Line managers too are responsible for talent management

If you want to excel at talent management, you should be able to make your line manager accountable on  this issue through the performance-management system, says Jaap Paauwe.

At my first job, I was assigned as a management trainee to one of the categories of the Management Development program. I was placed in the management trainee class and there was also a category for the more experienced managers, who were considered high potentials. There was also a category of older managers, who had already reached their ceiling, but who were still offered regular meetings and training sessions.

Many companies still have separate programs for their (top) talent, which is an exclusive approach to Talent Management (TM). Gradually, however, you can see a shift toward an increasingly inclusive approach. After all, everyone has a talent. Of course, each talent is manifested at one's own level, but talent is there to be discovered, nurtured, and developed.