Talent Dashboard: A Tool to Support Talent Conversations

Transcription

1 Talent Dashboard: A Tool to Support Talent Conversations CCL has developed a talent tool designed to simplify talent conversations and to support a leader/manager s ability to coach, guide, and mentor employees. The Talent Dashboard is a tool designed to help a leader/manager summarize and synthesize information about an employee in order to have a focused conversation around talent development. It is also designed to help a leader/manager outline and deliver a talent conversation that is based on CCL s coaching model of Assessment, Challenge, & Support (ACS). Talent Dashboard The first page of the Talent Dashboard is designed to aid a leader/manager in preparing and delivering a talent conversation to an employee. This part of the Talent Dashboard is a summary and synthesis of data on an employee from various sources such as: performance data, individual development plans, and information from a talent review process. What is included on the Talent Dashboard can and should be customized to align with an organization s performance and succession management process. Rather than being customized to fit a single organization, the Talent Dashboard includes items that represent research and best practices in regards to talent development. The following provides specific information on sections of the Talent Dashboard as well as references to the research behind those sections. What are the Organization s Talent Needs based on the Business Strategy? Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, and Experiences Needed for the Next Level This section of the Talent Dashboard is based on CCL s research on executive selection practices. It requires the leader/manager to take a holistic look at the organization, the current or future job/role, and the measures of success irrespective of the employee being developed. It provides a map for the leader/manager that connects the talent conversation with the business needs of the organization. It allows the leader/manager to reflect on the position requirements and individual candidate requirements so that they have a good understanding of the development required to be successful at the next level. Publication: Executive Selection: Strategies for Success (2000) Authors: Valerie I. Sessa & Jodi J. Taylor Which behavior is likely to derail this person s career? This Section of the Talent Dashboard is based on the content and supporting research that went into the development of CCL s Benchmarks assessment instrument. Specifically, this section looks at the issue of derailment (i.e. been demoted, fired, or plateaued below a level of expected

2 achievement) and is based on four independent Executive Derailment studies. For the leader/ manager, this section helps them identify some of the most common career derailers in order to coach the employee and support their future development. Publication: Benchmarks Facilitators Manual Version 3.0 (2004) Author: Center for Creative Leadership Learning Agility This section of the Talent Dashboard is based on research conducted by researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University. Learning agility is defined as a mind-set and corresponding collection of practices that allow leaders to continually develop, grow, and utilize new strategies that will equip them for the increasingly complex problems they face in their organizations. There are five main facets of learning-agile behavior, four that enable one s learning (Innovating, Performing, Reflecting, and Risking) and one that impedes learning agility (Defending). High learning-agile individuals are very active organizational members. They are sociable and active, create new plans and ideas, are methodical perfectionists and are not afraid to challenge others or express opinions. When leaders rate high on defending, bosses rate those leaders as less effective. When leaders rate high on reflecting, peers and direct reports rate those leaders as more effective. Publication: Learning About Learning Agility (April 2012) Authors: Adam Mitchinson & Robert Morris

3 Talent Dashboard Name/Position: Readiness Status for Next Position: Ready Now Ready in 6 Months Ready in 1-2 Years What are the Organization s Talent Needs based on the Business Strategy? Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, and Experiences Needed for the Next Level: Demonstrated Strengths: Measuring the Individual Vulnerabilities: What strengths could become a vulnerability at the next level? Which behavior is likely to derail this person s career? Inability to change or adapt during a transition Problems with interpersonal relationships Failure to build and lead a team Failure to meet business objectives Too narrow functional expertise Learning Agility How agile is this person as a learner? (1 = low, 2 = good, 3 = above average, 4 = high) Innovate: Generates new ideas through their ability to view issues from multiple angles; challenges the status quo in an attempt to make improvements; experiments with new ideas and endeavors to find the best solution to each individual problem. Perform: Learning from experience by overcoming an unfamiliar challenge; picks up on subtle cues to build a better understanding of the problem; stays calm when faced with a challenge or stressful situation. Reflect: Seeks feedback and information to better understand his/her assumptions and behaviors; makes time to critically reflect on experiences; examines past failures for lessons. Take Risks: Comfortable with progressive risk that leads to opportunity; volunteers for roles that are ambiguous, new or otherwise challenging; takes enjoyment from struggling with a challenging problem. Avoids Defensiveness: Considers personal role in both successes and failures; seeks feedback because he/she needs it; adapts themselves based on understanding of themselves and situations.

4 The second page of the Talent Dashboard is designed to aid a leader/manager in preparing and delivering a talent conversation to an employee. This part of the Talent Dashboard uses a simplified version of the CCL coaching framework of Assessment, Challenge, & Support (ACS). It can be thought of as a template for having the talent conversation. What differentiates this section of the Talent Dashboard from a coaching script is that it helps the leader/manager not only focus on the employee, it also provides the leader/manager the opportunity to reflect on their own coaching style and tendencies. The following provides a brief summary of the ACS coaching model and its use in the Talent Dashboard. Assessment The purpose of assessment is to get the fullest picture possible of the employee in terms of their current skills, experience, performance and their future development opportunities. Assessment involves skills around interpreting, analyzing, summarizing, and distilling information in collaboration with the employee. The assessment phase of the talent conversation takes into account the employee s performance, the employee as a person, and the relevant contextual factors. Challenge The process of challenge involves taking the employee out of their comfort zone and creating opportunities for learning and development. Challenging experiences may result from the employee trying out new or different behaviors or assignments that they undertake in the workplace. The challenge phase looks to stretch the employee and to help them identify potential obstacles. Support The support function is a critical aspect of talent conversations and achieving desired results. Support for the employee can come from many different sources, and individual employees experience support in unique ways. Some of the ways in which a leader/manager provides support are by: maintaining the employee s motivation, helping the employee understand how to access resources, celebrating small wins over time, and assisting the employee in managing setbacks. Publication: The CCL Handbook of Coaching: A Guide for the Leader Coach (2006) Editors: Sharon Ting & Peter Scisco Opening Statement This section of the Talent Dashboard helps the leader/manager set a clear direction for the talent conversation. It allows the leader/manager to set the tone and provide clarity to the employee about why we re here. Depending on the situation the talent conversation may focus on recognizing the employee as top talent and discussing future development options, or the

5 conversation may focus on identifying poor performance and the immediate actions necessary in the short term. This section on the opening statement will help the leader/manager frame the purpose of the conversation. Self Reflection The last section of the Talent Dashboard provides an opportunity for the leader/manager to self reflect on their experiences and abilities as a coach and developer of others. The reflection questions are for the benefit of the leader/manager and are not shared during the talent conversation. This space to reflect also allows the leader/coach to consider resources and support available to them to help them prepare or practice.

6 Assessment Challenge Support Assessment Which of the 4 Talent Conversations will you have with this person? Identify key data points about this person that support why you identified the type of development conversation above. How do you anticipate the person will react to how they have been assessed? What motivates this person? What are this person s aspirations? Challenge What developmental opportunities are available? What opportunities are realistic? What performance goals need to be met, and how will they be met? What obstacles will this person have to work around or move through in order to achieve these goals? Support How will this person stay motivated to achieve development or performance goals? If six months from now this person hasn t achieved their goals what will have been the reasons? How will we create shared accountability for performance and development? What will be your opening statement? What have I learned and what do I need to know about myself to be a more effective coach or mentor for this person? What areas can I leverage? What areas will I need to flex and adapt?