BRINGING YOUR BUSINESS TO LIFE
Talent for today's world
A necessary cultural shift
In today's world companies are searching frantically to find ways to have success for a longer period. What made them successful yesterday does not provide any guarantees for success tomorrow. Globalization, immediate access to information, the rapid spread of new technologies, all contribute to faster replication and shorter periods of differentiating advantage.
Companies that are not successful in adapting die. Their products or services become irrelevant for customers and their marketshare erodes as new competitors surprise the established companies with their success.
So why are some capable of making the transition and others are not? There are many aspects to the question and therefore many answers, each providing a piece of the puzzle. Companies that are successful, are finding new ways of putting the pieces together; new combinations of talent and technology; new business models; all with one objective: providing solutions that are relevant for customers. They are successfull, because they changed their perspective on the culture they need to be successful and they are working in the spirit of that new culture day-in-day-out.
The talent you need
So what is the type of talent you need in that new culture? What do you think the organization needs to value?
- Individual performance or teamwork?
- Clear and hierarchical organization charts or networks of highly connected people, who change their role, based on how they can add the most value?
- Short term results, for us and for this quarter, or sustainable value for many and for longer?
- Loyalty, standing for the boss or the company, or accountability, standing for Customers?
- Previous experience, having it done before, or innovative capability, having they capability to create something new?
- Prestigious diplomas (the diploma on the wall) or a learning orientation (what can we learn)?
- A homogeneous way of thinking ("you don't understand the way we do things here") or diversity of perspectives ("I would like to understand, tell me more")?
- Norms (folllow the company's and society's rules and watch for deviations) or integrity (say what you do and do what you say)?
- People that are expecting direction (answers come from the top) or self-managed, self- motivated people (the answers are ours to find, in- or outside the organization)?
- Strong management (command & control) or inspiring leadership (yes we can do it)?
- Status driven (compensation & benefits) or driven by career values?
From "being diverse" to "valuing inclusion"
For a team to leverage the power of diversity, to get the value of different perspectives, being diverse is not enough. The team needs to value the inclusion of the different perspectives, and that needs to be expressed in the behaviour of the team members.
Changing the culture
If it is a question of changing the culture, than it is a question of reviewing what we value and applying the same principles that we successfully use for any other change process:
- Increase the awareness - understand where we stand today and why; what is the change we want to make and why do we want that change; how will our behaviours show our values and how will they impact our business results?
- Walk the talk - expressing deep commitment to the values we want to implement by consistently behaving accordingly
- Removing the "symbols of the old" value system and create new ones, consistent with our new set of values.
- Review the key policies, processes and systems in place (attraction, selection, performance management, talent management, career development, reward systems, long term engagement) to make sure that we consistently stand for excellence when we deal with talent decisions.
- Engage in a permanent open dialogue in the organisation, explaining the why's, recognizing difficulties and fears up-front and discussing possible scenarios for solutions.
What is the talent you need to be successful? What culture do you believe will give you the best shot at success? Do you have that talent and do you have that culture?
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