How generals serve as talent management experts

I was listening to a summary of a recent book about American generals.  I have not read it nor am I endorsing it, but the author made some interesting comments about generals in the field and how they decide about talent and strategy.  He reported that one way General Dwight D. Eisenhower, later President Eisenhower, thought about talent was making sure he found the best person for the particular conflict or theater of action.  He looked beyond length of service or status, but instead considered what type of leadership was needed to achieve military objectives.  He gave an example of promoting talent in World War II in the European Campaign.  A special issue for generals in that theater was that they needed to not only have good military strategy and experience, but they needed to be able and willing to coordinate their activities with a number of other allied commanders.  Thus, a successful general in this setting needed to be a team player, understand how to massage the egos of top military individuals from other countries, and still win the objective.

It struck me that this is the same kind of process we often go through at CMA in helping companies and organizations find the best talent.  We need to consider the setting and organizational needs, the short-term and long-term objectives for the position and the organization, and then determine the degree of fit between the individual’s talent set and that role.

I had not considered President Eisenhower as a possible talent management expert, but I may need to reconsider my thinking.  And, I would be interested in hearing about your thoughts on this process and this matter.

Written by: Henry J. Hummert, Ph.D.