How Great Leaders Bridge Knowledge Gaps in Product Teams

When you identify an opportunity for growth within your teams, don't lead with 'you don't know X'; lead with 'here's how you can learn more about X.'

Instead of saying: "I noticed that there are a lot of mistakes when you work with data, and there are key insights that you're missing," try "Hey, I came across something that might interest you ." 

Admitting that you don't know everything and need to brush up on some things helps your teammates feel more comfortable talking about their shortcomings with you.

If your teams suffer from a serious skills gap, it might be time to take their learning to the next level.

• It could mean keeping a slack channel open for sharing learning materials. People naturally like to help each other learn and to learn from each other.
• Offering to pay for things like conference tickets, books, and courses is another way to encourage people to take the opportunity to learn.

You could set up a monthly learning meeting, where a team member with a certain speciality gives a mini talk or a demonstration on something they’re an expert in.

This helps to build the skillset across the team, but also fosters respect and understanding among your teammates.

The first step in addressing knowledge gaps in teams is to understand where those gaps lie.

Make sure your teams know that you’re running this analysis in order to prove that they deserve resources for training and growth.

As a team leader, you’re more likely to run a skills gap analysis for individual team members than you are for the entire department.

• Step 1: Identify skills. Figure out which skills are the most necessary in your teams, including the ones your team already know.
• Step 2: Measure skills. Ask them to rate their proficiency level on a scale from 1–10. If they know that the analysis is to help them grow they’ll be more comfortable telling the truth.
• Step 3: Take action.

If your employees aren’t allowed to grow, your company cannot grow. At worst, your employees might up and leave for a company that values their development more than you do.

Your boss is concerned about business goals.  Convince them that investing in your teams skills and knowledge is another step towards achieving your business goals.