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Just What Really Is “Top Talent,” Anyway?
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The business community (and that definitely includes HR folks) talks a lot about “top talent.”
We gab about how to attract top talent, develop top talent, engage top talent, and retain top talent.
We even talk about how much top talent an organization really needs (versus the regular kind).
But what is “top talent”?
To some degree, the answer to that question is subjective, depending on a particular organization’s needs, leadership, and culture.
To a larger degree, however, the answer isn’t subjective at all. When top talent is in action, most of us have no trouble recognizing it.
The most talented people I’ve encountered during my career demonstrated the following characteristics:
When I think of top talent, I’m reminded of the best boss I ever had. (Let’s call her Andrea.)
Andrea was as sharp as the proverbial tack, but she also possessed warmth, compassion, and loads of integrity. She was supportive, a great listener, and courageous.
Sometimes Andrea ruffled the feathers of less talented slackers her peers, but despite the occasional drama, Andrea knew how to get things done.
Andrea had talent that even her detractors had to acknowledge. After being fired without notice, ostensibly for “incompetence,” (really, she got on someone’s last nerve) Andrea was later (like days later) rehired as a consultant, because no one else could actually do the job.
Now here’s a question for hiring managers and recruiters:
Are you talented enough at what you do to recognize top talent when you see it, whether during a job interview or in the workplace?
And, are you willing to be challenged by talent? Because if you aren’t, you’ll never keep it.
A few days ago I read an article claiming that conscientiousness is THE personality trait that most often predicts success, including career success.
The claim was a bit of a disappointment (and I consider myself conscientious, too), because the “successful” individual was portrayed as pretty darn compliant, and the idea that compliance leads to “success” depressed me.
However, perhaps that explains why more employers don’t have the “top talent” they say they want.
What do you think?