Recently we looked at two different approaches to developing talent:  paying premiums in compensation packages and investing in a strong internal culture. 

Yesterday  John Mack, Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley told his shareholders that he has to pay employees well to keep top talent and grow the business, but he doesn’t see the ability to sustain that into the future.  (more…)

What kind of companies tend to keep top talent?  Those that pay a lot or are leaders in their field?  What about those who have an engaging culture?  Let’s take a moment to look at both of those possible answers and see what part culture plays in attracting, developing and retaining top talent. (more…)

 One of the first people in American business to be paid a salary of a million dollars a year as a professional manager was Charles Schwab.  He was picked by Andrew Carnegie to be the President of United States Steel in 1921 when he was 38 years old.   Why did Andrew Carnegie pay a million dollars a year to Charles Schwab?  

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I just got back from a trip to Mexico City and besides having a fabulous time with my wife I also learned a few things on this trip.  On our first day in the city we went to the renowned Museum of Anthropology and were dazzled by the talent that was on display. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_Nacional_de_Antropología to read more, or go to the museum’s site http://www.mna.inah.gob.mx/)

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The aikido dojo I train in had a significant event over the weekend.  Five of our members took a test, and I was one of them.

I won’t go into all the background here about aikido (*see the footnote below if you’re interested).  Since we don’t have competitions or tournaments in aikido, testing (and the training that leads up to that) is one of the times when we are able to assess what we have learned and how much more there is to learn.  Besides demonstrating specific techniques that are called out early on, the last part of the test involves multiple attackers coming at you from all directions and you have to effectively deal with each attack without injuring yourself or anyone else.  It is a true test of poise under pressure.

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I had a colleage ask me today about talent management and my experience with how employees respond to talent management efforts at work.  Here’s some of what I shared with her.

From the employee side, there is a natural concern about fairness and favoritism; will Talent Management (TM) be administered fairly and give everyone an equal chance to succeed?  Will it be a cover for leaders who are championing/grooming/promoting their own favorites?

Also, most TM efforts or programs have some kind of measurement included with them.  Some of those include personal profiles or talent assessments.  Some people have a natural fear about how those will be viewed or used by management.  Other measurements are more tied to performance management or productivity or contribution to the company.  Some employees don’t like the additional scrutiny that comes with measurement–period.

Honestly, a lot of “talent management” efforts are really HR-sponsored drives that are modest in their goals/design and don’t have real staying power.  Employees have a legitimate right to question if TM is a “flavor of the year” hobby that will be eventually abandoned in 12-24 months.  That often seems to be what happens unless management is fully committed to it and is willing to make it a robust, long-lasting change in how the organization thinks about and practices talent management.

Of course, I encourage leaders who are committed to developing top talent to exercise some empathy and think first about how their efforts are going to be received by employees.  It can avoid a lot of pain and waste later on.

I have taken part in two annual meetings for boards I belong to in the past week.  It has given me a sharper sense of what counts in terms of leadership in organizations. 

First, a lot of what goes into “leadership” arises from a person simply being willing to take action, to be used for a specific purpose.  Leaders are NOT born for greatness; most are simply willing to step forward when many others are not.  As I look at those who assume leadership roles in groups, a large part of leadership is simply being willing to lead and following that up with action.

Second, good leadership makes a lot of difference in setting a particular tone for a group that they lead.  Whether people are energized, depressed, confused, enthusiastic–a lot of it has to do with the quality of leadership that is being exercised in the group.  

Third, from what I’ve observed a board’s effectiveness is directly related to two things:  how much time they spend reacting to what has already happened or is imminent, and planning what they want to happen or anticipating changes that are yet to come.   The most effective boards focus their energies on proactively planning for the future.

One of those board meetings I was part of required preparatory work and we met three long hours, but we focused on strategic planning and everyone afterwards acknowledged this was one of our best meetings in recent memory.  The other meeting was fairly short, reactive in focus and unfocused.  What a difference leadership makes in helping people focus strategically!

If you want to create change, one of the better strategies you can adopt is to get an accurate instrument and place it (along with some training on how to use it) in a prominent location where you (and other people) can’t miss it.  Real-time feedback allows you to make small changes and fine-tune your results.

MPG Instrument

I recently bought a new car and it has a sensitive gauge that tells you how many miles-per-gallon you are getting at the present time.  I’m already paying more attention to this gauge and it has helped me in changing my driving habits for the better (to be more fuel-efficient).

Apply this to people in an organization–even a small one–and it becomes obvious that equipping people with a new tool is much more likely to yield change than talking about change, management lectures or internal communication initiatiaves.  These other activities are useful too, but I’ve seen too many leaders and companies rely on them and end up with very little meaningful change.

Like any new tool, you have to learn to use it properly.  When I took training to be a pilot, I initially spent too much time looking at the instruments-I assumed that’s how you fly the plane.  My instructor had to emphasize to get my head up and look outside the airplane.  The great majority of pilots of small planes fly visually by looking out the window 90% of the time.  Only instrument-rated pilots and airline captains fly solely by reference to the instruments, which is a much more mentally taxing activity that requires extra training, practice and licensing.  So here’s my caveat: when you get an instrument for measuring real-time performance, beware the tendency to stare at it and miss the other information and contextual clues about what is going on around you.  If you can learn to do that (and it is possible), you will be much better positioned to build a high-performing organization and drive results and accountability further down to the individuals that actually do the work.

I’m writing this from Mexico City.  It’s been 21 years since my last trip here when I was a university student. 

mexico_mural

 It seems that a lot has changed (and some things have), but I also know that I have changed.  The pollution is not bad today–I can actually see the mountains surrounding the Valley of Mexico from downtown.  The city doesn’t seem so dirty (I’ve seen worse in Bangkok and Jakarta).

When I came as a student, I was leading a group of friends to do some community service and also some sightseeing on our spring break.  This time, I’m sharing the experience with my wife and two young boys, and I’m enjoying seeing the city through their fresh young eyes.

mexico-city-october2008

It helps to get out of my familiar place and routine; I notice more and see things with a new perspective.  I notice talent around me and I’m more appreciative of people who try extra hard.  Just today I’ve had three experiences of top notch service.  I attribute this to two elements:  there has been good training on how to deliver great service, and there is a supporting culture that reinforces this standard.  I’m not talking about the Mexican national culture, but the specific sub-cultures that the individuals I’ve encountered are a part of.  I can see the contrast, because today I also experienced some horrendous service by someone of the same national culture.  In fact, the individual himself tried hard and did a fairly good job, but the environment he works in is definitely not a culture that trains and delivers top talent service, and I was one of many unhappy customers.

I recommend you get away from the familiar if you haven’t seen many examples of top talent lately.  You don’t have to travel out of the country or go on vacation.  Just go someplace that is different or out of the ordinary for you, and take time to notice the talent of the people you are interacting with.  What do you see?  What can you learn from this?

The 2008 Summer Olympic games opened yesterday.  I was able to see a good part of the opening ceremony and the spirit of the Olympics came through to me: the youth and energy of the athletes, the meeting of nations and laying aside of differences, and the courage to strive and endeavor against the top athletic talent in the world.

Do you have Olympic-caliber talent in your organization?  What values or aspirational goals are found in your company?  The talent we see on display in the Olympics is a product of both individual aspiration and the broader culture of world athletics.  How could you build your culture to attract more top talent?  It is a possible goal to attain.