How do you encourage employee growth while balancing their workload?

Originally published in UC Berkeley’s Wisdom Café in January 2020

Bill Allison, UC Berkeley CTO (Jan 2020)
2015 Excellence in Management Award Winner

As a manager, in addition to the tactical discussions, I like to have conversations with my staff every so often about where they’d like to be in a year, and in 2–3 years. Good coaching helps people articulate their goals and then visualize the path to achieving them. It’s also important as a manager to regulate the cadence of work, alternating pushes with time for people to regroup, which helps people more fully assimilate what they’re learning. Weaving growth into a healthy balance of work creates opportunities for people to grow that are aligned with their interests and career path. When staff see how they can progress and are given opportunities, most rise to the occasion, and in turn realize they are in charge of their careers.