Every week, I review blogs that cover talent development to find you the pick of the lot for the week. In this post, you’ll find pointers to pieces about succession planning, the view from inside the pipeline, studies of engagement, flex time and Gen Y, and the Talent Management Paradox.
“With the battle for the Stanley Cup finally underway – and avid hockey fans glued to their TVs – one of the biggest sports stories last week wasn’t in the rink, it was the announcement that Steve Yzerman is leaving the Detroit Red Wings. After 27 years with the organization as a player and executive, he accepted an offer from the Tampa Bay Lighting to be their GM. For the Red Wings, the departure wasn’t a major surprise as he’d nearly accepted a position with Minnesota several months prior.”
Wally’s Comment: Sean Conrad uses the example of Steve Yzerman’s departure from an organization where he’s spent almost three decades to discuss different ways to think about the people in your organization who might rise to the top some day.
From Great Leadership: A View from Inside the Leadership Pipeline
“We make a lot of assumptions about “high potentialsâ€, such as:”
Wally’s Comment: Dan McCarthy summarizes the findings of a CCL report on how “high potential talent” sees the leadership pipeline process.
From the Financial Post blogs: Does employee engagement really drive productivity?
“The subject of employee engagement as a measure of productivity and management strategies to increase engagement have been hot topics since the original Gallup organization research was published. But does increased employee engagement really result in increased productivity? The evidence appears to be mixed, unless employee engagement is integrated into a broader management strategy of increasing workplace well-being.”
Wally’s Comment: Ah, engagement! It’s a hot current buzzword. I’m one of the people who see “employee engagement” as mostly a marketing ploy for consulting firm programs, with only the weakest demonstrated links to actual business results. This post takes a look at the available research on that issue. A good companion read is the article by Bassi and McMurrer that’s mentioned in the post.Â
From HR Web Cafe: Flex time and work life benefits: very important to Generation Y
“There was a day in the not too distant past when flex time and work life programs were viewed primarily as benefits integral to attracting working Moms. Today, such programs are no longer just important for Moms: research shows that flexible work benefits are also vital to attracting and retaining the kids that all those working Moms nurtured, the so-called Generation Y workers. A new study on cross-generational work values points to this and other differences spanning Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y respondents.”
Wally’s Comment: This is a great post on Gen Y values and attitudes, based on a survey that compares them with earlier generations. Remember that all generations were asked the same questions at age 18. That helps comparison between generations, but may not be accurate for how members of Gen Y think and act at age 30.
From HRExaminer: Holding the Talent Management Paradox
“The air that staffing leaders breath today is full of “Talent Management.†Ding! Buzzword alert. So is it smoke? Or is it a breath of fresh air? The answers to these questions are worth consideration, but the questions themselves spotlight an advanced leadership principle – and great leadership minds have the capacity to hold both sides of a paradox.”
Wally’s Comment: Mark McMillan takes a look at the term “talent management,” what it means, and what it might mean in a decade.
