Our fascination with talent goes back a long way. Homer described the  qualities of  his  heroes with a precision not reached by today’s profiling experts. For instance, Odysseus was brave, clever, quick-witted, and at times too focused on himself. In China, the Han Dynasty introduced an Imperial Examination for evaluating expertise, fit, and moral integrity for government jobs, much like modern assessment centers do today. And for at least 100 years the U.S. and European military pioneered the  use  of  psychological tests to predict the performance of soldiers and generals, as well as their propensity to remain sane during combat. More recently, computer- generated algorithms have been used to match people to the right job in areas as diverse as sports, education, and business.

Fascinatia noastra pentru talent a existat de foarte mult timp in istorie. Homer isi descria eroii cu o precizie greu de atins de catre expertii care scriu astazi profile de personalitate. De exemplu, Odysseus era curajos, destept, ager si uneori prea centrat pe sine. In China, Dinastia Han a introdus un examen imperial de evaluare a expertizei, a compatibilitatii si integritatii morale pentru functiile guvernamentale, examen similar cu centrele de evaluare de astazi. In ultima suta de ani, organizatiile militare din Statele Unite si Europa au facut pionierat in privinta utilizarii testelor psihologice pentru a prezice performanta soldatilor si generalilor, precum si probabilitatea de a-si pastra luciditatea si sanatatea mentala pe parcursul confruntarilor armate. Mai rencent, au fost utilizati algoritmi generati de calculator pentru stabilirea compatibilitatii anumitor oameni pe post in diverse domenii precum sport, educatie, business.

Au trecut mai bine de 40 de ani de cand David McClelland a propus pentru prima data ideea ca cea mai buna abordare pentru a prezice performanta intr-un post viitor este concentrarea asupra competentelor si mai putin asupra inteligentei. Aceasta critica a miscarii IQ se baza pe un fapt bine documentat si anume ca performanta anterioara este cel mai bun predictor al performantei viitoare. Daca vrei sa stii cum va conduce cineva un autobuz, argumenteaza McClelland, aplica-i candidatului un test de sofat, nu-i da un test de inteligenta.

It has been more than 40 years since psychologist David McClelland contended that a person’s past performance, rather than IQ, is a better predictor of future occupational success. This idea prompted HR professionals to focus on creating competency-based job descriptions that helped identify the best candidates. Although McClelland’s insights helped revolutionize the HR industry, they aren’t as relevant in today’s workplace. Here’s why:

Society idolizes the individual – from the star quarterback to the charismatic leaders of the modern business arena. But humanity’s greatest achievements – the Egyptian pyramids and Great Wall of China, the invention of modern medicine, the exploration of the outer reaches of the universe – are the result of collective effort.

High-performing teams can provide an undeniable advantage over the competition. However, most managers will tell you that although it is easy to put together a team with great potential, they rarely perform at their maximum capacity.

Why?

Societatea idolatrizeaza star-urile, de la fotbalisti renumiti la CEOs carismatici ai lumii de afaceri. Insa, realizarile marcante ale umanitatii sunt rezultatul unui efort colectiv.

Echipele cu rezultate bune pot asigura un avantaj de necontestat in fata concurentei. Totusi, cei mai multi manageri va vor spune ca, desi este usor sa alcatuiesti o echipa din oameni valorosi fiecare in parte, aceasta va actiona foarte rar la capacitatea maxima.

De ce?

Between the recovering economy, budget cutbacks, managers (not only HR managers) have a lot on their plates. Following are five of the biggest challenges keeping managers up at night, and what they can do to get back to sleep.

1. How do we attract and select the righ people?

In a SilkRoad survey of more than 850 HR professionals, 51% of respondents said finding people is one of their primary concerns. Fair enough, especially considering our research shows more than half of new employees fail – typically costing their employers more than 150% of their annual salaries. Why is that failure rate so high? Employers are looking for the wrong things in their candidates.

Pe langa grijile legate de evolutia economiei si bugete, managerii (nu doar cei de resurse umane) au si cateva intrebari referitoare la oameni care nu ii lasa sa doarma noaptea. Acestea pot fi grupate in cinci categorii si pentru fiecare exista recomandari cu ceea ce ar putea face.

Interviu cu Thomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Pe masura ce mai multi membri ai noii generatii ocupa un loc in piata muncii, organizatiile trebuie sa isi schimbe strategiile de management al talentelor pentru a se adapta la aceasta importanta categorie demografica.

Am vorbit cu Thomas Chamorro-Premuzic, vicepresedinte de cercetare si inovare la Hogan Assessments pentru a afla cum modeleaza locul de munca Generatia Y (cei nascuti dupa anii ’80).