Talent Assessment – Easy Peasy?
By Michelle Malay Carter on May 6, 2010
It’s?easy to walk on water when you know where the rocks are.??? –? Gerry Kraines
I’ve found that managers are highly capable of assessing the relative cognitive capability (by work level) of their employees when they are given a work levels framework.
People Are Different, and It’s Not Just about Experience and Education
If you are an experienced?manager of multiple people, you know there are differences in mental bandwidth, and this characteristic is irrespective of years of experience, education, training and skill sets.? Meaning, there are assignments you would give to one employee, that you would not give to another, and the bigger assignment does not always go to the employee with more experience or more education.? So what makes the difference?? I would argue it is their current problem solving capability (which increases over time but at different rates in individuals).
The Theory Base
Elliott Jaques, who discovered this phenomenon and incorporated it into his Requisite Organization meta-model, called this capability, complexity of information processing.? It’s the way that?one groups, massages, chews on, and uses information to solve problems, i.e. work.? Think mathematics.? First I add single digits.? Then double.? I move on to subtraction, multiplication, division and then algebra.? If you try to teach these subjects before the student is ready, it doesn’t “compute”.
In my next post, I will begin to spell out what problem solving looks like at the different levels.? With these rocks visible, you may be able to walk on talent assessment water farily quickly.
I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.
Filed Under High Potential, Managerial Leadership, Requisite Organization, Talent Management, Work Levels
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