Value creation is at the heart of free enterprise. A company transforms lower value inputs into highly valued outputs that customers are pleased to purchase because what they're receiving is worth more to them than what they're paying. That is the formula for a successful business model, but please, let's just keep that between us, ok? It is clear that the core process of value creation in a company relates to value from a customer's point of view, but other value creation must happen in parallel, not least of which is talent management.
Optimal value created by way of talent management is a high-performance culture: Not just high-performing individuals, but high-performing individuals who work together in a way that is energizing, productive, resourceful, affirming, and rewarding. Apparently it is news to many in the business world that high-performing cultures do not just happen, because they give no hint of lifting a finger to build one. No matter what business you are in, you are in the business of people, people who make possible the other business you're in. At least until the robots completely take over.
High-performance cultures pay dividends right at the front end of the talent management process by attracting the talent that thrives in a high-performing environment. High performers who somehow enter a low-performance culture are recognized by that culture's immune system and rejected in a foreign-body reaction - resulting in either conversion of high performer to a tolerable low performer or, more likely, departure of the high performer. Similarly, low performers who fake their way into a high-performing culture will usually leave of their own accord due to the unreasonable expectations of their peers that they would be high performers, too.
After hiring a high-potential employee, the next step in the people business is onboarding that employee so he/she is enabled to function effectively in his/her job. This investment in a successful embarkation by a new hire is surprisingly uncommon; the prevailing wisdom being something along the line of "We hired a smart person. He/she will figure things out". Risk management is a discipline not often deployed at this juncture.
As employees settle in to their jobs, true talent managers take pains to keep them from settling into complacency by fostering their development with new challenges and growth opportunities. The psychology of optimal experience was described in the book, Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as occurring when the challenge at hand is an achievable stretch from current competencies. When asked their preference, most will say, "Easy". In fact, though, easy is not very satisfying; people are much more likely to find satisfaction in achieving something via effort and learning.
Last but not least on the trail to high performance is performance. Many of us got our start in performance management by way of parenthood, and many of us got on the wrong track early. That primal instinct to catch them doing something wrong and correct that wrong behavior with negative consequences never quite seems to lead to the more desirable, self-motivated behaviors we had in mind. Yet we persist with our punishments, and they persist with their bad behaviors. It seems that only by becoming grandparents do we learn to delight in catching them doing something right and combine positive consequences for the good behaviors with patience for the rest.
We are beginning to recognize that the most significant positive consequences of doing good work are the opportunities for a sense of accomplishment at something worthwhile. One of the very best things we can do in the business of people is to frame their work as meaningful and then support their efforts with coaching, training, removing obstacles... facilitating their means of achieving valued results.