I often hear people lament that they are not challenged in their positions or that they’ve been promised a new position within their company that has not materialized. I firmly believe that it is the job of a good manager to unleash the talent of their workforce. Unrealized potential is a loss to the company and to the individual. It’s unreasonable to expect that leaders act like oracles that can see the untapped potential of every employee. But leaders can and should create a culture in which employees are given the opportunity to try new things and ask for new challenges. I’m not encouraging change for the sake of change. Rather, I think that managers should involve employees in goal setting and announce new workplace challenges (i.e. new product development, a new branch, a new competitive threat) and allow employees to express their interest in being part of the team that meets the new challenge. Unleashing the talent of your employees doesn’t mean a wholesale shuffle of employees between divisions and departments every six months. It can mean shifting responsibilities slightly or freeing up some time in the day of various employees to work on new tasks. It can also mean providing training opportunities as a means to recognize and promote talent.
One of the most exciting parts of my job is helping organizations assess the untapped potential of their workforce. I get to help leaders recognize individuals that are future high performers. And one of the best fringe benefits of unleashing talent is improving the morale of an organization. When a leader treats some of her employees like wallflowers, she misses out on some of the best and the brightest. We’re not all programmed to self-promote our talents. Leaders need to provide the opportunities and assessments to identify and promote talent in the brash and the shy alike. In that way, leaders can be sure that they are making the most of the best, most finite resource: their employees.
