It's a fair question Robert Barner asks in this book. If a company's future rests on identifying, recruiting, and training its next generations of managers, why do organizations put relatively so little effort into the process?
Right from the start, Barner argues for the creation of an executive position, the chief talent officer, who not only is responsible for grooming next-gen leaders but also for creating a strategy for finding them. For example, should a company follow a “foundation” approach, where leadership development programs are spread throughout the organization, or a “capstone” strategy, where a few high-potential leaders are identified and trained intensively? Do you recruit the best talent in your industry, or world-class candidates from across a range of industries?
The CTO also sets the agenda for annual succession and recruitment reviews, designs the talent infrastructure such as performance appraisals and executive recruiting programs, recommends new talent to the CEO, and is an impartial voice of reason when conflicts arise. “If it sounds as if I've placed unreasonable expectations on your CTO, I'd counter with the argument that it is better to start high and see who comes closest to meeting your standards than pay the price for undershooting,” Barner observes.
Barner also rolls out “The Seven Principles of Talent Development”: Concentrate on the critical few, determine your baseline, employ concurrent design, work both ends of the spectrum, make your timing work for you, be sensitive to the human element, and adopt a transition plan.
Although there are many world-class search consultants who can help with the recruitment process, Barner makes a convincing case for developing in-house expertise and finding talent that will create the ultimate competitive advantage over your competitors.
Barner is vice president of management development for Belo Corp. and is a professor at Southern Methodist University.
- Sean Silverthorne