What makes your talents grow?

The ongoing pandemic has been a burden on most organizations. One question to ask is which organizations have so far coped with the pressure the best?

Is it the organizations that have the most detailed business plans with the most comprehensive management and control, where managers at different levels make decisions that are then implemented in the organization?

Or is it the organizations that have the greatest initiative, where everyone works together to adapt and reorganize the business and where those who work operationally can be involved and find solutions to problems that have arisen?

I myself am convinced that the latter type of organization is the one that has managed the transition much better.

There is too much control and too little leadership in working life. By this I mean that too much energy is directed towards control and measurement, and too little at satisfying employees' need for an understanding of what they should do and why.

Meetings are created based on managers' need for control and information, rather than for employees to be able to do the best job possible. A view is needed where management’s work is not per se considered value-creating, but only if it contributes to employees being able to perform a more committed job. When was the last time you were a senior manager in a business and met those who handle the operational work? An insight from such meetings is that it is not a detailed business plan that is important, but rather a conversation where managers and employees feel that they work for a mutual goal - to be able to deliver innovative and high-quality services and products that make customers want to continue to be customers.

 In order for ambitious and knowledgeable talents to choose to work in your particular organization, leadership is needed, leaders that can coach and provide a continuous cadence for people, where development needs are identified and defined in regular conversations. In this dialogue, the needs of the business are taken into account as well as the interests of the employees, and an ongoing adjustment is made to what is happening in the outside world as well as in the employees' lives.

 Is your organization ready to conduct business and employee-driven talent development?