T A L E N T & T A L E N T

Talent Management, Career Development

Talent assessment matters in business and life. As Mark Twain have said, “Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered – either by themselves or by others”. However, this simple phrase is in contradiction with the popular term ’War for Talent’ coined by Steven Hankin of McKinsey & Company in 1997.

Both phrases were true at their times, both phrases are true nowadays. But, why thousands and millions of talented individuals are wasted, if, indeed, there is a war for talent? As we know, there is no straightforward answer on how opportunities meet talented people. However, both sides should know what they are looking for.   

The most important management style is individual – leadership by example. Recall for a moment Steve Jobs, how this man with no technical background, but a brilliant eye in business, models and markets managed to build so successful products and one of the most valuable brands in the world. Possibly, the answer lies at his vision and ability to attract the very best talents. Talented individuals adapt, improvise and strongly believe in their knowledge building skills.

Life is all about decision making and talent management – that’s why relationships are crucial in business & life. Building relationships implies that we create emotional bonds for our common purpose. Also, we weight impacts and benefits of different collaboration options we have, to find the best possible practices. And then, we consider team communication, as it is one of the most important skills for team success.

Should you not be able to communicate your skills and knowledge or clarify our common direction, team performance will be downgraded. In short, in our world it’s important to have a flair for business, science and technology, but with the right type of communication, we can work miracles. As a result, talent does matter, either we talk about innovation and brainstorming or creativity and development.

Management, at the very end, is how we combine skills, know-how, common purpose, empathy, market-oriented thinking and resources. Don’t get it wrong – thousands of products don’t come to life, even when teams, management and resources are intact. Why? Because, talent thrives at the right environment and, as history shows, when a talented team is against an immature market – market tends to win. Implying that, environment is as much important as raw talent.

Temperament is a term which defines the personal traits of an individual, as well as his values and attitude. However, it’s an economic term, too. It matters, in business and life to know yourself – where you stand and where you want to end up. In practice, temperament, by and large, defines the expertise, the profession and the field in which an individual should pursue a career. It’s not, of course, black and white, but the earlier somebody finds his temperament, the wiser he will get. As they say, talent exists in choices.

Individuality is closely connected with character and temperament but it expresses the uniqueness of an individual which makes him different from the group. Therefore, individuality is what makes a personality to be independent thinker and doer. Although he has similar traits and behaviors with other people.

Interaction is relevant to communication, but expression it is not at its core. For that reason, the main thing is how an individual or a team interacts with the world. It is critical in innovation, research, product development, investing and any other activity where micro and macro are mutually related. In a word, perception matters in action and interaction.

‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’ is a quote credited to management consultant Peter Drucker. It’s not only background, experience and orientation – it’s identity. People behave according to their beliefs and thoughts as much as to their environment. However, some environments allow talents to flourish and others do not.

Communication is at the heart of team building. Bringing people together who speak different ‘languages’ is the way to succeed in terms of growth, productivity and innovation. Consequently, great achievements in business and science are not coming by mixing up the ingredients. It’s not a simple sum that generates great outcomes. Great products are the result of quality links which are building dynamic relationships.

Hire character, train skill ‘ is a widely known quote credited to former CEO of Porsche, Peter Schutz. Meaning that, quite often, character and cultural fit is more important than skills. Although it is more difficult to get it right due to its subjective nature. The qualities of an individual belong to a long-term investment strategy which is what really matters, if it is combined with competence, strong work ethic and willingness to learn.

As it is said, skills can be taught or developed, though it is easier said than done. On the other hand, character can not be changed as regards its core principles, values and life view. As the author Zig Ziglar succinctly put it, “You don’t build a business, you build people, and then people build the business”.

Skills is this term we use to describe technical knowledge of different forms and levels, but skills go far beyond that. Day by day, skills become a behavioral aspect of our own personality. That’s why talent is a reference not only for work, business and social life but, also, for sharing ideas, beliefs and values. Nevertheless, talent is as much common as scarce. It is said among techies and gigs that good engineers can be ten to hundred times better than mediocre ones. However, the question would be ‘Is it teamwork or individuality that matters most in organizations? Of course, the answer depends on the context, the nature of skills and the leadership.

My Clusters

 

Talent Assessment Questionnaire

We use these seven factors to evaluate a personality. This is a talent assessment questionnaire which is more of a brainstorming than a profiling test. The concept is how the respondent will choose and prioritize his responses.

A sample questionnaire which contains one question for each section follows, while the video demonstrate how to work on it. We have 25 checks available to choose the options that we mostly agree with. Moreover, we can distribute our answers with no restrictions. And, finally, we submit our responses.

Therefore, the Talent Assessment Questionnaire is divided in seven sections: Temperament, Individuality, Interaction, Culture, Communication, Character and Skills. Each section is independent and, once the respondent submit his responses automatically is being redirected to the next section.

Talent Management