Chapter 18 Developing Talent PDF

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Summary

18 Developing Talent This is the second chapter on human resource management interventions. It presents three interventions concerned with managing talent in organizations. First, coaching interventions attempt to improve an individual’s ability to set and meet goals, lead change, improve interperso...

Description

18 Developing Talent This is the second chapter on human resource management interventions. It presents three interventions concerned with managing talent in organizations. First, coaching interventions attempt to improve an individual’s ability to set and meet goals, lead change, improve interpersonal relations, handle conflict, or address style issues. These resource-intense interventions focus on the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of an organization member, usually a manager or executive but in the case of mentoring can also apply to individual contributors. Second,

career planning and development interventions address different professional needs and concerns as members progress through their work lives. Third, management and leadership development processes are human resource interventions that attempt to transfer knowledge and skills to many individuals. They can include in-house training programs, external educational opportunities, action-learning projects, and other activities. In the following chapter, we present interventions that address workforce diversity, stress, and employee wellness.

COACHING AND MENTORING Coaching involves working with organizational members, typically managers and executives, on a regular basis to help them clarify their goals, deal with potential stumbling blocks, and improve their performance. This intervention is highly personal and generally involves a one-on-one relationship between the OD practitioner and the client. Almost every OD intervention involves some coaching. However, the intervention described here helps managers to gain perspective on their dilemmas and transfer their learning into organizational results; it increases their leadership skill and effectiveness.1 Similar to coaching, mentoring involves establishing a relationship between a manager or someone more experienced and another organization member who is less experienced. Unlike coaching, mentoring is often more directive, with the mentor intentionally transferring specific knowledge and skill and guiding the client’s activities, perhaps as part of a career development process (see career planning and development processes in the next section).2 Coaching can be seen as a specialized form of OD, one that is focused on using the principles of applied behavioral science to increase the capacity and effectiveness of individuals as opposed to groups or organizations. It is one of the fastest-growing areas of OD practice. The International Coach Federation (http://www.coachfederation.org), founded in 1995, grew to over 5,500 members in 2002 and doubled to over 11,000 members in 2006. CoachVille (http://www.coachville.com), the largest professional network and trainer of coaches worldwide, has over 30,000 members. They both offer coaching certification programs and standards to professionalize the field. Coaching is itself a skill that any OD practitioner or manager can develop.3 It involves using guided inquiry, active listening, reframing, and other techniques to help individuals see new or different possibilities and to direct their efforts toward what

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matters most to them. When done well, coaching improves personal productivity and builds capacity in individuals to lead more effectively. Unfortunately, despite growing professionalism in the coaching field, the process can be technique driven, especially when formulas, tools, and advice are substituted for experience, good judgment, facilitation, and compassion.

What Are the Goals? Coaching typically addresses one or more of the following goals: assisting an executive to more effectively execute some transition, such as a merger integration or downsizing; addressing a performance problem; or developing new behavioral skills as part of a leadership development program. In any case, coaching is often confused with therapy.4 Most coaching approaches acknowledge that coaching is not therapy. While both coaching and therapy focus on personal development, coaching assumes that the client is healthy rather than suffering from some pathology. Coaching is also primarily future and action oriented rather than focused on the past, as are many therapeutic models. Coaching involves helping clients understand how their behaviors are contributing to the current situation. Such understanding is often difficult to achieve and often deeply personal. Therefore, the limits of a coach’s skills and abilities must be acknowledged. Many coaching failures have been attributed to working too far from the practical application of behavioral principles, or too close to the boundaries of therapy, and to the failure of the coach to understand the difference.

Application Stages The coaching process closely follows the process of planned change outlined in Chapter 2, including entry and contracting, assessment, debriefing (feedback), action planning, intervention, and assessment.5 The mentoring process is similar except that the assessment is generally presumed and the process moves straight to action planning interventions. 1. Establish the principles of the relationship. The initial phases of a coaching intervention involve establishing the goals of the engagement; the parameters of the relationship, such as schedules, resources, and compensation; and ethical considerations, such as confidentiality and boundary issues. 2. Conduct an assessment. This process can be personal or systemic. In a personal assessment, the client is guided through an assessment framework.6 It can involve a set of interview questions that elicit development opportunities or a more formal personal-style instrument, such as the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, the FIRO-B, or DISC profile. Other instruments, including the Hogan’s battery of tests, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), or the “Big 5” instrument, can also be used, but they require extensive training and certification. OD practitioners should carefully consider the ethics of using different instruments and their qualifications for administering and interpreting the results. In a systemic assessment, the client’s team, peers, and relevant others are engaged in the process. The most common form of systemic assessment involves a 360-degree feedback process. 3. Debrief the results. The coach and client review the assessment data and agree on a diagnosis. The principles of data feedback outlined in Chapter 8 apply here. The purpose of the feedback session is to get the client to move to action. In light of the assessment data, intervention goals can be further refined and revised if necessary. 4. Develop an action plan. The specific activities the client and coach will engage in are outlined. These can include new actions that will lead to goal achievement, learning opportunities that build knowledge and skill, or projects to demonstrate

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competence. Developing an action plan can be the most difficult part of the process because the client must own the results of the assessment and begin to see new possibilities for action. The action plan should also include methods and milestones to monitor progress and to evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching process. 5. Implement the action plan. In addition to the elements of the action plan listed above, much of the coaching process involves one-on-one meetings between the coach and the client. In these sessions, the coach supports and encourages the client to act on her/his intentions. A considerable amount of skill is required to confront, challenge, and facilitate learning. 6. Assess the results. At appropriate intervals, the coach and client review and evaluate the results of implementation. Based on this information, the goals or action plans can be revised, or the process can be terminated.

The Results of Coaching and Mentoring Although coaching has been practiced for many years, the number of studies assessing its effectiveness is small but growing. Most of the evidence remains anecdotal and case based although a few large sample studies have been conducted.7 The case evidence cites diverse benefits depending on the nature of the client’s objectives. For example, one study found that coaching improved personal productivity, quality, working relationships, and job satisfaction. The return was estimated to be 5.7 times the initial investment.8 Another study reported that managers found positive results with respect to their personal lives, social interactions with others, and the skills and knowledge that were important to their work.9 In one of the few experimental studies, a pre–post test design in a government organization found that the experimental group receiving coaching made significant improvements compared to the control group on two of six measures. The experimental group improved significantly with respect to “acting in a balanced way” and in beliefs about their ability to set goals. The relatively weak coaching intervention, lasting only four months and consisting of only one to eight meetings, may explain the lack of more robust results during that time period.10 Clearly, more rigorous studies are necessary to judge the effectiveness of coaching interventions. The modest research on mentoring suggests that it is relatively prevalent in organizations. About two-thirds of top executives report having a mentor or sponsor during their early career stages, when learning, growth, and advancement were most prominent. Effective mentors were willing to share knowledge and experience, were knowledgeable about the company and the use of power, and were good counselors. Mentored executives, in contrast to executives who did not have mentors, received slightly more compensation, had more advanced college degrees, had engaged in career planning prior to mentoring, and were more satisfied with their careers and their work.11 Research also shows that mentoring is critical for minority and female employees. One recent study of mentoring minorities stresses that a strong network of mentors is critical to advancement, and that the mentor of minorities must understand the challenges that race presents to career development and advancement.12 Similarly, women face unique challenges, and must address some of the same issues.

CAREER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS Organizations are becoming more and more reliant on their “intellectual capital.” The war for talent, the changing nature of the workforce, shifting social expectations about work and family, and increasingly knowledge-based strategies have pressured organizations to rethink their role in managing careers and developing their human capital.13 Providing career planning and development opportunities as well as management and

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leadership development programs help to recruit and retain skilled and knowledgeable workers. Many talented job candidates, especially minorities and women, are showing preference and more loyalty for employers who offer career and leadership development opportunities. Career planning and development interventions are an important tool in developing and retaining an effective workforce. Growing numbers of managers and professional staff are seeking more control over their work lives. Organization members, especially women, minorities, mid-career workers, and new college recruits, are not willing to have their careers “just happen” and are taking an active role in planning and managing them.14 For example, a study by the Hay Group found that technology professionals were willing to leave their jobs for better career development opportunities.15 Many organizations—General Electric, Xerox, Intel, Ciba-Geigy, Cisco Systems, Quaker Oats, and Novotel UK, among others—have adapted their career planning and development programs to meet the needs of their members. These programs have attempted to improve the quality of work life for managers and professionals, enhance their performance, increase employee retention, and respond to equal employment and affirmative action legislation. Companies have discovered that organizational growth and effectiveness require career development programs to ensure that needed talent will be available. Competent managers are often the scarcest resource. Many companies also have experienced the high costs of turnover among recent college graduates, including MBAs; the turnover can reach 50% after five years. Career planning and development help attract and hold such highly talented people and can increase the chances that their skills and knowledge will be used.

What Are the Goals? Career planning and development interventions provide the appropriate resources, tools, and processes necessary to help organization members plan and attain their career objectives. A career consists of a sequence of work-related positions occupied by a person during the course of a lifetime.16 Career planning is concerned with individuals choosing jobs, occupations, and organizations at each stage of their careers. Career development involves helping employees attain career objectives.17 Although both of these interventions generally are aimed at managerial and professional employees, a growing number of programs are including lower-level employees, particularly those in white-collar jobs. Research suggests that employees progress through at least four distinct career stages as they mature and gain experience. Each stage has unique concerns, needs, and challenges. 1. The establishment stage (ages 21–26). This phase is the outset of a career when people are generally uncertain and may be stressed about their competence and potential. They are dependent on others, especially bosses and more experienced employees, for guidance, support, and feedback. At this stage, people are making initial choices about committing themselves to a specific career, organization, and job. They are exploring possibilities while learning about their own capabilities. 2. The advancement stage (ages 26–40). During this phase, employees become independent contributors who are concerned with achieving and advancing in their chosen careers. They have typically learned to perform autonomously and need less guidance from bosses and closer ties with colleagues. This settling-down period also is characterized by attempts to clarify the range of long-term career options. 3. The maintenance stage (ages 40–60). This phase involves leveling off and holding on to career successes. Many people at this stage have achieved their greatest

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advancements and are now concerned with helping less-experienced subordinates. For those who are dissatisfied with their career progress, this period can be conflictual and depressing, as characterized by the term “midlife crisis.” People often reappraise their circumstances, search for alternatives, and redirect their career efforts. Success in these endeavors can lead to continuing growth, whereas failure can lead to early decline. 4. The withdrawal stage (age 60 and above). This final stage is concerned with leaving a career. It involves letting go of organizational attachments and getting ready for greater leisure time and retirement. The employee’s major contributions are imparting knowledge and experience to others. For those people who are generally satisfied with their careers, this period can result in feelings of fulfillment and a willingness to leave the career behind. The different career stages represent a broad developmental perspective on people’s jobs. They provide insight into the personal and career issues that people are likely to face at different career phases. These issues can be potential sources of stress because employees are likely to go through the phases at different rates, and to experience personal and career issues differently at each stage. For example, one person may experience the maintenance stage as a positive opportunity to develop less-experienced employees; another person may experience the maintenance stage as a stressful leveling off of career success.

Application Stages The two primary applications steps are establishing a mechanism for career planning and assembling an appropriate set of career development processes. Establish a Career Planning Mechanism Career planning involves setting individual career objectives. It is highly personalized and generally includes assessing one’s interests, capabilities, values, and goals; examining alternative careers; making decisions that may affect the current job; and planning how to progress in the desired direction. This process results in people choosing jobs, occupations, and organizations. It determines, for example, whether individuals will accept or decline promotions and transfers and whether they will stay with or leave the company for another job or for retirement. Individual responsibility for careers and career planning has increased significantly, and recent estimates project that an individual career beginning now will involve an average of eight major job and/or organization changes. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average annual turnover in an organization is 20%. Such turnover rates are not confined to the United States. Turnover among professional employees in China was over 18% in 2006.18 Further, as organizations downsize and restructure, there is less trust in the organization to provide job security. In the past, when employees more frequently spent their entire career in one organization, careers were judged in terms of advancement and promotion upward in the organizational hierarchy. Today, they are defined in more holistic ways to include a person’s attitudes, experiences, and ability to perform. For example, individuals may make numerous job changes to acquire additional responsibilities, skills, and knowledge within or across organizations, or they can remain in the same job, acquiring and developing new skills, and have a successful career. Similarly, people may move horizontally through a series of jobs in different functional areas of the firm. Although they may not be promoted upward in the hierarchy, their broadened job experiences constitute a successful career. The four career stages can be used to make career planning more effective. Table 18.1 shows the different career stages and the career planning issues relevant at each phase. Applying the table to a particular employee involves first diagnosing the person’s existing career stage—establishment, advancement, maintenance, or withdrawal. Next,

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[Table 18.1] Career Stages and Career Planning Issues CAREER STAGE

CAREER PLANNING ISSUES

Establishment

What are alternative occupations, organizations, and jobs? What are my interests and capabilities? How do I get the work accomplished? Am I performing as expected? Am I developing the necessary skills for advancement?

Advancement

Am I advancing as expected? How can I advance more effectively? What long-term options are available? How do I get more exposure and visibility? How do I develop more effective peer relationships? How do I better integrate career choices with my personal life?

Maintenance

How do I help others become established and advance? Should I reassess myself and my career? Should I redirect my actions?

Withdrawal

What are my interests outside of work? What post-retirement work options are available to me? How can I be financially secure? How can I continue to help others?

available career planning resources are used to help the employee address pertinent issues. Career planning programs include some or all of the following resources: • Communication about career opportunities and resources available to employees within the organization • Workshops to encourage employees to assess their interests, abilities, and job situations and to formulate caree...