by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“2016 should be the year for enjoying some of the under-utilized talent in our midst.”

    We’re all attracted to the glitter of the talented silver-pennies out there, rather than unearth the talented silver-pennies that are in our organizations today. Trouble is, we already know the warts and faults of the people within our businesses, which blinds us to particular talents they might bring to given situations. The fantasy of finding Ms. Fabulous or Mr. Incredible in the marketplace is so much more appealing than looking within our own backyard.

Finding Ms. F or Mr. I appeals because we don’t need to spend any time coaching that would interfere with our day-to-day busy work lives. We’ll just switch them on and everything will be fine. Meantime, those hidden silver-pennies within our organization continue to be frustrated by being over-looked. Bearing in mind those true silver-pennies out there could be quite pricey; why not choose 2016 as a year for discovering internal, less-pricey ones. Just look under your organizational-hood.

This writer is privileged enough to be exposed to internal silver-pennies all the time, some of whom have been in the shadows for many years. It’s a reminder about General Ulysses Grant, who, for 2-3 years, was kept under wraps by his commanding General while Grant operated as a more junior cavalry officer. Grant had a number of notable successes on the western front, which included ground-breaking tactics for over-running enemy lines. By escaping with fewer casualties among his own cavalrymen, those tactics would later become new battle lore. However, his General took all the credit for these successes and kept putting Grant “out-to-grass” until he (the General) got into another hole. Eventually, Lincoln saw through the obfuscation and later brought Grant to Washington to command the Yankee army.

How many people in your organization are doing similar heroic deeds, while their executives are taking all the credit? True leaders, more often than not, give credit where it’s due, while managers and other executives are more inclined to embrace any credit for themselves.

So what could you be doing during 2016 to offset this phenomenon? What options might you have for looking under the hood? Some possibilities are:

» Quarterly Informal Contacts – Break away from the demands of your role and office, at least on a quarterly basis, and request an informal brown-bag lunch, on a rotational basis with different teams or sub-groups that are led by your key people. Such meetings should include the lead-executive, who is ultimately responsible for any of those teams, wherever possible.

Go to that meeting with some key, burning organizational questions and watch the reaction of your audience. Use the opportunity to update them on your enterprise’s progress, and then invite them to respond immediately with their thoughts on your posed inquiries; or through after-the-fact e-channels. You may be pleasantly surprised at the reaction.

» Closer Quizzing of Your Key People – As your key executives “toot-their-horns” about some of their successes, throw in questions like: “Who put you onto this?” or “Who else contributed to your success?” See which names come up more frequently than others.

» Create Enterprise Challenge Teams – Put out e-blasts looking for Enterprise Challenge teams to submit proposals for resolving certain organizational situations…for no extra prizes other than the kudos of meeting a particular company challenge. Give them a couple of weeks to submit their initial proposals. Ensure that you acknowledge every proposal in a positive manner and share around the most appropriate one for others to learn from. Meet with the finalists and look into the eyes of these respondents…then you will spot the silver-pennies. (NOTE: Where you get no response to your ‘challenge’, call for an all-hands meeting and express your disappointment at not getting any proposals. Re-brief them on the challenge and ask again for submissions.)

Now that you are beginning to get the point, how should you draw upon any hidden talent that emerges? Again, some possibilities are:

 » Create a Watch List – As you begin to spot these hidden talented players, create an A and B list: where the As are emerging talent and the Bs are future talent. With the As, include them on any special task teams and find them a mentor; although seek their own executive’s support for such a mentor (that mentor may themselves be an A list player). With the Bs, get their executive’s commitment to properly coach and show regular interest in them.

Review your A and B lists every six months, and seek your appropriate executives’ views on their progress at that time. (NOTE: Watch for executives who wish to put such candidates back in the shadows, in preference for their own favorites. Such favorites maybe legitimate talents, but they may also be diversions.) Take people off the lists who don’t show the promise you thought they had.

» Special Assignments – There are always a myriad of special organizational tasks in any given year. These should be given to “pairs” of talented people on your ‘watch list.’ Why do we recommend pairs? Because they are usually the most effective teams in getting something accomplished.

Forget the individual hero approach and opt for “pairs.” Time and again, pairs prove to be much more reliable than individuals. The thought of letting someone else down can be even more powerful than letting yourself down. It also encourages team and collaborative behavior – both hallmarks of the most successful leaders.

Besides, it will give both you and any assigned mentors an extra flavor of each member-pair’s character in working with others.

» Workforce Nominations – Inviting nominations from the workforce in general, for those who deserve special recognition, is another way to unearth talent in the shadows. Peers often notice special dedication or capability, which is not apparent to senior executives. Such people should also be placed on your “watch list,” at least for a period of time, to clarify whether they warrant special attention but had not been previously spotted. (NOTE: Many times people in the shadows are big contributors, but they are too humble to wave their talent-flag. Giving them due recognition, will only encourage them to contribute more.)

Ultimately, when you think about it, none of these suggestions are so remarkable, although they can bring remarkable consequences to your organization if acted upon in a serious way. They are not especially time consuming either because they can readily fit into the normal cycle of events within any venture. More importantly, they can capture the full value of your most important resource; your people.

Why don’t you make 2016 your year for teasing-out talent in the shadows of your organization? Make it a priority over the course of the coming year and see how much more everyone puts their best foot forward; because they know that talent counts…even more so than political savvy.

To learn more about identifying talent in the shadows, talk with: