Talent Management: How About A Guy With A Big Cigar?

Blogs are about conversation.

There are lots of conversation about Talent Management. Or at least there are a lot of opinions, comments, and furrowed brows.

The Lingering Question Is. . .

I think the most honest post I've seen comes from Gautam Gosh where he asks, "What Exactly Is Talent Management?"  I think it's honest because Gautam knows about business, knows HR strategy, and consults to companies in India. And he has the courage to ask a question that plenty of others won't ask for fear of looking "uninformed."

Jim Holinchek adds to the conversation with All Talent Management All of the Time and CEO Views of Talent Management.

I like Don Taylor's definition because it gets to the heart of the matter and doesn't use any jargon du jour: "Talent Management is making capability match commitments."

Don's definition also points the way toward strategy driving the kind of talent needed vs. only looking at the talent one has now and saying "How are we going to move ahead with what we've got?" The difference in possible outcomes is obvious.

I've written a bit about talent management before, at least here and here. And I'm fairly opinionated about it. Why? Because I've been deeply involved in designing talent management processes with companies and have discovered the following:

1. They are impacted by the corporate inclination that "anything worthwhile can't be simple." So they often become complex, programmatic, and filled with jargon--and managers begin to see them as "one more thing to get in the way of work."

2. When they are housed under the HR umbrella, the managers who are in charge of the actual "talent" are often consulted for their opinions rather than made the responsible parties for the development of their company.

3. A current "star" performer can be anointed as "high potential," yet not have any of the attributes that the company will need 3 or 5 years from now. If the "star" status isn't identified for what it is, that person may get ignored for proper development and end up looking for a job down the road.

4. Once a "program" goes company-wide and has visibility, the normal human inclination for organizational power emerges and "who has what power" can begin to undermine "who do we hire and develop, and how?"

So strong operational leadership is really a key to this whole talent thing. That's why I propose:

Find The Guy With The Big Cigar

Elvis had Colonel Tom Parker . The Beatles had Brian Epstein . Everybody who is anybody in the music business had to cross paths with Clive Davis along the way.

These people knew the audience, recognized talent, and then knew how to develop it for the future.

Recognizing and developing talent is a talent and a passion unto itself.

Should your company be thinking about "who has the Big Cigar?"

Photo Source: elvis.raks.com.pl/

Comments

[Shane]

Talent is usually hard to manage. Highly creative and often highly demading people at the top of their game need managers with serious leadership ability. The same concept scales into world politics ...

We all know there are quite a few countries whose very being depends on iron-fisted leadership. If they don't have a tough guy with a big cigar, or they lose him, they fall into chaos and ruin.

These kinds of leaders are always viewed as slimy, no good, mad, or just plain evil. Still, they get results, and history always finds a place for them. Whether we like it or not.

[Viji]

Very interesting post Steve. Yes, in our company, they encourage talented people and special trainings are provided for them to shape well. I learn many interesting things through your posts and your valuable links too. It is quite helpful while taking some decisions and while replying also. Thanks for everything. Hope you had a nice time with your family. Viji

[steveroesler]

Shane,

Gee, I hadn't thought about it in that context. I was thinking about organizations simply having someone who was the "Talent Agent" and whose job it was to really focus on finding and developing talent.

It's interesting that the "cigar" visual brings about a certain kind of a character in different peoples' minds. And, you are sure right about the cultural inclinations of some places whose only path to stability constantly seems to be a return to the kind of leadership you described.

[steveroesler]

Viji, it's good to hear about the opportunities in your company. And yes, thanks, we had a very fine weekend!

[Ellen Weber]

Steve, what an interesting post and yes, Talent raises a problem for many:-0 Did you read the article on the March Harvard Business review on this topic.

HBR addressed the question..."How do you manage people who don't want to be led and may be smarter than you? It was well done:-) Thanks for the ideas here, Steve!

[Wally Bock]

For recommended reading, try Walter Isaascson's new book on Einstein. Now there was a talent that resisted managing.

[steveroesler]

Hey thanks for the recommendation, Wally. My car automatically pulls into Borders.

[DonaldHTaylor]

Steve, thanks for the reference. I like the idea of the talent spotting guy with the big cigar, and will probably steal the idea for my own use elsewhere. Seriously, I like your stress on strong operational leadership - you're right, it's crucial.

[Steve Roesler]

Hello, Don,

Well, the cigar image seems to be a sticky one, so I'm continuing to use it, too. In many cases, the software support for talent management is ahead of the human side of the equation...that's where I spend more and more time with clients and where the cigar idea came from.

I used to live and work in London and still spend a good percentage of my consulting and speaking time in Europe. It does appear that the human/software match-up continues to be somewhat or a challenge globally.

Feel free to use the idea...just put my name on the cigar band!

Continued success...