This week, I had the privilege of attending and speaking at the 2019 CEO Talent Summit held at West Point. In addition to having the opportunity to network with top leaders and retired military strategists, we were given a historical tour of the West Point grounds.
The two days were entirely focused on attracting and retaining top talent.
Nigel Travis, Executive Chairman, Dunkin’ Brands and author of The Challenge Culture, set the tone for the summit by making it clear that the war for talent is the biggest issue facing all companies today. Travis made a cultural shift at Dunkin’ by listening to various junior constituencies. “How often are you sitting down and meeting with junior employees?” he asked. Takeaway: The CEO sets the culture.
Margaret Keane, CEO, Synchrony and Doug Sieg, Managed Partner at Lord Abbett, revealed talent management secrets that actually work, such as, diverse teams are more productive. You must ignite purpose, create loyalty, and build cohesive teams. Takeaway: As a company, you can’t just have a value. You have to live the value.
Bernard Banks (Retired Brigadier General) kicked off the second day of the summit talking about how to accelerate talent development in agile organizations. Takeaway: Managers and management play a big role in leader development, including mentorship, coaching and rewarding for intangibles.
Daniel Jacobs, CEO Avanoo, closed out day two with a discussion about how to ignite change and drive clarity in the midst of disruption. “We know culture is important. We know people are our medium to our long-term success,” said Jacobs. “But we don’t know what to do about it.” Takeaway: CEOs must bridge the gap between what they say and what employees hear by sharing their stories to ignite organizational change.
To be in the midst of these phenomenal leaders was an honor. I had the opportunity to share my insights on finding and building teams that are future-ready and the key factors needed to create and keep a great, high-performance team– talent, skills and community– using a new perspective. Takeaway: The only way to successfully navigate this is to come out of your silos and take an “all hands on deck” approach… which means all of the talented leaders who already know your company so well, communicating and working as a team, with HR. I recommend a collaboration core to anchor this, of your CEO, CFO, CHRO, and the Chief Comm Officer because the success or failure of any initiative hinges on clear, consistent communication.
To be in the midst of these phenomenal leaders was an honor. I had the opportunity to share my insights on finding and building teams that are future-ready and the key factors needed to create and keep a great, high-performance team– talent, skills and community– using a new perspective. Takeaway: The only way to successfully navigate this is to come out of your silos and take an “all hands on deck” approach… which means all of the talented leaders who already know your company so well, communicating and working as a team, with HR. I recommend a collaboration core to anchor this, of your CEO, CFO, CHRO, and the Chief Comm Officer because the success or failure of any initiative hinges on clear, consistent communication.
Book a call to learn more
Imagine being able to focus on your transformative plans and be ready for the next disruption because talent is not an issue.
Book Denise to engage and motivate your audience.
