Developing Talent185
Don’t argue. Instead, probe their response gently: “I thought I had ex-
plained to you my plan for how to approach this meeting. What made you
think I wasn’t going to carry it off?” Then state your expectations clearly:
“Here’s how I’d like to handle that next time.” Help them stay true to their
motivation to present themselves in the best possible light and encourage
them to do so without stepping on or around anyone else.
Praise personally, praise often.
High performers often second-guess praise, even when they need it badly.
So it’s important to make your accolades as specifi c as you can, tailored to
their own self-perceptions. For example, if they pride themselves on being
a good writer, don’t tell them the graphics in the presentation were top-
notch. Instead, point to writing details: “Your phrasing on the closing slide
was very powerful. We should consider incorporating that language into
our team’s vocabulary.” Keep your comments authentic by avoiding exag-
geration or clichés.
You may fi nd the constant pressure to produce praise exhausting.
That’s only natural; it is exhausting. But remember that however unim-
portant these compliments seem to you, they’re fulfi lling a genuinely vital
psychological need in your employees. You can help them by digging deep
in yourself to share the real gratitude and admiration you feel for their
exceptional performance.
Stretch assignments
Stretch assignments give employees an opportunity to assume new re-
sponsibilities that will challenge current competencies and provide an
opportunity for growth. This might be a temporary or part-time assign-
ment covering for a coworker on leave or running a short-term project. Or
perhaps you’re delegating an important leadership function, like acting as
a liaison with another department. The ultimate stretch assignment, of
course, is a full-time promotion to another role in your unit or elsewhere
in the company.
186Managing Individuals
Whatever the particulars, these assignments are a calculated risk on
everyone’s part: the company, your employee, and you. If your employee
succeeds, the company benefi ts from their talent, and they get an impres-
sive new responsibility. You get the satisfaction of seeing your direct re-
port shine, a reputational refraction of their success, and (depending on
the assignment) the use of their talents in a brand-new way. If they fail,
though, everyone feels the downside. Your company might incur losses in
productivity or profi t; your employee, deeply demoralized, may take a big
step back in their career path; and you must manage the fallout to your
unit and your good name.
All this means that you’d better choose carefully, says Claudio
Fernández- Aráoz, a senior adviser at the global executive search fi rm Egon
Zehnder. Whether you’re recommending your employee for a position else-
where in the company or reassigning them on your own team, there are a
few questions you should ask yourself:
Do they really have what it takes?
Their intelligence, creativity, and work ethic are probably well known to
you. But other intangibles, more diffi cult to evaluate, matter just as much.
Are they motivated by a desire to help others succeed or chiefl y by a selfi sh
ambition? Do they have the right leadership assets—resilience, sociability,
and the willingness to learn? Are they really prepared to accept the per-
sonal costs of a more strenuous position?
Is it the right opportunity?
Fernández-Aráoz argues that “the sweet spot of development for high
achievers is when you have a 50–70% chance of success.” You’re looking for
an assignment that the employee has a real shot of completing, but where
they will genuinely have to fi ght for their success. As you evaluate the
match, don’t limit yourself to considerations of skill and experience. What
about the cultural fi t? Will your direct report have any social capital to
draw on in this posting? Review, too, the consequences for your company
(and yourself) if this assignment doesn’t pan out. How much damage could
a failure infl ict? Would you be able to recover?
Developing Talent187
Can you make it happen?
Securing a stretch assignment can be diffi cult, especially if you need to
get senior management or executive approval. Start by choosing the right
sponsor—someone with the right mix of power and credibility who can
cosign your recommendation. When you make the pitch, don’t overjustify
the candidate’s background. Instead, focus on the core competencies that
you think make them a good fi t for the role. Be prepared to speak in detail
about your own experience managing them and present the risks honestly,
so that nothing comes out later to make a liar of you. Finally, have a plan
for how your unit will accommodate this change. Who will perform your
employee’s current responsibilities? If the assignment will split their time,
how will you help them manage their time?
Over the course of your career, some of these assignments will backfi re. As
long as everyone is prepared for that possibility and understands the risks,
that’s OK.
Developing talent is incredibly rewarding for managers. It isn’t easy to fi nd
the time required to do this well. But you need to make time. The work you
put into the manager-employee relationship, from delegating assignments
to giving effective feedback and coaching, all positions you for success
with the longer-term responsibility of talent development. Your company
is counting on you to ensure the future needs of the business will be met.
When you’re pressed for time and you feel as if your own performance is
under a microscope, you may shy away from making the necessary invest-
ments in your people’s development. Challenge yourself here and not only
will your employees benefi t, you and your organization will, too.
In part four, “Managing Teams,” you’ll learn how to channel these in-
dividual abilities into a coherent and creative team.
188Managing Individuals
Recap
■
One of the most important and rewarding responsibilities you have as a
manager is to develop the capabilities of your direct reports.
■
Your organization also benefi ts greatly from your investments in talent
devel op ment. Help others grow with a focus on how that growth will inter-
sect with the business goals of your unit.
■
Today’s world of lateral career moves means you and your employees can be
creative about crafting career strategies that are responsive to their—and
the company’s—needs.
■
High performers, who typically make up 5 to 10 percent of your team, place
a high value on their own development and therefore have a unique set of
development needs and risks.
■
Stretch assignments are a calculated risk on everyone’s part—the com-
pany, your employees—and you. But they will also give your employees new
respon si bili ties and the opportunity for growth.
Action items
❏
Consider all of the actions you’ve taken in the past year to further employee
development on your team—coaching, stretch assignments, and so on.
Which of these activities are paying off right now? What more can you do?
To create a career strategy with one of your direct reports:
❏
Talk to your direct report about their interests and skills, organizational
fi t, work values, and their vision of the future; conduct an Employee
Devel opment Interview (see questionnaire in the box given earlier).
❏
Based on their response, suggest training opportunities for them. Urge
them to meet with HR, conduct informational interviews in the company,
or pitch you on a job redesign.
❏
Refresh their responsibilities so that their day-to-day work is better
aligned with their larger aspirations.
Developing Talent189
To develop high-potential talent:
❏
Scope out the prospects for a high-potential employee’s development
in your company by talking to your boss and to other colleagues in the
organization. What opportunities are available for someone with their
talents?
❏
Talk to your high performers regularly about their stress levels and work-
life balance: “This week has been very busy for you, and your perfor-
mance at Thursday’s meeting was fantastic. How are you feeling after all
that? What do you need to recharge your batteries?”
❏
Recognize and embrace the need to validate high-potential talent on a
regular basis. High achievers will respond favorably to recognition of
their eff orts.
To create stretch assignments:
❏
To evaluate an employee for a stretch assignment, ask yourself: Do they
have what it takes? Is it the right opportunity? Can I secure it for them?
❏
Choose a sponsor to cosign your recommendation and prepare a pitch
about why this person can succeed in the role, what your experience
with them has been, and what risks the company assumes if the sponsor
approves the assignment.
❏
Provide as much support as necessary to ensure the employee can
shine in their stretch assignment. Check in regularly and support their
success.
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