Any great-performing organization has several “must-haves” in order to drive performance. At the top of the list are:
- Great talent
- Strong ability to execute and move faster
- Great relationships – internal and external
- Constant learning and improvement
Whether you are a practitioner, a business leader or C-Level executive, to drive great performance you must think of how learning, talent and performance really happen. Many executives mistakenly think that their team, aka their “talent,” is a constantly evolving and dynamic talent base. It is not.
Talent, if not nurtured, if not “managed,” is static. It has an expiration date like food or a gallon of milk.
Executives must think about learning as “future state”, i.e., making sure your team is learning for the future tasks and job roles that you may have to take on.
Talent is only as good as today; it is current state and can become obsolete very quickly if you’re not learning skills for the future.
I know of many former top sales, marketing and business leaders who had great “talent” 10 years ago. Many of them are now struggling in the workforce and have had to settle for non-leadership roles.
They became obsolete. They ignored having balance on their teams, and most detrimental, they didn’t see learning for what it really is among executive ranks: a business tool to ensure your investment in your company’s talent doesn’t become irrelevant or obsolete.