs and stretch assignments, maybe there are roles in other departments and you can move laterally within the organization. Perhaps there are other skill sets you could develop and use to create your own title that carries more prestige and helps you to grow in your career and keeps you engaged.
Other things that can be done are put your hat in the ring for a bigger project or projects that use different skill sets or have more responsibilities in your existing areas, things that help you stand out, perhaps you can take a more managerial role or be compensated with additional professional development opportunities.
Ask to present to the present at board meetings or be ask to sit in on leadership team meetings. Perhaps there are additional trainings or certifications you can obtain internally or external to the company. Maybe you can showcase your entrepreneurial skills and start a new revenue stream or branch of your current department or organization. At the least, you can create a BRG (business resource groups) and/or take a leadership role in those groups.
The Edge of Work: You coach a lot of employees and leaders. What are the kinds of challenges with respect to career development that your clients are faced with?
I would say a lot boils down to communication and time.
How we communicate with ourselves and others creates an energy within and around us. Are we honest with ourselves about where we want to be, what we value, what success means to us and how we want to spend our days (and what role ego plays in that)? And do we spend the time to ask ourselves these questions and figure that out, or do we just jump into what “should” be next.
And are we honest and openly communicating with our employees about what skills we need from them as an organization to meet our goals, where they stand in the organization and what they can do to get ahead? Do we take the time needed to help with communicating that and seeing what resonates with them, where they see themselves and if that aligns.
The Edge of Work: What is one habit, practice or action that you think all professionals should do so they can develop and manage their own career?
Keep an accomplishment journal. If you write down your accomplishments every week somewhere—could be on a physical or digital notepad, actual journal, or even emails to yourself— you will see you have accomplished more than you thought you could. You may even realize what has brought you joy. Also, you won’t forget your accomplishments, which a lot of us do over time. This way, when you feel ready to move up in your career, you can highlight your accomplishments to your supervisor and show them why you are deserving of a promotion or raise. It will be very helpful in keeping everyone informed of your awesomeness! And, if you want to move on, it will help in your resume building and job interviews to be able to highlight these accomplishments.
The Edge of Work: What is one thing you’d like leaders to do differently so they can create a better workplace for their people?
Where do I begin?! So much we could discuss! I think the first thing to realize is that as a leader, you’re not a leader to be the authoritative overlord, you are there to empower those in your team to do their best work and help put them on the path to career success. “People will follow you when you build the character to follow through,” as Orrin Woodward said.
The Edge of Work: What does a better world of work look like to you?
I instantly think work could be so much more fun and freeing! Why can’t work be more fun to explore different things when you are young and then have people who are trained in providing career counseling at every organization?
Leaders should be empathetic, highly trained in communication practices, and developing and empowering others before they are tasked with being a people manager. Innovation and change management practices are in place at every organization even if it’s just one person or a consultant that is hired to help when changes need to occur and everyone is given fair and equitable opportunities.
I kind of imagine a Benetton commercial from the 80s where it’s diverse, happy and playful. If we could all have more fun, feel free to be ourselves and feel safe and respected at work, the world could come a long way. 🙂 ☮️
If you enjoyed this conversation with Lisa, please check out her work, or reach out to her to work with her directly
- An interview with Lisa on her local TV show – Click Here
- A talk she did at Georgetown University – Click Here