Deep dive into talent management & explore the human aspects of a business environment.
Hanne and Svitlana have no guests today and reflect on what the previous ones have said. How is talent management changing in the corona pandemic, and why did our guests keep talking about passion?
What did they discuss, and how did they explore the human aspects of a business environment?
Hanne Lindbæk
So hello, all you ladies and gentlemen out there. So, sweet Svitlana Bielushkina, and I, Hanne Lindbæk, have been creating this podcast, trying to look from the outside in and from the inside out what it’s like to work in a corporation, and what it’s like to work for a corporation on ideas such as leadership, development, talent development, talent management and what the future is going to look like. We’ve covered all kinds of topics from many episodes now, haven’t we, sweet Svitlana?
Svitlana Bielushkina
We definitely have, Hanne. And what a journey we started.
Hanne Lindbæk
Oh, my gosh, I really had no idea where this was going to take us when we started off. I think this is part of why we wanted to share this new format with you, all of you. We are deciding to experiment. And we want to create an episode where there’s actually no guests. Because it feels to me like, in a way, the room is still buzzing with all the guests we’ve had here.
Svitlana Bielushkina
Yeah. And I think we had a discussion with Johanna that we are learning so much; so many reflections and so many interesting angles. So, we wanted to talk a bit more about what we are learning, and what we are learning from our guests who have been present in the studio. But also from our journey inside of those.
Hanne Lindbæk
I think it’s also there is a moment right now. So Svitlana, for actually telling our listeners about the talent initiative that you started this autumn. I know we’ve covered it before. But take us there again, just in your own words. Like, what is it?, what the initiative has been about? And what are you learning as you go into this now.
Svitlana Bielushkina
It was really our internal discovery journey. And we decided to do it very openly, and very vulnerably. Also, we wanted to share with the world what is happening, what we are doing, but also learn from others and see what is happening outside. So we decided to go with, Hanne, you know, to look from the outside, in and inside out and have a meaningful conversation with different people in DT, outside of DT, what do we mean by talent these days? Well, we are transforming digitally. Now what talent actually means, you know, what skill sets are going to be required in the future, and how to help us all of us in the company to be a bit more to be ready for the future.
Hanne Lindbæk
So you actually head up this, you’re in HR, and you’re in Deutsche Telekom.
Svitlana Bielushkina
We just had a guest who says he has the best job ever on this planet. So he is running the show, I can’t say that I have the one of the best jobs in DT but I’m running talent management, I really believe in the people potential. And I’m super excited to have that role.
Hanne Lindbæk
I can really tell just from working with you in these last few months. And it has been so interesting for me to see how you guys have shaped the talent program, and how you have kind of not gone about it because as a matter of fact, this program is initiative, anyone can apply to join, am I right?
Svitlana Bielushkina
Yeah. And we are shaping it still; we are on the journey. So we are not in the destination yet. But yet we are discovering people by being transparent about the roles and requirements we have, but also through opening up and allowing people to self apply. Yeah, so they see that they have the desire the hardest skill sets, they can reach out to us have a conversation, you know, have an assessment, and be invited into the hub, which we really want to use more as our internal sourcing platform for the critical positions of tomorrow.
Hanne Lindbæk
Because there are so many questions out there like concerning talents, really, you know what this has been for me? So Svitlana, the last few months had been educational for me,by stepping into what does the word talent really mean for an organization, and where can it go wrong? And what are the strategic consequences when a company doesn’t listen in to its own talents, and what are the strategic competency like losses when a company doesn’t attract the right kinds of people. These questions are so much more fascinating than I thought they were going to be when we started out. Not that I thought it was going to be boring, but you know what I mean?
Svitlana Bielushkina
You know, I also learned a lot of myself these days. We had Adel Al-Saleh, who is leading T Systems International, in Deutsche Telekom. And we talked about what do we mean by talents. And of course, we have a definition where we say we believe in four A’s. It’s about achievements. It’s about ability for you to thrive and complexity and learn. It’s about your attitude, which is more of a mindset, you know, growth mindset, outward mindset. And it’s about your aspirations, do you really want to? And we talked a bit about talent for what, again, what skill sets? What roles do you really want to, but then Hanne in the next episodes? It’s the passion.
Hanne Lindbæk
Yes. This was maybe my biggest moment with taking all these people from different fields of expertise within Deutsche Telekom into the studio, and then just sitting down to have a conversation about what talent growth, mindset, Talent Management and Talent Search, was going to mean to exactly their department. And then up comes this word again and again. And the word is passion. Like, we didn’t plan for that, did we say Svitlana?
Svitlana Bielushkina
No, we did not plan to talk about passion. I think what we meant in there was more of an attitude that you have towards work. But it came up so strongly, and I was reflecting a lot that it also comes to potentially self awareness, and working on what makes you tick. Yeah. And working on your topic. Again, you know, talent for what, what do you really want to do? Importance of self awareness, understanding yourself, being open for feedback, and also working on yourself. That gives you passion, you become a flow, and you know why you wake up in the morning. And while you go to work every day.
Hanne Lindbæk
Yeah, I just got this picture. Like as if we know, the human zoo that we are, if you don’t show your passion? Well, we are there, we’re all animals, if you have a talent. And if you don’t show your passion for the talent that you have, it actually lessens your talent. And, it will be much harder for any manager or someone who would employ you to actually see your talent if you don’t come forth and have a passion for it. I would also argue probably that, if you are passionate about something, you will get better at it. Would you agree with that?
Svitlana Bielushkina
I was thinking about passion the last days. And by coincidence, I heard Tony Robinson talking about passion behind. And he actually stated that for your success, 80% comes from passion and 20% comes from skill sets. So 80% is the mindset you have towards what you do and the rest of the skill sets. And he also made the statement that passion is a habit, and you can develop it. What do you think of that?
Hanne Lindbæk
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’m thinking that this word, passion, somehow clashes with and it’s still somehow relates to what we’re going through right now with the COVID pandemic. Because I’m imagining now, some kind of tired employees sitting in front of their like, WebEx screens at home going, “Okay, now she wants me to be passionate”. You know, it’s like, I would totally understand that sounds like a bit of a demand to do so. So it is so important that we find our true passion so that we don’t force this, isn’t it? And that we actually go where our passions take us and somehow, I would say we should be able to ask for passion. I think so from our colleagues, from our peers, from our leaders. Would you agree with that?
Svitlana Bielushkina
Yeah, I think you know what you’re seeing on a pandemic, do you have this in authority employee, you know, I’m a mom of two kids, her home school is crazy around here. And you would ask me to be passionate for. But I think that is a moment of truth, when you become much more self-aware about what you stand for. And not need it, things fall apart, and you concentrate on the core. So again, it comes back into self awareness, knowing you saw that, that and knowing your story, and that I can give you the energy gives you the passion.
Hanne Lindbæk
And I also think you know, because I work as a coach, of course, so I’m an external party here and I work as a performance coach and a Communication Coach, and I teach all kinds of people but I do teach some top executives as well as people lower down in organizations. And if I had $1 for every client I’ve had since the COVID, he’d locked down around the world who’s come to me and kind of been more passionate now, because they’ve become clearer about what their passion is. And a lot of the kind of external paraphernalia is like falling away, and suddenly they’re going, I want to pursue my passion. So maybe COVID is also serving that a lot of us are coming closer to ourselves and closer to our truths.
Svitlana Bielushkina
I think there’s truth in what I hear now in the statements, I think we became much more vulnerable, and thus much more sincere, and all of us at the same time equally. So that served a perfect purpose here. But also, I would say also mentioned in the very beginning, the story part, you know, when I go deeper into the story parts, when I’m connecting to people, and I’m having talent conversations, or just have conversations know, what makes you tick, what you’re working on? What are your experiences, you know, what do you want to go next? You know, what’s your next role in here? Very often, I hear stories, and I think there’s something in the ability to tell your story. Why you should buy this product or service from me, why you should buy it and why you should buy it from me, two questions. And I think the same comes to us as people as talents, you know, why should I recruit you? And you know why, you? So in a way, going deeper to tell your story? What do you stand behind and the impact you make? Beyond all the activities you do? Yeah, we do a video recruitment, we do it in our product. We do finance reporting, controlling those activities. But your story behind this, you know, why you make a difference?
Hanne Lindbæk
You know, I find this so fascinating Svetlana, because on the one hand, it feels so egocentric. Like, what is my story? Who would want to know my story? That sounds like meeting people, and start off by you introducing yourself and saying something about yourself. And this is a typical skill you actually need when you’re going for a job interview, right? And so many of us find it so uncomfortable. And as I’ve grown into like my coaching practice, I’ve started asking people, “What, what could you share, that would share your values and your passion and your platform”, so that whoever’s interviewing, you would actually tell your truth. I find time and time again, the moment people do that, something happens, there’s resonance, and some kind of you are remembered in a whole different way. It’s really strange. It’s like a phenomenon where when we do communicate ourselves transparently, you stand out and people will remember you. So in terms of, if you’re trying to get that job, or show your talent or come across, we’re kind of revisiting the same thing, show your passion, and maybe plan even how to introduce yourself, right? Rather than just going all embarrassed and self-aware and going, Oh, I don’t want to talk about myself. Be conscious of what you can share; that will actually show people who you are.
Svitlana Bielushkina
And again, go into self-awareness. Right? Yes, you know, yourself.
Hanne Lindbæk
So it feels like a lot of the stuff that we’re teaching here or investigating, that have to do with talent. Also, development and nurturing talent in yourself or others has to do with this topic of not going on the autopilot, of actually being self-aware and mindful of how you show up.
Svitlana Bielushkina
Yeah. Tell us a bit more about autopilot, because you have many interesting stories and angles, on being an autopilot, honey, and I learned that from you. So every time I read how being much more cautious when I start being lots of pilots. So what does the pilot?
