A Manager’s Guide To Career Conversations
How to Have Meaningful Career Conversations with Employees
Get the tools and templates you need to empower your employees to take ownership of their career development
Career conversations don’t have to be daunting. The Manager’s Guide to Career Conversations gives you the structure, language, and mindset to turn “What’s next for me?” into a shared, inspiring discussion that motivates both you and your team.
Inside, you’ll find practical tools, frameworks, and conversation models to help you: prepare effectively, ask powerful questions, and empower employees to own their growth.
Do you manage, mentor or supervise people within your organisation?
If you manage, supervise or mentor anyone, you can expect that at some time they will ask you how they can progress in your organisation. The Manager’s Guide to Career Conversations will prepare you for having this conversation.
The practical resources provided in this guide will show you how to prepare yourself, and the effective ways to ask the right questions.
This guide has been designed to support the Career Conversation Toolkit, a set of practical card-based tools to help you ask the right questions and empower your employees to take ownership of their own career development.
The skills and techniques you need to have effective career conversations will help you to become even more effective people managers. Your organisation will have more satisfied, loyal, and motivated staff. And they will be able to develop and keep the skills the organisation needs for the future.
Benefits for employees:
- Feel more motivated and satisfied in their roles
- Identify meaningful opportunities for growth
- Take ownership of their development journey
Benefits for managers:
- Lead more confidently and authentically
- Build trust and openness in your teams
- Make development discussions simple and effective
Benefits for organisations:
- Boost engagement and retention
- Strengthen your leadership capability
- Build a culture of career ownership and growth
Whether you’re booking Antoinette as your keynote speaker for an all hands event or leading your plenary session at leadership week conference, the Manager’s Guide to Career Conversations in conjunction with the Career Conversations Toolkit and Career Compass Workbook is a powerful suite of tools to guide employees and upskill managers and mentors.
Testimonial
“I found the content excellent, thought-provoking, it made me reflect quite a bit on my own practice. And I love the Career Conversation Toolkit.”
Katy W., Manager
What does the Manager’s Guide Contain?
The Manager’s Guide includes everything you need to have confident, meaningful career conversations:
- Why Career Conversations Matter
- Your Role as a Manager
- Preparing for Success
- Top Tips for Career Conversations
- The Career Conversation Model
- The Toolkit Connection
- Bringing it All Together
Each section helps managers develop skills, or confidence in, their own skills and practice.
About the Creator
Antoinette Oglethorpe is an award-winning speaker, best-selling author, and global authority on career development and leadership. With over 25 years’ experience – including roles at P&G, Accenture and Avanade – she’s worked with organisations like the World Health Organization, UN Refugee Agency, NHS and Fortune 500 companies.