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You probably know the situation: the applicant pool for a key position is weak, and you’re left with two options – repost the job or compromise. You were looking for an experienced leader but ended up hiring someone with potential. Or you need a specialist with ten years of experience but must settle for a far lighter profile. Welcome to the labor market of the 2020s.
Part of the solution lies in strategic talent development – deliberately building the skills your organization actually needs. Often, it is both cheaper and more effective to grow strong specialists, project managers, and leaders internally than to hire them externally. Done right, talent development not only strengthens individuals, but lifts the entire organization.
But what is “talent” – and what does professional talent development really mean? And how can it be designed so that it works in practice without pulling people too far away from day-to-day operations?
That’s what we explore below.
In general, talent and talent development can be understood through three different perspectives.
1.
The innate approach
In this perspective, talent is seen as an inborn potential – almost written into our DNA. You either have it or you don’t. The idea is simple and appealing: if an organization can identify, attract, and retain talent more effectively than its competitors, it will win the “war for talent.” The focus here is on assessment, headhunting, high salaries, and attractive perks.
2.
The developmental approach
Here, talent is viewed as a set of competencies that can be strengthened through training and practice. Talent development is therefore less about finding a select few with rare natural abilities and more about designing learning journeys, training grounds, and development programs that enable more people to realize their potential.
3.
The contextual approach
This view builds on the first two but emphasizes the organizational environment rather than the individual’s innate abilities. Talent only emerges when it is supported by leadership, culture, peer relations, and opportunities for challenge and growth. Talent is thus socially constructed – no test can determine who is a talent on its own. Instead, it depends on how the organization recognizes, supports, and nurtures people.
At LEAD, we share this third perspective on talent development – in line with the most recent research in the field.
We help design and deliver talent programs that not only strengthen the talent environment in your organization, but also develop the selected leaders, employees, project managers, or specialists.
This means that development benefits everyone – not only the identified talents, but also colleagues and managers. An important side effect of this approach is that the entire organization typically supports the development activities: everyone has a role to play, everyone contributes, and everyone experiences themselves as talented.
Our work with talent development is built around a four-step model:
1.
Clarifying the talent perspective
We begin by making explicit the understanding of talent – whether stated or unstated – that already exists in your organization.
2.
Developing a talent strategy
Next, we create a talent strategy that makes your needs concrete. Both qualitatively (which strategy should be realized, and what culture should be supported?) and quantitatively (how many leaders, specialists, or project managers do you need to develop?). The strategy includes clear goals, success criteria, and an overview of the resources required.
3.
Designing the talent program
Based on the perspective and strategy, we design a tailored program that is strategically aligned with the competencies your organization needs to strengthen.
4.
Anchoring for real value
Too often, talent programs end when the competence development stops – but that is premature. In the fourth step, we follow up on how the program supports the implementation of the strategy. If the goal is increased internal leadership recruitment, this must be reflected in the recruitment process. If the goal is to attract strong specialists, the program must be followed up with tasks that match the competence boost they have received.
This final step ensures that the efforts invested in the first three steps translate into clear and lasting value for the organization.
By focusing on talent development, employees are trained and developed within the organization’s own context. This ensures that they acquire business-critical knowledge during the program while also testing whether the next organizational level is the right fit for them. At the same time, offering internal career paths and competence development strengthens the organization’s ability to retain employees and leaders – and reduces the risk of them seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Not all organizations have the resources, capacity, or continuous need to run their own talent programs. As a result, the investment is often postponed or avoided. One solution is to develop talent programs that span across organizations. This enables continuous cohorts, pooling of resources, shared costs, and an overall higher quality of program content.
For example, in talentNORD, seven municipalities in Northern Jutland have joined forces to invest in a shared talent program. Similarly, Ishøj and Hillerød municipalities have created a joint program for their future people managers.
Our experience shows that significant synergies can be achieved when organizations collaborate on talent programs. The key is to establish clarity from the outset on goals, target groups, resources, design, and desired effects. Here, the talent program cycle serves as a solid foundation for aligning expectations.
talentNORD – Developing talent for the entire ecosystem, not just one organization
Across Organizations – talentNORD
We often hear organizations express concern about developing their employees to the point where they become so attractive that they are recruited elsewhere. The concern is real and understandable.
Since 2016, LEAD has facilitated talentNORD, a joint talent program involving seven municipalities in Northern Jutland. The program targets both first-line managers and senior managers. By collaborating, the municipalities build a shared ecosystem of talent with strong cross-organizational networks and interfaces.
In practice, this means that the likelihood of talents moving on to another municipality – and thereby staying within the ecosystem – increases significantly. At the same time, each municipality finds it easier to fill leadership positions, since they have access to a shared pool of qualified candidates who are already developed and ready. This helps address a common challenge: organizations often struggle to offer suitable roles or opportunities after a talent program ends, which increases the risk of losing talent entirely.
Talent programs as part of broader organizational development
Talent Development as Career Development for Specialists
How do you develop a solid talent strategy if you lack an established foundation to build on?
In a private company supported by LEAD, the decision was made to begin by designing a career model encompassing leaders, specialists, and project managers/generalists. This model became the strategic foundation for the talent strategy before launching the talent program itself.
The career model consisted of three components:
Within this third component, the talent program became one of the key initiatives – closely linked to both career paths and career steps.
Chief Consultant
Chief Consultant
Chief Consultant
Contact us so we can tailor a program that develops exactly those competencies and structures needed to strengthen and future-proof your organization.