The Truth about Talent: A guide to building a dynamic workforce, realizing potential and helping leaders succeed

Chapter 9. Leading for Talent

The metaphor of a perfect storm captures the current environment perfectly. We are witnessing the rare convergence of complexity and diversity, a convergence that challenges all our leadership assumptions. Imagine leaders as captains steering ships through this perfect storm. The old charts are outdated, and even the smartest strategists have not yet been able to adequately map a new world.

These are not times for average leaders or for those who cannot appreciate and use the skills of their key people. If this perfect storm is to be navigated, it will take whole leaders who use their full potential to move the enterprise through an enormously complex, diverse and uncertain era.

—David L Dotlich, Peter C Cairo, Stephen H Rhinesmith Leading in Times of Crisis, JosseyBass 2009

Outstanding leadership is an essential catalyst for talent. Leaders have the ability to shape the character of an organization and the experience individuals have of work. This will influence the type of people that are attracted to work with you and the career decisions of those already in your team. Most immediately it impacts on day-to-day performance; the extent to which people seek out new opportunities and the lengths they will go to deliver them.

The new world order has yet to settle; it has added a more ambiguous backdrop to how leaders operate. Each day demands a different perspective and a revised forecast. Structures change and lay offs become a necessary part of the organization's ...