There will be employees who has the attributes of a top talent. However, what they might lack is the experience for them to advance in their career.
These are some activities I do with them to give them the exposure. It also served as an opportunity for me to observe their capabilities esp to be the next leader.
1. Additional Responsibilities – Doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be something as simple as facilitating or chairing meetings. If they are up to it, then assign a junior for them to mentor. I also invite them to develop my business plans together.
2. Become the Subject Matter Expert – I encourage them to conduct trainings to share their knowledge with others. And also I encourage them to continue their education, conducting more research to enhance their knowledge further. This includes encouraging them to sign up courses that could be make them a stronger SME.
3. Special Project Assignments – This is my favourite one. They could be assigned to lead or play a vital role in these special projects such as pilot programs, improvement projects or interim assignments. Especially if it is one that can expose them to multiple levels of management.
However, we also need to be careful when doing 1, 2, 3.
Be careful not to overpromise for there is no guarantee that the learning objectives will be met. And we always need to remember that the employees still have their core job to deliver. Whatever additional we give them cannot be at the expense of their current position.
But it’s always a good start in talent development.
Bimbo
