The Talent Ecosystem Dr Steve McKenna

Associate Professor of Management Director of MBA Programs

Curtin Business School Perth

Australia A global university Western Australia | Dubai | Malaysia | Mauritius | Singapore

A community of interacting organisms and their physical

environment.

Ecosystem

Problems with and Myths about Talent and Talent Management

• Talent is scarce. • Talent management and retention are about systems, procedures,

policies. • Talent needs to be managed. • Talented people perform better than the ‘less’ talented. • Talent is leveraged individually for organizational benefit by HR. • Organizations need a talent recognition process, procedure, system.

• Everyone • Managers • Relationships and trust • Interfaces, collaborations, boundarylessness,

interconnectedness, energy • Projects, positions and resources (work design) • Organizational Context and business model(s) NOT

structure • Needs, wants, experiences

The Talent Ecosystem: Some (but not all) Key Features

The Talent Ecosystem

Everyone Managers

Relationships and trust

Purpose, projects, positions

(work design)

Organizational context and business

model(s)

Experiences

Visibility Challenge Rewards Involvement Autonomy Support Team Spirit

Interfaces, collaborations, boundarylessness,

interconnectedness, energy

Stimulating Mastery Agency Relational Tolerable (demands)

Strengths

Exclusive or

Inclusive?

Everyone has ‘talent’

‘Being’ talented or

‘Feeling’ talented

Nobody acts or

performs alone

The network of

value creation

Talent is a

social construction

NOT an innate characteristic

• Identify strengths of everyone

• Engage people constantly

•Liberate collective and individual talent

•Create value through talent networks

•Design work and experiences to enhance strengths

Managers are Critical

School of Education

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES FACULTY OF HUMANITIES School of Education

Relationships and trust

Peers

Networks and connections

The significance of the ‘talented’ team

Managers More important than

processes, systems and policies

•What is the purpose of the team?

•What emergent purposes can be identified?

•How can we leverage and liberate the collective talent of our people to achieve the purpose and create value?

Purpose and Emerging Purposes

Purpose, Projects, Positions:

• Identification of mission critical projects • Identification of mission critical teams, strengths

and roles • Resourcing mission critical teams, roles and

projects

Organisational ‘Culture’ and values are less important than the ongoing purposeful

activities of the TEAM.

Teams get things done, culture doesn’t. Talent is

a team phenomenon.

TAKEAWAYS, THINGS TO DO, QUESTIONS TO ASK • Talent is not scarce it is everywhere. Recognize it. • Managers and leaders are the critical orchestrators of a

talent ecosystem NOT HR departments. • Do a strengths audit of your team, identify mission critical

projects, create networks, connections, interfaces and boundarylessness and constantly engage team members. This builds relationships and trust.

• Teams and networks are the foundation for value creation.

TAKEAWAYS, THINGS TO DO, QUESTIONS TO ASK

• Talent is not a ‘fixed attribute’ but a collective pursuit. Nobody acts alone.

• Trust and relationships are more important than systems, procedures and processes.

• Work and experiences at work need to be designed. • Clearly identify the value your team are creating and why.