| There's much talk of talent management in | | | | came easiest to you? |
| organisations these days, and HR and L & D | | | | WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT |
| departments wrestle with the most effective way of | | | | TALENT |
| developing a talent management programme which | | | | Every one of us has natural talents: things we seem |
| truly delivers the required outcomes. | | | | "hard-wired" to do; which come easy to us and which |
| One frequent question managers ask me is: "How do I | | | | we enjoy doing. |
| manage someone who is just not the right "fit" for the | | | | And the more we focus on and work on those areas, |
| role?" | | | | the closer we can get to excellence. |
| Getting square pegs into square holes is always a | | | | It's easier to make a grade A an A star, than it is to |
| challenge - even for the greatest managers - but there | | | | make a grade E into an A star. At best, you'll make an |
| are some things you absolutely must do and | | | | E into a C, and you'll probably meet with a lot of |
| understand, and some things you absolutely should | | | | resistance and unhappiness along the way! |
| avoid! | | | | Focusing on improving weaknesses results in mediocre |
| Some of the most exciting and robust research of the | | | | performance. |
| last three decades I believe has come from Gallup, | | | | Focusing on improving natural talents and strengths |
| who have made it their focus to study excellence in | | | | results in excellence. |
| organisations; where it exists; how it manifests and | | | | TALENT IN ORGANISATIONS - SOME FACTS |
| what we can learn from it. After years of research | | | | Gallup interview over 1.7 million employees and found: |
| and study into peak performance some interesting | | | | 20% feel their strengths are in play every day 8 out of |
| ideas have emerged which perhaps challenge some | | | | 10 feel "miscast" in their role They also found there |
| of our perceptions and beliefs about human talent and | | | | was a direct correlation between staff being able to |
| ability. | | | | do what they do best every day and customer |
| Their work helps explain why, in order to develop any | | | | satisfaction, profitability and staff turnover. |
| truly effective talent management programme, two | | | | EFFECTIVE TALENT MANAGEMENT SUGGESTS |
| key things need to happen: | | | | WE ESTABLISH SOME NEW ASSUMPTIONS |
| Everyone needs to understand some basic principles | | | | ABOUT TALENT |
| about what talent is exactly, and why some of our | | | | Assumption 1: Each person's talents are enduring and |
| most common assumptions about talent are | | | | unique Assumption 2: Each person's greatest room for |
| fundamentally flawed. | | | | growth is in the area of his or her greatest strength. |
| Managers need to learn how to effectively recognise | | | | Outstanding managers know: |
| and manage talent to maximise overall organisational | | | | Every role, performed at excellence, requires talent. |
| performance. | | | | Excellence is impossible without talent. You cannot |
| So if you're a manager, and you want to develop and | | | | teach talent. Experience, brain power and will power |
| encourage excellence in performance, where do you | | | | are secondary for excellent performance. So these |
| start? | | | | managers select and place individuals based on talent |
| Step 1: Understand two of our most common | | | | first. |
| assumptions about excellence are fundamentally | | | | They know the rest can be developed through |
| flawed. | | | | coaching, training and practise. |
| Assumption 1: Each person can learn to be competent | | | | Step 2: "Become as articulate about describing |
| in almost anything. | | | | excellence as you are about describing failure." |
| Assumption 2: Each person has greatest room for | | | | Disney We are all quite good at describing what |
| growth in his or her area of greatest weakness. | | | | someone is not doing well, or the behaviours we don't |
| It's often easier to identify and describe poor | | | | want to see! We are perhaps less well practised in |
| performance than it is excellence. We can all describe, | | | | describing what we really need to see if we are to |
| often in great detail, what someone's weaknesses are, | | | | encourage excellence! |
| and from our early experiences as children in school, | | | | The critical key to effective talent management is |
| we learn to focus on those weaknesses with the | | | | matching the right talent with the right role. We need, |
| intent of trying to improve them. Reports tell us to "try | | | | as managers, to understand specifically what makes |
| harder" or "concentrate more" at those subjects in | | | | our star performers in any role as good as they are. |
| which we display weakness. | | | | What exactly is it that they are doing, or thinking or |
| When we move into the world of work, that same | | | | feeling which is different to your average performers |
| approach to personal development and our career | | | | in that role? |
| path continues: we learn to identify the weaknesses | | | | What is interesting is that, if you study your stars, you |
| and then somehow help people overcome those | | | | will find there are similarities in their answers, and these |
| weaknesses by some form of development in that | | | | give you clues about what you need to see in anyone |
| area. | | | | else you recruit into this position, or place in a particular |
| All the focus and intention is on making us "more | | | | project. |
| well-rounded" individuals - to bring our weaknesses up | | | | Gallup suggests managers: |
| to the level of our strengths. | | | | Study your stars in a particular role. What do they feel |
| But excellence in any field of human endeavour you | | | | are the most challenging aspects of their role? What |
| choose simply doesn't work like that! | | | | do they seem to do, think or feel about the different |
| If you told Roger Federer he was good enough at | | | | aspects of their job, particularly the most challenging |
| tennis when he was young, and asked him to improve | | | | aspects? |
| his golf, would he become a Tiger Woods? | | | | Draw up a role profile based on the answers your |
| If you asked a young lawyer who seems naturally | | | | stars give you. |
| gifted at criminal law to improve at corporate law, | | | | Create questions you can ask in a "talent interview". |
| would this make him a better lawyer? | | | | As long as organisations and managers believe we |
| If you had to have heart surgery, would you rather it | | | | can learn to be competent in almost anything, and that |
| was from someone who had spent years perfecting | | | | we can grow most in our areas of weakness, we will |
| and specialising in this field, or have a General | | | | continue to promote people to management who |
| Practioner look after you? | | | | shouldn't be there; to re-shuffle people in a restructure |
| And when you were at school, did you focus hardest, | | | | without really paying attention to whether this role will |
| work hardest and concentrate most on the subjects | | | | play to their natural talents or not, and to suffer the |
| you weren't good at, or the ones you loved, and which | | | | consequences of square pegs in round holes. |