ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Business With The Best Talent Wins

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Hiring unemployed people and people from non-competitors has merit if they are truly top talent, but generally it pales in comparison alongside the impact of hiring away your competitor’s top talent. In a talent war there’s only one way win. And that is to hire and retain the best talent!

Why Should the Best Talent Work for You? In the new economy, the line between R&D and the rest of the company is becoming increasingly blurred. Learning from the market and continual creation are the name of the game. With top talent, creativity can come from anywhere and from any individual within an organization. Companies need players who can create together, and the demand for talent continues to be greater than the supply.

Learning from Sports: Can you imagine a sports coach hiring average talent! As a manager you need to develop a real distaste for average.

Simply don't settle for anything less than above average. Don't walk average. Don't talk average. Don't live average and above all don’t hire average! Average people whine about their problems. Above average people are too busy putting their thoughts and energies into solutions to whine. To the average person adversity is an enemy to be avoided at all costs, while to the above average person adversity is looked upon as opportunities and welcomed challenges.

Managers must not only attract and retain the best talent, but they must first be able to recognize it. Professional sports present a telling analogy for companies. Each year, teams look for the best young players from colleges. However, some players who emerge as prime draft choices and are given million-dollar signing bonuses end up as duds on the field. Others with lower ratings but fire in their bellies turn out to be prime performers.

Ask the right questions and listen to learn during the Interviewing process Managers should be critical about their first impressions and use structured interviews that get at people's deeper values. Get them to speak 80% of the interview time. Ask questions about their work experience, what the person has liked best and least about their work, the kind of leadership they seek and how they have themselves exercised leadership, their goals in life, who they most admire and why, and other questions that can provide a pattern of values or character traits. When someone attempts to give the “right” answer to every question, a probe can reveal inconsistencies and insincerity.

Of course, to interpret the answers, the interviewer needs knowledge of personality dynamics. The ideal interviewer would be a superior performer who understands the company culture and also has savvy people skills so they can to interpret the prospective employees answers to the interview questions. Typically a great employee can spot good talent when they see it.

Do you have the best talent working for you? If not, why not?

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About Ingbretsen Consulting LLC:
Coach and author Roger Ingbretsen is a certified executive coach and organizational developer, providing organizational and career guidance to professionals, managers, supervisors and all individuals looking for "real world" career development and business information. His entrepreneurial approach will help you learn how to plan, lead and succeed in your career. Roger is the creator of the “Leadership Development Coaching Experience©” and author of the personal development reference eBooks, “Plan Your Career Now: The Survival Guide for the American Workplace” and “Master Your Career: Proven Strategies for Career Success©.” To know more and claim dozens of Rogers free articles go to www.ingbretsen.com or call 509 999 7008.

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