In strategic talent workshops we highlight that if you’re responsible for talent acquisition or learning, it’s important to be clear about your talent philosophy. A talent philosophy describes your fundamental beliefs about talent, which in turn guides your approach to hiring and developing talent. Meyers et al. (2020) suggest there are two dimensions along which talent philosophies vary, the first is whether you believe talent is rare (or common) and the second is whether you believe talent is developable (or innate). This leads to four philosophies about employees, each leading to different courses of action in talent management.
Managers who believe talent is rare and stable emphasise the war for talent, they identify and retain talented individuals.
Managers who believe talent is rare and developable emphasise only developing individuals with the greatest potential.
Managers who believe talent is common and stable emphasise finding the right role for each person’s talent.
Managers who believe talent is common and developable offer training very widely.
In practice managers may demonstrate each philosophy to different degrees. Different talent philosophies are also more common in different types of organizations, e.g., privately held, larger organizations tend to have managers who believe talent is rare and stable, leading to a war for talent perspective. By making your talent philosophy explicit you can allow others to challenge your approach and ask what your philosophy means for your strategy and important outcomes like diversity.
