Episode 70: Help People Be Their Best Selves with Bill McLellan

Bill McLellan is a specialist generalist. He has worked on the human and financial side of the business. Specialist generalist means combining the skills of a generalist, covering a broad range of skills while also being able to drill down on necessary details.

People trade with emotion and not just around finances. Analytics permit businesses to examine where people can best fit into the organisation and be their best self.

Introducing analytics and technology does help the workforce to be more humanised. The reason is that the more leaders know about people, the better they are positioned to help the individual self-actualise. 

Individuals are usually technically competent in a basket of areas. How the conveyance and leverage of these skills are deployed in the workplace or with clients comes down to the behaviour of people and the relationships or interactions.

Culturally similar individuals in an organisation are a great start. How does a person operate in specific conditions? E.g. in a group of accountants who are the best suited to a particular organisation.

"The Great Retention" is a  better topic than the recent "Great Resignation" focus. Focus on the positive, which is how to retain people. Curated professional development content is one initiative that can help people feel valued in an organisation.

Promoting and developing from within is much more positive than just hiring in for future requirements. Having more data on employees can allow more possibilities. The skills gaps and the required training can be used to give current employees more growth and opportunities.

The Future You

Employees are typically very good at certain roles. In the future, a more human element is required. This is the opportunity. Amplify the basics and how people show up in a different job function.

The skills need to be aligned. People come to work because they want to be fulfilled and emotionally connected on the journey. A rich array of tools allow companies to increase the focus on having a more fulfilled workforce. There is a corporate and individual responsibility.

Even with all the available data, there is still a chance of misalignment. The tools are powerful but not fail-proof. The permutations are almost endless when dealing with people.

In summary:

  • The overall goal is to help people be their best selves.

  • Augment: People's skills so that their value increase

  • Appropriateness: people need to act, think and behave in line with the culture.

  • Create space: There are people already in the organisation who can be retained and developed using curated professional development.

  • Amplify: Potential is optimised by focusing on the individual and their purpose.

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