We’ve all been there or will find ourselves there at some point in our career. Maybe you are new to a role or faced with a new initiative that you can’t fail. You look around your table and think, “is this the team that can get this done?” If you aren’t asking that question proactively, you are already in trouble.
There are many ingredients necessary to build a successful team, but none are more important than the talent you attract and retain. Talent in this context is more than just aptitude, ability, skill and experience. Those are all critically important of course, but talent in the fullest sense also includes behavioral attributes like collaboration, communication, and leadership.
As an executive over the past 20 years, I spent the largest percentage of my time assessing the talent I had in my organization. Were they bringing positive energy to solve problems? Were they able to build strong teams, retain strong talent, attract new talent? Did they have a successor, or were they so embedded in the day-to-day firefighting that the thought of ever finding a replacement was never top of mind?
Top talent brings all those things to the table and more. Top talent is the raw material necessary to fuel growth, spark innovation, and drive transformational change. Top talent can compensate for a myriad of other organizational gaps such as weak process and tools. The reverse is almost never true. For this reason alone, when evaluating where to begin, talent is the place to start
So why are so many leaders slow to act? For some, it is fear of being rash or making decisions without complete information. For some, it is fear of getting a reputation of being a horrible tyrant. For others, there may be personal relationships and alliances that get in the way. For a unique few, it is because the weak link also has great seats on the 50 yard line. Most commonly though, it is because actively managing the talent on your team is hard work. Done well it takes a significant investment in time and personal collateral.
It takes a strong professional network and a well-designed screening process to confidently select talent that fits your culture and improves the performance of the collective team. Fear of getting it wrong, unwillingness to invest the time, and avoidance of the “mess” of making a change (or some combination), leave many leaders on the sidelines hoping that things will get better on their own. They almost never do.
In fact, not acting (or acting too slowly) almost always means that performance will decline. Top performers in your organization innately know this and are anxiously waiting for you to act. Your best people have likely already approached you on the subject. Top talent wants to be surrounded by other top performers. If they aren’t, over time they will leave only making your problem worse.
ALTTRAX is uniquely positioned to help leaders faced with this challenge. Our innovative approach to assessing talent provides an objective point of view on the existing strengths and opportunities. Our significant leadership experience, deep industry insight, and vast professional network allow us to quickly engage, provide informed recommendations and offer practical solutions that can be quickly implemented to improve performance. We have a proven track record of helping leaders find and onboard talent that provides an immediate boost to performance and culture. We can even provide interim leadership during the transition to ensure it is smooth and have successfully done so for several of our clients.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you are constantly and consciously assessing the strength of your team. Top talent pays dividends in better performance, stronger results, and less sleepless nights. If any of this resonates with you, the time to act is now. It doesn’t have to be painful. ALTTRAX can help.
We have a proven track record of helping companies improve the talent they have and attract talent to fill gaps. Contact us for a free consultation.
Jon Schlosser
ALTTRAX CEO, FOUNDER
