Managing Talent in new economy sectors/knowledge era is radically different from the talent in traditional sectors like Sugar and steel sector.As the nature of output shifts from machines to men,the quality of mind as to mindset,ideation,proprietry processing and possessing cutting edge knowledge shapes the quality of output.The Challange in these sectors is minimising variabilty of quality of output obtained through different minds and yet encouraging diversity of richness and bigness of ideas through a team , collaborating and producing for a common module/service delivery almost like an orchestra as an example to make a point.It makes sense only when all notes through different organs and voice synchronise.Even a single note out of syn from rest jars.
Retaining not only an individual from such a team but the team as a whole to maintain appropriate skill mix as well as individual chracterstics like a winning attitude,consistency,belief in sharing,work discipline (lets call it soft mix of the team) is essential.This is especially true of new emerging areas like digital marketing and SMAC(social,mobility,analytics and cloud) where there is a severe shortage of talent as the growth is rapid in this sector and hence high mobilty for professional .
The key in retaining them individually and as a team,is effective leadership/great coach after all hygeine factors like non heirarchical working,open culture,compensation etc have been met.This evident from all exceptional achievers even from diverse fields like sports,religion,politics and corporates have all show awe for their leaders and coaches, who demand total committment and dedication to a purpose as a prerequisite for outstanding performance and that too consistently.
An example of Mr Narayan Murthy as a team leader holding a committed team of founders of Infosys through difficult times since time of inception for a continuous period of 20 years helped him create an India born global corporation, pioneer in remote IT and ITES services and also being one of the most transparent and ethical organisation in India.
To summarise,the glue that holds together a highly talented team is the soft power of ledearship which generates and maintains committment through example,transparency and an open culture.
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