Training Magazine Middle East November 2014 | Page 42

The latest trend in industry publications and new management books appears to be tackling the war on talent and, more specifically, challenging the core principle of hiring and promoting people based on past experience and competency levels.

If you have ever labored through the process of defining your company’s competency framework, assessed your employees against each of the multiple boxes, and experienced a sense of accomplishment at achieving an 80% level of accuracy, you might have to roll up your sleeves and do it all over again.

In the June edition of Harvard Business Review (HBR), Claudio Fernández-Aráoz claimed that “21st century business is too volatile and complex—and the market for top talent is too tight” for us to continue with the existing competency models. Instead, he advocates the Are Competencies and Experience a Thing of the Past need to hire or promote based on employee potential and the ability to learn, adapt and grow in the ever-

changing business environment.

If you have struggled to interview and assess talent against a rigid framework of competencies, this might seem like the other end of the spectrum - vague and open to interpretation.

However, Fernández-Aráoz’s research provides us with a set of ‘key indicators’, curiosity, insight, engagement and determination, these are considered to be hallmarks of potential used in assessing current and prospective talent. While potential is the defining measure, he believes that intelligence, values and adequate leadership capabilities are essential in achieving the perfect balance.

Intrigued by his approach, I was able to see its effect and potential after coupling his thinking with the research findings from Liz Wiseman’s latest book, Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work. Wiseman’s research, completed over the past two years and building on insights gathered through her bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, proves two distinct traits that will impact the war on talent. First, as individual contributors, we perform best when we attempt something new, arduous and demanding, often for the first time. Second, as leaders, we tend to shy away from pushing employees out of their comfort zone and stretching them beyond their known capacity.

COLUMN - What's Next?

BY HAZEL JACKSON

what's next?

42 | TRAINING MAGAZINE MIDDLE EAST NOV 2014

COMPETENCIES & EXPERIENCES