If intellectual capital drives today's knowledge economies, this brings with it an increased dependence on the highly talented people who generate it. How can you lead people who know their worth, are organizationally savvy, ignore corporate hierarchy, expect instant access, are well connected, have a low boredom threshold, and most likely will not thank you?

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Leading Top Talent
Olivier Serrat
2013

2. The Best at Something
These days, it is no longer enough to be good at a number of
things: one must be the best at something. And so, it is time to
make the most of those who, typically with creativity and
innovation, do the work that matters most.
Talent is a marked innate ability, aptitude, or faculty for
achievement. Since there are many possible productive
applications, organizations should formulate their own
definitions of what talent and talent management are.
On the other hand, top talent begs no interpretation (even if it
cannot be perfectly identified): it is the natural hallmark of the
"clevers" whose recurring individuality infuses performance
with a distinctive (and not infrequently disruptive) dimension.

3. The Need for Top Talent
If intellectual capital drives
today's knowledge
economies, this brings with
it an increased dependence
on the highly talented
people who generate it.
Top talent is those
individuals who have the
potential to create and
deliver disproportionate
amounts of value from the
resources made available to
them and are therefore of
most value to an
organization.

4. The Work of Top Talent
• Study and understand what their
talents are, this being distinct from
what they can learn.
• Make resolutions and set goals to
strengthen themselves.
• Implement talent development
projects and mark out daily, weekly,
and monthly indicators of progress.
• Re-strategize based on emergent
learning.
• Take time to salute their own
efforts, steps, and attainments.
Top talent does not
just happen. From a
combination of
genes and physical
and social
development, top
performers come
into being because
they:

5. The Quirks of Top Talent
Top talent think that the leaders of an organization are
beholden to them, not the other way around.
Top talent has loyalties to other institutions. This gives it a
sense of independence.
Top talent sees itself as a leader: it wants to be treated as
such.
Because of its special value to the organization, top talent
usually feels entitled to privileges.

6. Leading Clever People
How can you lead people who know their worth, are
organizationally savvy, ignore corporate hierarchy, expect
instant access, are well connected, have a low boredom
threshold, and most likely will not thank you?

7. Leading Clever People
Of course, one cannot lead top talent hands on. But one can
be a guiding force that provides sociability, infrastructure,
credibility, resources, and rewards. One should assign real-
world challenges with constraints, talk straight, describe
what but not how, make time for questioning, give means
and space, encourage failure to maximize learning, protect
"clevers" from the rain, offer recognition and amplify
achievements, and recruit more talent. If, some will say, this
could apply to any segment of personnel, the fact that it still
does not underscores how far we have to go before we can
really talk about learning organizations.

8. Further Reading
• ADB. 2009. Harnessing Creativity and Innovation in the
Workplace. Manila. www.adb.org/publications/harnessing-
creativity-and-innovation-workplace
• ——. 2010. A Primer on Talent Management. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/primer-talent-management
• ——. 2010. Sparking Innovations in Management. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/sparking-innovations-
management
• ——. 2010. Leading Top Talent in the Workplace. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/leading-top-talent-workplace

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