talent management Archives

trU Tips #16a – One on Ones and Leadership

Talent management is not a form, or a process, but a commitment to a place where everything (or most everything) works. The job is great, people are getting what they need, people are owning their role, and teams are helping each other be successful. It takes great leadership, great followership, and most importantly it takes frequent and very open conversations. The one on one is the critical piece of this, and here is a form to help a one on one work well. The result is great talent management.

My Top Shelf – Books that I love

Everyone has a list of books that are favorites. Here is my list that encompasses leadership development, individual development, self-awareness, friendship, and making a choice to make a difference. Talent management for each of us is about chosing to continue to learn and to know what our foundation of talent, passions, and the rewards that mean the most to us.

Some Hmm . . . #’s – Appreciation at work, Tablet usage, If I were CFO

Some numbers that leaders should be thinking about and how it might impact how you manage your talent. Not necessarily a key note speaking in itself, but worth a few minutes in a leadership team meeting. From Inc Magazine and a few other sources.

A tool to help leaders listen

What does effective leadership look like when you meet one on one with your people? What does good followership look like, and how do you ask the right questions of your leader and share with them what you need so they can lead? Talent management is about great conversations, and here is a template to make that happen.

How long do you listen?

Listening is not the lost skill of leadership, but it tends to take a back seat to getting work done when things are moving fast. A recent speech by a brain expert reminded me how little listening doctors do in the course of diagnosing certain medical conditions. Leadership and getting most out of the talent of a team (talent management) is, in part, about listening.

A trap: Over Leading and Under Caring

Being a leader versus being a manager. It is a great topic and a key discussion to have as you challenge seasoned managers and directors to take make a shift that the organization needs them to make. But many of the relational needs people have are best done by managers – and even the CEO needs to wear that hat on occassion.

7 Key Numbers All Leaders Should Know

Learning takes energy. Here are the numbers any leader or follower should think about before they start asking for or embarking on personal change. Talent management is about all of these AND the conversation that follows. Your next talent management strategy or leadership development key note address should probably include all of these numbers.

Why Were You Promoted?

Why were you selected for a new leadership role? Simple question, and yet critical in aligning the right people with a situation and creating an effective transition plan. Based on David Baker’s book, Managing Right – For The First Time, this is a question all leaders should ask, when hiring or being hired. Talent Management is about great conversations, and this question is a cornerstone of a great talent management conversation.

5 Habits To Build a Trust Savings Account

Truth and trust are the two areas that all leaders need to focus all of the time. Here are 5 Habits to build a Trust Savings Account (aka: Emergency Fund). The Birkman Method is a great tool for helping to understand the individual needs of your people. This is s cornerstone of both leadership development and the development of the culture of your team.

WI SHRM: What to do with a talent anchor?

The question from a Wisconsin SHRM attendee about keeping a person who is bringing income into the company, but is doing things that keep the CEO up at night and cost the company money in other areas. The talent scorecard is in place to drive truthful conversations around people like this.

Talent – What your CEO is reading today

There is a special section today around talent management in the Wall Street Journal. The great thing is that it is written for business leaders in their language and it opens the door for you, as an HR leader to help them process and apply some of it in your own company. A great read . . .

Wisconsin SHRM 2011: My presentations

What is the #1 issue in talent management? There are actually 2: Performance evaluations have to be given on-time AND people need development plans. Here is a talent management presentation around the talent scorecard that I gave at the Wisconsin SHRM 2011 conference as a speaker. It is ideal for a keynote address to leaders looking for a perspective on leveraging their talent and an action plan to do it.