The world is made up of C players \u2013 those where are totally average in performance. Let\u2019s face it, most of us have to be C players, and your organization will always be made up of them. However, even though someone has to be average, we can always hope that the average keeps getting better. In part, this has to do with talent management and trying to improve the entire workforce in incremental amounts. But it\u2019s equally important to focus on the C player as it is to focus on the A\u2019s and B\u2019s.<\/p>\n
C players\u2019 mediocre performance pulls down their company\u2019s performance by:<\/p>\n
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- blocking talented employees\u2019 advancement,<\/li>\n
- calling their bosses\u2019 judgment into question,<\/li>\n
- encouraging a C-player mentality in others, and<\/li>\n
- repelling valuable people. ((Axelrod, Beth, Handfield-Jones, Helen and Michaels, Ed. January, 2002. \u201cA New Game Plan for C Players\u201d Harvard Business Review.))<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n
HBR\u2019s approach to C players includes many interesting tactics, but I found their \u201ctalent management must haves\u201d quite interesting.<\/p>\n
In order to cultivate managerial talent at all levels of the company, leaders should adhere to the following five imperatives, which distinguish high-performing companies from average ones. The imperatives are the subject of our book, The War for Talent.<\/p>\n
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- Embrace a talent mind-set, and make talent management a critical part of every manager\u2019s job.<\/li>\n
- Create a winning \u201cemployee value proposition\u201d that provides a compelling reason for a highly talented person to join and stay with your company.<\/li>\n
- Rebuild your recruiting strategies to inject talent at all levels, from many sources, and to respond to the ebbs and flows in the talent market.<\/li>\n
- Weave development into the organization by deliberately using stretch jobs, candid feedback, coaching, and mentoring to grow every manager\u2019s talents.<\/li>\n
- Differentiate the performance of your people, and affirm their unique contributions to the organization. The fifth imperative includes and goes beyond dealing explicitly with low performers. It addresses the broader need to differentiate the strong players from the weak players in a company\u2019s entire talent pool, and it implies the need to invest in and grow A and B performers. ((Ibid))<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n