Developing Future Leaders: The Contribution of Talent Management

Talent management is more than human resource management, leadership development initiatives or succession planning. It is the collective approach to recruiting, retaining and developing talent within the organisation for its future benefit, and extends beyond the domains listed above to include strategy, organisational culture, and change management. While much has been written in the form of ‘how to do’ and ‘10 steps to talent management’, the picture emerging is more complex than that. Drawing on a series of indepth case studies into the talent management processes of seven complex, multinational organisations, this chapter looks at some of the key issues that seem to underpin talent management processes in organisations and questions whether they are actually achieving what they intend. Key dimensions emerged from the case studies which required decisions to be made with regard to the organisations development approach, assessment, and implementation plans. While organisations make their decisions for a normative outcome, a number of critical questions arise which underpin the whole field of talent management. For example, is talent management just another fad which will not actually improve business results? Is talent management just a rebranding of traditional HR management practices?