Talent capital and financial capital: are they really that different?
I highly recommend the book “Talent Wins” by Ram Charan; I just finished reading it. He talks about deploying talent capital the same way that you deploy financial capital. When we grow a business or organization, we think a lot about where we spend the money. Where do we invest? When do we expect return on that investment? What’s the outcome? We’re very thoughtful when making those decisions, whether operational, CapEx, or other expenses. The challenge mentioned in the book is to think about your human capital the same way.
If you’ve followed my blog, you know that at Service Express, everything starts by surrounding ourselves with the right people. Figure out what they want to achieve, help them accomplish their personal, professional and financial goals, then watch it drive all the company’s success. Everything starts with people at Service Express.
As you’re developing people and the organization is growing, ask yourself, “how do you deploy talent capital?” We have a lot of great performers within Service Express who are not leaders. You know who leaders are because you put them in charge of a team, they coach and they’re responsible for results. But what about the key, high talent people who are not leaders? They get things done, they have opportunities to produce and have a positive impact far beyond their scope.
I can think of a number of top performers at Service Express through the years. We think about these people and say, “They’re really good in this area, maybe they’d be really good in another area.” There may be an opportunity, challenge or problem in a different area. I always say to run to the problem. That may be a great time to get a talented person who has an excellent track record for success to see what they could do with that problem. They could use their talent to unlock the issue while also being exposed to other parts of the business. Doing so provides development and an opportunity for them to see how different parts of the company work.
Deploying talent is so important! Leaders need to be thoughtful about this. Ask yourself where the opportunities are. Where is the team that I have? Who has high potential? Who is always looking to do more? Look for those who seek out opportunities to help, want to add more value, and have a track record for success.
Marry the opportunity within the organization with the high-performing individual who is always looking for more opportunities. Get them together and watch the results!
