A leading human resources expert recently proposed
that Human Resources Management or HRM be replaced by a new leadership
concept known as Human Talent Management or HTM in order to realise
both the personal fulfilment of the employee and the success of
the organisation he/she serves.
M.U.J.De Silva, Director - Human Resources, Browns
Group said that a number of successful companies have already adopted
the idea that leadership is the art of managing people's talents
and not just getting things done. He noted that whereas HRM assumes
that people are a resource to be exploited in order to achieve corporate
goals, HTM assumes that people are not resources, but possess resources
such as knowledge, skills and experience. People also have professional
talents and it is with the release of such talent that both personal
fulfilment and organisational success can be realized.
"People are not mere resources, but human beings
with feelings, ambitions and thought power. The effective leadership
will care about managing people's talents, adjust in a flexible
way to various corporate as well as market demands and promote an
organisational climate which tolerates or rather encourages a variety
of mental styles", he stressed.
De Silva also condemned the expression 'Human
Resources' as misleading and dangerous. "People are not resources
and resent being treated as such. Contrary to what managers claim,
people are not human capital", he said."Employees' expectations
have drastically changed over the last few years due to more knowledge-based
business, social transformations and economic evolution. New psychological
needs are evolving in line with the new profile of people entering
the workforce". De Silva said that leaders should be looking at
practical ways to maximise the release of individual, team and company
talents.
"The leader must become a nurturer of talents,
a catalyst in search of synergy", he stressed. He noted that among
the key factors that will determine the effectiveness of tomorrow's
leadership will be behaviour flexibility, mental innovation and
people orientation. He explained that behaviour flexibility would
mean that leaders be extremely sensitive to their environment and
adjust rapidly to its changes. As for mental innovation, he noted
that the ability to interpret reality in original and unique ways
is becoming more and more pressing for corporate leaders.
"They are learning that everything is defined
and too often artificially limited by 'mental programming'", he
pointed out."Nothing is fully known or fixed. Everything is perceived
through a human mind programmed by education, experience and training.
However some mental constructions are more effective than others.
Different situations require different mind reactions. Mental versatility
is therefore important".
De Silva said that with regard to people orientation,
it is amazing how ineffective leaders are at tapping individual
talents within their organisations. "Many employees complain bitterly
not only about how their companies have misused their professional
skills, but also about managers who do almost everything to ensure
that employees do not perform to the fullest of their talents. It
is almost as if leaders are afraid of giving their staff a fair
opportunity to perform", he said." Many leaders have apparently
not yet learnt that their employees are frequently working far below
capacity. They do not realise that an employee's success is also
their own. Employees whose expectations are not met, withdraw and
start to invest their time, energy and skills outside the organization".
De Silva added that in order to prevent such
an eventuality, management should show due consideration to its
employees, ascertain their talents and give them a chance to perform
at their highest level.
