You may be familiar with my series on specialised careers here. Where is the link to talent management in terms of individual employee development?

There are areas in organisations that are not suitable for specialist careers. Then you need a different answer to employees' legitimate question: „Where am I going?“

For a very long time, talent management was on everyone's lips as individual promotion based on performance and potential. But that doesn't really work very well - I agree with my colleague Thomas Schmidt:

‘For the most part, everyone involved in employee appraisals felt uncomfortable in their own skin:

The managers, because they are afraid of demotivating their employees with critical assessments.

The employees, because - regardless of their age - they are still ‘graded’ as they once were in school...’

(Source: Thomas Schmidt, ‘Performance Management im Wandel’, p. 18).

Performance management as a real turn-off. How can we do better?

A real step forward is to finally focus on the strengths of employees. To paraphrase Steve de Shazer: focus on the solution (in this case the strengths), not on the problems. Focusing on strengths is also economical, because a free thinker with two left hands rarely becomes a top craftsman (exceptions prove the rule).

A good talent process of positive personnel development can look like this:

• The employee and manager describe three core strengths: what is he or she really good at?
• My tip: a tool like the Belbin team roles is great for reflecting strengths.
• Both agree on development measures: how does the employee specifically build on his or her strengths?
• You use practical feedback to check how this has worked out.
• Other perspectives in the sense of all-round feedback are also valuable.
• Conclusion: You talk about employees' successes and contribution to value creation, not about shortcomings.

There can still be a talent portfolio - more on this in the next article.

Any questions on this? Just contact me!