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In the July issue of T&D Magazine, I read about an interesting online survey. Recently, more than 1,000 managers and senior leaders were surveyed by Right Management, a well-respected HR consulting firm. The findings indicated that 30 percent of employees left their jobs to seek new challenges or opportunities that were not provided to them by their former employer. Another 25 percent left their jobs because of ineffective leadership and 22 percent cited poor relationships with their managers. The article is titled, "Wandering Eyes: Talent mismanagement increases employee turnover."

To me, this contains a very clear message to organizations: Talent management is not just about how well HR departments do their jobs. It's not just about the technology and the tracking systems being implemented to keep on top of talent issues. It's not just about the training opportunities being offered and the succession plans beingimplemented. Talent management is also very clearly abouthow well managers throughout the organization accept and act upon their responsibilities as talent leaders.

Managers need to see how their decisions, behaviors, and actions impact the retention and development of talent. They need to understand that talent management is all about their relationships with employees, their recognition of accomplishments, their development of employee strengths, their recognition of professional and personal needs, their clarity around the organization's current and future objectives, their involvement as part of the company's overall talent management team, and their true partnership with HR/Personnel in the quest to get and keep the best people.

Looking for ideas on how your managers can improve their role as talent leaders?  Here are a few to get you started:

• Frequently communicate progress on the overall goals of the organization and the individual's impact on achieving these goals.
• Provide both on-the-job and off-the-job learning and development opportunities.
• Create opportunities for your employees to become exposed to other departments and roles within the organization.
• Resist the temptation to hoard your best performers; be an "exporter" of talent.
• Conduct "stay interviews": Regularly meet with employees, especially your high performers.Let them know how important they are to the organization. Ask what will keep them happy and encouraged.

I believe that companies, faced with an ever-increasing array of talent challenges, need to address the mindset and skills of managers around their role in talent management. What would you add to the above list?

In an article titled "Is Business Acumen a Substitute for Leadership?" on www.bestmanagementarticles.com, Bob Selden writes about how organizations are assessing which are more important leadership skills-management or business skills. He states that "in a robust study of actual behavior of managers within organizations, they found that in addition to cognition and interpersonal skills, business skills and in particular strategic skills actually became more important as a manager progressed through the organization." (Study by Mumford, Campion and Morgenson and reported in The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2007.)

Our clients wrestle with this issue every day, and my experience working with them has taught me that in order for a company to succeed, it's not an "either-or". Leaders - and I believe that this means managers at all levels of an organization - need excellent people and process management skills as well as a high level of business acumen - the strategic understanding of the business and the ability to take actions in support of business goals. The combination of the two provides the powerful synergy required of managers in today's complex business world.

I agree with Selden when he says, "Designers and providers of leadership and management development need to focus equally on the development of both strategic business skills and good leadership and management skills." What are your thoughts on the subject or the article? Where do you think that business acumen fits into the leadership skill set of managers in organizations today?

I just read a blog post called "Maximize Possibility" on the Rainmaker Group's blog. It's about the importance of HR professionals acquiring higher levels of business acumen if they want to be successful at leading human resource functions in organizations today. The blog calls this a "shift" in thinking that is being embraced by senior managers who are motivated by the need to recruit, retain and groom employees in ways that impact both financial and business success. According to the blog, "It also reflects a perception that some traditional HR professionals lack the deep understanding of business and financial issues that CEOs increasingly want."

I couldn't agree more!

Having worked with organizations over the years as they've explored the use of our financial literacy and business acumen training program, Zodiak®: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy , I have too often seen people in HR positions demonstrate a serious lack of understanding of -- or worse, a lack of motivation to understand --the "business of the business." Although there are many exceptions, asmore and more HR professionals are becoming quite savvy about business and finance, I still hear things like, "Finance isn't my thing --I'm a people person" or, "I really don't have time to learn about income statements and balance sheets -- I'm not accountable for the financial side of the business, anyway. "Yikes!

Just a few years ago, Paradigm Learning tried to "give" several Zodiak sessions for free to learning professionals at a training association as a way to help them develop higher levels of financial literacy and business acumen. At that time, Zodiak was being used to train managers and employees in over half of the Fortune 500 companies. The association declined, saying that the topic was not as important as other topics on their short list.

Is it important now? You bet it is! If HR is to play an increasingly key role in the business, HR professionals will have to understand the business. That means understanding financial reports, concepts and key ratios, as well as understanding how strategic decisions and actions -- including those involving HR -- impact the bottom line. That's true business acumen.

I welcome any ideas you have about this subject.

In the latest online version of CLO magazine, I read an article entitled, A New Kind of Work Environment for a New Kind of Generation. It deals with training Generation Y'ers and I found one of the quotes very interesting.

Their level of stimulation and what they need to keep engaged and interested is different than previous generations. Training and development has to see that as an opportunity to do things differently. A stand-and-deliver lecture is not going to work with this population. You need to integrate media, you need to address different learning styles and you have to keep it brief and to the point.

We have certainly seen an increase in the number of human resource and training professionals looking for new, fast-paced and multi-sensory ways to deliver important content to their younger generation audiences. That's why the use of discovery learning approaches -- for example, game techniques, high-energy simulations, small team problem-solving activities and integrated auditory, visual and tactile stimulation, are increasing.

If you haven't taken a recent look at the courses you are conductingwith an eye toward refreshing those courses with discovery learning techniques, it's probably a good time to do it!

You have the right content for the right audience, but do you have the right approach? Your learners' experience during your training sessions is just as important as the content, since learners won't learn unless they are fully engaged and committed to the learning process.

At Paradigm Learning, we've found ways to incorporate discovery learning techniques into the learning experience, leading to high levels of engagement and commitment.

For example, when you start a training session, do you start with a bang or a whimper? If it's the latter, you could be losing your learners right away.

Here's an idea you can use in any session:

Make the opening of the session interesting and engaging. At Paradigm Learning, we call this a "power opening."

What does a power opening sound like? Here's a simple example. What if you are kicking off a class on project management for relatively new project managers?

Typical opening: "Good morning. My name is . . . and I'll be your instructor today. Today we'll be covering the important concepts and tools of project management. The objectives for the day will be . . . We will have two breaks and a 45- minute lunch. The restrooms are down the hall. Let's do some self -introductions . . . etc."

Power opening: "Imagine this: it's Monday morning. You've just been assigned to head up an important company project - it's a project that will cost the company a lot of money and is very high profile - and it's time to get started. The VP of sales is concerned about the success of this project and will be a key sponsor. You have a team of six people - five of whom you've never worked with before. You're excited, but you're feeling a little queasy, too. Do you fully understand the project's parameters? How will you manage the project? What tools will you use to be most successful? What communication approach will you need to take? What will success look like?

"Sound familiar? If this scenario is one that you've encountered in the past or one that might happen to you next Monday, you're in the right session! Your questions will be answered because the best practices of project management are what we are here to explore. By the time you leave this class, you'll know how to scope a project, how to best manage people and processes, how to use the most critical tools of project management, and how to plan for and assess success. Ready to learn?"

See the difference? The power opening is simple, but it's a much more involving and interesting way to get your learners ready for the learning experience. You can still cover logistics and session objectives after the opening, but if you do this well - with a little "drama" - you will grab your learners' attention right away and focus the course on what's in it for them.

To come up with your own customized power opening, think about your learners - why would they want to learn the information or skills in this course? What "pain" might they experience that the information or skills can erase? What real-life issues are pertinent to the course content that you can use in the opening to make it relevant?

One more tip: write your introduction down in advance and practice it. That way you can look directly at your audience as you kick off the session with power and drama. Trust me: your learners won't be expecting this kind of opening - and they will pay attention!