Talking about Talent

In addition to these remarkable claims, The Science Daily (2013), notes that 90% of the world's data has been generated in the past two years. In this state of exponential change, researchers also predict that 65% of today's grade scholars will hold jobs that don't yet exist.

This background sets the stage for the I Am Talent workshops facilitated by John Gatherer and Jean Kilner.

Hands-on experience

John Gatherer

Gatherer has hands-on experience of people management having spent 32 years with two of South Africa's well-known corporates, namely Anglo and De Beers.

"My time with Anglo and De Beers spanned an era of dramatic change, both in the corporate structure as well as in South Africa's political landscape" said Gatherer.

Human resource management, labour relations, learning and development, leadership, strategic change management were all areas that Gatherer operated in, culminating in his appointment as Group Manager: Human Resources and serving on the Executive Committee of De Beers from 1999 to 2005.

"Human Resources played a pivotal role in leading the reinvention and renewal strategy when De Beers separated from Anglo in 1999," said Gatherer as the pivotal strategic initiatives of change and culture transformation, leadership development, and talent management were instrumental in the company's strategic stretch goals (BHAGs - Big Hairy Audacious Goals) being successfully achieved.

Before the executive appointment, Gatherer was the General Manager for four years of Maccauvlei Training and Conference Centre, one of the largest training and conference centres in Africa. During his tenure at Maccauvlei, he launched a series of management and executive development programmes in alliances forged with some of the leading business schools in Europe and South Africa. "I travelled extensively between 1995 and 2005 as a result of my global corporate responsibilities and was an active member of the Global Executive Learning network in which I delivered papers at several international conferences, all of which significantly broadened my horizons," noted Gatherer.

Over the last 10 years, Gatherer has been a Co-Founder and Senior Partner of Catalyst Consulting, an Organisation Development company, specialising in strategic change management, leadership development and talent management.

Local and international experience

Jean Kilner

Co-host, Jean Kilner, has also gained extensive local and international experience in the field of talent acquisition, talent management, change management and human resources management. Having worked in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, her exposure has been both operational as well as strategic in the roles of HR/Operations Manager, business owner of an executive search firm, consultant and facilitator within organisational development interventions.

Kilner has a passionate interest in talent acquisition, coaching and winning the war for talent. On the topic of qualifications in an ever-changing technological environment, Kilner said: "Qualifications are essential, not so much for the exact theoretical content that was mastered during the process of obtaining the qualification, but rather the process that the learner went through in terms of critical thinking, exposure to new ideas, application of knowledge and commitment to completing tasks."

In order to gain deeper insights into the I Am Talent workshop facilitators, here are some questions regarding their views on talent.

: You recently co-authored a book with Debbie Craig, entitled I am Talent; bookshops are filled with a variety of books offering advice on how to achieve success in business and commerce. Many of these publications have been authored by industry legends and world leaders. What has made your book so successful and what differentiates it from similar publications?

John Gatherer: Our book, I am Talent, has been aimed at the individual, ranging from senior managers to school leavers and provides an array of perspectives, tools, probing questions and self-help activities that enable the individual to understand their strengths and abilities better, unleash their potential and compete successfully in a changing world of uncertainty, volatility and complexity.

The book has become a bestseller in Africa and has practical appeal to people from all walks of life. Debbie Craig and I have been fortunate to have worked with managers from all over the world, literally from China to Mexico and we were keen to pass on this experience through the book. We have also installed over a dozen talent management strategies within organisations ranging from De Beers, Buckman, Engen, RMB (all global organisations,)Transnet and eThekwini Municipality so we understand what organisations are looking for in talent.

: Workshops offering quick-fix business solutions are also abundant. What insights can an attendee expect from attending an I Am Talent workshop?

Gatherer: We continue to receive rave reviews from attendees in our I am Talent workshops due to the highly interactive and collaborative learning approach that we facilitate.

Attendees are launched on their respective journeys of personal mastery through providing them with a far deeper understanding of their personal profiles, strengths and potential, and stimulating new thinking about themselves. The workshop is a healthy blend of relevant topics, provocative questions, insights from storytelling, group discussions and action learning activities and assessments. All of this provides attendees with a better appreciation of how to develop the coping skills to compete and sell themselves in a dynamically changing world and be the best they can.

: South Africa's general productivity and ability to compete in a global context is often in question. If this is the case, what needs to be done to rectify the situation and how do we go about getting it right?

Gatherer: Learning and personal growth/development is the single biggest differentiator in achieving success in any field of endeavour in the global context. South African organisations need to up their game with regard to preparing and equipping their employees and managers with the skills, capabilities and knowledge to be more effective, competitive players in the global market.

Our company, Catalyst Consulting, is totally committed to this quest and as can be seen from our clientele, we have been working with a broad variety of organisations across the private and public sectors, locally and internationally - making a difference in people's lives.

: Does experience remain an important factor in the business world or does the dynamic nature of the world now lend itself to younger generations with an uncluttered approach to getting the job done?

Jean Kilner: This question is a bit ambiguous because younger generations don't necessarily have an 'uncluttered approach'. When considering generation theory, different generations do things differently due to different exposure. Experience will always be of critical important when it comes to executing tasks and effective decisions; however, experience is not only measured by time, but rather by exposure, by the ability to turn ideas into action, technical savvy and know-how, the ability to adapt quickly and the quality of the experience. It can be said that some younger generations are getting greater exposure in cross functional teams, with a level of immersion that has a greater intensity than older generations.

: You spent several years abroad; how has this impacted on your approach to talent in a South Africa and how does it compare to international standards in today's competitive world?

Kilner: Someone who has talent is usually immediately identifiable, no matter where we are in the world. Someone with talent stands out from the crowd; they have a natural power, flair, mastery of their competencies that makes them stand out.

The concept 'talent' is difficult to define, but my experience has taught me that those who focus on careers that harness their talents are able to have high degrees of success in the workplace, by doing things that come naturally to them. This means that it is critical that organisations ensure that they are able to develop measures in order to ensure that they are selecting the right person for the right role.

From a South African perspective, the more exposure we give our employees, the more we require people to think and do things differently, the greater opportunity they have of stretching their skills and discovering 'talents' that they never even knew they possessed.

: Considering your wealth of experience in the field of talent acquisition, what are the differentiators in the I am Talent approach?

Kilner: The I am Talent approach is to empower individuals to take ownership of their own journey in the workplace and apply tools and concepts in order to gain greater clarity in their own development around personal mastery.

Often, individuals have an insight that there are areas that they need to improve on, but don't always know what pragmatic approach they can take to developing these skills and competencies. I spend a lot of time with candidates around coaching them on truly understanding what differentiates them from others and how they make a difference in the workplace.

So whether you are a school leaver, graduate, employee, manager, business leader/owner, entrepreneur, consultant, coach, career counsellor, educator, an HR practitioner or parent; these workshops are designed to challenge your thinking, create insights, motivate you to action and empower you to accelerate your growth and development within your career - and, ultimately, enhance your quality of life.

As we reach the halfway mark of the second decade of the 21st century, let us consider the words of Charles Darwin: "It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive, but those who can best manage change."

For more, go to www.iamtalent.co.za