Manage Your Talent
The Christian Bible
tells a story of a master who gave three of his servants a sum of money and
then went off travelling for several years.
When he returned, he asked them what they had done with the money. Two had invested it and returned it with
profits. The third had buried it in the
ground and returned the same amount as he had been given. He was sacked.
Moral: try to improve yourself/your situation. Don’t waste your talent.
How many organisations really
know how to manage their talent? They
may know what they need, but do they know how to exploit what they have? Many tend to confuse “Performance Management”
with “Talent Management”. The former is
about managing the way your organisation achieves its goals through effective
use of its resources (whilst taking into account the various “stakeholder
interests” that affect it). It includes managing
the performance of employees - usually through setting performance targets
(often badly managed).
Talent management is a totally different proposition. When you interview candidates for jobs in
your organisation, those who make it through are usually hired because they are
perceived to have a skill set that will benefit the organisation, as well as
being a good “fit” for the team. As time
progresses, this impression will be validated (or not) and people will fall by
the proverbial wayside.
Many organisations too often want people who walk, talk and
sound like the ”ideal” organisation man or woman does. Think
of your impression of what a stereotypical teacher, banker, doctor or
accountant should look and sound like and you’ll understand what I’m driving
at. I’ve seen advice columns where
interviewees are advised to “dress the part” so that they “blend in”. Humans are naturally a “herd animal” and tend
to be wary of the one who stands out of the crowd (that’s how predators select
their prey…)
The downside risk is that people who walk the same and talk the
same will think the same - dangerous in an age when agility is becoming more
important. Everyone is an individual,
and whilst many may display the traits that one may consider “desirable”, what
you need are people who can see the trends, opportunities and problems
coming.
It doesn't mean encourage every “maverick” there is, nor to
hire people who clearly aren’t suited for the organisation. It does mean that you need to see what
“extras” they may have. These may come
from skills developed through outside interests. Clothing style can be changed, but above
everything else don’t change who they are.
I once asked the HR department of a large bank if they had
any idea of what constituted an ideal “corporate banker” or “compliance person”
based on the copious amounts of data they collected on defined
characteristics. The answer was a
deafening silence. They had all this information about their
talent, and hadn’t a clue how to use it…
If I were to hire an HR manager, the first question I’d ask
is “What do you see as the difference between Talent Management and Performance
Management”. If they couldn’t answer,
I’d move on.
In case you want to know how I’d answer, it would be along
the lines of “Performance Management is moving the organisation to where it
wants to be through people and resources.
Talent Management is making the best use of what I’ve got to achieve
that.”
What would yours be?
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 07:43
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