Development or growth?

I recently attended a seminar around Human Resources. This was organized by Hays Consulting inviting a guest speaker. It was interesting to see how Japan is ranked in terms of talent resources. For instance, Hays Consulting claim that Japan is worst ranked in Asia Pacific in terms of the mismatch of the talents. If I remember my old days at a Japanese company, this claim does not sound surprising at all. But, I am not sure if this is true because I am not aware how the data has been obtained and collated.

Having said that, I have found the report quite interesting. I do not intend to argue the credibility of the data. My point is actually related to the presentation made by the guest speaker. Piotre Feliks Grzywacz is an HR professional. He was Regional Head of People Development APAC at Google. He has already written a book: 0秒リーダーシップ:「これからの世界」で圧倒的な成果を上げる仕事術

He mentioned that the current organizations are based on promotion but that the future organization should be based on growth. Gen Y values personal growth more than promotion (https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf). This is when the term ‘growth’ started to resonate in my mind.

HR professionals know that development has to be discussed when the line manager conducts performance evaluation. Let’s review what the employee has achieved and let’s see what they need to achieve. The Line Manager is supposed to assess the employee from talent and potential perspective and discuss development needs. But this has a fundamental impediment. When the term ‘development’ is used, the employees tend to expect that their employer offers development opportunities and interventions. This typically means off-the-job training. Is this the right thing to do?

If you are a football fan, you must have heard young players interviewed after a match. All the talented young players say that they enjoy very much here because they feel that they are growing. They learn a lot from their coach, from the other players and from the games they play. Their joy refers to an environment supporting growth. But at the same time, their words confirm that they are responsible and committed to their own growth. They never expect others to take the lead to develop their skills. They know that they are the one who owns their development leveraging on the environment and their own passion for growth. This is possibly influenced by the highly competitive situation and the pride they take in the job they perform.

Let’s apply this to our business context. Let’s use the term ‘grow’ to the business persons. Let’s discuss growth rather than development. Let’s start to review the growth the employee has achieved. Then let’s discuss the growth the employee wishes to achieve. Let’s see what the line manager can do to help the employee grow. When I say all of this, I can pleasantly feel the sense of ownership and the coaching approach. This is a huge difference compared to the case where the term ‘development’ is used.

This may be just a matter of terminology. But we know that words are powerful. I think growth is a powerful word from HR perspective and management perspective.