In this new, unsettled world, getting the most out of your people by unleashing their existing and potential talent needs to be a priority for every leader.
A talent-focused leader knows that one of the most important factors in their success is their ability to challenge, develop and engage their people. Would your team say you’re a “talent-focused leader?”
As we head into a new year and you start thinking about key focus areas for 2013, never underestimate the integral role your people can play in helping you deliver results. 2013 can be the year to truly unleash the power of your people. It starts by creating an environment that encourages open dialogue, promotes the growth of your team and its individuals, and nurtures strong productive relationships.
Talent-focused leaders need to be crystal clear about the forces impacting their efforts to drive results, the capabilities their people need to navigate the rough waters ahead and how to capitalize on the existing and potential talent on their team. They must:
- Know their business climate
- Know their business priorities
- Know how to leverage their talent
Talent-focused leaders understand the varied and complex challenges associated with today’s diverse workforce such as managing a younger population of workers with unique attitudes and values about work, rewards and recognition, and a growing population of older workers heading toward retirement with different sets of attitudes and values.
Money and benefits may attract people to the front door, but something else has to keep them from going out the back. People do stay for more than pay and you, if you’re a talent-focused leader, have more influence than you can imagine.
Everyone on your team has a unique set of skills, interests and capabilities that when unleashed produce amazing results. Talent-focused leaders know that it is essential to uncover these talents, and then link them to the overall goals of their team and organization.
You know you’ve arrived when you create “Signature Moments” in your organization. This is a time when the relationship with your team has evolved to the point where they trust you enough to produce results in areas and ways never contemplated in the past. What was once on your list, is now accomplished by your team. Breakthroughs that may have taken a long time to accomplish now happen under your team’s direction. When this transformation is experienced, everyone on the team knows it and feels proud to be a part of it. It’s an exciting, yet evolutionary time. Your hard work to become a talent-focused leader has paid off. Your people have taken ownership and are working at a much higher level.
