Talent management is about having great conversations. Having a great conversation starts with an invitation, and too often leaders get focused on who does not participate vs focusing on who does. Here are 2 tips for leaders who are starting the process of one-on-ones, team meetings, or monthly strategy sessions as a way of generating more purposeful conversations with their people.
Relationships are tricky. They start at random places – soccer games, first days of a new job, school functions, board meetings. They only actually become a relationship, a thing that we can point to or hold up as something that has been created if we continue to deal with each other or are connected in some way. Leaders need to be good at this. Talent management requires this. Great conversations happen when we are focused on this.
Building a culture and developing leaders are two big conversations. A new book by Rich Sheridan does a great job telling one story and helping people understand where they should start. Great conversations start with a question – and the best conversations are honest, lead to thoughful actions, and ultimately improve performance. Rich Sheridan has a great story and I recommend it to leaders who want to build a better culture.
Succession planning is an important conversation, and a difficult one. Here are two tips for making it easier, and some feedback from a recent keynote topic I did on the topic. Talent management is about having great conversations. Great is about having honest conversations, leading to thoughtful actions, and improved performance.
Networking is an important part of professional development, and it is also a key for making a successful career transition. It is also something that takes time, and too often people don’t start soon enough. Here are four fallacies of networking that have developed from over a decade of working with people in career transitions and training people around the importance of building relationships. Relationships are a cornerstone of professional development.
We cannot lead without input from others. That input comes from having great conversations, and one conversation that will give you the best information to lead is the One-on-One. Here are 3 Tips for being more Approachable, a key skill for being an effective leader. Leadership development often starts with having the right habits, then working on the skills within those habits that will make you more effective.
Talent management is about great conversations. Training can help develop your people, but the question is What can I do to improve the ROI on my training? Here are two tips for making your training dollars have a greater impact on your relationships with your people and with the performance of your organization.
It is great to have a goal of Fierce or Crucial Conversations – but while the skills are critical for leaders, the success of implementing this work rests largely on your ability to create the time to practice them and get better. The one-on-one is a critical place for this work, and here are some Johari Window videos that will help you look differently at this time. Talent management is about great conversations – and great conversations are honest, result in thoughtful actions, and ultimately lead to improved performance.
Talent management is about great conversations. One aspect of a great conversation is Lots of Reasons, and no excuses. This is a leadership tool that will transform how you listen and how you lead. When you do it well, accountability and safety follows.
Joy by Rich Sheridan chronicles the forming of a company and how a culture focused on Joy was created. Menlo Innovations is not perfect, but they are intentionally trying to do things differently. I loved this book, because I believe talent management is done through Great Conversations, and Rich gives us all a glimpse on how that has worked at Menlo. It is a good read, and any leader or entrepreneur should read it.
Leaders have to be adaptable – not only in the changes around them but in how they vary their natural style when leading their people. Talent management is about great conversations, and one of the most critical conversations is the One on One. Here are some tips to help leaders be more effective in understanding what their people need and to meet those needs. Here is also a template for a one on one form that incorporates some of these key tips.
We cannot get better without feedback. It is a critical piece, and in my experience people are not effective at giving or getting it. If you believe that relationships are critical in leadership and building effective teams, then you know that great relationships start with honest conversations that lead to thoughtful actions, and ultimately higher performance. It is the core of talent management and leadership development.