Talent: What You Want or What You've Got?

This is for corporate types.

If you've ever sat around the table discussing who your "high potential" people are for the future, you may get a gnawing feeling that comes out of nowhere. So, here's a question:

Are you inadvertently building your business on "who we've got" vs. "what we'll need?"

When you start with who you've got, your current talent base may automatically limit what you will be able to accomplish.

Instead, start the talent conversation without the people factor in the mix. It looks like this:

1. What's our strategy for the next 5 years?

2. What kind of talent will we need to make that work? (Big picture descriptions)

3. If we were hiring, what would these people bring to the company? (Specific talents & skills).

Then:

4. Who do we have who meet those requirements now?

5. Who can get there with some focused development?

6. Now: What roles will require us to start looking for talent outside of the organization?

What you've got will get you more of what you are already doing.

Focusing on what you want will take your thinking and your business into the future.

Which one fits your situation?

photo attribution: ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu