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Talent management or talent liberation? By Clive Wilson
twitter Talent Management has become the systematic way. Every organisation is different and
LinkedIn dominant workplace issue of this century. precise implementation will depend on what else is
going on, so the process can be moulded to your
Join our online forum: The prevailing theme of talent management is the particular needs.
releasing potential establishment of processes through which sufficient
talent can be sourced, developed and used for an Your 8 Steps to Talent Liberation
And visit our partner site organisation. Emphasis is placed on succession to
1. Confirm direction: Ensure clarity of vision in
globalleadershipalliance key roles and development of key individuals.
your organisation and a good understanding of how
PrimeTalk is edited by The focus of the discipline of Talent Liberation on the value is added. Without it, people will not know how
Rachel Sorton-Hall. We other hand is on releasing potential and making the to add value through the best use of their talents
welcome your comments, most of the talent that everyone brings to the work-
2. State philosophy: Establish your organisation's
so do get in touch, at place.
philosophy on talent - does it buy into the Talent
rachel.sortonhall@ pri- Liberation statement opposite? What else needs to
It’s a progressive and emerging discipline and a
meast.com
subset of the positive psychology movement. The be said to make it fit for purpose?
Of course, you can also email underlying philosophy of talent liberation is outlined
3. Align processes: Do your organisation's
me if you wish to unsubscribe. as:
performance management processes support the
philosophy? If not, what changes need to be made?
“Organisations reach 4. Plan: What else does your organisation need to
prime performance do to support talent liberation? Take stock of all the
when they recognise, steps in this article.
value, develop and
INSIDE THIS use the unique talents 5. Communicate: Communicate the new
of all their people in philosophy and plan of action via your head of
ISSUE: business. Then, establish a clear strategy to let
the delivery of their
objectives.” people know how talent is being used to support
Talent 1 business needs on an ongoing basis.
Management or 6. Develop leaders: Provide leadership
Talent Liberation? Coaching
Recognise, value and develop development for all your managers where they can
Clive Wilson These words are key, individuals and organisations
‘Traditional’ one-to-one coaching with a qualified,recognise, value, develop and use their talents in
must take deliberate steps to: the delivery of business objectives. When they have
accredited coach to enhance performance, either personally or in the context of business ob-
Meet the Team 1 jectives.the talent they bring to the workplace made gains, equip them to do the same for their
recognise
Clive Wilson people.
value them in terms of understanding how each
7. Build talented teams: Provide team
talent adds value
Do your Leaders 2 development where individuals can acknowledge
Lead from Within? develop talents into clear strengths rather than each other's talents and commit as a team to
Sarah Sharp focusing too much energy on weaknesses improved ways of working that play to their
strengths.
use the unique talents they have, consciously, to
deliver their shared objectives 8. Review: Review, modify and repeat as required.
How Good is your 3
Succession For it to work properly, it must be led from the top Good luck!
Planning for and fed into the life blood of the organisation in a clive.wilson@primeast.com
Retiring Baby
Boomers?
Sue Jackson About the Author - Clive Wilson
Primeast Free 4 viewed leading professionals on their philosophies
Clive Wilson is deputy chairman at
Learning Events Primeast and heads up the talent and strategies in leadership and talent management.
liberation specialism. Many of these recorded interviews can be viewed by
joining the Releasing Potential online forum.
Clive specialises in helping organisations reach
prime performance by recognising, valuing, develop- Clive invites you to share your views and experi-
ing and using the unique talents of all their people in ences;
the delivery of their objectives.
In the next As well as being a writer, speaker and business
Online, Releasing Potential is for anyone wishing
to release their potential or that of their team,
issue coach, he hosts a number of online and face to face organisation or community.
Leadership forums where professionals can share challenges
Face-to-face events are on page 4
and best practice. For the talent forum, Clive inter-
t: +44 (0)1423 531083 f: +44 (0)1423 520173 e: enquiries@primeast.com
Primeast Ltd, 5 Greengate, Cardale Park, Harrogate, HG3 1GY United Kingdom w: www.primeast.com

2. VOLUME II, ISSUE 5 PAGE 2
Do your leaders lead from within? By Sarah Sharp
their own leadership styles and
D o your leaders do as they
tell others to do?
Middle managers often ask “Why
work more effectively with others.
This opens up other opportunities
a keen sense of who they are and
where they have come from.
to help with their decision-making.
should we follow senior people Because they have this high level
when they don’t seem to practice of self-knowledge, they can tap into
what they preach?” It’s always a
question which makes me think –
not only about the answer but also
W hat next?
There are numerous leader-
ship development options avail-
their intuition to help them make
important choices. In fact they are
releasing their full potential and
about why this should be the case. able. From working with emerging “leading from within”.
leaders to help them identify their
goals and development needs, to
W hat makes a great leader?
Working with leaders in all
industries has shown us that good
working with experienced leaders
on an individual basis to help them
progress a particular issue or need.
leadership starts with self-
knowledge. Great leaders, both In this latter type of work, leaders
current and throughout history, are are often challenged to change - to
very self-aware, they know; move out of the “same old” routine
and try something different.
♦ who they are Changing mind sets can be a pow-
♦ where they come from erful way of unlocking new innova-
♦ and what beliefs and values tive solutions which were so illusive
shape their thinking just moments before.
Often in this competitive business
I ntuition - myth or skill?
The use of ‘props’ can be a pow-
erful way to help a leader who is
world, leaders are encouraged to
only apply logic to solve the prob-
lems they face. Spreadsheets,
“stuck”, to think through their is- formulae, tried and trusted meth-
sues, or a particular problem they ods of “working things out” are all
are facing. employed, yet we still hear many
leaders saying things like
Recently, when faced with a chal-
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing” and
It seems that the leaders who don’t lenge of my own, I turned to one of
“My gut instinct told me that would-
practise what they preach are my favourite ‘props’ – a pack of
n’t work”.
those who are less self-aware. cards with random words, phrases
They don’t possess the knowledge and questions on them. The card
of their own drivers, styles and that caught my eye said:
preferences to be able to really
inspire others to follow.
T rust your instincts
Experience tells us that great
leaders trust their instincts more
“Don’t try to work it out … often. It’s true that intuition is not a
sense it, feel it,
perfect science. It can be difficult
Y ou can get that self-
knowledge
All good leadership programmes
trust it, try it.”
to justify a decision based on in-
stinct and yet so often, our instincts
are right. But perhaps to be brave
should start with an examination of
enough to trust them, we really do
the person expected to lead the Some of the best leaders I have
need to have the security that true
team or company. Diagnostic met often appear to use intuition to
self-awareness brings first.
tools, coupled with one to one make major decisions, but of
coaching, will ensure participants course this can’t be the case – can Sarah Sharp is Head of
gain a thorough understanding of; it? Surely, great leaders would not Leadership at Primeast.
rely on such an unscientific method She will be running two
♦ themselves to shape the strategic direction of free People Builder events
♦ their motivators their organisation – or would they? about this topic in the UK
♦ values and beliefs in July - see page 4 for
♦ and their vision for the future details.
The consequence of this is that
individuals are enabled to embrace
R elease potential
These men and women have
t: +44 (0) 1423 531083
e: sarah.sharp@primeast.com
t: +44 (0)1423 531083 f: +44 (0)1423 520173 e: enquiries@primeast.com
Primeast Ltd, 5 Greengate, Cardale Park, Harrogate, HG3 1GY United Kingdom w: www.primeast.com

3. VOLUME II, ISSUE 5 PAGE 3
How good is your succession planning for retiring Baby Boomers?
By Sue Jackson
Will your company lose more older workers approaching, and post Support
than just the familiar faces of retirement will support the process of Employers can support the transition
its older employees when the talent liberation and development into retirement by providing retirees
baby boomer generation and provide an evaluation and with information and coaching.
assessment platform.
retires?
The process of coaching is an
Motivation opportunity for older people to
You can tap into retirees’ talents and Mentors will be better motivated consider what their ideal retirement
knowledge in a way that serves when there is a benefit exchange. will look like, their feelings about
everybody well and encourages the This has many advantages. Skills retirement and how they can move
best of knowledge transfer. and experience that were to be lost forward to a rewarding, interesting
can be retained and developed and and sustaining chapter in their lives.
the mentor if trained and given time
Baby Boomer to develop mentoring skills, possibly
“A person born with the assistance of external
during a training, is given a sense of worth
temporary peak in and value at a time of significant
the birth-rate, change in their life.
specifically the
one that occurred Inspire sharing
in several So, in what other ways might older
countries, notably workers be inspired to give their
the USA and the information freely and completely?
UK, between Baby boomers who have worked for
1945 and 1965.” 40+ years of their lives will view
retirement in a variety of ways; for
some it will be freeing and allow the
As the acceleration in baby boomer realisation of their aspirations and for
retirement begins, these are issues others it will be fraught with
facing many employers. Baby uncertainty.
boomers are a defining generation.
The years committed to work may be
rewarded with time to pursue Coaching for retirement
Changing times Coaching for retirement provides the
hobbies, see friends and family,
Born between the years of optimism, retiree with a ‘space to evolve’, to be
volunteer and perhaps take special
reform and liberalisation, they have curious and challenged about their
holidays. Others may develop their
seen many changes over their life- future and to consider opportunities
entrepreneurial side taking an idea or
times, not least of which is their and constraints. If retirement coach-
vision and turning it into a business
increase in life expectancy. ing is provided by the employer, then
either through financial need, the
realisation of an ambition or a the circle of knowledge transfer can
Losing potential be completed; individuals leave
chance to change.
These employees have picked up a feeling valued, respected and
wealth of knowledge and gained empowered and those who remain
much valuable insight from their benefit from the enrichment of their
working life and experience. If they wisdom and mentoring while observ-
leave with that knowledge and ing the values of the company and
wisdom internalised it is lost to the therefore work to continue and
company and the resource cannot develop the success of the company.
easily be replaced.
Providing a vehicle for comprehen- Guest writer, Sue Jackson is
sive knowledge transfer from retirees Principal at Whitespace Coaching
is therefore invaluable in maintaining Income www.whitespacecoaching.com
your company’s status, financial Older people are now forming a
buoyancy and competitive edge. larger proportion of the entrepreneu- Warwick Abbott is head of Coaching
rial population as demographic at Primeast, contact him on:
change, improved health, altruism t: +44 (0) 1423 531083
Harnessing talent
Mentoring of younger and less and the need to supplement income e: warwick.abbott@primeast.com
experienced staff by these skilled become more important.
t: +44 (0)1423 531083 f: +44 (0)1423 520173 e: enquiries@primeast.com
Primeast Ltd, 5 Greengate, Cardale Park, Harrogate, HG3 1GY United Kingdom w: www.primeast.com

4. VOLUME II, ISSUE 5 PAGE 4
Diary of Primeast Events and how you can join in
D
Fri BOOKE 2010
11 June What is People Builder?
LY
LYorkshire Talent Forum - Talent Challenge at We run People Builder learning and development events to
FU
Sunderland City Council share our experience and expertise - apart from it being free,
Primeast Harrogate, UK Offices, 9.30am to 12pm there are at least 3 other good reasons for you to come along!
By Dave Rippon, Learning & Development Manager 1. You have an interest in learning and development for your
at Sunderland City Council organisation
2. You are interested in your own development
Dave Rippon will update the Forum on progress to tap into
3. ‘It’s inspiring, helpful, fun and a must-do!’ Comments from a
back-office talent in support of customer facing operations.
participant
Find out more and book this free learning event
http://releasingpotential.ning.com/events Fri 10 September
email: sue.walsh@primeast.com Yorkshire Talent Forum - Talent Challenge tbc
Primeast Harrogate, UK Offices, 9.30am to 12pm
KED
Fri LY BOO
11 June Organised by Clive Wilson, Head of Talent Liberation
FUL
London & South East Talent Forum and Deputy Chairman, Primeast
(ICSA) Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators All Yorkshire Talent Forums feature a talent management chal-
16 Park Crescent, London W1B 1AH, UK, 9.30am to 12.30pm lenge presented by one of the Forum members. This is fol-
By Gill Whensley of the ICSA lowed by an action-learning-set style engagement with forum
Face-to-face forum to share challenges and best practice in members.
talent management. Find out more and book this free learning event
http://releasingpotential.ning.com/events
Find out more and book this free learning event email: sue.walsh@primeast.com
http://releasingpotential.ning.com/events
email: sue.walsh@primeast.com Thu 16 September
People Builder - Leading & Managing Change
Thu 24 June - Prague (in English) Primeast Harrogate, UK Offices, 8.30am to 10.30am
Lead by Jo Murphy, Primeast
People Builder - Developing Mental Toughness
to Improve Individual & Organisational Find out more and book this free learning event
Performance email: rachel.sortonhall@primeast.com
Primeast Office, M.D. Rettigové 8/79, Prague, 9am to 11am tel: +44 (0)1423 531083
Lead in English by Martin Carver, Head of OD &
Change, Primeast UK Thu 4 to Fri 5 November 2010
Explore this interesting concept—how it is measured, the impli- Progressive Strategies in Talent Management—
cations and benefits of greater awareness. Get an opportunity CIPD Open Programme
to do your own MTQ test (in Czech if you wish). Venue tbc, two days
Organised with CIPD by Clive Wilson, Head of Talent
Find out more and book your place Liberation and Deputy Chairman, Primeast
http://releasingpotential.ning.com/
email: vendula.soukupova@primeast.com The discipline of talent management has become established
tel: +420 222 360 166 as an essential component of HR strategy. This course briefly
takes account of the established best practice in talent manage-
Thu 8 July ment.
People Builder - Leading from Within For fees and to book your place
The Met Hotel, Leeds LS1 2HQ, UK, 8.30am to 10.30am http://www.cipd.co.uk/training/PERPSTM/default.htm
email: clive.wilson@primeast.com
and also on
Fri 10 December 2010
Wed 14 July Yorkshire Talent Forum - Talent Challenge tbc
People Builder - Leading from Within Primeast Harrogate, UK Offices, 9.30am to 12pm
Primeast Harrogate, UK Offices, 8.30am to 10.30am Organised by Clive Wilson, Head of Talent Liberation
Lead by Sarah Sharp, Head of Leadership, Primeast and Deputy Chairman, Primeast
All Yorkshire Talent Forums feature a talent management chal-
An informative and fun session to explore what makes a great
lenge presented by one of the Forum members. This is fol-
leader and how you can acquire that knowledge to release your
lowed by an action-learning-set style engagement with forum
potential.
members.
Find out more and book this free learning event
Find out more and book either of these free learning events
http://releasingpotential.ning.com/events
http://releasingpotential.ning.com/events
email: sue.walsh@primeast.com
email: rachel.sortonhall@primeast.com
tel: +44 (0)1423 531083
t: +44 (0)1423 531083 f: +44 (0)1423 520173 e: enquiries@primeast.com
Primeast Ltd, 5 Greengate, Cardale Park, Harrogate, HG3 1GY United Kingdom w: www.primeast.com