Recently, I outlined several questions to consider to further develop high potential talent. The concern is that we often go through a talent review process, identify high potentials, and then fail to take additional action. We don’t do anything differently than if we had never gone through the time and effort to complete a talent review. It is important to develop specific plans for the high potentials—so they are further developed, remain challenged and engaged, and contribute in ways that add value.
10-10-10 Decision Making
Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 11/23/2011Are you looking for a quick and simple tool to help you in decision-making? A tool that can help when you are ‘stuck’ and can’t seem to determine the appropriate next step? The tool I’ve been recommending of late is from Suzy Welch’s book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea.
The exercise goes like this:
Think (journal) about a decision you are facing. Answer the 10-10-10 question:
1. What will the consequences of my decision be in 10 minutes (the first 10 basically stands for “right now” – as in, one minute, one hour, or one week)?
To Lead, Sometimes We Must Follow
Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 11/1/2011
My family was recently enjoying a glorious fall day. The weather was great—the air was crisp, the sun was shining, and there were beautiful cottony clouds in the sky. The horses were grazing in the pasture enjoying the afternoon sun.
My sister-in-law commented on the horses walking back and forth across the field. “See how that horse leads the others around the pasture. Everywhere he goes, the others follow.” (To set the context, you have to realize that she is not a horse person.) As I looked out to the pasture, I saw something else. I’m no horse whisperer; however, if you have ever owned horses, it wasn’t hard to see what was really happening.
Telecommuting and the Millennial Workforce
Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 10/26/2011Over the last several years, we have been hearing more and more from our clients about the new generation of employees, the Millennials. Among the unique attributes of this generation is the need to find fulfillment at work and in their personal lives – the proverbial work/life balance.
First Steps for Further Developing High Potential Talent
Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 10/19/2011One of the biggest concerns clients’ share about their talent management efforts is that “nothing happens” after the talent review. They do a good job identifying talent and are confident in the list of “high potentials” generated. The shortcoming seems to be in further developing those high potentials and ensuring that they are satisfied and engaged. We’ve put together a series of questions that are useful in determining next steps for each high potential identified during the talent review process.
For each high potential, answer the following (provide specifics, seek feedback and verify as need be):
Create a High Performing Workplace
Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 9/20/2011In order get the best out of your workforce, look to create an environment that:
Ensures employees understand the significance of their work
- Do employees understand how their job impacts customers?
- Do employees understand how their job impacts the success of the organization?
- Do employees feel valued?
Appreciates employee contributions
- Do leaders/managers show appreciation to their direct reports?
- Do leaders/managers treat direct reports with respect?
- Are employees fairly compensated for the work that they do?
Allows employees to build their competence
- Are employees’ skills and talents being used to their fullest potential?
People are Watching
Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 9/13/2011Like it or not, as a leader your behavior is under scrutiny. And that scrutiny increases the higher up the hierarchy you go. Employees are watching (and evaluating) your word choice, actions and behaviors. So it is helpful to ask yourself:
• “How inspiring am I?”
• “Am I demonstrating positive or negative energy?”
• “Do my actions match my words?”
• “Am I behaving in a way that is consistent with the organization’s culture and values?”
• “Am I modeling behaviors that I want others to follow?”
A Quick Way to Encourage Peer Learning
Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 9/7/2011One of the most beneficial aspects of leadership development programs we’ve conducted over the years is the opportunity for leaders/managers to learn from their peers. We often build working sessions into our programs allowing participants to interact with others on real-world issues. While some of the planned peer interactions are structured and elaborate, others are less time-consuming but just as effective. One activity we’ve used encourages quick 60-second interactions between participants and often leads to serendipity in the spontaneity.
Identify Your Top Talent – Performers and Potentials
Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 8/23/2011One of the key aspects of an organization’s talent review process is the identification of top talent. While organizational leaders are often adept at identifying outstanding performers, there can be difficulty identifying employees with the most potential, thus resulting in an incomplete picture of top talent. By creating organization-specific definitions of high performance and high potential, leaders have a standard to assess their talent against. These definitions will help facilitate deeper dialogue between leaders during the talent review process and will provide insight about which employees are top talent.
For clarity, we often use the following definitions:
Who Surrounds You?
Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 8/18/2011
I’m a firm believer that as a leader you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Surround yourself with great people (who are a good fit to your culture and environment) and you are on the road to success. Yet, I regularly see leaders who want to be the center of it all. They feel like they need to be the smartest ones in the room. Instead of sharing information, they withhold it thinking it gives them power. They let their egos and/or insecurities get in the way. They fail to invest in their team because they are afraid that that if their team members look too good, they will look bad (e.g., stupid, not knowledgeable, less skilled). As it turns out, they end up “looking bad” because the team isn’t as successful as it could be. And they only have themselves to blame.
