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As organizations emerge from the most recent economic environment, senior leaders must do a purposeful rethinking of long-term goals, strategies and methods of execution. During the past year, leaders have focused intently on dealing with the economic contraction. With the recent indications the recession is easing, they need to shift their focus from survival to growth. For many public companies, expectations will begin to rise for 2010 to be an income growth year. For most, that means top line growth – there just isn’t any more that can be cut from expenses. The challenge for leadership will be to find new avenues of growth.
To the degree those new avenues will be different than pre-recession engines for growth, new business models may emerge. New business models and the growth in new directions will require a wholesale assessment of talent and organizational capabilities* needed to drive the change. As Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan pointed out in their book, Execution, “business leaders must create the link between people and strategy by making sure they have the right kinds and numbers of people to execute the strategy.” Now is the time for a strategic focus on talent and capability required to support sustainable long-term growth in the ever-evolving economic climate. The question is: will the existing talent practices be capable of delivering on higher levels of growth while informing leaders of where they are at the greatest risk of losing essential talent. In this article, we share talent management best practices we have observed, used and guided clients on. We suggest you conduct an audit to determine if your talent approach is ready for the job at hand.
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*Capability is used here in a broader sense than the narrower sense that The Clarion Group intends in its Capabilities, Characteristics, Capacities, and Core Motives Framework. |
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Potential Pitfalls of Talent Practices
Talent is not a new topic for most businesses and substantial investments in talent management resources have been made over time. However, the reviews of their effectiveness are mixed. Both the practice framework and the underlying assumptions should be examined. Potential pitfalls include:
- Range of levels: Top leaders, not just middle or line managers, may require new capabilities
- Time horizon: Emerging markets, strategies and practices require new capabilities which will have to be developed or acquired quickly
- Generational differences: New generations of talent have different needs requiring
differentiated consideration
- Development methods: Relying only on traditional classroom approaches of development is
neither viable nor financially efficient
- Personal touch: Talent needs to be nurtured, particularly in difficult and uncertain times
or they will leave when the turmoil subsides
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