Talent
management is a hot topic. In fact, the ability to attract, develop, motivate,
and retain talented people is hard than ever in an era where changing jobs is
commonplace and the workforce is slimming as the baby boomers retire. The construct
of talent management has many differing connotations for effective executives.
It should be noted that exhaustive research within the construct of talent management
may yield a bevy of operational entities that are very closely related but differ
according to the operational definitions of the construct. Talent management may
encompass constructs such as performance management, systems thinking, the management
of human capital, human resources profiling strategies, organizational learning
management, and the measurement of talent pools.
It appears as though the construct
of talent management can be easily associated to the measurement of employee competencies
related to some pre-specified standard of performance. Knowing that having an
engaged talent pool has become the primary basis of an organization's competitive
advantage, as well as an imperative leadership issue, organizations that do not
address talent needs are not going to be prepared for the demands of the future
of the global workforce. This article offers some additional thoughts related
to viewing talent as an attribute of human agency instead of a descriptor of an
inanimate organizational operation. An extensive rethinking of organizations and
the members of organizations is paramount to the understanding of talent management
for the effective executive within the effective organization. Finally, creative
environments are presented that may enhance the likelihood of talent emerging.
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