THE ART OF TALENT MANAGEMENT – Get It In Perspective.

“Art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation.” E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

The market value and esoteric value of Art are co-dependent factors.  Both values can fluctuate due to market conditions, cultural trends, the political leanings of the artist, geography, cultural norms, economic trends, the personality of the artist, their mental health, their social media standing and even their death.  In other words, there are numerous factors that value or de-value Art.  Due to its inherent esoteric and subjective nature, science or any scientific method cannot predict its “value” accurately nor consistently.  Art has irrefutable value simply because it exits.

Likewise, there are a number of ways of approaching Talent Management in an organization – valuing a human being, basically.  Having delivered talent management programmes for companies around the world, including for the worlds largest Energy Company with over a $1 Billion USD Talent Management budget and 70,000 employees I have learned and experienced a few things along the way.

The following are 7 reflections of my experience with and in Talent Management and provide some context at the Event Horizon when we merge the concepts of Art and Talent Management.  My reflections are:

1. Not all canvasses are the same – Individual Differences
2. The colours of the paint mixture do matter – Skill Sets
3. Brushstrokes are critical – Harnessing and Shaping talent
4. The display is important – The Organizational Context
5. Worth is a must – The Appreciative Value of Talent
6. Multiple Exhibitions and showings matter – Succession Plans
7. The Arts legacy is critical – Knowledge Transfer for Continuity

Having reflected on this I come to two questions; one, how do we value our Talent and, second, what is the formula that is fair, equitable and moral in such a measurement?  A formula that takes into account both value and worth of the individual, in other words.

Science has tried to do just that (and still does through metrics and analytics) but it often falls short of its goal – people often don’t feel valued in organizations.  Why?  What is the disconnect?  What are we missing?

In my opinion, it is the fact that Talent Management is a manufactured concept and when we manufacture concepts we find, and often force, a philosophy, a model and even a science to fit that fabrication.

If this is true then who is the artist, the creator, the fabricator?  Is it the HR leader?  Is it the CEO? Is it the organization itself?  All are artists in their own right and each will produce their own art.  Each has their motivation and “minds eye.” Each “sees” a model, paradigm and perspective that makes sense to them, in the moment.

However, can we really value human beings as we do art?  Like art, we all have value, not because we “produce”, “perform”, are “productive” or “engaged” or because we consistently meet numerical targets.  No, on the contrary, it is because we simply exist.  Existence, is that not value in and of itself?

When you manufacture a construct like Talent Management what naturally follows is manufactured Talent – is that Art?

Closing Thought

Talent Management is whatever you need it to be – a model, a program, a platform, a structure, a data set, a series of events but what it is ultimately is the value and worth you place on each and every human being in your organization – unconditionally.

Reach unconditional value and you will have the Art of Talent Management.  Anything short of that is simply manufacturing.  What we do know about manufactured goods is that they become obsolete and valueless.

We at nStratagem can help you with your Talent Management Transformation and Employee Value Programme.

Norm Murray, CEO, nStratagem

We look forward to your thoughts and comments on this article get in touch with us: contact@nStratagem.com

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**The views, information, words, concepts or opinions expressed in our blogs, articles and blog articles are solely the opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of nStratagem, its employees or its affiliated companies.

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Norm Murray is CEO of nStratagem. Norm is an acclaimed Executive Coach, Strategist, Transformation & Turnaround expert. He is an inspirational Speaker, Motivator and Writer & a Complex Problem Solver. He has counseled Executive Leaders and Executive Boards worldwide from start-ups to major corporations in the Middle East, Asia, North America and Europe to achieve transformation, adaptation and enhanced performance results beyond expectations.

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