talent

Five factors for talented people to think!

Leave a Comment / Careers & Concerns / /

In our previous blog we came across Rahul, an extremely talented and enthusiastic young employee. Despite of all these qualities, he had to face an unpleasant feedback from his manager. What actually hampered Rahul’s performance? I like to highlight here particularly five factors that talented people must keep in mind. My success is a factor of many other people: Talented people need to appreciate the fact that, their success needs a lot of support and contribution from others. There is a whole support system that enables them to utilize their talent and deliver results. They need to shed the arrogance or self-in-flatting feeling that they are great performers. No business result can ever be achieved with singular contribution. Rahul perhaps needs to release this facts and start respecting the contribution of others. My colleagues need to accept me before they support me: Building on the earlier point, once the talented individual realized that their contribution needs the support of others; they need to explore ways of gaining the acceptance of others in the system. If the colleagues do not accept them, they will not be forth coming to support the talented people. The talented people may face the problem of getting alienated. Therefore Rahul needs to work on building the Rapport and relationship to seek support. Many a times, talented people relay on systems and processes to get support. They argue that people need to support them because process demands. But human behavior does not exactly operate the same way. They need to appreciate the human needs and build those affiliations so as to get the required support. My attitude towards less talented people determines my success: Talented people become impatient and restless when others in the system do not match to their talent. However it is the fact that organizations consist of top talent and somewhat mediocre performers. They cannot look down upon those less talented people. They may do well to help them become more efficient. In the meanwhile, they have to learn to be patient and get things done. By talking in an insulting manner, they may encourage resistance. My pace of work depends on the team’s pace: There is no point in losing the patience at the pace of the team. Talented people need to realize that the final delivery pace depends on the weakest link in the team. If they can do anything to improve it, they should do to uplift the team by encouraging them. Talented people tend to blame the system saying that it is because of them, they are not able to deliver. They need to act like leaders. My ability to lead my colleagues determines my success: Talented people cannot be successful just because of their domain and functional knowledge. They cannot succeed by criticizing and turning cynical about the system. They become successful because of the ability to lead the colleagues. Leading your peers is not going to be an easy task because they are not reporting to you. Colleagues listen to you only when you earn their respect. You need to master the art of influencing without authority and get the buy-in of colleagues. Finally, talented people need to broad base their talent; they can achieve success by leading the team to succeed! Article – “What derails people despite their talent?”By: Dr.Raj, Published in HR Mirror, Hans India.Follow Dr.Raj on Twitter @drraj29 

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What’s trending in HR now?

Leave a Comment / HR Views & News / /

“With the changed profile of gen X and gen Y, HR faced a new challenge of meeting their expectations, which go beyond money alone… They expect freedom, challenge, novelty, hierarchy-less culture and so on”  Follow Dr. Raj on Twitter @drraj29 Last week, we discussed how the need for essential Personnel & Administration (P&A) function evolved. In this article, we will discuss how the flavor of P&A has changed and new age HR has emerged. We will know about what’s trending in HR today! Factors that led to change in HR Organisations, with expected basic administration and statutory compliance, have realized that much more needs to be done on the people front. With the profile of workforce changing from gen X to gen Y, with the emergence of new age industries, with the increased employment options to talented people, with the dominance of knowledge as against manufacturing, with the advent of technology in servicing employee needs, the expectations from the HR function changed ­ rather dramatically! With the changed profile of gen X and gen Y, HR faced a new challenge of meeting their expectations, which go beyond money alone. They expect freedom, challenge, novelty, hierarchy-less culture and so on. This has necessitated HR to reinvent itself beyond administration and compliance role. What has continued from the earlier HR? The traditional functions ­ sometimes we may call them as core HR ­ such as recruitment, employee services, compensation and training continue even today, albeit with a renewed focus. HR has been striving to find new ways of performing these core functions and this effort will continue! For example, recruitment has to take cognizance of social media; employee services need to leverage Information Technology to offer various self-service options to the employee; compensation needs to be modeled differently keeping the expectations of new age employees; and training needs to be more engaging and experiential. Though the core HR remained the same, the approach has been changing over the years. This surely calls for continuous learning among the HR fraternity. Those who may think that P&A to HR is merely a name change are surely mistaken. Current areas of focus Here is a list of currently trending themes in HR. This surely is not an exhaustive list not does it indicate any order of priority. The purpose is to indicate how expectations from HR are changing. Business HR  Business Heads and CEOs are expecting HR to act as a business partner. They expect HR to contribute to business performance by ably supporting in aligning HR practices with the business priorities. For example, by thinking innovatively on the staffing, HR can drive greater efficiency and thereby adding to the profitability. They also expect HR to be the watchdog to ensure budgetary discipline. Growing up to this role of becoming a business partner is surely a possibility for any youngster subject to the person understanding the business thoroughly. e-HR In as many HR areas as possible, technology can be leveraged to improve efficiency as well as achieve greater employee satisfaction. As simple as a bio-metric system to mark the attendance to an intranet to offer self-service to the employee, IT offers tremendous opportunity to HR. This space is particularly open for youngsters who are more adept in embracing technology. It is needless to say that with automated HR processes, HRM softwares and tools, IT is really trending in HR. Social Media for HR Social media has emerged and grown so rapidly that it has overwhelmed many HR professionals. Spotting potential talent from social media, working on employer branding, bringing better communication among the teams, connecting with the employees virtually….it has been changing the way HR functions are performed. This is yet another opportunity for youngsters who bring in fresh perspectives on social media! Employee Connect With the increased pace of working, pressure to perform, growing scale of operations, employee connect could be a possible casualty. Special emphasis and effort is called for to stay connected with the employees so that they continue to engage with the organisation. This requires ability of rapport building and empathy. A caring attitude to understand the concerns and feelings of employees is required. Talent Retention With all the efforts of HR, the ultimate expectation is better business performance and employee satisfaction. In order to sustain the same however, it is imperative to make efforts to retain the talent. This is another challenge for all the HR professional. Understanding the aspirations, managing expectations and innovative ways of engaging with the talent are essential here. Having understood the opportunity in HR, how it has evolved, what is trending and what HR folks really do, it is now time for you to evaluate if HR can be a career option for you! This article was published in:  HR Mirror Hans India Follow us on Twitter @hrfootprints 

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Growing talent is like growing a plant

Leave a Comment / Blog, Career, Growth / /

Whenever we talk about Talent Management and growing talents in organizations, I always recall this story. There was this man who was determined to grow plants that give beautiful flowers in his garden. He went to the market and inquired about the best seeds available. Upon recommendation by others and his own physical examination, he chose to buy a particular variety. He and his family were so excited to sow the seeds. They watered the soil, dug the ground, planted the seeds, and watered again. His son was so excited about the plant that he protected the area with a grill. Next day, everyone got busy except the father and the son. They inspected the place and noticed that the soil was still wet. They decided to water the area again in the evening. This routine continued for a couple of days. Next day morning when they went to inspect the area, the scene was same – some traces of water on the soil and nothing more. The man got a doubt why the seed was not sprouting out. He restrained himself for another day. But the next day, when he saw the same status, he could not resist. He and his son dug up the soil to check what the seed was doing. There was a trace of pale green colored plant spouting out from the seed. It was so tender that it could not face the direct sun shine. The father and son felt comfortable that something was happening and therefore placed the soil again and watered. But due to the intrusion into the growth process, it got affected and slowed the growth. After a few days, the man got really restless and dug up the soil again. He had now seen a small plant about to break the ground and come onto the surface. However, unwittingly, while digging it out, the man hit the root of the plant and it seriously damaged. Left alone, it could have grown in a few days. But due to the restlessness of the man, it got killed. A promised seed could not grow into a plant due to the impatience of the man! Now, if you draw parallels to this story with the talent growing and grooming process in organizations, doesn’t sound very similar? The impatience of the leaders does not allow promising talent to emerge into established competence. They hurry the process of growth which may fundamentally affect the growth of the individual! Due to the suffocation and early exposure to complex situations, the professionals with good potential will turn into failures. In our anxiety to get the best out of our potential talent, we may fundamentally kill their talent. Had the man showed some patience, the seed would have grown into a plant and then into a tree for lasing benefits! Blog Author : Dr Raj

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