Manage Yourself, Manage Your Own Talent

Do you want your special talents to be noticed at work?

Of course you do. Me, too.

Then you'll probably have to identify what they are and use them to get recognized. By the "right people." (I know that you know who they are).

A Towers Perrin survey of CEO's and HR Execs that said:

• Groups now considered to be "talent" included senior leadership, employees at mid-level with leadership potential, key contributors or technical experts and entry-level employees with leadership potential.

• Together, these defined talent pools made up, on average, no more than 15 per cent of the total workforce, said Towers Perrin.

 Become Part of the 15%

Does focusing on 15% make sense? 

Forget whether or not it makes sense, is fair, or is actually in the company's best interest. If someone in power thinks it is, then it is.

Three things you can do:

1. Self-assess. Use a combination of tools such as the StrengthsFinder, MBTI (Step II), and informal 360 feedback from trusted associates. Find those few areas where you are number one.

2. Ask yourself what you "can't not do." Pay attention to those things that you gravitate toward and that don't feel like work. That's where you are the Big Kareer Kahuna.

3. Ask your boss for a meeting. Share what you've found and ask for the opportunity to demonstrate those talents. Head up a project, a committee, an event. Something that will get you recognized and have your strengths acknowledged.

Here is a recent thought on self-management from a savvy All Things Workplace reader (who I follow on Twitter as well):

Greg Stroz says: Having just done this myself as an employee (having a discussion with my manager to discuss not only performance but how to align my development needs with the company's objectives), I can certainly say that taking more control of your destiny in this manner certainly helps to reduce stress. In the worst case, it reduces the uncertainty that can make your future path unclear, which in turn makes it harder to make career decisions."

You have to take charge of managing your personal talents in a way that will contribute to your employer and clearly show that you've got what it takes. (Whatever that may mean).

Talent Management is a program.Your talent is your life.

View it as the gift that it is and view yourself as the caretaker of that gift. No one is more qualified than you.

Don't ya think?

Comments

[Sharlyn Lauby]

Nice post and very timely. With companies looking to improve productivity and more individuals considering freelancing, self-management is absolutely necessary.

[Liz]

Denice Kronau (who writes about business success, personal success at work, and working with a purpose, among other job-related topics) has a great Top 10 Tips and questions list. And the top two questions/tips are about trying to do the things you love, and finding workarounds or alternatives to the things you don't like doing. Makes perfect sense to, say, if you love doing presentations (or writing reports, or whatever) to try to make them as often as possible.