Talent: what is it and what do you do with it?
15 Apr 03

Talent is something every manager wants in their team. The problem is you don't always know what to do with it. So how exactly do you manage your high-fliers?

In Managing Talented People, published by momentum, Alan Robertson and Graham Abbey explain how. They address the issue that while a talented team is the ultimate source of competitive advantage in business, the actual day-to-day management of talented people can be very tough work.

"You can't 'manage' talented people in the conventional sense. If you are looking for some new and subtle means of control, then you're in for a disappointment because talented people are essentially uncontrollable," says Abbey.

They become easily bored, can be demanding and question authority, and may cause frictions within a team. Abbey goes on to argue that these issues and many others stem from a general lack of understanding about what talent means.

"Talent is about complex expectations. Some of these expectations are managerial and some are those of the individual. But many are unclear and from that lack of clarity come most of the difficulties of managing talented people."

Managing Talented People goes beyond existing ideas about management, or how to attract and retain talent. Instead, it looks at the challenges of dealing with talent on a daily basis. It provides essential tips on how to recognise talent and handle it to the advantage of the individual, the manager and the organisation, without alienating the rest of a team.

Managing Talented People, written by Alan Robertson and Graham Abbey, published 1st May by momentum, is priced £16.99. To order this book click here.

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