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The future of talent development: coaching individuals to build strength

Talent management is a major trend. Many organisations now have some kind of talent management strategy in place, and chances are that if you don't have one yet, you're planning to develop one soon. Relatively low unemployment, economic growth, the changing nature of work, skills and succession gaps mean organisations face increasing challenges and competition to attract, retain, develop and deploy talent.

There is a strong emphasis in the talent management industry on attracting and recruiting talent, yet still too little emphasis on long-term talent development. Organisations now need to shift their focus from 'managing' talent to ‘developing' talent. To do this effectively, learning and development should focus on developing and applying individual strengths. Coaching is key to developing talent and unlocking individual potential.

Focus on the individual

To develop talent effectively, learning and development needs to be individualised. Investment in developing your talented individuals needs to be well targeted. A ‘sheep dip' approach is unlikely to produce the benefits an organisation is looking for and does not recognise the different skills and strengths of the talent population. Learning and development needs to recognise individuality and encourage people to work with their own unique strengths in their own unique environments. One of the most effective learning approaches to support this is coaching, and using coaching as part of a blended programme with other development activities can make learning both more effective and more valued by learners themselves.

Coaching talent

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)'s ‘Reflections on Talent Management' found that 43% of organisations frequently use coaching in a talent programme, a further 38% occasionally use it, and yet 87% felt that it was an effective or very effective method.

A survey of participants in talent management programmes found that coaching was ranked the most effective element of any programme terms of its impact on performance, motivation and commitment (Phillips, 2006).

Coaching can really help to engage individuals and develop their agility as well as ability to learn, a key indicator of leadership performance and potential (e.g. Lombardo and Eichinger, 2004). Coaching encourages individuals to take responsibility for their own development and actions and can play a pivotal role in talent development.

Bersin (2007) research into talent management practices in the US: “What we found was very enlightening (and somewhat surprising): the talent process which delivers the single greatest overall business impact is coaching – implementing a process for executive and management coaching throughout the organisation. This process scored higher than many of the things we consider sacrosanct: setting goals, aligning goals in the organisation, understanding critical competencies, and high performing recruiting.”

Build on strengths

When developing talent, we need to encourage individuals to build on and leverage their strengths rather than simply focus on the weaknesses or gaps. This challenges the traditional approach to development – that a person's greatest room for growth is in his or her greatest area of weakness – in favour of a more balanced approach, that a person's greatest potential for growth is in his or her greatest area of strength. A recent Chartered Management Institute research report suggested that this typical over emphasis on weaknesses may explain their findings that many people identified as talent or high potential felt under-utilised. The report recommends the introduction of differentiated and tailored development routes that meet individual needs and strengths to help improve the engagement of those who perceive their talents to be under-utilised.

An increasing body of evidence supports the value of a strengths-based approach. Buckingham and Clifton's Gallup research found that an environment where people can ‘do what they do best' was related to lower employee turnover, higher customer satisfaction and higher productivity. A clear view of strengths enables individuals to avoid overplaying them and turning them into weaknesses (e.g. Kaplan & Kaiser, 2006).

So with more emphasis on strengths, we can support the development of learners by developing their self-awareness and awareness of their surroundings. This not only builds their talents, but also creates opportunities to maximise their impact in the organisation and beyond.

References

Bersin J (2007), “High Impact Talent Management: Trends, Best-practices and Industry Solutions”.
Blass, E., “Talent Management: Maximising talent for business performance”, Chartered Management Institute report, November 2007.
Buckingham, M. & Clifton, D.O., (2005) Now Discover Your Strengths, Simon & Schuster.
CIPD Change Agenda “Reflections on Talent Management”, 2006.
Eichinger, R.W. & Lombardo, M.M. “Learning Agility as A Prime Indicator of Potential”, Human Resource Planning , Vol. 27, No. 4, 2004.
Kaplan, R.E., & Kaiser, R.B. (2006). The Versatile Leader: Make the Most of Your Strengths - Without Overdoing It. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Phillips, P.S. “What value does coaching add to talent management programmes?”, Selection & Development Review, 22 (5) 2006.

About the author

Dr Louise Hill, Knowledge Architect, Academee

Louise is a skilled and perceptive learning professional. She has extensive human resource management experience and worked successfully as a consultant for several years before taking up her current role as Academee's knowledge architect. An accomplished academic, she has researched organisational behaviour and processes and applies this knowledge to key organisational challenges.

Louise has a PhD in psychology, an MSc in organisational psychology, and is a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society.

Louise welcomes your views on this article and can be contacted at louise.hill@academee.com.