At a time when the world’s leading financial institutions were stumbling and retrenching during recession last decade, some organizations continued to chart out their growth path. Game-changing asset management giant BlackRock, especially hailed for its technology platform Aladdin (Asset Liability and Debt & Derivative Investment Network), was one such firm.
Turns out game-changing organizations like BlackRock, China-based entrepreneurial alternative energy firm Envision, and India’s very own Tata Group all exhibit significant commonalities that are difficult to overlook. An in-depth analysis would reveal that these organizations are fastidiously purpose-led, performance-oriented, principles-driven, and boast of high-end talent strategies to drive their business strategies. Commitment and motivation from the top executive team is central to building and maintaining their business- first mindset. What’s significant is that their game-changing leaders do not merely articulate the importance of talent management but partake in the actual practices of their companies, demanding that their line leaders also be accountable for spotting, retaining, and developing the next generation of leaders. This ensures effective talent capture and unlocking of employees’ ambitions and potential. Complex and ambiguous as they may appear, central to the existence of such game- changing organizations are talent strategies that support strategic and operational excellence, foster a collective culture but enable high potentials to thrive and succeed as individuals, are globally scaled but locally relevant, and include policies that endure but are open to revitalization.
Let’s try looking at the above in detail.
Strategic Superiority and Operational Excellence: Superior strategic insight is critical for creating that all-important distance between a company and its competitors. Game-changing companies’ talent practices are strategically oriented though they do not fail to put a premium on operational efficiency. An effective talent strategy presupposes an innovative business model whose execution in turn demands that the best talent be sourced, engaged, developed, and retained. While formulating a great business model with strategic agility by itself is difficult, what’s even harder is finding and deploying the right talent in the right role at the right time for a winning edge. A study of BlackRock’s talent management policies reveal that they are guided and steered by its global Human Capital Committee, comprising 35 senior line leaders from across the firm’s businesses and locations. It protects Blackrock’s one-company culture and ensures that the governing principles are upheld in daily operations, behaviors, and probably every aspect of the talent management value chain across the organization. Quoting global head of talent management Donnell Green, “We live our principles day in and day out. One of them is ‘We are one BlackRock’, so leaders who try to make their numbers in a zero-sum fashion by undermining their colleagues soon find out that there is no place for them at the firm.”
Collective and Individual Play: Every game-changing company is backed by a powerful sense of collective pride along with respect for an individual’s need and space to grow. Their talent practices engender a strong sense of collective purpose and pride, aligning organically with individual growth pursuits. Collectivism, collaboration, trust, respect, and clarity of purpose are the bedrock of an organization that prioritizes talent management. Research reveals that game-changing talent strategy must address employees’ needs to discover a sense of purpose along with opportunities to grow and succeed. Game-changers are clear about the purpose for which they exist. And a talent manager of such a firm would also support that by ‘articulating upfront that it demands enthusiastic buy-in to its core purpose. Nonbelievers need not apply’!
Global and Local Arena: The best talent policies respond to changing ground conditions and to cultural differences across the globe. Though it is customary for companies to declare, ‘We are a global company, competing in a complex global environment’, in reality companies usually function as confederations of local entities, some with reasonable autonomy and fairly rooted to and dependent on the region and its businesses. Hence identifying, nurturing and engaging local talent is crucial. But a game-changing company with talent strategies in place knows who its best people are and when and where to move key resources for mutual growth. Talent policies work best when they are globally scaled and locally relevant.
Enduring and Regenerative Values: Continuity and a sense of legacy are of paramount importance in top companies. But truly great and game-changing companies know that they can stay ahead of the game for many years if they are agile – continually refreshing their systems, processes, and strategic initiatives when circumstances dictate. Talented professionals are drawn to such organizations – succeeding, flourishing, adding to, and gaining from their association. While organizations must have enduring values and practices, that should not act as deterrent to reinvention or revitalization to keep pace with today’s volatile business world. In the final analysis, game-changing companies build and sustain four winning competencies simultaneously – their most powerful weapon is however their superior talent strategy with deep commitment from the top executive team and line accountability. Such a milieu is best suited for a future-focused ‘leaders developing leaders’ culture!
