Identifying and Developing Talent in a Technology Business

EPSE Class of 2016November 3, 2015

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States

• Holistic approach

• Empower

people

• Challenging

tasks

• Formal

training

But how to find & develop leaders?

We Consulted Widely to Identify Key Findings

• Literature

• Surveys

• Interviews

• Analysis

• Competencie

s

• Identificatio

n

• Development

• Good

practice

Six groups, seven weeks, intensive seminar series,

27 people from 11 San Diego companies

How can we best bring success to our organization through effective leadership development?

Key Competencies(Kevin Andrew)

Leadership vs Management

• Key competencies to focus on,

best to start with a good

foundation

• The building blocks of a good

or great leader

Communication Ties itAll Together

Without effective communication,

our teams are:

“Communication is the

real workhorse of

leadership” – Nitin Nohria,

Dean of Harvard Business

School

Conflict Management

• Conflict is inevitable

• Managers have to

encourage “beneficial”

conflict

• Leaders embrace it

• Active Listening

• Focus on issues, not people

• Facilitate discussion

• Preserve relationships

Creating Leaders

• Starts with character

qualities and builds from

there

• Necessary to identify

individuals with drive and

an entrepreneurial spirit

Identifying Future Leaders (Tony Hamel)

Are we using consistent methods of identification?What primary method do you use when identifying high potential

employees? 1 Combination of formal and informal assessments 9 / 39%2 Informal assessments 8 / 35%3 Recommendation of peers and managers 5 / 22%4 Formal systematic assessments 1 / 4%5 Performance ratings 0 / 0%

Do you feel the company does enough to identify and develop high potential employees?“…needs more consistency.”“There’s always more that companies could do …”“We can always do better. ““No, we can always do more. ““…we need to spend more time doing it… “

0 10 20 30 40 50

Other

360 Assessment

Ranking

Nomination

Peer Assessment

Succession Planning

Annual Performance Review

What tools do organizations use to

identify high potential candidates?

Do you believe the company has formal management trainingand/or succession planning that look at employees within?

only 29 percent of respondents reported being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their organization’s current process for identifying high-potential employees

Formal identification methods

• Personality and leadership evaluation tools

• Subjective assessments and rankings

Annual Reviews 360° feedbackDiscretionaryCompensatio

n

SuccessionPlanning

What are the most effective methods?

“To an extent, leadership is like

beauty:It's hard to define, butyou know it when you see it.”

– Warren Bennis

HighPerformance

ChallengingAssignments

Curiosityand Drive

EmotionalIntelligence

Developing Leadership(Peter McInerney)

Developing Future Leaders

• Genius vs. leader – development requires different model

• Mixed approach for leadership development

• Practical (challenging!)

• Coaching (mentorship!)

• Training (tailored!)

Developing Future Leaders

• Non-structured vs. structured development in an organizationo Better odds

o Alignment with organization’s goals

OR

OR

Common Themes and Learning (Raul Munguia)

Common Themes and High Points

High potential candidates represent only 3% to 5% of the total talent pool

Common factors of high potentials

a) drive to excel

b) catalytic learning capability

c) enterprising spirit

d) dynamic sensors

Having structured/formalized programs for identification and development of potential managers/leaders is best practice

Does an organization inform the high potential of their status?

Common Themes and High Points

Recommendations(Valerie Uzzell)

• In a hurry

• Peter principle

• Technical

ability

• Longevity

How NOT to Identify Future Leaders

• In a hurry

• Peter principle

• Technical

ability

• Longevity

How NOT to Identify Future Leaders

How BEST to IdentifyFuture Leaders

• Careful planning

• Growth Potential

• Interpersonal Skills

• Record of Success

• Provide Opportunity

How NOT to DevelopFuture Leaders

• Ad hoc

• Low priority

• Restrict

opportunity

• Ad hoc

• Low priority

• Restrict

opportunity

How NOT to DevelopFuture Leaders

How BEST to DevelopFuture Leaders

• Formal program

• High priority

• Stretch goals

• Cross-training

• Mentorship

Acknowledgments: EPSE class of 2015