[00:00:00] Janet Taggart: When leaders make the right people choices, they are essentially making investments that lead to greater productivity, creativity, and operational efficiency. For instance, when employees feel valued and see a clear career path within the company, they’re more likely to contribute discretionary effort, going beyond their job descriptions to drive innovation and solve complex problems.

[00:00:35] Stephanie Willmore: Welcome to the Leadership Transformations podcast. I’m your host, Stephanie Willmore, accountability coach with Peridot Circle Consulting. In this podcast, we explore real-life situations with the help of our two founders and principal consultants, Janet Taggar and Linda Linfield. Today, we are joined by Janet Taggart.

[00:00:54] Janet specializes in empowering leadership from the inside out, coaching aspiring to executive leaders to become known for their highest value. Thank you for joining us again, Janet. 

[00:01:05] Janet Taggart: Delighted to be here, Stephanie. 

[00:01:07] Stephanie Willmore: Thank you. And today we’re going to be talking about a really important topic related to acquiring talent and developing talent, and how that fits into the bigger picture of driving sustainable business success.

[00:01:22] And leaders have to navigate complex financial and people decisions. And so what are some key financial indicators that leaders should keep in mind related to acquiring talent and balancing financial decisions and people decisions? 

[00:01:39] Janet Taggart: Well, fundamentally, every business leader needs to concurrently attend to two financial indicators that are the foundation of organizational viability, revenue generation, and expense management.

[00:01:52] This affects every business decision, taking into account the impact on both revenue growth and the associated expenses. Leaders who excel at this balancing act can create financially sustainable and growth-oriented organizations. For example, if a company aggressively pursues growth opportunities without managing costs, it may overextend itself and risk financial instability.

[00:02:19] Conversely, if cost-cutting measures are too stringent, innovation and expansion efforts can be stifled. Therefore, leaders must continually evaluate how their investments, whether in technology, talent, or infrastructure, affect both their top-line growth and bottom-line efficiency. 

[00:02:38] Stephanie Willmore: That makes sense. So it sounds like financial decisions don’t exist in isolation. So how do choices about people impact business results? 

[00:02:48] Janet Taggart: Well, in addition to balancing financial priorities and more accurately as part of the same equation, the leader recognizes that people choices can either help or hinder the achievement of business results. A company’s ability to grow, innovate, and compete hinges on its people, how they are developed, how they perform, and how engaged they are in the organization’s vision.

[00:03:14] When leaders make the right people choices, they are essentially making investments that lead to greater productivity, creativity, and operational efficiency. For instance, when employees feel valued and see a clear career path within the company, they’re more likely to contribute discretionary effort, going beyond their job descriptions to drive innovation and solve complex problems. On the other hand, poor hiring or inadequate development opportunities can lead to disengagement, turnover, and a loss of institutional knowledge. 

[00:03:52] Stephanie Willmore: That makes me think of an important issue that we tackle as coaches, or as you work with organizations with Linda, is helping organizations build a strong talent pipeline. So what should business leaders consider when assessing their talent pipeline? 

[00:04:08] Janet Taggart: As an organization grows, leaders also want a better sense of their talent pipeline. They need to balance the talent development plans with talent acquisition efforts. Current employees and managers who are ready and eager to take on additional responsibilities can be great investments, and elevating leadership development efforts is an important strategy.

[00:04:34] People who are invested in tend to build strong, loyal relationships, give a discretionary effort, and stay with the organization. Developing internal talent ensures continuity and fosters a culture of learning and adaptability. A well-structured talent pipeline allows leaders to anticipate future needs rather than reacting to crises.

[00:05:00] For example, if a business knows that a senior leader is retiring in two years, it can begin preparing a successor through targeted training, mentoring, and incremental responsibility increases. By doing so, the transition becomes smoother and the organization doesn’t lose momentum. As we’re talking about a talent pipeline, there’s an example that comes to mind with a business leader that we’ve been working with for the last several years.

[00:05:30] During the time we worked with him, he became a newly promoted executive who needed to prove himself. And to begin to pivot to the strategic relationships across the organization, what he needed was a team at least two levels deep to ensure the work was being completed in a way that would represent him as a leader and the team well.

[00:05:53] He also needed a team that could weather the rapid pace of change so that others across the organization would look forward to working with the team. So we applied our mission, which is to help leaders lead and to help the best leaders become even better. So in the context of the team’s responsibilities, we identified who his key players were and who might be in the future.

[00:06:16] We then recommended a tiered approach depending on the needs of the individual and the team and their future growth needs. For example, his top leaders received individual structured coaching programs to create a shared culture and a language within the team. Being his leaders, they would be able to support that shared culture.

[00:06:40] Those who showed most promise were enrolled in a group program to help assess their interest level and likely aptitude for leadership. This helped to ensure the largest investments were made for those who were really hungry for leadership. Those who demonstrated their aptitude and passion for leadership then received the same structured program as the top leaders, further supporting that shared culture.

[00:07:08] We also offered group trainings for specific challenges, such as communication, and these were offered to the entire team. Again, supporting that team culture and helping that leader to be able to begin to pivot into their executive role. While development takes time, this leader has experienced the support he’s needed to take on important issues and play a key role in the strategic discussions and positively influence organizational decision-making.

[00:07:42] His top leaders have stepped up in a big way, demonstrating resilience, building key relationships, and accomplishing difficult tasks, all aligned with the leader’s vision for how his team needed to work across the organization. And new leadership talent hired onto his team is receiving the same development opportunities, furthering the culture of optimism, professionalism, as these new leaders try to acclimate to a new organizational culture. 

[00:08:15] Stephanie Willmore: I appreciate that example, Janet, because you shared how that organization internally was able to tailor different leadership development resources to help their people develop in their roles and become stronger leaders, and any organization could approach you in that way to help certain leaders, and when it comes to the pipeline, think strategically about what kind of supports they could put in to help their internal teams become even stronger. And so that’s touching on internal development. What about external hiring? How does that fit into the picture of talent strategy?

[00:08:54] Janet Taggart: Well, you know, Stephanie, as wonderful as homegrown talent can be, this strategy needs to be augmented with an external talent strategy. Especially vital to the growing organization is hiring key positions with those who have already excelled in similar or higher-level positions at larger organizations or in places they have already achieved the results that the hiring organization is striving towards.

[00:09:19] The strategy is to hire above the current abilities already found on the team so that when growth is achieved, it can be taken more in stride. In other words, at least some of the other leaders have been there, done that, and are not operating at the upper end of their experience and effectiveness, like homegrown talent may be. Bringing in external talent provides fresh perspectives and expertise that might not exist internally.

[00:09:47] These hires can also serve as mentors to rising internal talent, accelerating their development. For example, a company scaling from a mid-size to a large enterprise may benefit from hiring a seasoned CFO who has already managed financial complexities at a larger company. This hire can implement best practices and guide internal teams through the transition.

[00:10:14] Stephanie Willmore: That’s an interesting perspective about how external hiring plays into how a company or an organization navigates growth. And so, but how does a company figure costs associated with external hiring in their overall strategy? 

[00:10:29] Janet Taggart: While external talent may be more expensive resources to acquire, and they may require a significant amount of time to bring up to speed on the inner workings of their new company, and they may not stay with the organization for a long time, they can have a lasting impact on the organizational learning and capability. The additional time and expense may be well worth the cost in terms of accelerating organizational achievement. The key is to weigh the long-term value against the initial cost.

[00:11:03] Yes, hiring a senior executive from a Fortune 500 company may come with a high salary, but if their expertise leads to a more efficient operations, stronger strategic partnerships, or faster revenue growth, the return on investment justifies the expense. 

[00:11:22] Stephanie Willmore: So it sounds like it’s about striking the balance between internal development and external hiring. So, how would you walk a leader through the steps to take in order to make those strategic talent decisions? 

[00:11:37] Janet Taggart: The bottom line, as you think about your talent strategy inside the basic business growth expense trade-offs, is that you have the opportunity to proactively understand and build your talent pipeline.

[00:11:49] Here are three key steps that will help with this. First, decide who to develop and which positions to deliberately acquire in order to achieve your vision. Leaders need to evaluate their existing workforce, identify high-potential employees, and determine which gaps need to be filled externally.

[00:12:11] A structured talent review process can help identify emerging leaders and areas where external expertise is needed, and also to make the argument or the case for those strategies in support of either hiring or developing internal talent. The second key is to elevate your leadership development of internal talent. Investing in learning programs, mentorship, and leadership training can significantly enhance the capabilities of current employees, providing cross-functional opportunities. Leadership coaching and targeted development plans can make internal promotions much more successful. And the third key is to expedite the time to productivity of the newly hired talent.

[00:13:00] Streamlining, onboarding, and integrating external hires effectively into the company culture can maximize their impact and shorten their adjustment period. Encouraging knowledge sharing between new and existing employees fosters a smoother transition. 

[00:13:17] Stephanie Willmore: Yeah, those sound like three recommendations that are really actionable. So before we wrap up, are there any other recommendations or, um, insights that you would offer HR leaders and business executives about how to optimize their talent strategy? 

[00:13:33] Janet Taggart: I would emphasize the importance of being proactive and intentional talent strategy should not be an afterthought. It should be a core component of business planning.

[00:13:45] The organizations that thrive are those that consistently invest in their people while making strategic external hires to complement their growth trajectory. Regularly revisiting and refining your talent strategy ensures alignment with business goals. The most successful companies create a dynamic, evolving approach to talent management that adapts to market trends, workforce shifts, and business growth needs. 

[00:14:13] Stephanie Willmore: Well said. And we really appreciate you coming on and sharing your expertise today about how organizations can optimize and strengthen their talent strategies. So thanks for taking the time out and touching all this topic. And to our listeners, we invite you to appreciate the experiences that have brought you here to this moment of your life’s journey. And we invite you to stay open to the possibilities within you. You are meant for greater things. Until next time.

At Peridot Circle, we facilitate the growth and transformation of individuals, leaders, and emerging leaders of fast-growing tech-savvy organizations. If any of our listeners are interested in learning more about our approach to leadership coaching at Peridot Circle Consulting and how to help transform how you show up at work, book a consult with us online at peridotcircleconsulting.com. We would love to help you and your organization achieve more than ever before.