Managers as Talent Magnets – Building a Progressive Organization

As the world experiences uncertainty, whether in technology, markets, talent, or the opportunity landscape, organizations continue to grapple with managing human capital challenges in terms of acquisition, engagement, retention, and career planning. People will not shine in their careers unless they understand their key strengths and explore them further. By doing so, they can improve and deliver better results. For many employees, the case of “no news is good news” can be quite common, as they only find out if things go wrong. Feedback is extremely critical to improving and refining performance, but if we do it constructively, it acts as a highly motivating and life-changing exercise.

There are many ways to engage and develop talent in organizations. A Performance Management System is one of the most reliable ways an organization can measure and assess performance best practices and support the future development of its people. Every professional needs to know what her position is in the performance of her work. While every individual expects feedback on their performance at regular intervals, feedback is related to many facets of overall development, such as knowledge, skills, abilities, attitude, behavior, values, etc. Human capital is the most critical element for business success. If you are a leader who is serious about improving your ability to attract top talent, you must develop the habits of a true talent magnet.

Performance management is a process in which the manager and the employee work together to plan, act and review an employee’s goals and their overall contribution to the development of the organization. Performance management is the ongoing process of setting goals, evaluating progress, and providing ongoing training and feedback to ensure employees meet their career goals and objectives.

As a recipient of performance feedback, it is extremely important to understand feedback from the correct perspective. Here are some basic guidelines for performance appraisal:

1. It is an opportunity to present your achievements and highlight areas of development in the right perspective (accurate self-assessment)
2. Evaluation of objectives vs. measurement criteria related to a job/project
3. Measurement of behavior/values ​​in a professional setting
4. It is an instrument that facilitates the reception of both positive and negative feedback, and helps to take corrective actions for self-development.
5. The evaluation also focuses on the development of competencies; not just performance appraisal/review

Key strategies to become a talent magnet:

1. Be a TOP Manager (Trust, Openness and Purpose)

Organizations, leaders and teams need to develop a strong sense of trust with each other to achieve collective results. Considering that most employees spend their time at work, striving together, they often work in multi-module, multi-modal, multi-geographic teams with responsibilities that overlap with others for their contribution.

trust model

ABCD (Able, Believable, Connected, Dependable) is a very powerful and credible model for building TRUST in teams. As managers/leaders, we must have demonstrable competence and the ability to connect, coach and drive results.

Create and foster an environment where your behavior, actions and commitments are consistent, which will help build credibility among your teams. People trust credible leaders because people will believe in their abilities, judgment, and actions. It is also extremely important to not only be fair, but also to be seen as fair in all your actions, always.

Another important aspect of building trust is investing in developing connections with teams beyond work, as being a manager means opening an emotional bank account with significant investments in your teams. Over a period of time, your investments will pay significant and abundant dividends. Trusted managers do not hesitate to deal with any situation, be it difficult clients, team conflicts, crucial conversations, etc., as teams believe that a manager will step up and deal with such situations. They will see you as someone who does not hesitate to make difficult decisions and who can work to create a prosperous work environment.

2. Be Real/Be Honest

The most talented people are drawn to leaders they can trust and role models they want to emulate. So ask yourself this question: “Why would a real talent want to work for me?” As managers, it’s very important to focus more on the employee’s contributions and share general feedback on how they get even better at their jobs rather than just critical incidents, numbers, grades, and what the person didn’t do. As you work on your annual employee evaluation, it is extremely important to be REAL AND HONEST in your evaluation. You should focus on covering the full range of performance and not focus too much on recent events that may positively or negatively affect overall performance. Today’s professional is extremely conscientious, intelligent and well informed. It may not be possible for managers to avoid certain questions if one is not fully informed about their team member’s progress. Not being honest, upfront and real with employees about their performance on appraisals clearly becomes a sticking point for disagreements.

3. Be a SMART Manager

As managers, we need to create ongoing value for people and organizations. It is vital to be a SMART manager (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) in your objectives, goals and overall results. SMART managers demonstrate specific attention to detail in the performance of each team member, on an ongoing basis, and work through regular meetings to establish an emotional connection with employees. When the rules of engagement are well established, we can create high performing teams. Use your courage to stand up for your values, your reputation as a great manager/coach, or your soft power to bring opposites together. Then set clear expectations from day one of what you’re willing to do to help employees learn from you what they can’t learn from anyone else. And tell them what you expect them to do to be successful in their careers. Remember, you don’t get what supposebut you get what you inspect in a timely manner.

4. People First Approach

The success of any company can be measured by the engagement/happiness ratio of its employees. What worked in the past may not work now or even in the future. The good old practice of putting the customer first is a thing of the past. The employee is the epicenter of progress, growth and success. As managers, if we surround ourselves with highly talented, ambitious, passionate, committed, kind and genuine people, we are assured of success in everything we do. If we take care of our employees better than anyone else, they are sure to deliver extraordinary value to customers, managers, and organizations. We have a primary responsibility to add significant value to our team members through structured reviews, ongoing and timely performance feedback, genuine appreciation, practiced meritocracy, and effective coaching. Life is work, and work is life, and both are interesting and challenging. The need of the hour is to integrate both and bring out the passion for success in life.

5. Career Mentors

A manager as a mentor is all about providing constructive feedback, direction, and kind advice. Mentoring is a journey and not a destination, and it is a long process that requires intense participation and dedication. It is based on mutual convenience, commitment and participation in self-discovery and continuous learning. As a manager, your main role is to make the other person successful in their professional life. Periodically, find time to have white-space discussions that aren’t focused on immediate tasks, but rather focused on a long-term career. She discusses ways, methods, and means for employees to progress their career path and achieve their dreams.

Simply put, employees are the most vital and irreplaceable human capital for the progress of any organization. Managers and leaders alike have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to develop people who take responsibility for driving the new economy. Do not aim to teach, but to inspire!