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PEOPLETALENTCall for TalentWhat’s the best solution?by Dave UlrichTALENT. WE KNOW ITmatters. Some go towar for it. Sports teamsdraft for it. Actors audition to showthey have it. Others consider it theultimate solution and try to manage it.Agents contract for it. Some areendowed with it. Others strive diligentlyto earn it. All try to grow it.Talent is evolving into a science forHR professionals and a passion forline managers. Many programs arecreated to attract, retain, and upgradetalent. Yet, we can easily get lost in themyriad of promises, programs, andprocesses and lose sight of the basics.I offer a deceptively simple formulafor talent that can help you turn yourtalent aspirations into actions: Talent =Competence, Commitment, and Contribution.In this equation, the threeterms are multiplicative, not additive.Competence means that individualshave the knowledge, skills, and valuesrequired for today’s and tomorrow’sjobs: right skills, right place, right job.Competence clearly matters, as incompetenceleads to poor decisionmaking, botchedexecution, low sales, andpoor service.Commitment. Withoutcommitment, competenceis discounted. Competentpeople who are not committedare smart, but don’twork very hard. Engagedor committed employeeswork hard, put in theirtime, and do what they are asked todo. In the last decade, commitmentand competence have been the bailiwicksfor talent.Contribution. The next generationof employees may be competent andcommitted, but unless they are makinga real contribution and findingmeaning and purpose in their work,their interest diminishes and their talentwanes. Contribution occurs whenpeople feel that their personal needsare being met through their work.Competence deals with the head(being able), commitment with thehands and feet (being there), and contributionwith the heart (simply being).If any of the three elements is missing,the other two can’t replace it. Alow score in competence won’t ensuretalent, even when people are engaged.Talented people must have skills, wills,and purposes; they must be capable,committed, and contributing. Leaderscan engage their managers to identifyand improve all three dimensions torespond to the call for talent.Creating CompetenceHere’s how you create competence:1. Set and articulate standards. Identifycompetencies required to deliverfuture work. The best competencestandards come from turning futurecustomer expectations into presentemployee requirements. You can ask:What social and technical competenciesdo we have? What changes face us andwhat are our strategic responses? Giventhese changes and choices, what technicaland social competencies mustemployees demonstrate? By askingthese questions, you help create a pointof view on competencies that leads to aset of standards. When managers buildcompetence models based on futurecustomer expectations, they directemployee attention to what they shouldknow and do. The simplest test of thecompetence standard is to ask target orkey customers, “If our employees livedup to these standards, would thisinspire confidence from you in ourfirm?” When customers answer yes, thecompetence model is right.2. Assess individualsand teams. Assess peopleon how well they meet standards.Most talent assessmentsevaluate both resultsand behaviors. Talentedemployees deliver results inthe right way (as defined bycompetence standards).These behaviors may beself-assessed by the employee(a 180), assessed by other employees—peers,managers, subordinates (a360), and evaluated by those outside theorganization—suppliers, customers,investors, community leaders, and otherstakeholders (a 720). This assessment letspeople know what to do to improve andprovides input about how to design anddeliver HR practices to upgrade talent.3. Investing in talent improvement.You can fill talent gaps or upgrade talentby making HR investments in sixareas: 1) Buying—recruiting, sourcing,securing new talent; 2) Building—helpingpeople grow through training, onthe job, or life experiences; 3) Borrowing—bringing knowledge in throughadvisors or partners; 4) Bounding: promotingthe right people into key jobs;5) Bouncing: removing poor performers;and 6) Binding: retaining top talent.When you create choices in thesesix areas, you help individuals and theorganization invest in future talent.4. Follow up and track competence.Use measures to track how well individualsare developing their skills andhow well the organization develops itstalent bench. People can be tracked ontheir understanding of their nextcareer step and their capacity to do it.Leaders can track the extent to whichback-ups are in place for key positionsand how well they produce great talent.Strengthening CommitmentCommitment means that employeesare willing to give their discretionaryenergy to the firm’s success. This discretionaryenergy is generally conceivedas an employee value proposition:employees who give value to their organizationshould get value back. Theability to give value comes when employeesdeliver results in the right way.Employees are more committed whentheir leaders provide: 1) Vision—a senseof direction or purpose; 2) Opportunity—an ability to grow, develop, and learn;3) Incentives —a fair wage or salary forwork done; 4) Impact—an ability to seethe outcome or effects; 5) Community—peers, bosses, and leaders who build asense of community; 6) Communication—knowing what is happening and why;and 7) Entrepreneurship or flexibility—having choice in terms and conditions.With these seven dimensions, peoplehave VOI 2 C 2 E. They show their engagementby being at work on time, workinghard, and doing what’s expected.You best strengthen contribution byhelping people answer six questions:• Who am I? How does my identitymeld with the company reputation?• Where am I going and why? Canthe organization help me reach goals?• Who do I travel with? How doesthe firm build a community of support?• How well do I practice spiritualdisciplines? Do leaders practice humility,service, forgiveness, gratitude?• What challenges do I enjoy? Do Ifind energizing challenges at work?• How well can I access resourcesto manage health, space, and finances?Start using the simple talent formulaof competence, commitment and contributionto lead and manage your talent. LEDave Ulrich is cofounder of the RBL Group, a leadership consultancyand coauthor of Leadership Brand (HBS Press).Visit www.bigspeak.com.ACTION: Apply this talent formula.Leadership Excellence May 2008 17