The Five Critical Phases of Executive Talent Management

It’s often said that the most important part of any HR initiative is support from senior leaders. The same is true of executive talent management. While HR has to bring programs and tools to the table, the CEO and his or her senior team have to fully embrace the process for it to work. And senior leaders are more likely to have meaningful conversations if the company has built a balanced and integrated executive talent management strategy.

All companies are looking for the same leadership outcomes – a compelling vision and strategy, a motivated and inspired workforce, and the ability to identify and develop the next generation of leaders. So if everyone understands that great leaders make a difference, why is it that so many companies fail to identify and develop an adequate leadership bench? Why is there a shortage of experienced, battle-tested business executives? Simply put, most companies don’t put forth the effort to make it happen.

It’s not for lack of knowledge – HR systems and processes for developing executive talent management plans are well documented and readily available. No, this is an issue of execution. Many companies waste time on the wrong processes; some over-emphasize one aspect of the process at the expense of other important components. Most, however, just lack the dedication and perseverance to truly make good talent management a priority. Given what’s at stake, this is a serious error in judgment and planning.

The good news is that there are only five critical phases to executive talent management:

1. Talent Planning & Assessment
2. Recruiting & Onboarding
3. Development
4. Movement
5. Feedback

The challenge, of course, is to integrate the phases, and to execute each of them well.

It all starts with talent planning and assessment. The organization needs a planful and organized approach to evaluating and discussing its executive talent. Where do we need leaders, now and in the future? Who’s got the potential for the next level? Who’s ready for a move? What do we do if we’re faced with unexpected attrition at the executive level? These are all questions the CEO and senior team must answer about their pipeline of leadership talent. This conversation has to be rigorous and mission critical - in other words, it has to be grounded in data and given the same priority as other important discussions like strategy or financial planning.

The talent assessment will produce a simple question: “buy vs. build?” If the organization needs executive talent that it doesn’t have, or can’t be expected to groom, it must recruit new leadership talent. This phase of the process is crucial; finding quality executives who can mesh with your culture and add immediate value is not an easy task (as evidenced by the proliferation and continued success of executive search firms). Perhaps the most overlooked component of a good talent management strategy is a strong executive onboarding process. Most companies don’t do anything at all to help the new executive get off to a fast start; they just assume they’ll be productive leaders. A well-executed onboarding program can be the key to ensuring the new executive’s success.

If the decision is to build your own pipeline of leaders, the final three phases of talent management come into play. First, the company needs to determine its formal development plan for leaders and emerging executives. How are they going to ensure that leaders get aligned around the vision and mission of the company? What exposure do they want to provide to outside best practices? How can they help executives across the company network and collaborate with one another? Again, most companies leave development to chance, or focus learning on lower level employees. This is a mistake – leaders need instruction on how to lead effectively, and can learn much from external resources or peers in the classroom.

Second, and this is the most critical phase of the entire process, the company needs to have an active, well-planned movement philosophy. Adapting to new roles is easily the best way to develop executives. The process of experiencing different business challenges, making and learning from mistakes, facing new cultures or environments, etc., is the best way to develop skills and expertise at the executive level. This isn’t new knowledge – yet most companies fail to plan for and execute moves in any systematic, organized way.

Finally, there’s feedback, which is critical to the developing executive. The type of self-reflection achieved through coaching and mentoring relationships is important as the executive absorbs the lessons of experience. Likewise, a strong performance management process can produce feedback from those who work closely with the executive to help them assess and adjust their leadership style.

Creating an integrated executive talent management system isn’t easy – it takes careful planning and strong execution. But it can be done. The companies that make executive talent management a priority are the ones that have the depth and breadth of leadership talent to face any business challenge.

WJM Associates, Inc. invites you to discuss “The Five Most Critical Phases of Executive Talent Management” facilitated by Dr. Steve Arneson, WJM Faculty Member. 

The event will be held December 5, 2007 from 12:30pm-3:30pm (Lunch will be served) at the Tower Club, 8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Suite 1700, Vienna, VA 22182 (703) 761-4250.

Steve Arneson has created innovative talent management and leadership development programs for some of America's leading companies, including PepsiCo, AOL, Time Warner and Capital One.  Recently, Dr. Arneson was SVP, Executive Talent Management & Development at Capital One, where he developed the strategies and programs that helped Capital One be named to Fortune magazine's Top 20 Companies for Leaders list, placing # 2 in North America, and # 5 on the Global list.  He also created the national-recognized Leadership Development Program (rated a top-10 large corporate leadership program in 2005-2007 by Leadership Excellence magazine).

In this session, Dr. Arneson will discuss the critical processes of an integrated talent management system, and share the key steps involved in establishing a top leadership brand for your organization. 

Don't miss this opportunity to learn best practices from a leading expert in the leadership development field.

WJM provides this event as a service to our clients and colleagues.  Space is limited.  

Most senior executives are in touch, both at an intellectual and emotional level, and can articulate quite accurately, the strengths that make them effective business leaders. The intellectual awareness has extended to emotional awareness since they have been consistently rewarded for these strengths. In addition, in most cases they like using them and get emotional satisfaction from employing these assets to achieve tangible and visible results.

However, many executives do not have this same level of emotional awareness of their weaknesses. I am not talking here about all weaknesses, but specifically those that get in the way of these executives maximizing the impact of their strengths. They tend to blame other people for their diminished impact. “This is the way I am and people should understand that,” is a common expression. This lack of emotional awareness is a key blocker to successful coaching, i.e. coaching which results in some lasting change in behavior patterns.

If this awareness can move from the head to the “gut”, an executive begins to realize and own the actual impact this behavior is having on his peers and subordinates. Once this occurs, the executive can feel empowered to share this with his associates and actually enlist their support for his desire to change. “If you see me doing this, give me a sign. I really want to change but this is so engrained I know I will be working on it forever. Your pointing it out to me will really help.

Lasting changes in behavior require two things. The first is a genuine desire to change on the part of the executive. The other is the “institutional space” for that change to occur. The first is obvious, the second more subtle.

If an executive has an engrained pattern of negative behavior, it is very difficult to change. In most cases, it will never completely stop. There will be slippages. Without “institutional space” every regression will be met with cynicism. “I know she is trying but there she goes again,” is the conversation around the water cooler.

However, if the executive has enlisted the support of his associates in his attempts to improve, there is both immediate constructive feedback, which limits the regression, and a tolerance for the slippage. “He started doing it again but I pointed it out to him. He not only stopped but also thanked me for pointing it out. I really admire his effort.” is the new conversation at the water cooler.

Good feedback from both the boss and the coach can be a trigger for moving awareness from the head to the “gut.” This can’t be antiseptic feedback. It too must be delivered with emotion. Nonchalance can’t be tolerated. “You don’t get it. Let me say it again. This is getting in the way of your career and could be a derailer. Get it.”

Without emotional awareness on the part of the executive, either no change will occur or it will be short-lived.

In our last newsletter we described WJM Associates’ Leadership Point-of-View by highlighting seven characteristics of effective leadership. As a quick review they are: Authenticity, Decisiveness, Strategic Acumen, Vision, Humility, Talent Selection, and Coaching and Feedback. To see the full article, as well as best practices for developing effective leaders within an organization, please click here.

The next several issues of the WJManagement Advisor will each include an article focusing on one of these characteristics. In this issue we begin by addressing the first of these seven: Authenticity.

What does it mean to be authentic? The word is broadly defined as being believable, trustworthy, reliable, real and genuine. These are important attributes to have for any leader, at any level, to be effective. The next question that comes to mind is how does one ensure that they are authentic in their leadership? Rather then rely on chance or wishful thinking; it helps to have a thoughtful plan with key actionable items.

Taking personal and professional inventory is clearly the best place to begin. What we mean is thinking through the items that truly are meaningful and important in all aspects of your life. Questions to ask yourself to gain clarity in this area include:

• What are my values and guiding principles? This question will answer how you plan to live your life both professionally and personally. There should not be a major deviation between the two.
  • Action Item: Set time aside over the next few weeks and think about this question and take pen to paper to develop your own values, mission in life and guiding principles. Ideally, of course, the organization you work for should have a mission, vision and values that are in alignment with your own.
• Who am I and how am I hard-wired? Many leaders try to lead by observing or reading historical biographies of other great leaders, whether it be Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. or Margaret Thatcher. These leaders are all acknowledged as great and influential leaders, yet their styles could not be more different. They all possess different personalities and life experiences that shaped their views, thoughts and the way they lead. We too are distinct and unique individuals with different leadership styles.
  • Action Item: If you have never been assessed, we recommend that you do so as soon as possible. By taking the MBTI or 16PF assessments you will gain and learn a great deal about yourself and how others perceive you. Additional assessments include 360 interviews, as well as an emotional intelligence instruments. Feedback should be administered by a licensed psychologist or skilled interpreter.
• Do I have passion for the work I do? Some leaders may be very talented, yet do not have the true passion or interest in the business they are in or the position they currently hold. If a leader is not passionate in their work, it is difficult to motivate teams or stay the necessary course. There is a great degree of transparency that leaders exhibit without even knowing it in this area.
  • Action Item: Ask yourself if you could do anything in the world, with money being a non-issue, would you still be doing what you are currently doing? If the answer is an emphatic yes, then there is no reason for concern. If you hesitate in answering this question there could be a personal mission, vision, and values disconnect.
• Is my communication style consistent with the company’s mission, vision and values? Authentic leaders develop a transparent communication style that is clear and concise, which eliminates ambiguity and mixed messages.
  • Action Item: Ask around and determine if your team, as well as subordinates, clearly know and understand where the company is and where it is headed. If you are receiving mixed messages, clearly there is an issue or perhaps some fine tuning in what and/or how you are communicating.

By highlighting a few key components of becoming an authentic leader, we hope these thoughts help you to reflect on the authenticity of your leadership style. The key with any change is implementing and incorporating it over time.