The Talented Performer Survey 2013

Business requirements change as the business environment changes. You don’t need me to tell you that the current business environment seems to be changing at an extraordinary rate. The need for great people who can not only survive but thrive in such challenging times is acute. But what attributes do these people need?

TPP Survey 2013

We have constructed a survey to find out what businesses need from their people to help them succeed.  We would love to get your insights into what you consider important attributes in your talented performers. So, if you are:

1. A Human Resources Professional
2. A Learning and Development Professional
3. A business owner with staff
4. A leader or manager of a business team

it would be great to hear what you think is current and important in today’s business context. If you don’t fall into any of the categories above we would

The survey is short – just five questions. It’s anonymous – so we’re not asking for your contact details or for you to identify your organisation.

The Commitment

If you do complete the Survey – perhaps leave a comment below to let us know how you found it – we’ll also commit to sharing the results.

We are very grateful for you taking part.

You can find the Talented Performer Survey 2013 by clicking here.

Habits

Here's a nice little take on the fact that those who are known for delivering excellence in their field apply a rigorous structure to their working day. Dan Coyle also appears to be saying that creatives are almost paradoxical, in that it is the habits of high performance that set up the opportunity for creative thinking?

The Craftsman Mindset

Cal Newport's latest book is So Good They Can't Ignore You. In the book he makes the case for adopting what he calls the 'craftsman mindset' over the 'passion mindset' in developing a fulfilling a career. Find out what you are good, work hard at becoming an expert in that discipline and you will find success. Spending hours looking inside yourself for your true purpose and passion, will only lead to frustration. He makes a compelling case. You can find his excellent blog here.

Drucker - Again!

In preparing some work for a client this week, I returned to the work of Peter Drucker for inspiration. Here are his thoughts on what makes an effective executive:

• Ask what needs to be done
• Ask what’s right for the business
• Develop action plans
• Take responsibility for decisions
• Take responsibility for communicating
• Focus on opportunities, not problems
• Run productive meetings
• Say ‘We’ not ‘I’

I have always enjoyed the simplicity of his ideas - to me this makes them more useable. There is much to read behind these headlines but you could literally start by doing these 8 things and not read another word.

If you would like to read more though, take a look here.

Process AND Outcome

Take a look at his HBR article on the perils of goal setting. This is a great reminder to us all that we need a healthy balance of process and outcome goals in our work and personal lives if we are to deliver success through quality and support the behaviours we would like to see.

Winning Parenting?

My daughter's swim club sent this article on Winning Parenting to all parents last week to remind them of their responsibilities. Some great tips in here on supporting strengths development and working in collaboration with coaches. And some excellent messages for managers?

Discovering What Works

I had a super week with the Cybex International Sales Team just last week in Dubai. Here are the team taking some post meeting recreation in the desert! 3 days spent discovering what works, building on what works and making plans for delivering even bigger successes in 2013.

Monty's Strengths

I have always been a Monty fan and it was wonderful to see him back to his best in the last test. Here is the story of his - strengths based - return to the top.

Planning to Think Positively

Here's a nice re-working of the principles of challenging limiting beliefs in Fast Company Magazine. I wonder what place understanding and leading with strengths plays in overcoming negative emotions? Research would suggest that pausing to reflect on your strengths and talents, reviewing the evidence for them and making a plan to lead with them, can change the mindset we adopt in the face of high challenge? Could we add this to the list of ways to 'release the anchors'?

Strengths and the Organisation

In 1997, David Maister told us in True Professionalism that in order for a team to provide value above and beyond the talents of the individuals within it, it needed to provide the right conditions for talent to flourish. He offers some possible ways in which we can do this:

• provide professionals with the benefit of shared skills and experiences within the practice group
• back up the professional with investments in shared tools, methodologies, templates, research, etc
• facilitate access to the skills of others in different disciplines
• establish procedures to produce well trained junior professionals
• achieve a high level of referrals, cross-selling, and clients of other professionals 
• provide superior support staff and systems, to facilitate conduct of the practice
• instill a system of supportive, but challenging, coaching to bring out the best in each professional
• create an emotionally supportive 'collegial' environment
• provide for diversification of personal risk - in good times and bad
• establish a powerful brand name that makes marketing easier

Upon re-reading some of his work over the weekend, I was struck both by the 'obvious' nature of this advice and the relative scarcity of practice. I wonder what we are working on as leaders, this week, that will enable the talent within our teams to do their best?

Strengths and Education

With education being very much back on the political agenda it is important to consider the impact of the environment that schools create for children along with the more tangible  elements of excellence, such as the syllabus and exam processes. In every way, these are the more obvious and traditional targets for change. So what are the characteristics of a positive learning environment for children? What cultural elements do we need to put in place in order for children to be inner-motivated to give their best? Child Psychologist Jenni Hooper offers some sound advice in this blog post.

Getting the Balance Right

Helping leaders to get the balance right for them between leading with their strengths, and managing or working on their weaknesses, can be challenging. Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman provide some useful perspective on this issue in this recent HBR blog post. They argue that if leaders are to be successful they should first address 'fatal flaws' and then lead with a suite of strengths, not focusing on one thing alone. Take a look.

Olympic Strengths

What a wonderful Olympics. Take a look at Seb Coe's 50 highlights here. My highlight - sitting in the stadium (with a coffee) waiting for the first morning of athletics to start. It (really) doesn't get any better!

Embedding Strengths

Some useful thoughts here  from Gallup on how to ensure that a strengths approach to performance prevails in your organisation.

Living the Brand

I visited one of my regular clients, Scott Sports yesterday. It was the first time one of my visits had coincided with one of their famous lunchtime cycle rides and even as a 'supplier' I was encouraged to take part. GM Steve Carter tells me that these 3 times per week, 15 mile sessions serve to:

• promote health and fitness in the team
• build team connectivity
• familiarise people with the products they are selling
• give people the user experience and build empathy with customers
• and, build credibility...we don't just talk about it we 'live' it!

The team face all the usual business pressures but most make time to take part - though some have to be dragged away from their desks! The post ride shower and mini-buffet for participants adds to the experience. Steve says, 'We don't make a fuss about it, it's just the way we do things here'.

Talent and Potential

So the important discussion relating to the role of practice in developing winners rages on. In this article from this week's Sunday Times, Adrian Furnham tells us that we are all getting carried away when we emphasise the role of structured, deliberate and consistent practice in developing talent in others. He argues that while practice is a critical requirement for excellent performance, when it is applied to someone with limited natural ability it does not necessarily deliver success.

Fellow journalist Matthew Syed suggests otherwise in his book Bounce of course. He posits that talent is under-rated and that it is practice and hard work that makes the difference. A strengths approach would surely argue that both are of equal importance - discover what you are good at and then grow that talent through learning and practice?

The Power of Introverts

Former lawyer Susan Cain spent 7 years researching and writing her book, Quiet. The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - you can find a clip of her talking about the process of writing and the key messages here. It's amazing that these simple concepts about how different people learn best and do their best work, are so readily overlooked by organisations and educational institutions.

While this is undoubtedly and important book, what struck me most having read it was the age old argument about whether labels of this type are helpful to us at all. What shines through the argument for being more accepting of introverts, is perhaps the need for all of us to see everyone as their own 'type'. Take the time to understand individuals strengths and weakness, how they love to learn and what excites them, and the need to label is surely removed and cannot get in the way learning and performance?

Delivering Success

Have a look at this HBR blog on the '9 Things Successful People Do Differently'. No rocket science here - a strong emphasis on using goals to harness motivation and build confidence is common practice in sport but less common in business?

Complementary Strengths

For many people , having discovered one's strengths, the greater challenge is to create a plan for making them even stronger. This recent HBR acticle offers some practical advice and advocates focussing on developling complementary strengths.

Sparks!

My colleague Mike Pegg introduced me to the term SPARKS, defined as "An individual's deepest passions and interests that give them meaning, focus, joy and energy.."....their strengths?

Peter Benson coined the term as a result of his research among American teenagers. Here is a list of their 10 most common sparks.
1. Creative Arts
2. Athletics
3. Learning (e.g., languages, science, history)
4. Reading
5. Helping, serving
6. Spirituality, religion
7. Nature, ecology, environment
8. Living a quality life (e.g., joy, tolerance, caring)
9. Animal welfare
10. Leading

Peter says, "Children want to be known for their sparks. When you see these sparks in them, affirm them. You shall know them by their sparks." Great stuff.