Competitive Corporations Cannot Circumvent Credibility, Collaboration, Courage, Competencies

If those were too many C’s in corporate jargon for you, the last 4 in the title are the only ones that you need to remember to be successful in strategic HR and Talent Management in your organization. In the context of the entirety of people practices, diplomacy is as important as dedication (alliteration not intended) and often times, indiscretion is the very flavor of incompetence (ok, that one was on purpose).

Couple with that the growing importance of real-time, enterprise-wide collaboration, which has been one of the earliest examples of the indefatigable change that has transformed the role of the HR manager over the last few decades, and you’ll see why tactical and strategic traits matter more than mere subject matter knowledge in the era of digital disruption and fragmented, distributed, ‘gig’ workforces.

People practices seems to have come full circle, with intra and inter personal skills coming forward once again, harkening back to the pre-IBM era, when Human Resources used to mean more than just the sum of its components.

For everything else, there is intelligent automation, the staple of the modern enterprise.

Below are the mission critical factors that make up the inner circle of successful talent management skills, and are an absolute must for Talent Management leaders across in the digital world.

Credibility – An individual skill pretty much acts as the universally accepted currency within the enterprise. Think of it as your personal brand value; the worth of your word. This is the very foundation of people management and is as important to the talent manager as it is to the CEO. The essence of being a credible Talent Manager consists of cautious skepticism towards “the grapevine”, aiming to become a trusted confidante for employees, and working towards gaining a reputation for efficiency. Reputation permeates across the organization, and allows you to better deal with the constant waves of difficult situations a talent manager faces every single day.

Collaboration – Collaboration is vital, even if you are the only talent manager in the organization. Keep in mind we’re not talking solely about intra-organizational collaboration, but collaboration among industry peers, thought leaders, external vendors and consultants. With shrinking talent management teams across the planet, the importance of collaboration cannot be overstated. And not just for talent managers, a collaborative culture at the workplace is the perfect antidote to commonplace simmering inter-departmental feuds, the scourge of business progress and growth. As a talent manager, promoting a collaborative work culture works far better than being a Machiavellian manipulator, as many can attest to.

Courage – In continuation with the idea of collaboration, comes its correlative cousin: courage (that was the last one, we promise). Courage may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised. Often times, talent managers fail to keep it together under pressure from management or otherwise. Protecting whistleblowers, for example, or making bold decisions regarding diversity hires may sound like the right thing to do, but they seldom get done. But it does leave a mark, both on the conscience and the resume. Corporate culture has almost always rewarded the outliers, and having the courage and making the conscious effort to be one of those outliers will be hugely advantageous.

Competence – Finally, competence is about getting past the “known unknowns” territory. Competence is growing increasingly important with every new digital innovation hitting the global HR fraternity. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are increasingly being sought after by employers, either as full time hires or as external consultants. Primarily referring to having the sufficient knowledge, skills and efficiencies to introduce innovations or enhance operational effectiveness, the entire competence pillar of talent management is also progress-centric and a continuous process of self-improvement, both at a personal and at an organizational level.

Methodologies often change but management philosophies shouldn’t. Do let us know your thoughts on your personal management mantras (couldn’t help that final one).