TALENT MANAGEMENT A Critical Leadership Skill

The key goal of Leadership is to take people where they can't take themselves."

Have you ever felt that you are not utilizing your full potential? Ever felt you could fix many problems your employer faces, if they only give you the power for a day? Well you're not alone, a surprisingly large number of professionals go through this phase at least at some point in their career, where as some never escape it. Only seasoned business experts realize that Human Capital is one of the most critical ingredient, in the recipe for extraordinary success. There is absolutely no substitute for human talent and brilliance. It is essential to have the intelligence required to leverage talent with such strategic foresight that it catapults your business or organization to the highest highs of success.

Despite it's critical significance Talent Management is a concept still alien to most organizations. Those who discover how to unleash the infinite potential of Human Capital conquer the highest ranks in their respective industries. We can only gauge the talent and potential of an individual by a unique customized interactive evaluation. The widely used standard evals are not only obsolete they jeopardize productivity and efficiency to a great deal.

“A man should never be appointed to a managerial position if his vision focuses on people’s weaknesses rather than on their strengths. The man who always knows what people cannot do, but never sees what they can do, will undermine the spirit of the organization. Of course, a manager should have a clear grasp of the limitations of his people, but he should see these as limitations on what they can do, and as a challenge to them to do better.” Peter Drucker

Every individual has some natural as well as some acquired strengths and they need to be recognized and unleashed for a phenomenal three way pay off, happy employee, happy employer and happy customers. Following is a little story that shows the kind of strategic foresight leaders require for optimal talent management.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself,because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"

"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding and our teams so resourceful and intellectually diverse.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. Focusing on flaws as a negative, blinds us from seeing the potential people have. Don't make people feel any less of themselves, empower them and help them see their potential. Everyone wants a purpose in life, everyone feels good when they make a positive difference.

Ignite passion in your teams, let them own the purpose, let them harness their abilities, and trust me they will wholeheartedly commit and contribute every single drop of energy to the task at hand."

This should be the core guiding principle of any Human Capital Development effort. If leaders learn how to make building blocks out of bottlenecks, the work places will be transformed into highly productive Utopias. It is simple common sense, just connect the dots right.

Learn to make best of what you have, even if it means leveraging your team's flaws in creative ways. Recognize the unique attributes of human capital and utilize them strategically to get optimal benefits. The only way to avoid gaps in the performance puzzle is to fill them up with the right sized pieces, but being human in your approach is key.

"All of your flaws and all of my flaws,
When they have been exhumed
We'll see that we need them to be who we are
Without them we'd be doomed" (Flaws, Bastile)