The Anatomy of Leading a Successful Life

‘Good things rarely come quick and easy’.

As the lifestyle of human being is becoming increasingly competitive, it is becoming more important for them to accelerate themselves by being open to change, to be willing to learn, to come out of their comfort zone and to adapt.

While at a career counseling session, I recently met one of the participants who was desperate in need of job but was not willing to work at a location not nearby his home; his absolute reason defined as that he has been used to of working near his vicinity as it saves him time that is required for commuting.

There is a well-known Chinese proverb that says that wise adapt themselves to the circumstances. Having a mind-set to be comfortable with one’s own comfort zone fosters an attitude of helplessness, making it harder for them to progress. You can only grow when you step outside your fortress and venture into the wilderness. It is imperative for one to explore out of their discomfort, being adaptable to change and to understand the importance of learning.

Being willing to give up the familiarity of the known and able to adapt the behavior increases the ability to communicate and build relationships with other people.

I would like to present the example of a Chief Operating Officer of the Procter & Gamble Company, who spent much of the past two decades in various overseas postings. In his recent interview, he stated "I did not expect to live outside US for 15 years. The world has changed, so I had to change too. When you look at my biodata, foreign languages are not my best subjects. But when you move out of your culture, you have no option but to learn their culture and their language."

Such kind of willingness to get out of one’s comfort zone and learn continuously without complaining is a way of adapting to the change and definitely marks a key difference between a successful and unsuccessful human being.

© The blogger is an independent writer and works with Aga Khan Development Network

Talent Management – Answering Whats, Whys and Hows of Employers, Managers and Employees

“I have been experiencing a major decline in business even after adopting sound business strategies, hiring best available human resource and investing huge sums. I am searching like crazy what to do to get these setbacks fixated?” “My subordinates are a total mess and complete chaos. I don’t know why I am unable to get the best out of them”. “My boss, never lets me do what I am absolutely capable off, instead he forces me to do what I am least interested in. I am tired off my job – quitting seems to be the only option available with no ray of hope for a new job. How can I deal with this crisis?”

These and likewise Whats, Whys and Hows are a continuous cry, Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) consultants are destined to listen to every other day. However, yet another uphill task in front of them is to satisfy their clientele and provide them with a solution viable for all in the organization i.e. employers, managers and employees.

The crux of the matter, according to SHRM experts lies in lack of Talent Management - a comprehensive terminology defined by Association for Talent Development (ATD), formerly ASTD as,

“A holistic approach to optimizing human capital, which enables an organization to drive short- and long-term results by building culture, engagement, capability, and capacity through integrated talent acquisition, development, and deployment processes that are aligned to business goals” (ATD, 2009).

Talent management strategy, if aligned properly with the organization’s vision, mission statement and goals, can do wonders. A comparison of the aforementioned definition with the one given by CIPD below reveals no big differences.

“Talent Managementis the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement, retention and deployment of those individuals who are of particular value to an organization, either in view of their ‘high potential’ for the future or because they are fulfilling business/operation-critical roles” (CIPD, 2009).

Talent Management Strategy for any organization emerges out from its business plan. A well designed Talent Management process involves the active participation of almost all HR functions from job analysis to critical skills gap analysis.

Any organization, spending time and resources on its workforce planning always remains at a definite edge as in return a right person recruited at the right time at the right place positively adds up to its profitability charts. Workforce planning saves the organization from the exploitation of its precious financial resources in the years to come.

Gone are the times, when Talent Acquisition was deemed enough to run the business affairs smoothly without any fluctuations. Now, there is a tug of war between talent hunters to choose the best out of market at any cost making human capital retention a big challenge. Without having a sound Talent Management Strategy, now it is almost impossible for companies to keep their human potential hundred percent intact with them for long. So, the need for succession planning, employee engagement, training and development, handsome compensation and benefit packages along with performance management gets multifold.

Unless your business strategy is not properly aligned with the talent management strategy, there will remain a dearth of collaboration and coordination at both ends – employer and employee sides, hampering the overall growth of the organization. In today’s competitive business world, hiring the best possible candidate is not enough, but you also need to provide them with a dynamic platform to progress and proceed further.

Talent Management strategy keeping in view an employee’s potential gears them upward in the organizational hierarchy via succession planning. Adds further to your human capital’s growth is strategic training and development strategy as it not only gives the employees an opportunity to explore their talent and skill set but also makes them more productive and confident in their respective spheres.

When an organization gives it’s human asset due attention by assigning them tasks they are most desirous to achieve, the ones related to their job descriptions promising higher monetary returns i.e. compensations and benefits, they love to invest all their energies for maximizing the profits of their organizations. They feel a sense of achievement with every step forward. Collectively holding the signboard, “No worries! We stand by the company in every of its thick and thin”, they really leave behind no Whats to worry about for the employers.

They become least complainant; least bothersome for the top management – resolving most of their Whys.

And when the organizations’ employees are well satisfied with their current placement and future career roadmap, are duly compensated and encouraged for every single effort, are provided opportunities to enhance their professional portfolio, are awarded for top notch performance and are respected for bringing progress to the business just like a business partner – then the doorway to all Hows filled with anxiety and distraught automatically gets closed.

Talent Management is like a bridge that fills the gap between Employers, Managers and Employees with all sitting on one table, taking best possible decisions and adopting most suitable measures to make their businesses collectively grow. Such are the conglomerates creating success stories to be remembered long after!