Too many leaders today are not investing in their employees – and that’s their talent within the organization. Without strong talent in the ranks, companies cannot survive. Leaders who don’t invest in their employees will find:
- There is no pipeline for future executive teams
- Organizational capability will decrease
- Innovation is reduced
- The employees are not challenged and engaged, and will move on – or may stay and just no longer try
- Talented individuals will be recruited by competitors who will recognize their talent
- They are unable to meet the challenges of the future
I remember one situation a friend of mine described at a company for which she worked. The right talent was not developed because the executives were worried about their jobs. By “the right talent,” she meant those individuals who were high potentials and would be well suited for an executive level role within the organization with the proper development and support. Rather, the executives groomed those individuals they did not see as a threat. The individuals who were considered top talent left the organization for other opportunities. As you can imagine, this company is headed for problems and, my friend, needless to say, moved on to another organization.
At her next company, there was a plan in place to identify, develop and retain high potentials. Additionally, this company also worked to ensure that there were development plans for all employees, regardless of their level within the organization.
Your thoughts? What happens, in your opinion, if leaders don’t make an effort to develop and invest in their employees? Share your stories in the Comments field below. Thanks!
Hi Paul,
It is true that many organizations simply develop those they deem to be the best who can move into senior leadership roles; but I am seeing more and more organizations developing talent at all levels – from the most junior to the more senior – and that includes those who may never sit in the corner office. Some organizations are beginning to see the value of developing all their employees and not just a select few. But not all organizations are there yet and, unfortunately, I have seen some organizations who, because of tight budgets, eliminated talent development efforts for all except those who they considered the best. I have been working with a variety of organizations – across many different industries – lately on the benefit and value to the organization of developing all of their staff. It does take some selling in some organizations – and sometimes, unfortunately, they must learn the hard way!
Thanks much for commenting!
Best,
Gina
Hi Kerri,
Good point made. Talent management takes a significant investment and must be the role and responsibility of someone in the organization – not simply one other task on someone’s plate. The organizations where I have seen talent management to be most successful – both for the organization as a whole and for the individuals employees – is those that commit to it, including all the risks that go along with it.
Thank you for your comment!
Best,
Gina
Hi V G,
Great point! It is often true that leaders that are threatened by their subordinates do frequently end up pushing them right out the door to another job! Leaders that do not invest in their people are doing harm to their organization as the good ones will likely walk right out the door!
Thanks for your comment!
Best,
Gina
AT times, Leaders (shall I say managers instead of Leaders) feel threatened due to smart subordinates and instead of developing the subordinates, they actually, kill them. That could be one of the reasons for what has happened in your friend’s first organisation. In majorty of the cases, development opportunities are available in organisations. If an employee feels that there are NO avenues available for adding value to his/her persona, employee is most likely to resign and leave. In today’s context, every employee has aspirations and those aspirations need to be dealt with.
If a Leader doesn’t invest in people, he/she is not a LEADER at all.
One rather difficult dynamic is when new talent outpaces old talent. While most everyone can see your obvious talents, the local ‘expert’ has the final say of what moves forward and what does not, stiffling growth. So one aspect of nurturing new talent is recognizing when old talent has been outpaced and listening more intently to the new voices. This requires a significant leap of faith, something most people won’t invest in new talent/ideas. That leaves no doors open but the exit in most cases.
Hi Gina,
Your friend has experienced what many do in large, and not so large organizations. I find it strange that Talent is almost exclusively identified as being those capable of moving into the higher echelons of an organization, or not in your example. What many organizations fail to grasp I find is that the Talent that has taken them to where they currently are needs to be nurtured and not everyone is suited for or indeed wants the ‘step-up’. That doesn’t make those people less worthy of attention but it does mean they need to be looked after properly because it’s these people leaving with vast amounts of knowledge that can kill off the best of businesses.
Paul