The truth about talent : a guide to building a dynamic workforce, realising potential, and helping people to succeed

273 Pages·2010·0.921 MB·English

by  Davies, Jacqueline, Kourdi, Jeremy

The Truth About Talent

The Truth About Talent

A guide to building a dynamic workforce, realizing
potential and helping leaders succeed
Jacqueline Davies and Jeremy Kourdi
This edition first published in 2010
Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Registered office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ,
United Kingdom
Under the Jossey-Bass imprint, 989 Market Street, San Francisco CA94103-1741, USA www.
jossey-bass.com
For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to
apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.
wiley.com
The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in
print may not be available in electronic books.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any
product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and
authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding
that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Davies, Jacqueline.
The truth about talent : a guide to building a dynamic workforce, realizing potential, and
helping leaders succeed / by Jacqueline Davies and Jeremy Kourdi.
p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-470-74882-4 (hardback)

1. Employee motivation. 2. Personnel management. 3. Ability.
I. Kourdi, Jeremy. II. Title.
HF5549.5.M63D38 2010
658.3'14–dc22
2010014530
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset in 10.5 on 15 pt Monotype Janson by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
Printed in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd., Padstow, Cornwall
This book is for our children and in particular, Alix who has recently arrived and
Jacqueline’ s young nieces Ella and Mia. We look forward to a future where you can
fulfil all of your potential at work.

Contents

Introduction 1

Recognizing the talent ‘doom loop’ 3

About our research 6

Seven key insights 6

How this book is organized 7

1 We Are All Talent Now 13

What we mean by talent 19

Talent ecology and the truth about talent 20

The truth about talent 24

We are all talent now 27

Talent is abundant and diverse 27

The talented are those who generate value, not merely

those who can get to the top 27

Potential is discretionary 27

Growing and engaging talent is at the core of leadership 28

HR must reinvent itself to deliver practices for

a ‘workforce of one’ 28

Talented people are attracted to talented places 28

2 A New Way of Thinking About Talent 31

How organizations think about talent 31

What we mean by talent 32

How talent management is changing 34

A fragmented, fluctuating supply of labour 36
viii The Truth About Talent
From the credit crunch to the capability crunch 37

Connected consumption 38

Where we are today: the problem with current views of

‘talent’ in organizations 39

The belief that the future can be managed: from

succession to scenario planning 40

The belief that we can spot our future leaders today

(and manage their careers) 42

The march of the ‘high potentials’ 42

Potential for what? 44

Being insightful 45

Moving beyond the usual suspects ... 47

The rise of discretionary potential 49

A more tangible view of talent 50

How do you make a difference? 52

Leadership refl ections 52

3 Talent Diversity: You Need to Believe It to See It 55

The link between talent and diversity 55

Meritocracy and diversity – sources of talent 56

Boiled frogs and Chilean potatoes ... why diversity is vital 58

Diversity – the best way to future-proof your business

and avoid homogeneity 60

A new war for talent 63

Practical actions that will begin making a difference 64

Leadership refl ections 66

4 Strategy – Beginning With the End in Mind 69

Strategy – the first priority 71

Future thinking and scenarios 72

Why future thinking and scenarios are valuable 72

Learning from the past, preparing for the future 76

Checklist: using scenario thinking 77

Developing strategy 80

The essence of successful strategies 80