How do you talk talent with your people (that does not set you up for a tough conversation)?

Talent conversations come in many shapes and sizes.  Talent is more than just how good you are today; it also encompasses how well you fit into the plans for tomorrow.  Your plans, the organisation’s plans, and their plans….   

What could possibly go wrong?

Ricky and Paul tackle the conversations that leaders need to have to help the people around them understand where they are right now, what is expected of them and where they need to develop.   Talent conversations may not be easy, but with a bit of structure and thought, they can be positive and constructive interactions that help people grow.

How do you work out who your talented people are?

Working out who the talented people are sounds easy, but it turns out to be quite complex for many leaders. Loyalty and liking get in the way of tough decisions, and potentially get confused with performance. We also ignore issues when they are small, making them really difficult to deal with once they become a problem.

In this podcast, Paul and Ricky explore a model used by a lot of organisations to help them think about talent, and the different ways that people need to be managed to get the best out of them. The model, affectionately known as the nine-box talent grid, explores two distinct factors: current performance and future potential. Performance is all about what they are doing today, whereas Potential considers what the organisation needs from them tomorrow. How can we use this model to get the right people in the right place, and manage our people effectively?