When I was fresh out of law school, I went to work for a large law firm. One of the partners that I was assigned to would give me and the other new lawyers what seemed like dauntingly complex work assignments. When we expressed ambivalence about taking on these assignments because we feared making mistakes, the partner would reassure us, saying, “Don’t worry. There is no mistake you can make that I can’t fix. I think it is much more important that you have this learning experience.” Needless to say, we all learned an enormous amount by working for this man.

As I moved into and up the ladder in corporate life, I soon discovered that effective mentors like this law firm partner are the exception and not the rule. And study after study of management competencies indicates that managers’ proficiency in developing their direct reports ranks far behind other essential management skills.

Today, managers have a host of excuses for not making mentoring and development a priority. Between doing their own work, making sure those they supervise are getting their work done and putting out the fires that inevitably erupt at all the wrong times, it is a daunting task to plan for tomorrow— much less devote the time to an activity that will not yield results for months, or years down the line.

True, employee development takes a good deal of time, but it is critical to the success of both a business and its managers. A strong, flexible, growing company needs people who are learning and growing as well. Taking the time to mentor and improve your direct reports will also make your life as a manager significantly easier. You will have more confident, competent employees to whom you can effectively delegate more of your work. By becoming an effective mentor you will stand out as a leader rather than just a manager, and will be better able to draw top talent to come and work for you.

Here are some tips for bringing out the best in your people:

Go beyond training. In-house and outside training sessions are invaluable in imparting new information and skills to employees, but training alone is not enough. Unless employees have the chance to use what they have learned in new situations on the job, they will quickly forget what they learned. Take the opportunity to create your own regular development opportunities for your reports by recognizing good learning situations as they arise, putting the right staff in the position to take advantage of them and discussing the outcomes with them individually or as a group, as appropriate.

Embrace mistakes. Think about your most valuable learning experiences. Chances are, they resulted from mistakes you made. Managers often avoid delegating work because they are intolerant of the errors that their people inevitably make as they learn. Assign work that will challenge workers and foster growth. The reward of individual development is almost always much greater than the cost of a mistake.

Involve people in their development. Often, people are afraid to expand their horizons because they are resistant to change, or they fear that they will fail. Emphasize your employees’ roles in managing their own careers and work with them to create their personal development plans. Periodically review these plans with individuals to track their progress and make self-development a part of each worker’s annual performance review.

Be a motivator. Your role in mentoring your employees is an intricate mixture of teacher, coach and cheerleader. At varying times, you will need to encourage those who lack confidence, commend positive results and excellence of effort and constructively confront behavior that is not conducive to effective growth. Sometimes you will have to do all of these things at the same time.

Get your own coach. The skills to be an excellent mentor and developer of people come more naturally to some than to others, but they can be learned. It is not always easy to recognize appropriate development opportunities, overcome the reluctance to delegate, make the time to focus on growing others and appropriately deliver the required message. Look at attaining these skills as part of your growth and development as a manager. If you need help, get help, whether from a mentor within your organization or an executive coach.