Best Practices in Talent Management: How the World's Leading Corporations Manage, Develop, and Retain Top Talent

THE ROOTS OF THE CES TRANSFORMATION: LEADERSHIP AND PROCESS

In writing this chapter, a debate materialized whether CES transformed its talent management process because of its vice president’s leadership or the whole system transformation process used. The CES team, with the exception of Parker himself, swears it was John Parker. The external consultants, who perhaps benefit from seeing this transformation regularly, emphasize the process, which changes the whole body, including the leader. The debate is reminiscent of Yeats’ famous line, “O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the dancer from the dance?”

Roland Sullivan, one of the external consultants, echoes this indistinction in two emails sent on the same day: ...