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Talent Management appears to have made quite a splash in the headlines over
the last year or so. Many of our clients have also told us that talent
management is increasingly a focus for their development activities. In
this e-mail we would like to share with you some of SKAI's recent research
findings on this popular subject. At the end of the e-mail you'll find a
short activity that may help you reflect upon your own strengths and
weakness, and how they might impact how you use your personal talent today.
In September 2005, SKAI commissioned research on individuals who had been
identified as "talented" by their organisation. In November 2005 we ran an
event to share the research findings with like-minded leaders and
practitioners, and to discuss and debate some of the issues surrounding the
design and delivery of in-house Talent Management programmes. The key
results from the research and the event included:
1. The most commonly offered development opportunities do not generate
the most impact on motivation, commitment and performance
2. In particular coaching (internal and external) has the most impact,
but is the least commonly offered
3. Line managers have a big influence on whether people participate in
a programme
4. Line managers generally cannot be relied upon to pay sufficient
attention to the personal development of talented people
5. Summary conclusions were: If a talent management programme is to be
launched, it must be easy to understand, be well advertised to all, have
sufficient funds to roll out to a conclusion, be managed centrally, and
there has to have been previous investment in line manager skills to make
sure it is properly supported.
Do let us know if you would like to receive a copy of the complete research
(just reply to this e-mail). A shorter version has also been published in
the journal "Total Business". It is available at www.totalbusiness.org.uk
or again just e-mail us and we will send
you a copy.
Since completing our research we have used the key findings to develop a
short, sharp coaching product aimed specifically at "talented" people called
Unlocking Potential. It's intended to be a component part of an in-house
programme. Here's an activity that we get participants to do that you might
find interesting to try out on yourself.
1. Create a table with 3 columns (we can send you the table format if
you like, just e-mail us)
2. Use the first column to list your key strengths. Ask yourself the
following questions:
* What do your appraisals typically say you are good at?
* What does your line manager say are your strengths?
* What are you known for? (What would others say)?
* What can people rely on you for?
3. In the second column list what you are able to do as a result of
each strength
4. In the third column make a note of what happens when this strength
is not useful, is overused or is irrelevant to the situation
5. An example would be:
* Strength - work fast, quick thinker
* Because of this strength - I can get through huge amounts of work faster
than anyone else; I quickly see whether an idea has merit or not
* This strength is not useful when - I am working in a team as I can appear
to steam roller over other people's ideas, not take people with me, dismiss
their input.
If you would like help completing your table (sometimes people find it hard
to think through the 3rd column on their own!) then e-mail it through to us at info@skai.co.uk
and we will get one of our expert coaches to have a quick look and e-mail
back to you their input.
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