Using your talented people for maximum impact

Here are my final thoughts on talent, what do you think? I was watching the Six Nations Rugby Tournament recently, and was fascinated with the way the coaches used the full squad of players. This was no random process, nor was it simply to try out another player. There was a clear plan to bring specific players into the game at a specific time. 
I watched England vs Italy and what I noticed was the strength of the players on the England bench made the difference. There wasn’t much difference in the performance of either side until the England coach started to use his bench strength, then the momentum of the game moved towards England. It got me thinking that most of us in People Development talk about ‘bench-strength’, but we may not be clear what it really means or how to use it.

Players on the bench are there for a purpose. They come into the game at specific planned times:

• Players cannot always play at top speed for a full game, so players come on to keep pressure on. Two players often share the same position and train together, one player starts with the aim of tiring the opponent ready for when his team-mate comes on.

• A key player with a special skill is sent onto the pitch at a specific time and makes a big difference.

• When a new player with high potential needs some experience for a short, managed piece of time.

In the modern game, it is difficult for players to keep up the extreme level of intensity required in a full game, so the starting players are not the same as the finishing players, yet they see themselves as one team squad. They are not first team and reserve players.

In Talent Management we talk about building bench-strength. What often happens is that employees are told they are in the Talent Pool, and then:

• Nothing happens
• Or, they are thrown in with no chance to find their way of working
• Have no access to significant projects where they can learn
• Get sent to a ‘problem area’ to ‘show what they can do’

What we can learn from the Sports Coach is this:

• Bench-players are used as a strategy to maintain performance. Do you consider who to bring in, and when to move someone out of a team, as the conditions change? Or do you leave the same team for continuity – but accept that they get tired and run out of options? Moving people in and out it not about the success and failure of the individual. It is about recognizing an individual has done a job, and needs to move out, ready for the next challenge.

• New, high potential members are given specific experiences for short periods. Do you place new talent into a team for a limited, managed exposure, or do you ‘throw them in, sink or swim’?

• Impact players are saved for when they can make a difference. Do you know who your impact players are, what they can do that makes a difference, and use them carefully but at maximum impact? Often a high performer is given the wrong assignment and does not enjoy it. Impact players are not good at everything, they do have allowable weaknesses. However they are sent in when they can do their special talents.

• Leaders need to know when to pull a player out of the game and use someone from the talent pool. Are you aware of how your team is feeling? Can you monitor their emotional and even physical state? Are you sure you know what exposure your new talent needs?

• The full squad is part of the planning discussions and strategy. Do you included your talented people in the business decision-making processes? When they are moved into a role, they will understand the plan and discussions that led to it.

• Is your bench strong enough to play a strategic role, regularly?

Watch a professional team game, and observe how the coach moves players on and off the pitch, why, when, and with what impact.

About the Author:

Nigel Murphy supports the whole learning experience of MCE delegates across MCE’s wide range of solutions. He has a background in management in manufacturing, education and training. For the past 10 years he has worked on leadership programmes across the globe. He is interested in the mentoring of new managers and leaders, and leading remote teams of people in today’s globally 
dispersed businesses.

Talented or simply good?

Why do you have a talented person?

I bet you are thinking the answer is obvious? But let’s explore what it really means. In the sports arena, the aim of using a talented player is to make a difference. These are the people who can turn a game from a loss to a victory in the blink of an eye. They make a difference when it really matters most. What is also interesting is that the super players are not visible for all the game. They are often only prominent at points when they see the chance to make an impact. They also take periods of rest during the season, and it is a poor manager who wears down his talented players.

Self-check: How many of your talented people are known for making a difference at a critical time, versus, how many are very good, but not game changers?

Does it matter? Do we define ‘talent’ as ‘very good’, rather than ‘very exceptional’? If so, then many Talent schemes are simply schemes to develop very good people. Necessary, admirable, but ultimately may not produce real game changers. Why? Because the definition of talent becomes diluted. Read on.

So who is talented?

It is also interesting to note that Talent becomes internally benchmarked. I had a chat with an HRD who was proud to say that this year over 20% of the workforce were in the Talent category and top box on their talent grid. She told me that next year they would have even more people into the talent category and HQ is so pleased with them. Having met some of these people, nice as they are, they would not even get a job working for another organization I know, and where the label ‘talent’ is reserved for exceptional people. What this suggests is that ‘average for industry’ becomes internally benchmarked as ‘talented around here’.

This leads to another curious effect. Once you tell people they are talented, they believe it, and then a number of very average people are talking about their talents. They become disillusioned when they are not promoted quickly enough. Yet, often they do not look for other jobs. Why? Perhaps it is a fear of finding out that they are really only average.

Self-check: How many people are pushing for the next level because someone has told them they are talented?

How do you compare your definition of talent?

You will have developed sophisticated competency descriptions and measures to give some sense of science behind your definition of talent. Good. However, in most organizations I can find HRBPs who are confused at the list of ‘Talent’ that a line manager offers up. Many line managers do not have the time, or interest, to read the lengthy competency descriptions. They have too many doubts about people who make a difference in their business unit going unrecognized, whilst other business units with ‘inferior’ people do get recognized. Run a calibration meeting between line managers and ask them to justify their selections; there will be a lot of disagreement over perceptions of who is a talented person. Collaborate with your HRBP friends in another business – you could compare your views of talent.

Self-check: would your Talent Pool be in the talent pool in another organization?

We all know that the challenge will be competing for talented people as much as competing for customers. Be sure that you are clear on what players you sign up; exceptional goal scorers or solid performers? You need both, so know what makes the difference.

About the Author:

Nigel Murphy is director of Portfolio and Capability Development at MCE. He has a background in management in manufacturing, education and training. For the past 10 years he has worked on leadership programmes across the globe. He is interested in the mentoring of new managers and leaders, and leading remote teams of people in today’s globally dispersed businesses.

                                                                                      

Of Mice and Men

VIEWPOINT: A leader sometimes has to choose to be a man or a mouse. Occasionally swallowing your pride and being a mouse is the true sign of wise leadership, says Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, in this tenth in his series of articles for IEDP:There is a good friend of mine I see most weeks. He is a pretty big HR honcho (yes HR still does have people like that). In fact he is in a position to make or break careers. As the so-called ‘global head of people development’ if you, as a pushy career-ladder-climber, work at getting this guy on your side, promotions and rewards and responsibilities will surely flow your way. He is, very low-key BUT very influential; been around a while, cultivating his little patch of next generation leaders – the true high potentials. “They’re going places, this is the future of the organization” he tells me. He is building the next generation of leaders like an assembly line… they are clever, keen and ready to lay down their lives for the next step on the rapidly rusting rung of the corporate success ladder. He says it is fun to watch these people develop and he is very into his job. So when I met him recently for our twice monthly drink and a catch-up, quite out of character, he was not the usual positive kind of person I had come to know.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked half-teasing. “Looks like you mislaid your bonus somewhere?”

“It’s worse than that, he responded, “I just got word that I have to cut 4.3 percent of the headcount by year end.” This sounded crazy to me and I told him so. Two weeks earlier he had been upbeat saying how well the business was doing.

“No choice” he added gloomily, “our main rival announced a four point two cut on headcount this morning. If we don’t match it they’ll hit our share price big time…. The CEO knows what our biggest shareholders think about that.”

“But you’ve spent the last few weeks telling me all about the employee as the brand,” I said, “and what about the millions you’ve invested in new people development, what’s going on?”

 “Very simple,” he said, sadly, “the boss doesn’t dare rock the boat. He can’t afford to, not now. The markets won’t stand for it, they don’t like uncertainty, they want to see a man with a clear vision and solid leadership credentials.”

“But that’s not leadership, that’s copycat knee-jerk reaction,” I countered, with a strong tone of frustration in my voice.  “Where are all the fine words, the pledges to lead from the front. I’ve read the annual report, seems he said all that and more!”

“Simple,” he explained. “The boss wants to look like he’s in total control, that we’re capable of being as lean and mean as our rivals... someone started the musical chairs and we have to play, at least until this self-destruction waltz stops.”

And hereby hangs a tale that any of you would-be leaders need to heed most carefully. No matter how big you are, no matter how well your favourite PR guru has built you up and polished your profile in the best-read business pages, at some point you’ve got to just suck it up. Quite simply, you have a choice as a leader be a man or a mouse. And sadly, ever so often you can’t, realistically, be anything but a mouse. Go with the flow, take it on the chin, swallow your pride, keep the good old share price flying high.

After all, isn’t that the sign of true leadership, making a decision and sticking with it through thick and thin? The truth is, every fibre of your body will say, “we’ll do it my way”. But the facts and history speak for themselves. No matter how great a leader you think you are, you are in a box.... and you will cut, cut, cut - because there is no other action you can take. Your reputation will survive it, the institutional shareholders will praise you and life will go on. In six months’ time as the results come in, no-one will remember that you could have played it very differently. But then, at the end of the day, that is leadership, as we possibly poorly define it - and everybody wants to be a winner and everyone likes one too.

I said as much to my HR pal. He was not talking much. Reflecting, no doubt, on the people he has to move out in the weeks ahead; mentally playing out the “career transition” conversations he was going to be tasked with.

“I saw the CEO in the elevator as I was leaving,” he said, “he didn’t say much. Looked a little shocked, but he’s tough and knows how to deal with this kind of thing.”

I felt I needed to say something; there was a silence that needed to be filled. “He’s done the job he was asked to do, kept the ship upright, navigated the storm safely, that’s what he’s there for. Shame the big plans didn’t quite make it – but, I guess that’s life in the fast lane of leadership. Not too many wounded, a pretty low level body count, could have been worse.”

My HR pal brightened a little at that. “After all he’s still the leader. Could have been worse, he could have tried to beat the trend, then where would we be? We’d have to break in the next CEO, because he wouldn’t have survived if he’d jumped the other way.”

We sat in silence for some minutes, thinking possibly about a scenario of “what might have been.” Then he got to his feet, turned to me. “Got to leave,” he said, “lots to do first thing, we make it official about the cuts first thing tomorrow and I’m sure it’ll keep me busy for weeks.”

This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Connect with him via Linkedin. 

                                                                                   

"HR has to demonstrate to the senior decision makers in an organization that it speaks their language"

Lance Wright 

A series of interviews with experienced players and experts in human resources and organizational development. Here we ask the questions to Lance Wright a seasoned HR professional who has just published a new book – “HR In The Boardroom” packed with advice on how HR can get themselves invited to the top table.  

MCE : In your new book, you talk about HR’s desire to be “IN” the boardroom. How close do you think they are to realizing their dream for being a real, accepted part of the decision–making process?

Lance Wright (LW) : This  actually gets at something that has concerned me for years that I address in the book. Frankly, despite the increased number of executives that have the title chief human resources officer, or CHRO, who may in fact sit in the executive suite, I think we are still a long way from most HR professionals being a real accepted part of the business decision-making process. Let me explain. 

I believe a large part of the problem is many HR professionals and senior executives operate within a bifurcated paradigm -whether they consciously realize it or not - where there is “the business” on one hand and then there is HR on the other. I refer to this as an economic and business inefficiency that has been around for a very long time.  This, in many respects, is at the root of the complaints we hear from many HR people about not having a seat at the table. Granted, many businesses and other organizations have gotten a lot smarter about the importance of HR. However, those HR people who made it to the executive suite and the boardroom that have a seat at the table are often not fully involved in developing business strategy or in making decisions that will impact the course of the business. This is reflected in the surveys and studies that are conducted on a regular basis about HR and the relationship it has with CEOs and other senior executives. In a nutshell, the surveys and studies show that HR often believes it has a greater impact on the business than the CEO, and other senior executives, may believe.  

There are certainly occasions when HR is asked for advice on what may be considered “people issues.”  Even then, it is possible that the opinion of other senior executives who may or may not have any real HR experience is given more weight than that of the so-called CHRO.  HR people who are considered savvy business professionals who are given the opportunity to express an opinion on the nuts and bolts aspects of running the business are in the definite minority. 

Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against HR having the ability to be intimately involved in business decision making. In the book I reference a comment by David Ulrich who is a recognized HR guru. He has made the observation that HR’s involvement as a strategic business partner could be plotted as a 20-60-20 bell shaped distribution. According to Ulrich, 20% of the curve at the front end represents HR people who are very much involved as a strategic business partner with the CEO and senior management. The 20% at the other end of the curve, for lack of a better description, don’t have a prayer of the influencing the CEO or other members of the executive suite, or the board.   The 60% bulge in the middle represents companies who have not yet made full use of HR as a strategic business partner but may or may not do so.

Anyway you cut it, there is a long way to go before HR is real accepted part of the decision making process in most companies.

MCE : What is it that HR need to demonstrate to get the “ear “of top management (the CEO)?

LW : To get the ear of the CEO and the top management team, they must first “hear” HR.  In order to be heard, HR has to demonstrate to the senior decision makers in an organization that it speaks their language.  And to be able to speak their language fluently, HR must understand the business from front to back, as well as the numbers and the other concepts that represent the language of business.  Bluntly, HR has to demonstrate it has something worth listening to before it will be able to get the ear of the CEO and the top management team. 

The best way to get the ear of a CEO, or another senior executive, is to have that person think of you as a peer and a trusted advisor. The HR professional should demonstrate the sort of business understanding and savvy that would prompt the CEO to say, “…this is a person who thinks like me, understands what I am attempting to accomplish, and what I am up against. HR has to know the business strategy and be able to poke holes in it based on a thorough knowledge of the business, the competitive environment, and the capability of the organization and its talent to get of the ear of the CEO and other senior executives.  In a sense, HR needs to be able to perform a classic SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis as well as any highly paid management consultant that may be brought in from the outside. There are many, well intentioned HR professionals who will describe themselves as a “people person.”  Some of these HR professionals may not have, or be able to demonstrate, the business skills needed to get the ear of the CEO so they don’t.  The HR function does not operate in a vacuum but in the context of the business. While almost every CEO mouths the words that people are the most important asset of a business or any organization, most senior leaders are hoping to have at their side a business person who understands the people part. An HR professional who hopes to get the ear of the senior management team has to demonstrate business acumen and ability.

I point out in the book that, in a general sense, to get the ear of the CEO and other members of the executive team HR has to be viewed as credible and knowledgeable. HR has to demonstrate the ability to give consistently sound business advice over time. The CEO and senior team members will also appreciate an HR professional who demonstrate the courage to give advice that may not be pleasant or welcomed. An HR professional has to be viewed by the CEO and other members of the executive team as an impartial and independent arbiter to get their ear. Unfortunately, as we discussed earlier in the other question, there are some CEOs and senior management teams whose “ear” HR will never be able to get. 

MCE :If you were advising an ambitious young HR professional, what would you tell him or her to study and get experience in what areas of business?

LW : Operating as a senior executive in a business is similar to being an airline pilot. There are certain skills and capabilities that should be developed by any young person who hopes to make it to the top of an organization, not only a young HR professional. All pilots understand the physical aspects of lift and drag and are able to land and take-off safely whether they are piloting a Piper Cub or an Airbus 380.  Any young professional who wants to eventually be a senior executive in the C-Suite, and the boardroom, has to understand how businesses work, financial concepts and theories, and the ins and outs of financial statements. Many young professionals who have math, or science, or engineering, or finance backgrounds often have the computational and numbers crunching skills needed to operate at the senior levels of an organization which, in the past, has given them a leg up on most young HR professionals. In my book, I give the advice that a young HR professional needs to know what an MBA knows. This doesn’t mean every young HR professional needs to obtain an MBA degree. Many young HR professionals may pursue the degree – increased numbers are doing just that.

Along the way, young professionals should develop the other skills and capabilities needed to be a senior executive. The ambitious young HR person should concentrate on developing the qualities that are looked for by most organizations. There isn’t a lot of magic to the list.  So in addition to the hard skills we just discussed, young HR professionals should also pay attention to developing these other qualities:

·         Vision creation - Do you have the ability to help others see what the future will be if certain actions are or are not taken. 

·         Leadership -Work on what it takes for people to be willing to follow you. 

·         Business acumen - Learn all you can about business in general, not just the company or industry in which you work. 

·         Strategic thinking - Concentrate on learning to “connect the dots,” and challenge the conventional wisdom. 

·         Decision making – And learn to be decisive. Decisiveness is one of the qualities that virtually every senior executive has to develop – and display – to be successful.

MCE : You’ve spent your entire professional career in HR, out of that long career, what would you say was the most rewarding, experience?

LW : My stint in financial services early in my career gave me the foundational number-crunching and financial skills needed to make it the senior level of an organization.

All in all, the most rewarding experience of my career has been serving as a trusted advisor and confidant to various organization leaders who have sought my counsel on a range of business issues and not just those that were people related. The really rewarding part is I have been able to play that role in a number of different countries around the globe. My last position as a member of the executive committee of a publicly traded company was certainly a highlight of my career.

.... and the one, you would most like to forget ?!!

Oh, for sure there have been some experiences I would like to forget that were not at all rewarding. During one of my assignments in Europe many years ago, I reported to the head of an affiliate who acted as if I was his personal butler. It made for some tense situations when I had to stand up for myself.

However, this was trivial compared to the very difficult experience of dealing with the unexpected death of an employee. Because of the length of my career there have been a few times when I have had to deal with this. The first time I had to deal with this was in the first year of my career. I was 22 years of age at the time. One of the librarians at the university had committed suicide and her parents were eligible for payment from our self-insured program as her beneficiaries. My boss and I personally delivered the check to express our condolences. I remember the sorrow of those parents and how heartbroken they were. That has stayed with me over the years and has been very hard to forget.

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