Daily Archives: January 27, 2017

Talent Tempering: Part IV

In our last two series we discussed Technology Advances and Process Transformation, which SI calls Transition, that collectively comprise two of the three T’s critical for organizational success. The third T, talent, that we are discussing in this series must not only be in abundance, but also be appropriate for the organizational needs. This means that you not only need talent with a good mix of IQ (intelligence and skills), EQ (emotional intelligence and wisdom), and TQ (technology and mathematics/logic), but that the mix must be suitable to cover the range of Supply Management tasks before your organization, and in sufficient quantity.

But, as we discussed, this is often easier said than done. In order to determine if you have the right mix of talent, you first need to understand the type of talent you have individually and as a team (through a multi-faceted collective assessment), define where you need the talent to be (which can be a complicated affair, and would take at least another series, if not a short book, to describe), do a gap analysis, and devise a plan to get the team, collectively and individually, from where they are to where they need to be. This plan will consist of a mix of training and education options, so that each individual is offered the methodology by which they (likely) learn best, but also related methodologies to broaden their horizons and increase their learning potential.

But this will not be enough, because, by the time they get to where the plan identified they should be, processes will have changed, technology will have changed, and the supply chain as a whole will have moved on rapidly. You can’t keep up … the best you can hope for is a team that will individually and collectively work together to keep up as best as they can and prioritize the needs as they arrive and change.

But sometimes, you’ll have a team where one or two members have no interest in going above and beyond and riding those supply chain rapids day in and day out. They’ll want to get off every day at 5 pm, and not get back on until the next workday at 9 am. The rest of the team won’t be able to survive unless everyone is willing to contribute as needed 24/7. In this case, and only this case, will you have to (immediately) replace your talent.

(Before we continue we should note that you don’t replace talent just because they don’t have the skills, because that’s often your fault, and not theirs, for not providing them proper training and mentoring — which we know you’re not doing given that training budgets were slashed heavily during the last recession and never restored, despite the constant lip service paid to the importance of talent and training. Not until you have provided them with ample training, mentoring, and time can you deduce whether their lack of performance is their fault or yours, and since they should never have been hired in the first place if they did not show aptitude, it’s only fair to assume it’s your fault that aptitude never blossomed into capability and performance. Of course, if they can’t pull their weight after given sufficient mentoring, training, and time, then you will have to reassign them [or let them go if there is no suitable job in the organization], but typically you will need to replace people because they don’t want to pull their weight, not because they can’t.)

So how do you go about finding and recruiting the right talent?

That’s a tough question. Fundamentally, you need to find a candidate that

  • has the raw IQ, EQ, and TQ you need
  • has a desire to learn …
  • and the willingness to put in the hours on and off the job
  • plays well with others
  • doesn’t overvalue his worth …
  • but respects it as well (as you need the candidate to also respect the worth of others)

and, preferably:

  • has experience in the industry …
  • and with the categories she will be dealing with …
  • preferably through another role (engineering, marketing, etc.) as well as that will help her work with the other departments
  • is familiar with the types of technology being used …
  • has sufficiently strong math, logic, and reasoning skills
  • and sufficiently strong people skills

even before you get to your customized wish list. This is a tough sell, and one you are not likely to do on your own.

You will need to rely on your team to help you — they will know who the best candidates are among their peers and who the organization should seek. And any of your colleagues who do not agree are the kin of Maury the Management Moron and, as indicated in this classic post on what to do if you really want a renaissance education, I can only hope that one day your boss will catch on to the fact and show them the door, Fresh Prince style!