I Am Talent: A comprehensive guide to optimise your potential and achieve your personal and career aspirations

I

AM

TALENT

A comprehensive guide to

optimise your potential

and achieve your personal

and career aspirations

by

John Gatherer & Debbie Craig

2013

Copyright © Knowres Publishing, John Gatherer and Debbie Craig

All reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the contents of this book do not, directly or indirectly, infringe any existing copyright of any third person and, further, that all quotations or extracts taken from any other publication or work have been appropriately acknowledged and referenced. The publisher, editors and printers take no responsibility for any copyright infringement committed by an author of this work.

Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher or the author.

While the publisher, editors and printers have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this work, they take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of that person relying on the information contained in this work.

First published in 2010

Second updated edition published in 2013

ISBN: 978-1-86922-373-1 Printed

ISBN: 978-1-86922-220-8 PDF eBook

ISBN: 978-1-86922-453-0 ePUB

ISBN: 978-1-86922-465-3 Mobi

Published by Knowres Publishing (Pty) Ltd

P O Box 3954

Randburg

2125

Republic of South Africa

Tel: (+27 11) 706 6009 

Fax: (+27 11) 706 1127

E-mail: orders@knowres.co.za

Website: www.kr.co.za

Printed and bound: Replika Press Pvt Ltd, Haryana, India

Typesetting, layout and design: Cia Joubert, cia@knowres.co.za

Cover design: Sean Sequeira, idDigital, sean@iddigital.co.za

First edition editing and proofreading: Elsa Crous, getitedited@mweb.co.za

Second edition editing and proofreading: Adrienne Pretorius, pretorii@mweb.co.za

Project management: Cia Joubert, cia@knowres.co.za

Index created with: TExtract, www.Texyz.com

table of contents

Acknowledgements

About the authors

Foreword

Chapter 1: The world of work (An introduction to the changing nature of work and employment and career opportunities)

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Challenges and opportunities

1.2.1 So what is talent?

1.2.2 Times of crisis

1.3 Tools

1.3.1 The purpose of work

1.3.2 The purpose of organisations

1.3.3 Dealing with change as a constant

1.3.4 Employment and career options

1.3.5 Matching you to work

1.3.6 Driving for success

1.3.7 The world of education

Chapter 2: The world of me (Understanding my talent, abilities, preferences and options for a meaningful future)

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Challenges and opportunities

2.3 Tools

2.3.1 Who am I?

2.3.2 What do I want?

2.3.3 What is success?

2.3.4 What do I value?

2.3.5 What do I have?

2.3.6 What is my purpose?

2.3.7 A whole-person approach to life

Chapter 3: What do organisations want? (An overview of how organisations are identifying and managing talent)

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Challenges and opportunities

3.3 Tools

3.3.1 What is talent management?

3.3.2 Talent approaches

3.3.3 Spotting talent

3.3.4 Planning for talent

3.3.5 Finding talent

3.3.6 Growing talent

3.3.7 Keeping and releasing talent

3.3.8 Reviewing talent

Chapter 4: Differentiating myself – my value proposition (How to build my value and my distinctive personal brand in a competitive work environment)

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Challenges and opportunities

4.3 Tools

4.3.1 What do I have to sell?

4.3.2 How do I sell myself?

4.3.3 Building my brand

Chapter 5: My performance (How to optimise my performance and results)

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Challenges and opportunities

5.3 Tools

5.3.1 The external environment

5.3.2 The organisation

5.3.3 The individual

Chapter 6: My learning and development (Tools and techniques to fast-track my learning and development)

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Challenges and opportunities

6.3 Tools

6.3.1 What do I want?

6.3.2 What do I have?

6.3.3 Focus areas

6.3.4 Learning options

6.3.5 Plans

6.3.6 On-going learning

6.3.7 Coaching and feedback

Chapter 7: Qualities for success (Awareness of the critical success characteristics that

make a difference)

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Challenges and opportunities

7.3 Tools

7.3.1 Foundation competencies

7.3.2 Derailing behaviours

7.3.3 Impact

Chapter 8: Career choices and transitions (How to manage my career journey through change and transitions)

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Challenges and opportunities

8.3 Tools

8.3.1 Mapping my journey

8.3.2 Career stages

8.3.3 Career interests and choices

8.3.4 Career gap analysis

8.3.5 Staying relevant – employability

8.3.6 A great place to work

8.3.7 Managing transitions

Resources

Index

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

John Gatherer

I would like to thank my wonderful wife, Anne, who has been my anchor, support and best friend in our interesting and exciting journey over 40 years.

Debbie Craig

I would like to dedicate this book to all the mentors in my life who recognised my potential, listened to their intuition, took a risk with me and generously shared their advice, wisdom and feedback to help me to learn and grow and become the best I can be. I would also like to thank my husband, Andrew, who supports me in so many ways and brings out the best in me.

Our sincere thanks also go to Julie Shaw and Robert Gentles for stimulating and challenging our thinking on this topic, and to Tina van der Westhuizen, Tuppy Coldwell and Nondumiso Simelane for their contributions and assistance in this second edition.

Thanks to Knowledge Resources for believing in us and making this book a reality.

about the authors

John Gatherer

John has over 38 years’ experience in the fields of HR, labour relations, training and development, leadership and strategic change management, having held senior positions in Anglo American plc and the De Beers Groups. During this period, John worked as Training Consultant to the Anglo plc Group and as General Manager of the Maccauvlei Training and Conference Centre.

John served on the Executive Committee of De Beers as Group Manager – Human Resources between 1999 and 2005, and headed up a Global Centre of Expertise in Leadership Development and Talent Management for the Group.

He joined Debbie Craig at Catalyst Consulting as Chief Operations Manager, and together they have forged a consulting business, specialising in strategic change, leadership development and talent management, working locally and internationally with a variety of clients from a range of business sectors.

Debbie Craig

Debbie Craig has over 21 years’ experience in the fields of strategy, leadership development, change management, talent management, high-performance teams and organisational development. She has worked for and consulted at leading South African organisations, including the Edgars Group, MAC Consulting, the De Beers Group, the Transnet Group and the Development Bank of South Africa. Twelve years ago, Debbie started her own consulting business, Catalyst Consulting, which she now runs with her business partner, John Gatherer. Debbie, who is a skilled strategist, design architect and team builder, as well as a powerful facilitator, change agent and executive coach, has worked at executive level with individuals and teams in southern Africa, the UK, Australia, South-East Asia, China and the USA.

Debbie is also a co-founder of World Alive, which offers personal transformation workshops with a view to changing the face of education and business through greater awareness, empowerment and alignment of mind, emotions, body and spirit. Debbie is a qualified NLP practitioner, process facilitator, game ranger, reflexologist and Reiki master.

Catalyst Consulting

Catalyst Consulting is an established consulting business with a successful track record spanning more than 15 years in the design and implementation of organisation-wide strategic change and transformation journeys, leadership development, coaching and mentoring, high-performance team development, talent management, change management and culture transformation journeys. Catalyst has consulted to leading organizations in southern Africa, South East Asia, China, United States, South America, Canada, Europe, Australia and Kuwait.

Our approach, which is built on a deep foundation of corporate and consulting experience, is designed to create an enhanced capability for leaders in which their strategic goals and business results are leveraged, through a better understanding and application of people management frameworks, processes and skills. Our focus is on ensuring impact and sustainability through our involvement, and by building the capacity of clients and participants through taking a strong change and project management approach to interventions.

www.catalystconsulting.co.za

www.Iamtalent.co.za

FOREWORD

Charles Dickens’ often-quoted first line of his novel, A tale of two cities, ‘it was the best of times, it was the worst of times’ has symbolic meaning for the transforming and turbulent yet exciting world of work, where vast challenges as well as opportunities abound. It is not surprising that prospective and current employees often find the pressures and strains of work life overwhelming, in that traditional work practices, corporate uncertainties, employer demands, and even the nature and complexity of work itself, are changing at an increasingly fast rate.

At the same time, there is a perfect talent storm brewing. The recent economic recession, the uncertain global business environment and the growing talent crisis demand innovative and pragmatic approaches to finding, developing and retaining talent. Individuals are increasingly expecting to be treated as a whole person, with unique needs, values, aspirations … and a life beyond work. This has resulted in a crucible of competitive pressures, supply limitations, workforce reductions and a clamour to find high-calibre people and skills to help navigate a path through these stormy waters.

In our many coaching and consulting assignments across the globe, we have encountered a variety of perceptions, assumptions, frustrations and aspirations related to talent management. While organisations are increasingly investing in managing one of their most important assets (people), individuals have only recently become more aware of how to manage their most important assets: their own talent and potential. This includes making decisions on what career(s) to choose, how to build their skills and make the most of their inherent talent, how to build their brand, and how to take advantage of opportunities in the world of work – both inside and outside the corporate environment.

This publication is aimed at providing a comprehensive guideline and toolkit which will help you to provoke and stimulate your thinking, and help you to cope and flourish in the workplace. It will support you as you take stock of your inner strengths, personal attributes, skills and capabilities, on your journey to being the best that you can be. I am talent is a user-friendly resource guide aimed at optimising your talent and potential, and at coaching you in how to differentiate yourself and succeed in a competitive and dynamic global business environment.

The guide takes you on a journey of personal discovery and mastery through activities, tools, assessments and practical advice that you can apply in your everyday life and work, in order to achieve your personal goals and aspirations. It is designed to challenge your thinking, create insight, motivate you to action, and empower you to accelerate your growth and development, manage your career, and enhance your quality of life.

Think of this book as your own personal coaching manual, where you can gain information, experience and advice from John and Debbie, who bring with them many years of practical experience in international business and consulting, in leading and implementing people and talent strategies, and coaching individuals across a wide spectrum of disciplines. This book covers the full range of people who work, consult or advise in the private, public and informal sectors, including school leavers, graduates, new entrants, employees, managers, business leaders, business owners, entrepreneurs, consultants, coaches, career counsellors, educators, HR practitioners and parents. Simply put, it applies to anyone who is interested in discovering and optimising their talent and potential. Alternatively, anyone who is interested in helping others on their development journey will also benefit from this publication.

We suggest that you take your time to work through the different chapters and complete the suggested reflection questions and activities. We also recommend that you keep the book as a resource guide to help you to deal with current issues in your life or to make the transition through different stages of your career development.

This book will guide and assist you in exploring the following critical questions:

• What are the drivers in the world of work? What are your options to create value? (Chapter 1)

• How can you find out who you are, what you want and how to optimise your personal effectiveness for a fulfilling life? (Chapter 2)

• What are organisations looking for when they search for talent? (Chapter 3)

• How can you build your distinctive value and personal brand? (Chapter 4)

• How can you maximise your performance? (Chapter 5)

• How can you fast-track your development? (Chapter 6)

• What competencies are core to becoming the best you can be? (Chapter 7)

• How can you make the best career choices and make the most of transitions? (Chapter 8)

Online multi-rater leadership competency assessment

• Find out from your colleagues and staff what your leadership strengths are and which areas to develop further.

The book uses several keys to help you to identify the reflection questions, activities, examples and case studies:

For more information on I am talent, visit the website:

www.iamtalent.co.za

Chapter 1

The world of work

The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.

– Adapted from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

1.1 Introduction

Are you optimising your potential?

Are you achieving your personal and career aspirations?

Everyone has talent – we all have something special to offer to make a difference. Regardless of your upbringing, education, family and community environment, you have specific and unique qualities, abilities and learning that have been forged in the white-water of life experience.

It is obvious that not everyone can be a president, a billionaire, an Olympic athlete or a CEO, but the key to unleashing potential is having an insatiable appetite to explore, learn, and discover what suitable range of work can be matched to your strengths, interests and abilities. To be successful, you have to love what you’re doing and be the best you can at it. This reality often takes many years to develop and can involve experiences based on trial and error that include triumphs, highlights, frustrations and setbacks. But when you eventually find the type of job or work that turns you on and stimulates your passion, enthusiasm and imagination – then you have lift off...!

One of life’s challenging journeys is to build on the DNA that you have been born with, channel your accomplishments and failures, mould your experiences and influences, and reach your potential. You need to explore and create a unique identity that you feel good about. To be competitive in today’s world, you need to stand out from the crowd, be distinctive and strive for excellence. Our challenge to you is to dare to be different!

This publication is about how to identify, develop and harness your special talent and abilities to be the best you can be and hopefully realise and live your dreams…

What is the nature of this bigger picture? The business environment,