stretch assignments talent management

Embracing Learning through Stretch Assignments: A Guide to Success

Industries now evolve 5 times faster than 5 years ago. With unrelenting change, adaptability is essential. McKinsey ( 2019) finds leaders exposed to 5+ functions and 3+ countries become 69% more change-ready. Harvard Business Review (2020) analysis shows broad experiences expand perspectives to envision transformation. Further studies show experiential learning opportunities directly enable greater agility—employees with wider skillsets adjust up to 40% quicker to disruptions.

This blog explores how "stretch assignments" and experiential learning are not just beneficial but essential for thriving in such a fast-paced environment. We delve into the intricacies of implementing successful stretch assignments and how they can be a key to not only surviving but excelling in today's ever-changing work world.

Stretch assignments are developmental projects that push people beyond their comfort zones. By tackling unfamiliar responsibilities, employees expand their skill sets and perspectives.

Stretch assignments are impactful for several reasons. They provide real-world practice, enhance problem-solving abilities, build resilience, boost engagement, and promote leadership skills. With continuous feedback and learning, employees progress in their careers and become better equipped to drive innovation.

9 key experiences that you should consider as stretch assignments:

Operational Delivery : Leading a project to enhance the efficiency of a critical production process.

Unfamiliar Environment : Taking a short-term role in a different department or geographical location.

People Management : Managing a cross-functional team on a high-profile project.

Global Remit : Overseeing a project with team members from multiple international offices.

Change Management : Leading an initiative to implement a new organisational structure.

Growth:  Developing and executing a plan to enter a new market.

Start-up:  Launching a new product line or service from scratch.

Turnaround : Revitalizing a struggling business unit or product.

Special Project : Managing a corporate social responsibility project with high visibility.

If you want to learn more about these key experiences, download our 9 Key Experiences to Develop Future-ready Leaders Handbook. Click here to download

The effectiveness of 'learning by doing' through stretch assignments critically depends on addressing 4 specific elements essential for success. This comprehensive guide explores these four elements, offering insights and practical strategies to maximise the benefits of learning through stretch assignments.

Element 1: Overcoming Organisational Resistance to Experiential Learning

One significant obstacle in implementing stretch assignments is overcoming organisational resistance to experiential learning. This resistance often stems from a lack of understanding of the practical benefits of 'learning by doing,' apprehension about the outcomes, or a preference for more traditional, structured learning methods such as classroom-based or e-learning modules. Overcoming resistance to stretch assignments requires a proactive and positive approach that emphasises educating and showcasing their tangible advantages, which can be achieved through securing management buy-in, effective internal communication of successes, and positioning HR as a facilitator of experiential learning opportunities:

Management Buy-In : Securing the active endorsement and support of top management for stretch assignments is essential. When leaders share their personal experiences with stretch assignments, they highlight their value in personal and organisational growth, effectively linking development with success.

Effective Internal Communication : Consistent communication about the successes and benefits of stretch assignments is critical. Showcasing stories of employee growth and their contributions to organisational objectives can help create a positive outlook towards experiential learning.

HR's Role in Facilitating Experiential Learning : The Human Resources department should be at the forefront of creating and implementing frameworks for experiential learning opportunities. Organising focus groups with senior leaders to discuss and share their experiences with major projects and stretch assignments not only reinforces the value of experiential learning but also serves as a powerful reminder of its effectiveness to the leadership team.

Element 2: Securing the Right Stretch Role

In the second element of our exploration into stretch assignments, we focus on the critical factors of ensuring that the stretch role that has been selected for an employee is right. This involves careful consideration of several key criteria, including aligning the role with both the individual's career path and the organisation's objectives, determining the optimal level of challenge to encourage growth without overwhelming, and clearly defining role objectives and expectations. By paying close attention to these factors, we can significantly enhance the effectiveness and impact of stretch assignments in employee development. It’s important to set employees up for success.

Let's delve into these critical success factors in more detail.

Firstly, Strategic Alignment: It is crucial to select stretch roles that align with the employee's career trajectory while contributing significantly to the organisation's objectives. This approach ensures the unlocking of potential with precision. When both individual and organisational goals are aligned to the stretch role, both the individual and the organisation are going to care more about making the assignment a success. 

Secondly, Optimal Challenge Level: The role should present an appropriate level of challenge, promoting autonomy and decision-making in employees. This balance fosters innovation and growth while ensuring the role remains achievable and the employee is not overstretched.

To determine if a role offers the right level of stretch, consider these aspects:

Employee’s Reaction and Confidence Level :

Observe the employee's initial reaction to the assignment. Signs of excessive anxiety or doubt may suggest the role is too challenging. In contrast, if they seem too comfortable or unchallenged, the role may not be challenging enough. The ideal stretch induces cautious optimism and an eagerness to embrace the challenge.

Past Performance and Learning Curve : Evaluate the employee’s historical performance and adaptability in similar contexts. If they have consistently managed slightly challenging tasks well, a more demanding assignment could be appropriate. On the other hand, if they have struggled with moderate challenges before, a more modest assignment would be advisable. The role should encourage them to utilise and expand upon their existing skills and knowledge.

Time and Effort Estimation : Assess the required time and effort for the assignment relative to the employee's current workload and abilities. A suitably challenging assignment should necessitate a substantial, yet manageable, increase in effort and time beyond their usual responsibilities. If the role demands an inordinate amount of time or effort well beyond the scope of their current position, it may be excessively challenging.

The final factor in securing the right role is Role Clarity: It is essential to clearly define the objectives and expectations of the stretch role. Regular check-ins and documented goals are vital for maintaining alignment and clarity, particularly in roles that are new or involve novel challenges. For those in the earlier stages of their career, roles with well-defined parameters often prove more successful as stretch assignments.

Element 3: Preparing the Employee for the Stretch Role

This third section is focused on providing employees with the essential preparation and support they need to successfully navigate and thrive in their stretch roles. The right preparation and support are crucial in ensuring the employee is not only ready but also set up for success in their stretch role. 

First, start with a skills assessment. Conducting a skills assessment is vital because it helps to identify the specific competencies an employee currently possesses and the areas where they may need further development. This assessment ensures that the employee is placed in a stretch role that is challenging yet achievable, aligning with their existing skills and potential for growth. By understanding their strengths and weaknesses, the assignment can be tailored to maximise learning and minimise the risk of failure, making the experience both developmental and beneficial for the individual and the organisation.

For high-stretch roles, it pays off to assess additional aspects to ensure the role is both safe and developmental. This can be done through a semi-structured interview. 

Additional aspects to assess include:

Assess the candidate's ability to adapt to new situations and learn quickly from experiences

Consider their level of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness, empathy, and ability to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically

Gauge their tolerance for ambiguity and change and their resilience in the face of challenges

Review their past performances, especially in challenging situations, to predict future potential and development areas

Understand their career goals and motivation to ensure alignment with the objectives of the stretch assignment

Secondly, providing comprehensive and balanced support with realistic goals is crucial in the preparation for a stretch role. This involves offering robust mentorship and guidance to help employees navigate new challenges they might encounter. Furthermore, it's important to set achievable, clearly defined goals that are in alignment with the employee's capabilities and the objectives of the stretch role.

Regular and constructive feedback is essential to aid in their development and to adjust goals as necessary. Encouraging a work-life balance is also key, especially considering the extra effort and time that a stretch role might require; this can be supported through flexible working conditions. Additionally, ensuring that employees have access to the necessary resources and training to develop skills and address knowledge gaps identified in the assessment is vital for their success and growth in the new role.

Finally, creating a safe-to-fail environment : Cultivate a culture where failure is viewed as a stepping stone to learning. Emotional support and recognition of efforts, irrespective of outcomes, are essential. Not every stretch project goes as well as expected, sometimes not through the fault of the employee but because the role has changed. 

Here are our top quick tips for creating a ‘safe to fail environment’ 

Have leaders publicly discuss their own early failures and career detours. Vulnerability from the top makes it psychologically safer.

Separate performance reviews from assignment-based development initiatives. Ensure stretch projects are evaluated independently from day-to-day job effectiveness.

Set explicit expectations that stretch initiatives likely only have a 60% probability of fully realizing the original intent. Frame them as learning journeys.

Build slack time into participant schedules - roughly 20% - for reflection and application of learning during experimental projects.

Establish formal mentorship check-ins for talent in stretch roles to discuss learnings separate from line managers.

Publicly celebrate examples of teams pivoting ambitious initiatives due to external variables rather than viewing them as failures.

Element 4: Recognising and Advancing Career through Stretch Assignments

The recognition of the efforts and learning gained from stretch assignments is vital in ensuring they are seen as valuable experiences. And so is the need to continue an employee’s development journey after the completion of the stretch assignment. 

Continuing an employee's development following a stretch assignment is crucial for several reasons. 

First, it maintains employee engagement by acknowledging and rewarding the extra effort and risks undertaken during the assignment. This recognition helps employees see the tangible benefits of their hard work.

Secondly, ongoing development is key to retaining talent. Without meaningful opportunities for further growth or new challenges post-assignment, employees, particularly those with high potential, might feel undervalued and consider leaving the organisation. This could lead to a loss of critical talent.

Furthermore, it's important for other employees and line managers in the organisation to see the value of taking developmental risks. When they observe that personal and professional growth leads to positive outcomes, it encourages a culture of development and risk-taking for the greater good of the organisation.

Finally, post-assignment development helps in leveraging the investment made in an employee's growth during the stretch assignment. Stretch assignments inherently involve risks, including the possibility of personal or organisational setbacks. However, when employees successfully navigate these challenges, they emerge with enhanced skills and experience. Effectively utilizing these new competencies not only benefits the individual but also contributes significantly to the organisation's growth and success.

At the end of a stretch assignment, it is vital, as a first step, to update the employee’s personal development plan to address outstanding development areas and to capture future career aspirations. This must include inclusion in succession planning to understand and prepare for future roles and responsibilities. As a next step, consideration must be given to the person’s next role. There may not always be the right follow-on role available for an employee who has completed a stretch assignment, however, there are other ways to keep them learning and to harness their new skills and experiences. 

Three ways to continue the development journey in the absence of an immediately suitable role:

Follow-Up Projects: Engage in subsequent projects that build on the skills and experiences gained. This can include cross-functional collaboration working on diverse projects to apply skills in different contexts.

Mentorship or Coaching: Work with a mentor or coach to actively work on any remaining development areas to smooth the way to a new role or promotion.

Networking: Actively facilitate networking with senior stakeholders to open doors to new roles and opportunities. This may include regular meetings with senior leaders or participation in senior leadership meetings. 

When effectively executed and supported, stretch assignments can serve as a catalyst for substantial growth, both for the individual and the organisation. The four essential elements to consider are embracing organisational change, selecting the appropriate stretch role, effectively preparing the employee, and acknowledging their efforts and the insights gained. This comprehensive approach maximises the benefits of learning through stretch assignments. It not only encourages personal development but also contributes to the overall success of the organisation, fostering an environment where continuous learning and adaptability are key.

Having explored the impactful nature of stretch assignments and the strategies for their successful implementation, it's vital to take the next step in advancing your leadership development. To deepen your understanding and enhance your capabilities, we encourage you to download our in-depth guide, '9 Key Experiences to Develop Future-Ready Leaders'.

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Not sure which key experience to dive into? Let fate decide! Spin the roulette and embrace the challenge that lands your way. It's a fun, exciting, and somewhat mysterious way to discover what your career might be missing.

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Why You Should Take on More Stretch Assignments

• Jahna Berry

Research shows the stakes are higher for marginalized communities, but the opportunity is usually worth it.

Stretch projects require skills or knowledge beyond your current level of development and are great opportunities to shine in a new arena. This is also why they can feel so scary, especially for workers at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, or other dimensions of diversity. Research shows us that women, people of color, and members of the queer community are punished more heavily when they make mistakes. As a result, you may feel pressure to perform perfectly, and be less averse to taking on the risk of a stretch assignment. The good news is that handling this kind of unfamiliar work is a skill that you can learn and refine — and it’s a great way to advance your career. Here’s how to get started.

• Shift your negative self-talk. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by self-doubt, pause, and take some time to reflect. Write down all of the times that you tried something new and figured it out. This will give your mind the “evidence” it needs to prove that you’re capable of taking on challenges.
• Get clarity. At the very start of your project, seek to gain clarity around your manager’s expectations, important deadlines, specific goals you need to hit within those time frames, and any important stakeholders you need to keep in the loop along the way.
• Do a listening tour. Schedule meetings with each of the key stakeholders your manager named. When reaching out, explain the project you’re leading and what information you want to learn from them. Use your meeting to do three things: communicate transparently that you are not an expert in the area yet, show sincerity that you are interested in learning more about it, and give the people who are experts a chance to showcase what they know.
• Trust your gut. Don’t let your fear of failing overcome your intuition. Write down all of the times you had a hunch to do something, but against your better judgment, you didn’t do it. In the end, if you found yourself saying “I knew better,” that initial hunch was your intuition. Remember this feeling, and trust it the next time it comes around.

You raised your hand for a stretch project, and — congratulations! — you’ve bagged the assignment. As an emerging leader, you were hoping to show your drive and ambition, but now that you have the opportunity, you’re terrified.

• JB Jahna Berry is an award-winning journalist and has written about leadership for Mother Jones and OpenNews. She  was a featured speaker at events for the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Journalists, WIRED, University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, and the News Product Alliance. She is the Chief Operating Officer at Mother Jones.

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Stretch Assignments: What Are They and Is Your Employee Ready For One?

Stretch assignments are a cornerstone of a strong employee development plan. A statement that is backed by a number of research studies. In one conducted by the Harvard Business Review of 823 executives, it was found that 71% of respondents said stretch assignments had the biggest impact on unleashing their potential. In another, this one conducted by Korn Ferry , stretch assignments were named the most valuable developmental experience, ahead of things like mentoring, classroom training, 360-degree assessments, and even exposure to senior leaders.

An intentional and strategic stretch assignment can go a long way in accelerating an employee’s development or supporting the trajectory of their career at your organization, though their success relies heavily on the one assigning the task - their leader.

In the following article, you will learn more about what stretch assignments are, what they are not, how to tell when an employee is ready for one, and more. Let’s begin.

What are Stretch Assignments?

While there are countless ways to define a stretch assignment, the following definition from BeLeaderly perfectly sums it up for the purposes of this article: “Stretch assignments are temporary, internal learning gigs that simultaneously offer an employee a chance to develop new skills while helping the organization solve a real business problem.”

Most commonly, stretch assignments are implemented to prepare an employee for an upcoming promotion, engage a high-performing employee, encourage skill development, or evaluate an employee’s level of interest or aptitude for another role.

As the name implies, stretch assignments mean they “stretch” or challenge an employee to think and act outside their comfort zone or day-to-day job. But what exactly makes a stretch assignment challenging ?

• It presents employees with an unfamiliar challenge
• It challenges an employee to create change
• It gives an employee a high level of responsibility
• It challenges an employee to work cross-functionally

At this point, it is important to define what stretch assignments are not. Stretch assignments are not a chance for you to hand off work you do not want to do. They should also not be what Korn Ferry calls “glass-cliff projects.” According to them, “stretch assignments and glass-cliff projects both involve some risk and often include crisis situations, but one is about building your skills and the other is about proving your worth, despite your many successes. One is encouraging; the other is an affront.”

4 Signs Your Employee Is Ready For a Stretch Assignment

Of course, there is a fine line between “stretching” or challenging an employee and overwhelming them. To help you distinguish if an employee is ready for and can handle a stretch assignment or not, here are a few key things to consider: 

• Their Track Record An employee who is ready for a stretch assignment and can handle it will not only have a history of successful projects and good performance, but will have a track record of asking for help when they need it, respecting boundaries, proactively seeking learning opportunities, and taking accountability for their actions (whether good or bad). These behaviors show a level of discretion that is imperative to the success of a stretch assignment, where an employee is outside of their comfort zone.
• Their Engagement According to Gallup , “engaged employees are highly involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. They are psychological ‘owners,’ drive high performance and innovation, and move the organization forward.” Whereas, “actively disengaged employees aren't just unhappy at work - they are resentful that their needs aren't being met and are acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers potentially undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.” Fortunately, stretch assignments are an ideal chance to further engage already engaged employees and those bordering on disengaged. You should be quite certain that the individual you will give the assignment to will see it as a positive opportunity and be willing to do their best work, not just because they have to, but because they want to.

An employee who has been given a stretch assignment is going to need your support more so than they would for their everyday job. Therefore, before you give a stretch assignment, be sure you have the availability and capacity to proactively support your employee from start to finish. 

• Your Relationship Given the nature of stretch assignments, there is always a risk of failure and for some employees, failure is hard to handle even if it is a valuable learning experience. That is why it is so important to have a relationship built on trust before delegating a stretch assignment. Your employee needs to feel comfortable sharing their challenges and questions without fear of judgment, or else they might try to “go at it alone,” which is ultimately where people get themselves into trouble.

2 Major Things to Be Aware of With Stretch Assignments

• Stretch Assignments Should Not Impede An Employee’s Day-to-Day Job As a leader, you need to closely monitor the progress of a stretch assignment, the well-being of your employee, and the health of their day-to-day roles and responsibilities. If your employee is suddenly working an exorbitant amount or is showing signs of burnout , then you need to be prepared to step in. While the stretch assignment is important, it should not put your employee's core roles and responsibilities , not to mention their wellbeing, at risk. If this becomes an issue, use it as a learning opportunity to help the employee identify their signs of burnout and set boundaries .
• Stretch Assignments Need to be Fairly Distributed The unfortunate reality is stretch assignments are not always fairly distributed and accessible to all employees. This was highlighted in a study from BeLeaderly , which found that “women are less likely than men to receive challenging stretch assignments.” The report noted that “when stretch assignments are unclear, unadvertised, and unevenly offered, it makes women hesitate even more to pursue them. On the other hand, taking an open, equitable approach to stretch opportunities can create a thriving internal gig economy - one that’s accessible to all. This not only helps employees advance in the short term, but it can also set the course for diversifying, and therefore strengthening, your leadership ranks in the long term.” So, how can you ensure the distribution of stretch assignments is fair? According to a report by Catalyst , they recommend leaders link the distribution of stretch assignments to performance reviews, review the allocation of stretch assignments to ensure equitable distribution among women and equity-seeking groups, as well as consider providing new hires with a stretch assignment or assigning new hires to a team working on a stretch assignment. 

Employees who are given a stretch assignment will require more support, guidance, and encouragement than an average employee. Though the effort is well worth it as stretch assignments contribute to employee engagement, morale, satisfaction, productivity, and success, which in turn contributes to your success as their leader. It’s a win-win!

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Decoding Stretch Assignments: Insights from an HR Expert

Posted Feb 19, 2024

In the ever-evolving landscape of human resources and talent development, stretch assignments have emerged as a powerful tool for fostering individual and organizational growth. This article delves into valuable insights from a seasoned Chief Human Resource Officer, exploring the diverse forms of stretch assignments and their applications across different business settings.  

Learn about Asure’s HR solutions that save you time and money while staying compliant with ever-changing HR laws .  

The Expert Perspective  

A three-time Chief Human Resource Officer with extensive experience in HR, talent acquisition, and recruitment brings a wealth of knowledge to the realm of stretch assignments. Insights shared shed light on the significance of these assignments in shaping the skills and capabilities of employees.  

Diverse Forms of Stretch Assignments

• Special Projects in Startups: In the fast-paced environment of startups, where agility and innovation are paramount, special projects often take the form of “just go run with this” scenarios. An example from the experience at a startup called Baby Doctor illustrates this type of stretch assignment, involving taking charge of critical tasks that contribute directly to the company’s growth.  
• Innovation-Driven Initiatives in Larger Corporations: In larger corporations, the history of successful products like Gmail and Google Maps at Google exemplifies the power of innovation-driven stretch assignments. Allocating free time for employees to work on projects outside their regular roles encourages ambitious and smart individuals to explore and contribute to groundbreaking initiatives. This approach has proven to be a fertile ground for fostering creativity and driving corporate success.  
• Self-Assigned Stretch Assignments: Stretch assignments are not solely limited to tasks assigned by superiors. The importance of employees assigning themselves stretch assignments, such as building a side hustle or venturing into new areas using available resources like ChatGPT, is highlighted. This form of self-driven learning and development reflects a proactive approach to personal and professional growth.  

Contributions to Growth

• Individual Skill Development: Stretch assignments provide individuals with an opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge, often in real-world scenarios. Whether it’s navigating the challenges of a startup or contributing to innovative projects in a larger corporation, employees develop a diverse skill set that propels their career growth.  
• Organizational Innovation: Innovation-driven stretch assignments contribute to organizational success by fostering a culture of creativity and experimentation. A company’s history of developing groundbreaking products through employee-driven projects underscores the transformative impact these initiatives can have on a company’s trajectory.  
• Personal Development and Ambition: Self-assigned stretch assignments reveal a strong connection between personal development and ambition. Employees who proactively seek opportunities to learn and create demonstrate not only their commitment to personal growth but also their potential as valuable contributors to their organizations.  

Implementing Effective Stretch Assignments  

Emphasizing the importance of identifying individuals who thrive on experiential learning, providing them with stretch assignments that align with their ambitions is key. By creating a supportive environment, offering necessary resources, and aligning assignments with both business needs and individual aspirations, organizations can maximize the impact of stretch assignments.  

Conclusion  

Decoding stretch assignments requires a nuanced understanding of their diverse forms and applications. Insights from HR experts shed light on the pivotal role these assignments play in individual skill development, organizational innovation, and the overall growth of businesses. By incorporating strategic and thoughtful stretch assignments into talent development programs, organizations can harness the full potential of their workforce in navigating the complexities of the modern business landscape.  

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Stretch Assignment

What Are Stretch Assignments?

Why are stretch assignments beneficial.

• Catalyzes growth. These dynamic projects or tasks are designed to propel employees out of their comfort zones and catapult them into the realm of professional growth. By taking on unfamiliar responsibilities, employees are exposed to fresh challenges and opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge. It's like strapping a rocket to their career trajectory.
• Supercharges engagement and motivation. We all know that engaged employees are the heart and soul of any thriving organization. Stretch assignments inject a much-needed dose of excitement and purpose into the work lives of your employees. By entrusting them with challenging projects, you're sending a clear message: We believe in you. Their commitment, initiative, and creativity skyrocket, resulting in a turbocharged organization firing on all cylinders.
• Builds confidence and resilience. Stretch assignments give employees the perfect training ground for building confidence and resilience. As they conquer challenges and complete demanding projects, their sense of accomplishment skyrockets, boosting confidence levels and fueling a can-do attitude. Plus, the resilience developed through stretch assignments equips employees to navigate change and uncertainty with ease, making them valuable assets to your organization.

Types of Stretch Assignments

The skill-building extravaganza, the cross-functional adventure, the project of epic proportions, the innovation challenge, the client-facing expedition, how to implement stretch assignments in the workplace, step 1: align assignments with development goals, step 2: provide support and resources, step 3: set clear objectives and expectations, step 4: recognize and celebrate achievements, challenges associated with stretch assignments, challenge 1: the comfort zone conundrum.

• Understand the employee's perspective. Recognize that employees may be hesitant to take on stretch assignments due to various reasons such as fear of failure, lack of confidence, or concerns about work-life balance. Take the time to listen and understand their concerns before addressing them.
• Communicate the value . Clearly explain how the assignment can enhance their skill or broaden their experience and highlight the positive impact it can have on their career trajectory.
• Provide support and resources. Assure employees that they will receive the necessary support, guidance, and resources to succeed in the stretch assignment. Offer training, mentorship, and coaching to help them build the skills and confidence required for the task. Reassure them that you are invested in their success.
• Set realistic expectations .Ensure that employees understand the expectations and scope of the stretch assignment. Clearly define the goals, deliverables, and timelines involved. Break down the assignment into manageable steps and provide a roadmap for success. This will help alleviate concerns and make the assignment less daunting.

Challenge 2: Time and Resource Crunch

Challenge 3: skills gaps, challenge 4: balancing act, challenge 5: ensuring equity, evaluation and reflection, assess progress and outcomes, support reflection, refine and improve.

Brandi M Fannell, Ph.D.

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The power and purpose of stretch assignments in career advancement

By Diyaa Mani January 19, 2024

Updated March 4, 2024

What are stretch assignments?

Stuck in a career rut? Feel ready to push boundaries and expand your skill set? Or do you feel ready for more and need the right opportunity to prove it? Enter stretch assignments: challenging projects to propel individuals beyond their comfort zones and ignite career growth. They are professional boot camps offering opportunities to lead cross-functional teams, tackle complex problems, or master entirely new skills.

These aren't just resume fillers; they're springboards to professional advancement. Discover hidden talents, impress key stakeholders, and watch your career ascend. Embrace the learning curve, the inevitable stumbles, and the thrill of overcoming them. It's an investment in your professional future, with the potential to unlock your full potential and take your career to the next level.

Ready to dive deeper? This article will guide you to identify the perfect stretch assignments for you, navigate their challenges with poise, and leverage them for maximum career impact:

• The power of stretch assignments: How they can help you get ahead in your career

The purpose of stretch assignments: How employers can use it to discover employee potential

Navigating the challenges of stretch assignments, fast-track your career with airswift, the power of stretch assignments : how they can help you get ahead in your career.

The power of stretch assignments lies in their ability to propel individuals beyond their comfort zones, acting as catalysts for continuous learning and growth.

These challenging projects develop new skills, boost confidence, enhance visibility, and open doors to unexpected career paths, ultimately shaping a dynamic and resilient professional journey.

Developing new skills and expertise

Learning new things is crucial for professional growth, and stretch assignments are like rocket fuel. These challenging tasks push you outside your comfort zone, forcing you to break free from your usual routine and pick up new skills.

Whether mastering a new software tool, leading a team on a project, or honing your communication skills, stretch assignments make you a more well-rounded professional.

Imagine an IT pro tackling a complex project with a diverse team. They conquer the technical aspects and learn essential project management skills like planning, budgeting, and delegation.

This experience broadens their skills, making them adaptable and ready for any challenge. By the end, they're not just technical whizzes but a well-equipped leader.

The benefits go beyond the individual. When employees learn and grow, the whole organisation thrives. A dynamic workforce with diverse skills and fresh perspectives sparks innovation and continuous improvement.

Those who embrace stretch assignments become valuable assets, bringing new ideas and approaches. This collective growth makes the organisation agile and competitive, able to navigate the ever-changing professional landscape.

Boosting confidence and growth mindset

Tackling challenging tasks is like dipping your toes into a chilly pool – it might be scary at first, but it can feel amazing on the other side. Stretch assignments are challenging projects that push you beyond your usual routine and comfort zone. But here's the thing: they're also powerful tools for building confidence and a growth mindset.

Imagine conquering a complex project you initially felt unsure about. That triumphant feeling? That's the confidence blooming! It's not just about mastering new skills for that specific project; it's about realising you can tackle anything you want.

Overcoming hurdles builds resilience and leaves you feeling like you can take on anything the professional world throws your way.

Stretch assignments are like personal cheerleaders for this way of thinking. They encourage you to see challenges as chances to learn and grow instead of walls to block progress.

Your talent and skills matter, sure, but renowned psychologist Carol Dweck says it's your approach that makes the difference. By embracing this, you will take a major step towards conquering career obstacles such as impostor syndrome .

So, always remember, with this combination of stretch assignments and a growth mindset, you're not just getting skilled up. You're developing a "can-do" attitude that keeps you learning and adapting.

Enhancing visibility and reputation

Taking on a challenging project at work can feel like stepping into the spotlight. Stretch assignments, often involving high-impact tasks or leadership roles, are your chance to show off your skills and make a big impression.

Imagine a marketing whiz leading a complex campaign. Everyone sees their talent in action as they navigate deadlines, budgets, and creative hurdles. Their success doesn't just boost their confidence; it gets noticed by colleagues, bosses, and even other departments. This "buzz" about their abilities opens doors to exciting opportunities: promotions, invitations to key meetings, you name it.

The more individuals tackle tough assignments and deliver results, the more they're seen as competent and proactive. This builds a strong reputation and paves the way for a brighter future within the company.

Completing a stretch assignment isn't just about learning new skills. It's about showcasing your potential and launching yourself towards the next level.

Discovering new career paths

Think of stretch assignments as stepping stones leading beyond your usual work routine. They're your chance to explore different corners of your field, like trying on different shoes to see which fit best. Working on cross-functional projects or tackling tasks outside your comfort zone gives you a taste of what different roles involve.

Imagine an engineer on a cross-functional project suddenly fascinated by product development. Who knew they had a hidden passion for turning ideas into things? This newfound exposure broadens their skills and opens their eyes to exciting career paths they have never considered before.

These discoveries can lead to some amazing things. Our engineer fired up about product development, might start seeking out roles that let them build and craft things. They might seek promotions, ask for projects that align with their new interest, or even create initiatives that blend their existing skills with their newfound passion.

Stretch assignments don't just expand your skillset; they can be the spark that ignites your career and leads you to something you truly love.

Businesses in today's dynamic landscape understand that their greatest asset is their products and their people. To nurture talent, unlock hidden potential, and build a workforce equipped for the future, forward-thinking employers are turning to a powerful tool: stretch assignments.

The purpose of stretch assignments is to transform employees into well-rounded professionals by immersing them in challenging tasks and fostering continuous learning, innovation, and leadership readiness—ultimately creating a workforce that is adaptable, creative, and prepared for the dynamic demands of the business world.

Let's delve deeper into how stretch assignments serve this critical purpose, transforming individuals and fuelling organisational success:

Investing in employee development

Smart companies know their greatest asset is their people. That's why they invest in stretch assignments – challenging tasks that push employees outside their comfort zones. It's like giving them a mini adventure to explore new skills and areas of their work.

Why? Because continuous learning and development are crucial for both the employee and the company. Employees who tackle tough challenges build new skills, gain confidence, and discover hidden talents. This makes them more adaptable and ready for anything the business world throws their way.

For the company, it's like building a stronger team. A diverse skillset across the board means the whole company is more flexible and able to handle change. It sparks creativity and innovation, helping them stay ahead of the competition in this fast-paced world.

Take companies like Google and IBM . They're champions of stretch assignments, and it shows. Their employees get to work on exciting projects, develop new skills, and explore different corners of their roles.

This makes them happier and more engaged and builds a culture of learning and adaptability that keeps the company thriving.

Fostering innovation and creativity

Stepping outside your comfort zone can feel scary, but it can also be incredibly creative. This is precisely what stretch assignments are about – pushing you to tackle new challenges and think outside the box.

Your brain must flex its creative muscles when you're not stuck in the usual routine. You start seeing problems from different angles and coming up with fresh solutions. Imagine a tech company bringing designers, engineers, and marketers together for a cross-functional project.

Suddenly, ideas are bouncing around like ping-pong balls! This clash of perspectives often leads to groundbreaking inventions, like a new gadget you never even knew you needed.

Hence, stretch assignments aren't just about learning new skills and sparking innovation. They create an environment where everyone feels encouraged to experiment and explore .

By stepping outside their comfort zones, individuals contribute to the company's success, discover hidden talents, and unleash their creative potential.

Preparing for future leadership roles

Thinking about taking the helm one day? Stretch assignments are like your leadership training ground . They let you test your skills on challenging projects, like a mid-level manager heading up a high-impact initiative.

Not only do you tackle tough problems, but you also learn to guide and inspire a team towards success. It's hands-on leadership experience preparing you for the captain's chair.

These challenging projects are like obstacle courses for your leadership skills. You'll face tough decisions, navigate uncertainty, and learn to bring your team together. It's like building a well-rounded toolbox for all things leadership, preparing you for bigger roles down the line.

Think of it as an audition for future leadership opportunities. Stretch assignments show your potential, letting everyone see your ability to handle pressure, make smart choices, and motivate others.

This real-world experience makes you a star team member and a potential future leader.

Cultivate your future leaders with Airswift's Global Employment and Mobility (GEM) ; we personalise your search for professionals to build your organisation's human capital pipeline.

Navigating the challenges of stretch assignments involves acknowledging common fears and imposter syndrome. Still, individuals can confidently tackle challenges and turn them into meaningful personal and professional development adventures by reframing these concerns as opportunities for learning and growth and building a strong support system with mentors and colleagues.

Overcoming fear and imposter syndrome

Taking on a big challenge can feel scary. You might worry about failing or feel like you're not good enough. These feelings are normal. Fear and "imposter syndrome" (that voice telling you you're a fraud) are common, but they don't have to stop you.

The key is to remember that stretch assignments are about learning, not just getting everything right. Think of them as adventures to explore new skills and areas of your work. So, instead of focusing on failure, focus on growth. Celebrate small wins and enjoy the journey!

Talking to others can also help. Mentors have been there before and can offer advice and support. They can share their stories about overcoming challenges and help you set realistic goals. Building a support network can make even the toughest stretch assignments feel manageable.

By facing your fears and reframing how you think about stretch assignments, you can turn them into opportunities for personal growth and confidence.

Finding the right stretch assignment for your needs

Choosing the right stretch assignment is like finding the sweet spot between a comfy sofa and a cliffhanger. You want it to challenge you but not send you tumbling. And ideally, it should be something you're interested in, too.

Think about your skills , what you're good at, and what you'd like to learn. Then, look for projects that stretch those muscles without overwhelming you. Don't forget about your passions and long-term goals. Pick something that excites you and helps you move towards your dream career.

This way, the challenge won't just feel good; it'll feel meaningful. And if you can't find the perfect fit, don't be afraid to create it! Talk to colleagues, propose new ideas, and show your boss you're proactive.

Many companies have resources to help you find the right stretch assignment. Human resources might offer career development frameworks like maps for your professional journey. They can show you what skills you need for different roles and suggest projects that match your interests.

Mentors can be another great source of advice. They've been there, done that, and have the wisdom to guide you. Ask them about their career paths and see if they can suggest any stretch assignments that fit your goals.

By combining self-reflection, company resources, and mentorship, you can choose a stretch assignment that's both challenging and meaningful. Remember, it's not just about the destination but the journey of growth and discovery.

Building support systems

Taking on a big challenge can feel like scaling a mountain alone. But you don't have to do it by yourself! Having a support team by your side makes all the difference.

Think of your mentors as Sherpas, guiding you through unfamiliar terrain and sharing their wisdom. They've been there before and can help you navigate any tricky bits. Your colleagues are like your fellow climbers, lending a hand and sharing their perspectives. And your supervisor is the base camp, providing resources and motivating you.

Open communication is key. Talk to your team about your goals, worries, and successes. Mentors can offer advice, colleagues can bounce ideas around, and your supervisor can ensure everything aligns with the company's vision. This teamwork makes the climb way more enjoyable!

Smart companies set up mentorship programs where you can learn from experienced pros. They create peer networks where you can share and learn from each other. They ensure regular check-ins with your supervisor, so you always have someone to talk to and keep you on track.

With this robust support system, you can conquer any stretch assignment. Remember, you're not alone – your team is right there with you, cheering you on every step of the way.

In summary, the power and purpose of stretch assignments in career development are undeniable. These experiences offer many benefits, from skill development and boosted confidence to enhanced visibility and unexpected career paths. Despite the challenges, individuals are encouraged to embrace stretch assignments as opportunities for growth, learning, and career advancement .

As Eleanor Roosevelt aptly said, "Do one thing every day that scares you." Individuals genuinely step into their full potential through these challenges and achieve remarkable professional growth.

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Developing Stronger Leaders , Leadership Development

Stretch Assignments that Develop Strategic, Interpersonal, and Personal Skills

Given that most development occurs through experience (McCall, Lombardo, & Morrison, 1988), stretch assignments can provide a great vehicle for driving employee learning and/or leadership development. Stretch assignments are essentially short-term projects or assignments that provide unique and challenging experiences for the purpose of developing employee/leader skills and abilities. Although the use of on-the-job development is clearly on the rise, it is often applied without consideration of the necessary planning and support mechanisms.

The first thing to keep in mind if you’re thinking about leveraging stretch assignments for developmental purposes is the common-sense notion that different stretch assignments develop different abilities (e.g., public speaking skills cannot be developed through writing policy statements or crunching numbers). Because of this, it is important to first identify the specific skill(s) to be developed. Once you have a list of skills, the next step is to identify the available assignments that provide relevant exposure. This article will help you with this first critical stage of using stretch assignments – that is, thinking about competencies and identifying assignments. Below is a list of stretch assignments that have been shown to develop competence in the following three areas: strategic skills, interpersonal skills, or personal effectiveness.

If you would like to share this list, check out our reference guide which contains the same information in a PDF format.

Strategic Skills

These assignments will help develop competencies related to expanding one’s awareness of organizational functions and strategy ( e.g., coping with ambiguous situations, gaining a strategic perspective, influencing others, working with customers, problem solving )

• Spend 3 days with clients and report back (presentation or written report)
• Conduct a customer-needs analysis
• Write a policy statement
• Interview external stakeholders about their opinions of the organization
• Analyze and compare a competitor’s product or service
• Put together a presentation for a senior employee (i.e., supervisor or manager)
• Evaluate a training program
• Join a cross-functional team
• Join work on a project that has been unsuccessful
• Put together a task-force to solve a tough problem
• Monitor a new product or service through its entire life cycle

Interpersonal Skills

These will help develop competencies that increase one’s effectiveness to work with and manage other employees or teams ( e.g., communication, listening, managing conflict, managing relationships, teamwork, negotiation, trust, approachability, delegation, leadership )

• Lead a team meeting
• Become a mentor to a new employee
• Train a new employee in a particular skill
• Represent team concerns to supervisor
• Join a team that’s dealing with conflict
• Negotiate a new customer contract
• Take responsibility in resolving a team conflict
• Troubleshoot a performance issue
• Become a campus recruiter
• Interview customers and report back
• Work with a peer on a developmental opportunity
• Delegate 2 tasks to a peer and ask him/her to delegate 2 to you

Personal Effectiveness

These are oriented around competencies most closely related to your performance and personal development ( e.g., organizing, planning, intellectual acumen, creativity, composure, time management, work/life balance, decision quality, customer service )

• Help launch a new product or service
• Re-launch a product or service that previously failed
• Learn a new tool, process, or approach and give a presentation on it
• Work with someone from another department on a tough issue
• Handle a difficult negotiation with an internal or external client
• Take on a project that others have failed in
• Write a press release
• Teach a seminar on an unfamiliar topic
• Create a customer satisfaction survey
• Take on a task that you do not like to do
• Take on an employee’s tasks who is on vacation
• Conduct interviews with employees on their work/life balance experience & present findings

Note: This list is informed by research presented in Lombardo & Eichinger’s (1989) book entitled “Eighty-eight assignments for development in place,” and Yost & Plunkett’s (2009) book entitled “Real time leadership development.” I highly recommend both books as resources for any organization that currently applies stretch assignments or plans to in the future.

Going Forward…

Going forward, keep in mind that this is only a single piece in effective use of stretch assignments for developmental purposes. There are a number of mechanisms that are critical for actually translating experience into learning and development. Employees who will be given stretch assignments need the active support ant participation of their supervisor before, during, and after:

• Before – to meet with the employee and discuss what skills to develop, then chose a stretch assignment and identify learning goals
• During – to give immediate feedback, support and encouragement, and provide access to resources (e.g., time to participate in assignments, introductions to other people who can provide guidance)
• After – to reflect and debrief on what was learned during the assignment and how that can be applied to their current job or future development

Happy Development!

– Scontrino-Powell

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Effective Stretch Assignments from Two Perspectives

Effective Stretch Assignments We know from action learning leadership development participants that the ability to continuously learn and grow at work separates the average leaders from the best leaders.  And one of the very best ways to continuously develop yourself — and your team — is through effective stretch assignments at work that increasingly take you out of your comfort zone .  In a nutshell, more complex assignments are opportunity for people to learn and get better.

If you want to become a better skier, ski harder terrain with better skiers.  If you want to be a better leader, take on more challenging work and rub shoulders with people who are smarter and more experienced than you.

The Benefits of Effective Stretch Assignments There are benefits of well-conceived stretch assignments for both the individual and the organization.  For an individual, an effective stretch assignment presents a challenge that can launch them toward new heights in their career.  For an organization, the right assignment can be a critical step in developing new in-house leaders to fill your succession planning pipeline .

For the Individual Stretch assignments present a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow.  New challenges at work also typically create some performance anxiety.  Make sure that you are mentally up for the challenge and that the opportunity aligns with your desired career trajectory.

What are the considerations for the individual who is presented with a challenging new project or role?  The characteristics of an employee who is ready to accept a job stretch challenge include:

• A Long-Term Commitment A desire to be with the company for the long haul.  Stretch assignments often take time to pay dividends.  Look for employees who want to help the company achieve its vision  and have an intent to stay for awhile.
• A Willingness to Take a Risk Not only will they be adding to their current workload, but they will need to develop new skills and strengths. And because most stretch assignments are highly visible, their contribution comes with high stakes.  Are they bold enough to commit?
• Self-Awareness Those who are most successful at realizing stretch goals know themselves well; they know what they are good at and what drives them. An effective stretch assignment will play to their strengths and passions.  It gives them a chance to highlight special talents and to make a business impact that is meaningful .
• Understanding of Resources Needed To succeed, be sure that there is enough support in the form of influential allies who believe in their success. Influencers will be crucial in seeing that they have the necessary resources and the political backing required to see the project through to its conclusion.

For the Organization From the organization’s point of view, what are the benefits of stretch assignments and the factors that work to the company’s advantage?  Effective stretch assignments can be a way to test the abilities of candidates in your leadership pipeline while providing career development opportunities — often at a reduced cost.

To give high-potential employees the greatest chance to succeed, let them identify the right opportunities themselves.  Their active involvement will ensure that the assignment is something they want to commit to.  Work with them to define expected results so you can measure the final impact on both the individual employee and the business.

The Bottom Line When you give high potential leaders a chance to stretch their wings and grow, they have an opportunity to develop exponentially.  While they will most likely experience the initial discomfort of having to stretch beyond their current expertise, the potential gains are worth it.  Stretch assignments can be career-making for the employee and leader-confirming for the organization.

To learn more about how to develop your next set of leaders, download Surprising Succession Planning Traps to Avoid for HiPo’s

FILES UNDER: Career Development , Employee Retention , Succession Planning , Talent Development , Talent Management

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• Published November 25, 2020
• 8 Minute Read

Develop Strong Leaders With On-the-Job Learning

Put Experience at the Center of Talent Development

As business landscapes continue to change and shift, HR leaders face recurring questions:

Can leaders be developed quickly enough to meet demand? Could leaders better take advantage of current talent management processes and efforts? How can we help line managers develop and manage their talent more effectively?

Learning from experience is the best way to develop talent. Yet most organizations aren’t maximizing on-the-job opportunities that prepare leaders, develop employees, and advance business goals.

The key is to make experience-driven leadership development intentional .

HR leaders understand this and often follow the 70-20-10 framework , based on a CCL study, which reflects the relative impact of 3 types of experiences on executive development:

• 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experiences and challenges.
• 20% of learning comes from other people.
• 10% of learning comes from courses and formal training.

The “70%” reflects the primary way development happens: through on-the-job experiences and challenges. But most organizations aren’t maximizing on-the-job opportunities that prepare leaders, develop employees, and advance business goals.

Many HR and business leaders think they could do more but lack a cohesive plan.

Our researchers combined their talent management work with experience-driven development research to map out recommendations for HR leaders looking to be more strategic about the 70%.

Make Experience-Driven Development Part of Your Culture

As noted in our white paper , experience-driven talent development is when experience — carefully designed and executed — becomes the core driver of learning in the organization. Working and learning are bound together, aligned with the business strategy and shaped by a talent strategy.

When this kind of development is part of the organizational culture and embedded in all of talent management, you’ll see things such as:

• Senior leaders who support stretch assignments as a key strategy for developing employees;
• Highly-valued employees being routinely shared with other parts of the organization; and
• Development opportunities considered when making decisions about how to staff key projects.

Millennials, in particular , desire the opportunity to learn from on-the-job experiences.

Challenging assignments — also called stretch assignments — are at the heart of experience-driven development, and help to attract and retain talent. Such assignments put individuals in new or uncertain situations where they have to take action, see direct outcomes, and refine their approach to be more successful.

Over time, these cycles of action and adjustment build new skill sets and deeper expertise.

Challenging assignments typically have one or more of these elements: facing unfamiliar or broader responsibilities, creating change, influencing across organizational boundaries, and working with diverse sets of people. At CCL, sometimes we refer to these as “ heat experiences,” and they can be major drivers of on-the-job learning .

Learn how your organization can use on-the-job experiences to enhance their leadership talent with this collection of best practices, tools, techniques, processes, and strategies .

Embed Experience-Driven Development Into Your Talent Management Efforts

Learning and development are often walled off from, or only loosely tied to, the larger talent management system.  But experience should be at the center of it all. Experience-driven talent management involves 3 components:

• Talent strategy;
• Talent processes; and
• Talent roles.

Talent Strategy

A talent strategy articulates decisions guiding how the organization will attract, develop, and retain the talent needed to achieve its business strategy. The talent strategy begins with a clear understanding of the business strategy and provides guidance for the critical investments an organization will or will not make in people. At a high level, it identifies the critical positions or key players that are essential for the business strategy to be successful and important capabilities to be developed.

A talent strategy may set the direction for a high-priority need alone, or it may include the direction for the development of employees overall. For example, a professional services firm with an ambitious growth plan may have a talent strategy based on recruiting seasoned experts: “Seek out the most knowledgeable individuals in our field with a strong track record of success in our industry or a related one, and provide them with the opportunity to innovate, learn, and grow.”

Talent Processes

Talent processes are the formal programs and structures organizations use to be intentional and systematic about attracting, developing, and retaining talent. They’re the essential activities talent management carries out in service of the larger talent strategy: setting success profiles; recruiting, hiring, and onboarding; learning and development; performance management; rewards and recognition; staffing and succession management; employee engagement; and so on.

These are things you’re probably already doing in some fashion, but they look different through an experience-driven development lens. For example, you may add learning agility as a core competency when selecting and evaluating employees. In hiring, you may put more weight on certain experiences (global travel or start-up, for instance), especially those that are needed but not strongly reflected in the current talent pool.

Talent Roles

Talent roles address the people throughout the organization who impact talent attraction, development, and retention in very different ways. While this has historically been an HR role, talent management is quickly becoming a priority among senior leaders and managers who know they need the right pool of people involved — in the present and the future.

Everyone has a part to play in leveraging on-the-job learning, including the board of directors and individual employees, but Human Resources, Training & Development, and Organizational Development leaders are the catalysts.   You design and facilitate experience-driven talent management processes that support business strategy and engage employees. You educate others about their role in talent management and help them take on these roles. You monitor the effectiveness of the talent management system overall.

How to Increase On-the-Job Learning at Your Organization: Evolve Your Mindset

Putting experience-driven development and on-the-job learning at the center of talent management takes a shift in mindset and culture, along with changes in strategy, process, and roles.

If all elements of the talent system are going to enable and support learning from experience, people need to see learning everywhere .

When learning from experience is embedded in the culture, the gap between doing the work and developing the people shrinks. Learning isn’t added on. Coaching, mentoring, and aligning talent aren’t initiatives — they’re the way people work.  Learning agility is a valued competency, and it’s a normal part of the conversation.

The work of talent management, then, is to help individuals notice what should and could be learned from experience, and to find ways to help the organization capitalize on that learning potential.

Putting experience-driven development at the center of talent management will boost an organization’s efforts to attract and retain talent and accelerate the development of leaders at every level.

Organizations that successfully implement experience-driven development and leverage on-the-job learning do these 5 things:

1. Identify stretch assignments.

Some experiences are more developmental than others; consider the different  experiences that help people learn to lead . Identifying stretch assignments includes:

• Developing a shared language for talking about stretch assignments.
• Mapping competencies to stretch assignments.
• Creating experience paths for targeted positions or roles — such as a general manager role or those on a high-potential track.
• Reserving specific key jobs to use for development only.

2. Staff for development, not just for performance.

Matching specific individuals with the right experience requires rigor. The key with experience-driven development is to consider the need to hone new skills and perspectives, not simply make assignments based on past success or current role. Staffing for development includes:

• Putting processes in place to identify the next assignment needed for each high-potential to continue broadening their portfolio of experience and increasing their engagement and retention .
• Making sure that everyone has a “development-in-place” assignment — something in their current job that challenges and supports targeted development.
• Staffing key projects with development in mind, asking, “Who could benefit from this experience?”
• Developing managers’ skills at assignment-based development to be sure they’re able to identify, implement, and support stretch assignments.

3. Create new experiences.

This requires that enough of the right experiences exist to develop people in the needed ways. Expanding the array of developmental assignments involves:

• Creating new types of experiences to meet the strategic needs of the organization — more cross-functional, cross-country, new market, and new client opportunities, for example.
• Including developmental assignments in formal development programs — this might be in the form of action-learning projects, special assignments, or job-rotation experiences.
• Supporting the pursuit of leadership experiences beyond the workplace, such as volunteer work, board membership, or roles with professional organizations that address development needed in the workplace.

4. Enhance learning from experience.

Going through an experience doesn’t guarantee a person will learn from it. Support is essential. Organizations need to surround work development experiences with effective learning practices and help individuals understand how to use their experiences to fuel leadership development . This might include:

• Tools for reflecting on experience and feedback.
• Access to relationships for learning, such as mentors, peer networks, and communities of practice.
• Coaches who challenge and support explicit learning goals and experience-driven development.
• Formal coursework and online resources that provide just-in-time learning tailored to the challenges of the specific stretch experience.

5. Promote an experience-driven development culture.

When learning from experience is embedded in the culture, the gap between doing the work and developing the people shrinks. Learning isn’t added on — nor is coaching and aligning talent. An experience-driven development culture includes:

• Hiring, developing, recognizing, and rewarding senior leaders who visibly support experience-driven development.
• Communicating and tracking on-the-job development.
• Rewarding employees for their own development and for developing others.
• Valuing learning agility as a core competency — recruiting for it, selecting for it, and developing it.

Learning opportunities are everywhere and everyone knows it. The purpose of talent management, then, is to help individuals notice what should and could be learned from experience and to find ways to help the organization capitalize on that learning potential.

By facilitating a shift in mindset and culture, along with changes in strategy, process, and roles, HR can improve the process of attracting and retaining talent and developing leaders.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

We’re ready to partner with you to craft experience-driven talent development that builds critical leadership skills and competencies that are right for your organization’s unique context and culture. Learn more about our Talent Development solutions .

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Based on Research by

With over 30 years of experience at CCL, Cindy has contributed to many aspects of CCL’s work: research, publication, product development, program evaluation, coaching, and management. She designs and manages R&D projects, coaches action learning teams, writes for multiple audiences, and is a frequent speaker at professional conferences.

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Watch this webinar to learn how to identify high-potential talent, and how to develop learning agility in your organization's leaders — and in yourself.

Learn how organizations are boldly using heat experiences for talent development. But getting the temperature right and providing leaders with support to endure the heat are both critical – otherwise, you risk losing your high-potential talent to burnout.

Development isn’t passive. It’s more than letting life experience wash over you. The best leaders understand the benefits of leadership experience and actively mine their experiences for lessons and growth.

Is your personal life affecting your professional life? The classic 70-20-10 model omitted the impact of hardships and personal life on leadership development, but perhaps that’s worth revisiting.

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At the Center for Creative Leadership, our drive to create a ripple effect of positive change underpins everything we do. For 50+ years, we've pioneered leadership development solutions for everyone from frontline workers to global CEOs. Consistently ranked among the world's top providers of executive education, our research-based programs and solutions inspire individuals in organizations across the world — including 2/3 of the Fortune 1000 — to ignite remarkable transformations.

Developing managerial talent through stretch assignments

On-the-job experience can be a powerfully transformative tool for professional growth—in fact, research indicates it may be the primary vehicle for learning critical leadership skills. Many companies use job assignments to groom high-potential managers, but what kinds of experiences are really valuable for developing manager potential? And what kinds of managers benefit most from these experiences?

Paul Tesluk, Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management and chair of the department of management and organization, Joyce E. A. Russell, Ralph J. Tyser Distinguished Teaching Fellow, with former Smith PhD student Lisa Dragoni, now at Cornell University, and In-Sue Oh, University of Iowa, examine the effectiveness of “stretch assignments”—experiences which challenge and potentially broaden a person’s current capabilities—from the lens of individual goal orientations. This approach, used by educational psychologists to describe student behavior in the classroom, is now being used to understand r which employees are most likely seek out and benefit from stretch assignments.

Part-time MBA students who were in early-career managerial roles participated in the study, as did their supervisors. The participants’ goal orientations were assessed on the degree to which they demonstrated a learning orientation. Learning-oriented people are motivated by a desire to demonstrate mastery of new skills and behaviors. The participants completed a survey on their managerial assignments and development, and the authors followed up with the participants’ supervisors to understand how managerial assignments relate to the development of managerial competencies.

“Stretch assignments are those that require someone to manage and negotiate change, exert influence over others, and build coalitions. These assignments are highly developmental because they require new managers to learn new skills in order to be successful in the assignment and they have significant challenge which motivates new managers to work hard to improve their capabilities.,” says Tesluk.

Tesluk and his co-authors found that those with a strong learning orientation benefited most from stretch assignments. They enjoyed being challenged and learning something new, and were more likely to seek out critical feedback.

Senior executives responsible for developing high-potential talent in their organizations should identify those with a learning orientation in their groups, and then create an environment where stretch assignments are valued and where people are given access to them. The best stretch assignment opportunities are often guarded, says Tesluk. Companies may not want to lose a person who is already doing a fine job in a mission-critical position in order to give a high-potential junior manager the opportunity to grow in that position. “It requires some organizational discipline to have rotational programs and create incentives for managers to take stretch assignments,” says Tesluk. “Yet, this has become increasingly important for organizations since today’s employees are much more likely to be looking for rotational opportunities in order to enhance their own marketability” says Russell.

In an economy where many companies have had to lay off employees, stretch assignments may be more a matter of necessity than of opportunity. Juggling workloads and reassigning tasks can be framed as an opportunity for junior managers to gain new skills. Managers should consider how they are developing leadership for the next generation and use challenging on-the-job experiences, in combination with active mentoring and review processes, to help high-potential employees grow. “This is especially critical today,” says Russell, “given the pending retirements of the baby boom generation and the large number of Generation X and Y employees who will need to be developed to assume those managerial positions.”

“Companies have cut back on leadership development activities because of tight budgets, but firms will need that leadership to help them surmount the challenges of a difficult economy,” says Tesluk. “Managers need to present assignments by saying Here is what you’re going to learn through this process, these are the things at which you will have to become highly proficient, I know you’re going to struggle and here is how we’re going to help you through the process. Then it becomes less about the end result and more about performing through the process.”

“Understanding Managerial Development: Integrating Developmental Assignments, Learning Orientation and Access to Developmental Opportunities in Predicting Managerial Competencies,” was published in the August issue of the Academy of Management Journal. For more information about this research, contact  [email protected]  or  [email protected] .

• Research@Smith: Fall 2009
• Paul Tesluk
• Joyce E. A. Russell

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Developing Talent with Rotational Assignments 07.24.2018 | Jennifer Connell

• Best practices
• Millennials
• Rotational Assignments
• Talent Management

Rotational assignments were once the domain of oil and gas companies who used them to alleviate the burden on employees working in remote or hostile locations. Today, as more companies struggle to fuel their talent pipelines with specialized skills and millennial employees, these assignments are much more widespread. And serve a wide range of purposes.

The simplest definition of rotational assignments is “a series of short-term assignments.” For example, an employee spending anywhere from three weeks to three months in the host country followed by a period back in the home country or moving to another host country altogether. These moves are relatively easy to administer and not particularly cost-heavy. What’s more, 57% consider rotational assignments critical for career development purposes.

What makes these moves so appealing is that they allow employees to take on a wide range of projects, gain exposure to other areas of the company, and acquire new skills. Traits that, not surprisingly, also make these assignments (and the companies that offer them) particularly attractive to millennials.

Research shows that most millennials want to work for companies that will help develop their skills and provide opportunities to discover their strengths. They want to learn more about themselves and the world around them while taking on a diverse range of challenges, which makes them particularly well-suited for rotational assignments. More importantly, rotational assignments introduce millennial talent to an array of growth opportunities within the company, allowing them to map out an internal career, rather than having them look outside your organization.

That said, when it comes to benefits for employees on rotational assignment, it’s important to look closely at the demographic of each employee and the stage they are at in their careers. Early career professionals seek assignments that challenge them and strengthen their skill sets. Recent college graduates have fewer belongings and typically rent. More experienced employees have families and own homes.

Among the benefits companies offer to employees on rotational assignment, Weichert’s research shows that 58% cover travel between the departure and assignment locations; 54% provide temporary living and 36% cover return trips to the departure location (or family visits).

The vast majority of programs do not extend benefits to families, so it’s easy to see why 43% of companies report “separation from family” as a challenge with rotational assignments. This makes return trips an important provision for many assignees.

Another top concern in rotational programs is housing. This is due to the short nature of the assignment, as nothing belies the idea of deploying talent swiftly and nimbly than planning to move in and out of a home or apartment. Our research shows that 44% of companies will provide leased apartments/corporate housing to employees on rotational assignment. Full shipment of household goods is rarely provided.

As for how costs are covered during a rotational assignment, 50% of companies surveyed provide a per diem for certain living expenses. This per diem is typically used to cover meals, lodging and transportation in the assignment location. Beyond per diems, 28% provide a lump sum and 22% offer direct reimbursement for actual expenses.

As the name implies, rotational assignments require some advance thinking on the employee’s next destination. Are they coming back to the home office or being sent somewhere else? We would encourage including employees in discussions about their next assignment to learn how to best utilize the insight, skills and experience they’ve acquired. Consider a mentor program that connects rotational assignees with leaders throughout the company to facilitate their career plan in concert with the assignment.

In a year, circle back to evaluate the success of the program and make any necessary adjustments. Communicate with your stakeholders to receive input and recommendations on how to improve the existing framework, administer mobility provisions more effectively and ensure your program reflects the proper success factors in developing future leaders.

Unlike other types of temporary assignments, rotational assignments are more likely to expose your employees to more areas of your organization. Take time in your selection process; you want to identify the candidates that you foresee staying with the company for a while, as well as those who possess the ability to leverage the skills and experience they pick up at each assignment.

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The great re-engagement will be fueled by mobility 04.18.2022 | jennifer connell, lump sums: a blueprint for success 04.08.2019 | jennifer connell, relocating millennials: challenges and best practices 02.14.2019 | jennifer connell, examining mobility and talent challenges in apac 12.07.2018 | laura levenson, engage your talent… or someone else will 10.05.2018 | morgan e. wiedmann, talent mobility: identifying talent pre-assignment 04.18.2016 | ellie sullivan, moving millennials in canada: separating myth from reality 12.12.2015 | jennifer connell, survey shows talent crunch putting greater emphasis on relocation and flexibility 07.13.2015 | jennifer connell, podcast: workforce mobility’s role in talent management 01.22.2014 | tim mccarney, cookie statement.

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Develop People with Stretch Assignments

This blog is not about justifying why it is important for companies to conduct or provide ongoing training programs. Yes, there are many excellent training strategies and approaches that organizations can into their corporate employee programs that help achieve overall company goals. For the purpose of this blog, let’s start by agreeing  that it is essential for every organization’s business plan to include ongoing training – not just training new employees.

Knowledge and skills development is vital to the health of organizations

Business 101 tells us that training plays a major role in employee retention programs.The ongoing and consistent training of employees has a number of high value impacts.

• Instills loyalty and commitment.
• Prevents employees from stagnating and becoming bored.
• Acts as the key motivator that increases productivity.
• Supports employees with changing job requirements.
• Allows for faster adoption of new technologies

And, most importantly …

Ongoing training of employees demonstrates that the organization places a high value on their people and is willing to invest in a future together.

Development occurs when employees are given assignments that  are different from their typical responsibilities and stretch their existing abilities.

Not your usual training and development programs.

Most companies have some form of training programs. Sometimes they are limited to ‘onboarding’. Sometimes they include sending people out on courses or seminars. The focus here is about using specific techniques within the organization to build the company’s future by fine tuning the direction, leadership and succession strategies of corporate employees.

In recent years technology has introduced unprecedented change and uncertainty in both our personal and business lives. It’s absolutely no surprise that executives have had to become much more concerned about their organization’s agility, growth, ability to adapt and utilize technologies that have become commonplace. So how does that happen? The most effective and sometimes quickest manner is to prepare talented and highly valuable individual contributors for fast-track development by ‘stretching’ their skills with special assignments.

Special assignments are a very valid tool that provides opportunities to stretch skills, provide further learning and/or leadership development.

What are stretch assignments.

Stretch assignments proactively provide and effectively manage the future (and career expectations) of high-potential employees. They are unique and challenging experiences that optimize on-the-job development. Over the last few years, this tactic has clearly been on the rise because stretch assignments provide the opportunity for individuals to be tested for creativity, innovation, judgment and drive.

Planning short-term projects or assignments is an excellent tool, and a great vehicle, to test an individual’s ability and motivation.

  additional development strategies.

In addition to stretch assignments, there are other forms of validating the investment for development or promotion of prized talent such as:

• Mentorship programs
• External career coach
• Delegate more responsibility and / or authority with decision making
• Send employees on specific training programs, seminars or conferences
• Offer Internet-based learning
• Encourage self-directed learning
• Committee work
• Job rotation
• Lateral moves
• Project leadership

The above techniques can also add diversity and depth when preparing individuals for promotion, however stretch assignments have the added advantage of building interpersonal relationships, improving internal communications and increasing flexibility among various business units.

Offering career support to individuals can support retention of valuable employees who might otherwise leave the company for greener pastures.

Why use stretch assignments.

Some of the most common reasons that companies utilize and encourage the implementation of stretch assignments include:

• Vet whether or not an individual has the potential for what the company believes they see or anticipate
• Prepare individuals to step up immediately if leadership takes leave, quit or for any other reason no longer be present
• Build internal strength and ability to quickly develop and test new ideas and concepts as well as “re-tune” approaches, techniques and products
• Enhance the business’ ability to adopt and use advances in technology
• Raise the bar by building efficient, effective and highly motivated self-managed, decisive team leaders
• Improve a company’s competitive position and enhance a reputation for being employee-centric
• Ensure the business has adequate resources for expansion into new programs

Short-term successful outcomes build capability and knowledge for the next step and the one after that.

Stretch – one, two, repeat.

As they say, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”. Being a cat person,  I don’t particularly care for that expression so I’ll share with you how the expression is used in the southern US states. To skin a is in reference to the catfish, often abbreviated to cat, because it is usually skinned in preparing it for eating. I have no idea why ‘cat’ was selected for this expression, but suffice to say the point seems to be-

Any challenge generally has more than one solution.

Talent can be stretched both Vertically and Horizontally. In our modern workplace, it is important for employees to know and understand the difference. It may even make sense to stretch talent in both directions, if it meets with employee agreement and makes sense for the employer.

Vertical Stretch

Vertical stretching is an excellent tool to develop individuals for future leadership assignments and/or promotions. This form of stretch helps to find the optimal level of discomfort in the next role or project, because that’s where the most learning happens.

A good stretch helps find the optimal level of discomfort in the next role and that’s where the most learning happens.

Horizontal Stretch

A horizontal stretch goal inspires people to take on different responsibilities, develop new processes or products, or expand the organization outward in some way.

Not all individuals have the personality, drive or interest in climbing up the corporate ladder when it involves managing budget and/or people. Having both the responsibility and the accountability for others is only satisfying when an individual has a strong desire to move in that direction.

Horizontal development often results in subject matter experts that are just as valuable to an organization as the leaders of people. In this case, it is just as critical to grow solid individual contributors by adding  diversity to their work with complex and challenging projects that carry more responsibility. This is another way that will create certain kinds of discomfort that results in further learning and development.

Pushing your high potentials up a straight ladder won’t accelerate their growth—uncomfortable assignments will.

To stretch or not to stretch.

Two guidelines to consider when using short-term stretch goals

• Ensure that the immediate goals are part of a larger, more ambitious effort so that whatever is achieved and learned is a building block, not an end-in-itself.
• Intentionally design the short-term stretch goals in ways that force innovation, collaboration, and learning — so it’s not just a matter of working harder for a short period of time.

Deconstruct extremely ambitious stretch goals into several short-term stretch goals and include multiple cycles. Small wins maintain motivation and engagement

Advantages of stretch goals.

The most beneficial stretch assignments are intentional. They are selected to develop specific competencies that fit into a carefully created career development plan. Stretch assignments are the acknowledgement of an individual’s value to the organization and provide a rich context for the employee to grow.

Stretch goals are intended to encourage creative thinking and exploratory learning. They help companies  uncover new ways to improve processes and develop products and services.

Stretch goals help individuals become more self-confident and more engaged. They force people to re-evaluate what they’re capable of and this leads to a transformative experience.

Companies that utilize stretch assignments in their organizations, find that they are able to significantly increase the competence levels of their people over their competitors. .

The best stretch assignments are those that build business acumen, technical skill or leadership ability.

Disadvantages of stretch goals.

When management are over zealous and set goals that are impossible to reach, significant damage can be done. When a talented individual becomes overwhelmed or set up for failure, it can result in terrible losses to the business, the individual and the rest of the organization.

It is critical that stretch assignments are carefully designed. When top-performers can experience high levels of stress, feel pressured to take excessive risks and if  success is impossible or unattainable, there is always a risk that one feels leaving the company is their only choice.

Examples of Stretch Development

Stretch assignments are intended to develop specific and agreed to skills by providing the appropriate experiences. Devising the right strategy to gain experience and build skills can be done using a variety of assignments such as –

• Manage a volunteer or intern
• Execute a new or important company project
• Participate in the company’s strategic planning process
• Turn around a failing project, department or operation
• Organize and lead an important company event or meeting
• Lead a high profile initiative
• Conduct a customer-needs analysis
• Write a policy statement
• Facilitate change in the way a business or a process is conducted
• Fix a preexisting problem
• Evaluate a training program
• Join a team dealing with conflict
• Create a customer satisfaction survey
• Negotiate a new customer contract
• Re-launch a product or service that previously failed
• Lead people from different cultures, gender, racial or ethnic backgrounds
• Influence and oversee people or processes for which one has no direct authority

Not all stretch assignments are created equal.

By training, developing, monitoring, and witnessing the success of high performers, these people each become individually better and more valuable to the organization. The business will exhibit  higher levels of success, a more engaged workforce and the foundation for succession planning.

When the global executive search firm, Egon Zehnder, asked 823 international executives to look back at their careers and identify what had helped them unleash their potential, the most popular answer, cited by 71%, was stretch assignments.

Harvard Business Review Video

“Pushing your high-potentials up a straight ladder toward bigger jobs, budgets and staffs will continue their growth, but it won’t accelerate it.” ~ Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, author, international speaker and global expert on talent and leadership

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Stretch Assignments for High Potential Employees

As a leader, you’re accustomed to stretching and stretch assignments, since leaders handle a wide array of responsibilities and have to respond to unexpected challenges. You may not, however, stretch your team members the way you yourself were tested on your rise to your current leadership position.

Think of the last time you really grew fast. Chances are, you faced a significant challenge. You may have used parts of yourself that you didn’t even know existed, and you probably surprised yourself by how well you performed and persevered. Now, you’ll feel more comfortable if you face the same challenge again. You’ll also feel more comfortable facing new and different challenges, simply because you have more confidence and skills to draw from. Why not make this an exercise for your team?

What Makes a Developmental Experience Challenging?

Note: The table is drawn from DeRue & Wellman, 2009

There are lots of ways to challenge yourself and your team members, and everyone likes a good challenge (for the most part), so why aren’t stretch assignments used more often?

In general, leaders and their organizations prefer knowns and constants to unknowns and unpredictability. When someone performs well at their job, leaders try to keep that person in that capacity. This may serve the organization and leader, but it doesn’t always serve the employee. I’ve known many executives who had to leave the organization in order to find a new and more challenging assignments.

Leaders may feel like they can’t afford to provide stretch assignments to high-performing employees, but they can’t afford to lose these valuable employees either. Sometimes you have to fix something that isn’t broken. When Steve Jobs saw an opportunity to innovate or a new market, he went after it, even if it meant cannibalizing one of his own successful products. He said he’d rather make his own products obsolete than have the competition do it to him.

Stretch yourself with your willingness to provide stretch assignments for your team members–no matter how good they are at their current work.

What makes for a successful stretch assignment?

In his work on “flow,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about the need to match the right amount of challenge with the appropriate amount of skill. Too much challenge and you become frustrated, too little challenge and you get bored. Here are four steps to designing successful stretch assignments:

1)  Identify a developmental experience that will challenge your team member in a new way.

2) Make sure the challenge and the employee’s skill levels align, so that there’s good flow.

3) Provide a rich context for the employee to grow.

4) Make sure that goals are clear and understood by both parties.

What would it take for you to lower the barriers to giving stretch assignments? What is a stretch assignment you can give to yourself?

This post was informed by the following whitepaper: Making the Most of Stretch Assignments

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Rotational Assignments – The 2 Main Purposes

A company is only as good as its employees. Hiring quality workers can increase a company’s ability to reach operational objectives and help it thrive in today’s challenging economy. One way to boost human capital is through a rotational program: a consecutive series of professional assignments designed with specific employee or business outcomes in mind.

Companies typically use rotational assignments for two main purposes: talent development and project work.

Using Rotational Assignments for Talent Development

To boost in-house talent, employers are investing in rotational assignments for four more targeted purposes:

• Leadership development. Rotational assignments allow future leaders to acquire cross-functional knowledge of mission-critical functions and develop agility by varying roles, departments, scope, units, sectors, objectives and job locations.
• Knowledge transfer. Hands-on learning is critical to knowledge retention. Employees sent on rotational assignments can acquire local business knowledge and processes.
• Recruitment. Companies also use rotational assignments to attract new talent. A Wakefield Research study revealed that 82% of millennials believe relocation will be required if they want to advance in their careers. Giving new hires the opportunity to work at multiple locations within a short period of time allows them to explore various job functions and can help them determine what career path they want to pursue at a company.
• Retention. Rotational assignments can be used to encourage employee engagement and loyalty by providing opportunities to learn new skills, acquire new knowledge, work with knowledgeable colleagues and contribute to interesting projects.

Meet Critical Business Objectives with Rotational Assignments

Companies also use rotational assignments to fill skill gaps on projects. These are projects that, without the right leadership or skills, would fall short of their objectives – for example, internal manufacturing process improvement that require Lean Six Sigma experience, or products for clients that require niche engineering skills. Companies are hard-pressed to find qualified STEM talent, so when the necessary skills and experience aren’t available onsite, companies can use alternative solutions. Sending employees on rotational assignments can perform the double function of providing needed abilities at a fraction of the cost of hiring external talent while simultaneously challenging and developing the employees.

Download our free article for tips on developing your rotational assignment policy, selecting the best candidates and more.

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