Talent management is about great conversations. I have used the Strengthsfinder assessment to facilitate the start of over 500 of these conversations. Now you can get more data from Gallup on the Strengthsfinder assessment, but you do not need more data. Here is why.
employee engagement
My Top 4 Learning Tools
Where do you learn? Here are my top four sources of learning. Talent management is about great conversations. What is the conversation you are having with yourself about what you need to learn today?
Make Good Decisions Dad
Leadership development can happen anywhere. Talent management is about having great conversations and doing something positive with what you hear and learn. This lesson in leadership was from the mouth of a nine year old, and I am glad I listened.
4 Performance Words – What Seth said, and What I think
Seth Godin makes me think. Talent management is about great conversations, and the words we use in our performance conversations are important. Lets drop the lingo, and use words. Here are four that should be used more because everyone understands them.
Rule 3 – NEVER cancel without rescheduling
Trust is critical in a healthy relationship. For leaders, a way to establish it is to put great value on the one on one time and never cancel without rescheduling right away. This is the final rules for one on ones that must NEVER be broken. Talent management is about great conversations. Follow these three rules and you are on your way to having them.
Rule 2 – Individual (not leader) owns the agenda
A key conversation and habit for any leader is the one on one. Here is the second rule for leaders doing one one ones – letting the owner be the individual, not the leader. Talent management is about great conversations, and this one will be more effective if the ownership is not with the leader.
Rule 1 – Be in the same room together
Talent management is about great conversations. For leaders, it is about shutting out the other things and focusing on one person at a time. This is called a one one one, and here is a template on how to do it. Some data – parents and kids only spend about 3.5 minutes a day in meaningful conversation. So what would your habits at work say about the quality time you spend with your people?
Everyone needs a Target. Everyone!
Talent management is about great conversations. It is a mistake to assume a six figure salary means that people can be totally independent and will create their own performance expectations. The one on one template I use defines that expectation and helps people see the goal that must be attained.
Can the CEO Coach? 2 Myths that get in the way
Making a transition to a senior level leader is tough. The CEO can play a key role in success, and they can also choose to stay away until it is too late. Here are two myths that get in the way of a CEO being a coach/mentor for the success of their leaders. Talent management is about great conversations – get past these myths and you can go have one.
Questions to help the work get done (and the team to be built)
Talent management starts with what we will commit to doing and making sure we have what we need to be successful. These are also the building blocks for teamwork. Seth Godin paints a great picture of teamwork and how to get past disagreements. Here are a few more questions to help you use these to solve your disagreements and move the work/the team/your contribution forward.
What is your learning BRAND?
Have you heard of TED? Where do you learn? Talent management is about great conversations. As part of that conversation, I love to ask these two questions to help me understand someones learning Brand. Use them, and if you are asked, be ready to offer some authentic and energized answers.
What do I do?
Talent management and leadership starts with great conversations. One of the most important conversations is around What do I do? In the answer and the process towards the answer is the essence of leadership. The clarity, focus, and accountability that is built into this question will take you to a different place in terms of your performance.