Unwrapping Talent: Are You Top Talent?

This is a big question, but we have never shied away from big topics on LinkedIn. This is where we all go to network professionally, to lay down our thoughts and seek guidance and feedback on these thoughts in our respective industries. As a Talent professional, I personally think there are more people willing to call themselves Champions rather than "in training". People more willing to speak than listen. Hands up- I am a Talent specialist in training and I am looking to hear from you. I am constantly learning new things, being guided by professionals with diverse strengths and trying to keep my finger on the pulse that is the talent industry.

So I am going to start a new blog with the focus on Defining Talent. A phrase that seems to be steeped in mystery. If you can find talent effectively you are celebrated as a guru, a wizard but, as we all know, there is so much more to talent than just finding it. So, in true Irish fashion, I would like to start from the end. Defining the Talent you already have!

Let’s get this out of the way first; Statistically speaking, We are not all special and it is impossible for us all to be special at the same time. 20% of a company is responsible for 80% of its profitability. This is a well-known rule which means, in monetary terms, the top 20% would be considered special and top talent. Does this mean that the other 80% should rest on their laurels? The exact opposite, for a company to remain competitive and combat stagnation the 80% need to be better than their competitions 80%, as does those in their top 20%. 

This is why it is so important that the top 20% are mentoring, managing, and generally improving those around them. At GroupM we do this through multiple collaborative events, such as Speed Mentoring and panel discussions, throughout the year. It is worth noting that there is fluid movement in these sections, with people from the 80% moving up to the 20% and vice versa. Maybe I should have started this section by saying, we are not all special… yet

This means that the fundamentals of the “getting ahead” mentality that tends to plague us as competitive individuals and the “getting along” attitude needed for a cohesive and successful business is covered for all levels.  

To think of this in one of my favourite topics, movies, I would like you to think of a movie with a large ensemble cast of “A-listers”. With limited screen time for character development and ego boosting, the 20% can make even the most seasoned Director and Screenplay Writers role a nightmare. For example, the original X-Men movies supposedly had to battle with the on screen demands of the talented Halle Berry, who insisted that her character Storm become more of a centralised focus of the plot, given her more screen time off the back of her Academy Award win for Monster’s Ball.

I wonder how the other 20% felt about this, remember that she was not the only Oscar winner on set of a cast that boasted, Sir Ian McKellan, Sir Patrick Stewart, an up-and-coming Hugh Jackman, Oscar winner Anna Paquin and James Marsden to name just a few. I also wonder how this steered the narrative of these original X-Men movies, which did such a bad job on its third outing that the new movies practically had to go into the past to “delete” history. 

In comparison, the Marvel Avengers films seem to be doing an absolutely stellar job at ensuring the acting talent, the 20 and 80 percentile, are well balanced with no character or actor given control of this billion dollar franchise (when Terrence Howard, the original War Machine tried to gain more screen time and money that the star, Robert Downey Jr, he was replaced by the incredibly talent Don Cheadle). This attitude seems to have led to a natural bonding, with Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Chris Hemsworth all taking on the role of mentors to those who join their small Marvel family. As Infinity War breaks next week there is a lot of speculation of some of the top 20% bowing out, with the 80% willing and able to take the step, jump and web sling in to the top spots thanks to this cohesive “getting along” attitude that has been instilled since day one.

Now out of the world of supers and in to the world of the talent hero looking to “define talent”. We need to define our 80 & 20 percentile in our organisation. We need to see how they equate to our competition. When hiring, are you taking a 20% from one company for them to step in to your 80% group or vice versa? As you can imagine, this will impact their transition! Thor is a big fish in the Asgard pond but in a fight to save the universe he is a well-placed mechanism for change in a collaborative team, unable to do it alone.

This process needs to be managed with delicate care because only if we see the chance of us truly “getting ahead” (such as High Potential programmes like the one run by GroupM University) in our personal objectives will we perform as collaborative as possible and embody the “getting along” values needed to stay ahead of the competition.

I, happily and contently am in the 80% with an amazing 20% that mentor, manage and open my mind to the possibilities around me. I am not special... yet.

So, be honest with yourself are you the 20 or 80%?

*As always, thoughts and insights are my own. The 80/20, also known as Pareto distribution, is a well known mathematical rule and well worth investigating if you have never heard it before.

Pictures from Unsplash, GroupM Speed Mentoring event and Marvel celebrating Ten years.