TM - October 2007 - (Page 4) [from the editor] by Mike Prokopeak A A Sounds Like Success s a music fan, one of my favorite TV shows in the late ’90s was VH1’s “Behind the Music.” Each week, the hour-long show charted the rise and fall of a musician or group (and, occasionally, eventual rise). The subjects cut across musical genres and eras, from John Denver to Jerry Lee Lewis, Cat Stevens to Aerosmith, and Sonny & Cher to Snoop Dogg. succumb to the pressures of their success, often with tragic results, whether it’s Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain. The reality is that some people are never ready for their success, no matter how badly they want it and how hard they work to achieve it —when it hits, success can overwhelm them. There’s a lesson behind these stories for today’s talent managers. As technology enables a 24x7 work 1990s articulated the looming war for talent and sparked a conversation about the importance of talent in maintaining competitive advantage. As organizations compete for a shrinking pool of talent, the smart ones aggressively recruit key talent but also proactively develop and nurture it. It’s not just about making sure employees have the right compensaRegardless of the subject, the show tion plan or are aware that there’s an HMO and a PPO — smart talent managers need to monitor It’s not just about making sure employees have workforce perthe right compensation plan or are aware formance. that there’s an HMO and a PPO — smart talent managers need to monitor workforce performance. excelled by giving us a nuanced, unblinking look at the pressures of celebrity and how success affected each artist. In many cases, the drive and ability that led musicians to succeed also led to their eventual downfall. From the first episode in 1997, I was hooked on the human drama that played out on the screen. Now, it’s not an uncommon story for stars to fall victim to their success. We’ve almost come to expect it, or at least we’re not surprised when it happens. Taking a look at the tabloids in the grocery store aisle, you might be led to believe our society actually seems to revel in it. Britney Spears, anyone? The spectacle of it all certainly draws us in, but I think there’s a larger parallel that lies at the heart of our interest in these stories — in each of our own lives, we’re driven to succeed in one way or the other, and we’re curious to see how success can change us. It just so happens that in the music industry, this drama is amplified and played out for all of us to see. October 2007 culture and pressures mount for increased results, today’s star employees could be tomorrow’s victims. Success is good, but as our cover story illustrates, it sometimes can be toxic. When workers lose their perspective and fall victim to what Jan Austin calls “the cult of productivity,” the very thing they seek — success — can go from a healthy motivation to a source of frustration and physical and emotional harm. I imagine most HR professionals are concerned about employees’ well-being and want to take steps to improve it. But there’s also an increasing awareness among today’s talent managers that toxic success can affect the enterprise’s health and performance. Successful workers can drive results dramatically, but they run the risk of burning brightly only to flicker and fade as the consequences of their success catch up to them, leaving the enterprise to fill in the gap. It’s no small matter. A landmark McKinsey & Co. study in the late In the cover story, Austin highlights the signs that talent managers should watch for and how they can create an environment that helps employees maintain perspective and manage success for the long term. As talent management rises as the link between individual performance and organizational success, HR professionals need to look after the health of the workforce for its own sake but also for the long-term health of the enterprise. If done right, both benefit. If the relationship is unbalanced, both can suffer. For every negative story in music or elsewhere, there are scores of positive stories. As talent managers, the job is to cultivate the good kind of success and minimize the bad. What are you doing to cultivate your organization’s success? Send me a note at mikep@TalentMgt.com. Each generation has its stars who Mike Prokopeak Editorial Director mikep@TalentMgt.com 4 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.