Every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to pieces about executive coaching, traditional job descriptions, talent management and succession planning, and bold talent management.
From Stephen J. Gill: Executive coaching: How do we know it works?
“Executive coaching has quickly become a nearly two billion dollar industry. Many companies now rely on coaching for the development of their leaders. Having a coach, once perceived as an admission of failure, is now perceived as a normal part of managing large, complex organizations. And coaching has also become common for entrepreneurs who need help transitioning from a leader of a start-up to a leader of a second and third-stage company. With this acceptance of coaching, as with any performance improvement intervention, CEOs and Boards are beginning to ask if the substantial investment they are making in it is paying off.”
Wally’s Comment: Yes, coaching is all the rage and companies are spending big bucks on it. And, now that the faddish aspect of it seems to be going away, those same companies are pondering what return they’re getting on their investment. I’m sure we need study of what kinds of outcomes certain kinds of coaching can deliver. What I worry about is that we will turn a quest for understanding into an exercise in accounting voodoo where the only outcomes that matter have dollar signs and decimal points.
“When considering the characteristics of an excellent leader, what are the key elements? Is it the ability to develop a clear and inspiring vision? Is it the ability to make a decision even without perfect information? Is it the ability to recognize sources of sustainable competitive advantage? And then, drive execution accordingly? Is it the ability to make tough choices? Does the leader rightfully stand on the moral high ground? If you answered all of the above and believe that’s not nearly an all-inclusive list, you’d probably be right. However, I firmly believe that, at least as important as what’s on the above (or your) list, is the leader’s diligence in ensuring that he/she can be readily replaced. In other words, having a successor/succession plan.”
Wally’s Comment: Irv Rothman makes the case for embedding talent management and succession planning in the culture of your company. Good idea. In fact, that seems to be what the companies known for their talent management have done. So the question isn’t whether this is a good idea. It’s “How do you make the change?”
From Chief Executive: Why Traditional Job Descriptions Don’t Attract Top Talent
“A recent research study identified the ten biggest mistakes companies make when hiring. The study included over 130 companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 to mid-size privately held organizations, a wide variety of industries, and more than 250 job openings.”
Wally’s Comment: Traditional job descriptions remind me of the spec sheets that purchasing agents use to describe the parts they want to purchase. Pretty much all the standards are set at the minimum. That makes job descriptions a poor guide to excellent candidates or great performance.
From Dr. John Sullivan via TLNT: 10 Bold and Outrageous HR and Talent Management Practices
“As a result, it’s time for HR leaders to realize that in a battle to attract and retain top talent and innovators, your firm has to act differently with superior talent management approaches if your firm is to develop and maintain a competitive advantage in the talent marketplace. In fact, from an employer branding perspective, your firm needs to do a few unique things in HR if it is to stand out as a great place to work.”
Wally’s Comment: There is a saying that “fortune favors the bold.” If you want your HR work and talent management to be favored by fortune, you’ve now got a list of ten “bold” things you can do.
Bonus
A Management Question on Retention from Execupundit: “Other than for higher pay, why would one of your best employees leave your team?”
