Talent management is about having conversations. It is also about people bringing self awareness to the conversation and using that information to have a more effective conversation. This post uses a TED talk about introversion to explore what we (leaders and followers) need to do to make this a rich conversation. Great talent management is enabled by self awareness.
Self awareness
Tracking Our Happiness – My experience + an exercise for leaders
Talent management is not about training, it is about awareness, individual ownership, and an ongoing partnership between leaders and followers to get better. I joined an HBR study on happiness and here is some reflections on what I have learned.
Assessments for Individuals – How they stack up
Talent management is about great conversations. In order for it to work, an individual needs to bring an awareness of who they are so decisions made can reflect the needs of the team, the individual, and the organization. Assessments are helpful in giving the talent (people) in your organization a baseline of information to build that self awareness. Here is my opinion of how those assessments stack up.
3 Questions to Answer BEFORE Hire=Yes
Three question process for the selection piece of talent management? Not likely, but it highlights a good way to have a final discussion about the fit of a candidate to a role/organization and for a candidate to asess their own alignment with the role. Good talent management and leadership development topic.
Assessments: 4 Traps and 1 Truth
Assessments in talent management – whether it is selection, high potential development, career development, leadership development, or any of the other pieces – is important. Here are 4 traps and a truth around using asssessments so you can make a good buy instead of being sold something that will not work.
Choices. (career and talent management)
Career development planning is about choices. It is about thinking about what we want to be doing in the future, and preparing ourselves to meet a goal for prepare ourselves for a different path. At the heart of talent management is preparing the individual to bring an awareness of self to this conversation and helping the leader listen, guide, direct, challenge, and ultimately partner. Talent management is about great conversations, and at the heart of those conversations is ultimately a choice.
A great question to end your week (or your meeting)
What are you most proud of. Talent management and leadership is about understanding people and engaging them in the process and problems of running an organization. Of getting work done. Here is a question to renew energy and share what matters to them.
A Hmmm # for leaders – What’s in your mail?
What is the impact of a personal note from a leader? Part of talent management is effectively connecting with your people and showing them that you care. Based on a recently published article, the mail is where you will have the least competition for their attention. People love letters!
What do you do?
The #1 question to ask in any talent management process, and probably the most difficult to answer. Great Leadership / Followership starts with a clear target, and this is it.
trU Tips 17+ – Three comments that drove me to write it
Talent management and leadership is about lots of things, but at the core it is about an understanding of ourselves, a willingness to share our perspective(and listen to the perspective of others), and a commitment to the time it will take to get a solution. The habits are core to the talent calendar.
Book Review: Steve Jobs Biography (by Walter Isaacson)
Steve Jobs is an interesting person, and his biography by Walter Isaacson is a great read at many levels. Here is a brief view of that book and 3 things I take away. Leadership development, talent management, self awareness through failure – it is all there.
Are you a BUT or AND leader?
Small words that have a big impact – BUT / AND. A cornerstone of leadership development is communication, which is part what we say and part getting people to listen. Talent Management is about conversations that happen and are healthy exchanges. One of these words sets a healthy tone for an exchange, and the other too often shuts it down.