University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Truth about Talent
Book

The Truth about Talent

A guide to building a dynamic workforce, realizing potential, and helping leaders succeed

Jeremy Kourdi and Jacqueline Davies
Wiley, 2010
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Talent is the key to business success, but how do companies recognize it and develop it? Human resources expert Jacqueline Davies and international life coach Jeremy Kourdi understand that many employees possess nascent talent and offer a guide on how to provide your workers an environment where their gifts can flourish. getAbstract recommends this authoritative, in-depth manual to human resources professionals, business owners or leaders looking to engage employees and secure their companies’ future. Talent is all around you. Learn how to recognize and nurture it.

Summary

Talent: What It Is, What It Isn’t

Business leaders tend to believe that only an elite group of their most intelligent employees is worth cultivating and advancing. But undeveloped talent exists at all levels of every company. Workers require a nurturing environment – a “talent ecology” – to connect to their abilities and bring value to the company. You can’t manage talent; you can only encourage it. Human resources departments must stop focusing on a favored few employees and help the many.

Leaders who recognize “the truth about talent” know that if they improve their company’s ability to channel and expand the undiscovered talents of a diverse employee population, they can outpace their competitors and achieve greater success. This is important because the labor market is changing: Previously undeveloped economies are becoming powerhouses; worldwide communication is easier and instantaneous; younger people lack the skills they need because educational systems are not keeping up; and older people are staying in the workforce. Some firms might erroneously try to cope with these changes by instituting “succession planning,” which attempts to chart which current employees...

About the Authors

Jacqueline Davies is a human resources professional and talent expert. Past roles include Global Head of Learning and Development with Lloyds TSB/HBOS, Head of Learning and Organizational Development at the Royal Bank of Scotland, and as an executive with HSBC. Jeremy Kourdi is an executive coach and business writer. Kourdi has held the post of senior vice-president with the Economist Group and also works as head of publishing and research at the Chartered Management Institute.

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