Agree that you are helping them grow, but you are trying to influence their behavior. In the interest of honesty I prefer to call a spade a spade. You'll notice I also use the term "subordinate" which bothers some people, but it's the most descriptive and accurate term possible and avoids euphemism.

"My employee" if you're a manager they're not your employee; "a member of my team" that doesn't make clear if they report to you or you're on the same level of the hierarchy; "my direct report" I just find this a weird/confusing turn of phrase whose purpose seems to be avoiding using the term "subordinate."