Maverick Mastery®

I believe that talent management is the ability to nurture, develop and maintain talent, so the objectives of the organisation can be met. It is an holistic approach to managing talent rather than a specific component approach that many companies undertake. For example, concentrating talent management strategies on the top team or high fliers, rather than on key talent across the organisation.

This holistic approach is more likely to enable the manager to nurture and develop their troublesome talent®, who are often ignored or excluded from management development programmes due to their personalities or ability to cause disruption within a structured organisation.

The common question posed by a maverick is ‘why?’

Mavericks do not compromise their standards to fit in, and therefore cannot be managed conventionally. Despite the fact that they often do not utilise their talents effectively, mavericks tend to be the top performers in companies and within business. Common traits of low boredom and impatience mean they often have trouble articulating what they want or what they mean.

They are unlikely to go with the flow for an easy life, which is unlike the rest of the talent pool. These individuals will not only acknowledge ‘the elephant in the room’ they will actively try to drive it out – which is the exact reverse of what is expected in most companies and will often be treated which huge amount of suspicion. Managers may feel challenged by these individuals and react to them in an aggressive way, which will typically drive the troublesome to protest and then react by becoming destructive within the company.

How can you develop troublesome talent?

When you are considering developing your troublesome talent these are the three biggest challenges that they – and you – face.

Communication with others and the need to speak the truth

Whilst your maverick at work is very articulate, they may have problems communicating with others in a way that their audience can understand and accept. If you ask your troublesome talent whether you are doing a good job, and they feel that you are not, expect to receive blunt, to the point feedback on your shortcomings. They are extremely loyal to those that they trust and respect so if you are their manager and do not live up to their expectations – expect a rough ride!

For example, mavericks have an overiding need to tell the truth. They feel that to do otherwise affects who they are and lessens their integrity – one of the principles that they hold dear. This is why communication can be fraught, their need to tell the truth far outweighing the need to not upset someone else. The trait not to upset someone is not usually as well developed as it is in others. This is generally because they have such high self esteem, there is little that will upset them and they naturally feel that everyone else is like them. (Do not assume, however, that they are unable to be hurt at work).

It’s important to develop their communication skills and that doesn’t mean sending them on a communications course. What they need is mentoring on the cause and effect of their behaviour, tied in with a compelling reason for them to change. Without a compelling reason there will not be any change at all – they are not concerned with ‘fitting in’, so get to know them. What do they want? Promotion? Variety? Autonomy? Then tailor their learning on how they can achieve what they desire. Be realistic with them, don’t lie – if they catch you out, they will not forgive or forget.

High self-esteem and self confidence

This can often be interpreted as arrogrance rather than the high self confidence that they feel. Often, they only express an opinion with quiet insistence when they know they are right. This can mean they do not appear to listen to counter arguments or may appear to be inflexible once they have made their decision. It’s a problem of perception rather than just behaviour. This is a communication issue and should be addressed as such.

The need to complete objectives

Mavericks like to complete their objectives as they take pride in solving problems and finding solutions. They will often induldge in lateral thinking to solve the problem, seeing things missed by others. They are also likely to break rules that appear unimportant, or break with protocol to ensure that an objective is met. They are often punished or penalised for taking this route, which can lead them to becoming despondent and destructive.

Their development in this area depends on your ability to enable them to see the consequences of their actions. The effect of a single-minded pursuit for a solution can sometimes not justify the journey to get there. Often, troublesome talent is rewarded by the organisation for this behaviour (bigger bonuses, recognition) whilst at the same time being punished for it by HR teams or their manager. This is counter productive and can be confusing to the employee.

There seems to be a general lack of accountability for leadership development by senior management. But it is not HR’s responsibility alone to develop talented individuals – troublesome or not – they must be nurtured by senior management. Mavericks should not be ignored and companies that do, run the risk of slipping behind global competitors who recognise their potential.

Organisations are failing to see learning and development issues as a key strategic priority and as a result are preparing the business for a future without adequately trained management, according to specialists at leadership development company Dynamic Transitions.

In response to the release of the CIPD Research Insight – Supporting, accelerating and directing learning implications for trainers report, Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain spoke out at the failure of senior management to take accountability for learning and development of employees and highlighted the need for employees to take responsibility for their own learning.

According to the CIPD report, 60% of HR managers believe that top managers do not see learning, training and development activities as strategic and Germain argues “it is the senior management’s responsibility to ensure that strategy is clear so the whole organisation can work towards common objectives, and that any investment in training is closely aligned to the organisation’s talent management programme”.

And with 52% of HR managers believing that employees do not take ownership for their learning, Germain suggests that it is the responsibility of both managers and employees to make sure that the right skills are available within the workforce, if the organisation is to survive.

“It is increasingly important that employees ensure that they are employable as well as recruitable and to do this they need to be continuously learning and taking responsibility for their learning – if not they will soon find themselves on the redundancy list”, warns Germain, who fears that some of the most talented employees may be unnecessarily lost amidst the surge of job losses rippling through the country as the credit crunch continues.

“The future of any organisation depends on the development and retention of its most talented employees and senior management need to realise that learning, training and development are absolutely critical in preparing their most talented employees for their future roles within the business”, adds Germain.

You can find out more about managing talented employees by downloading ‘Understanding Mavericks in the Workplace’ from www.developing-leadership.com/leadership-whitepapers.html. For further information or to find out more about Dynamic Transitions visit www.developing-leadership.com.