WHAT IS TOP TALENT AND HOW IS THAT IDENTIFIED?

 

 

As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process. Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the thirty-second in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever-present question.

 

Matt Milton is the President for the US at Kyndryl, leading the talented team of thousands of experts across the United States who are helping the world’s leading organizations build strong, secure, resilient and adaptive digital capabilities.

Matt has spent 20 years in the IT services industry, including managing large, multi-billion-dollar global businesses. Previously, Matt served as General Manager, Financial Services Market for IBM Global Technology Services, North America, where he partnered with customers in the financial services industry to leverage data, cloud, cognitive and security to modernize and run their most critical infrastructure.

Matt was also the General Manager for the Communications market in North America for IBM Global Technology Services, and prior to that spent six years in Europe where he had several roles, including the Managing Director of IBM’s partnership with EVRY and General Manager, Global Technology Services, Nordics.

Matt joined IBM in 2002 after earning his Bachelors of Economics from the University of Western Ontario.

 

Please share with us the top five characteristics (in priority order, first to fifth) of the most talented people you have encountered during your career, and your definition of each.  

       

  • Restless: they are never-done. They want to find the next discovery, the next best way, the next advancement. They thirst for growth and enjoy the discomfort that comes with change. These are the people who power progress. They push technology, science, professions, industries, society — and the world — forward.
  • Endlessly curious: the most talented people I’ve ever met don’t delegate understanding. They constantly seek out knowledge and are on a continual adventure of discovery. They are vivacious readers and seem to always have an inside track to all current events, regardless of industry, pop-culture, scientific breakthroughs, and more.
  • Authentically empathetic: literally putting themselves in the shoes of their customers, their employees, their partners, their peers, and their team — these are those unique humans who are in it for the success of others, and feel joy and pain based on the highs and lows of others. In return, they build tremendous trust with those who are fortunate enough to know them.
  • Pure grit: they don’t just do the hard work, they crave it. They seek it out. This is usually at the heart of their exceptionalism.  They recognize progress is not linear and are resilient in the face of the setbacks they will inevitably face. They believe deep down that there is a solution to every problem.  They don’t see roadblocks; they only see speed bumps and they drive around those speed bumps or find a way over.

 

How do you communicate these characteristics to your HR and senior management team?

Communication is certainly important, but character and culture are much more about behaviors and actions. I have the great privilege of being part of a company that is both in its early days and simultaneously well-established with more than 4,000 customers — some of the world’s most influential companies — around the globe.

We earn the right to do this through our daily actions. The characteristics I described are those we know we must exhibit every day to earn the right to be the partner of choice for our customers.

I work diligently to live these characteristics and lead by example. We are in the middle of a major hiring effort and these characteristics are the barometer I use for who we bring into our company and leadership team as we fill hundreds of open roles and seek out new talent.

 

How do you handle challenges to the existing culture by talent you have brought in?

We are building a culture that is restless, empathetic, and devoted to the success of others.  As we bring in new talent through all levels of our business there will be natural challenges to our existing culture. We aim to be open, transparent, and empathetic creating an environment where people feel comfortable bringing their true self to work and pushing every day to get better.  Issues and challenges are raised and discussed, and I believe our culture is enhanced by that. In fact, the new talent we are bringing into Kyndryl is challenging us to move faster in our transformation.

 

WHAT IS TOP TALENT AND HOW IS THAT IDENTIFIED?

As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process. Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the thirty-first in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever-present question.

 

Mike McDaniel is President of Modern Workplace for DXC Technology. He is responsible for DXC’s Modern Workplace business, leading innovation and growth, managing all activities and a global staff, and achieving customers’ expectations.

Previously, Mike spent 15 years in several senior positions at Accenture. Most recently, he was senior managing director for Accenture’s North America sales organization, active in sales origination, customer management, technology and innovation development, and C-suite engagement plans for major transformation programs.

Mike has substantial experience in general management, technology, engineering, business and operations across a variety of disciplines, including technology consulting and sales, global business process outsourcing, logistics, procurement and engineering development and testing.

Before Accenture, Mike held a variety of senior-level positions at Honeywell Aerospace, including vice president, Military Aircraft Aftermarket, Defense and Space, and vice president, System Components and Accessory Services, Aviation Aftermarket Services.
Mike holds an MBA from Bowling Green State University and a BS degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toledo. He sits on the Board of Directors for the Valley of the Sun YMCA and served on the board for Make A Wish Foundation in Georgia.

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WHAT IS TOP TALENT AND HOW IS THAT IDENTIFIED?

As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process. Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the thirtieth in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever present question.

 

Mita Gupta

Mita is Senior Vice President at Globality, a venture-backed technology company which is the world’s only AI-powered marketplace for the buying of enterprise services.  With 20+ years of experience, Mita is an executive focused on building and expanding high-growth, global B2B companies.  She was previously the Global Vice President at GEP, leading growth strategy and vision, business development and solution design across key global and emerging markets including the US, EMEA and APAC. As part of the senior leadership team that generated the highest and most consistent growth rate in the procurement services and technology industry, she also served as the Executive Sponsor for many key client relationships across the Fortune 500/Global 2000.  Prior to GEP, Mita was part of the founding team at Procurian (acquired by Accenture), a provider of procurement business process services to Fortune 1000 companies, and she was a management consultant with Kearney.

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WHAT IS TOP TALENT AND HOW IS THAT IDENTIFIED?

As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process. Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the twenty-ninth in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever present question.

 

Jeff Goldstein is a partner at Monomoy Advisors, an advisory firm that provides financial and operational consulting to early stage and mature companies.  Jeff is a global business executive with over 30 years of broad operating experience building, rebuilding and leading high performing organizations, delivering operational excellence, cost savings and value creating capabilities. Jeff started his career in public accounting with KPMG where he focused on audits of smaller private companies as well as large manufacturers.  He moved from Public Accounting into industry where he became the Chief Financial Officer of a small, privately held distribution company where he was rose to become responsible for all internal company operations.  After joining PWC consulting where he focused on large finance transformation and shared services projects, Jeff developed a strong track record of transforming business operations, implementing enterprise continuous improvement programs, and leading cost transformation programs. Jeff’s experience spans across industries, including life sciences, consumer products, and technology. Jeff built and led shared services and Global Business Services for EMC, Boston Scientific, Newell Brands, and Biogen.

 

Please share with us the top five characteristics (in priority order, first to fifth) of the most talented people you have encountered during your career, and your definition of each.

1) Functional and technical Competence – It might go without saying but I’ll say it anyway.  The most talented people I have observed are all experts in their chosen profession.  No one can pull the wool over their eyes and they can engage in thoughtful deep functional/technical discussions.  Further, they have the requisite experience and skills to set appropriate goals, understand issues and avoid pitfalls as well as relate to other parts of the business.  I say both functional and technical on purpose.  Possessing strong functional skills is important but then bringing the deep technical skills to the table brings the credibility.  This is the foundation on which all else is built. Continue reading

WHAT IS TOP TALENT AND HOW IS THAT IDENTIFIED?

As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process. Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the twenty-eighth in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever present question.

 

 

Peter Allen serves as SVP for Sales & Marketing for Benefitfocus, a leading SaaS solution provider to Employers and Health Insurers for the enrollment and administration of employee benefits.  Benefitfocus is the platform used by over 25 million Americans to engage with the benefits industry.

Leveraging the experiences derived from long career centered on “as a service” forms of contracting, Peter has built and led growth-focused organizations across several businesses.  Notably, Peter was EVP for Global Sales & Marketing for CSC (now DXC) when it was a $17B/year IT services business with a sales and marketing team of 3,000 professionals.  He also led the Global Data Management business for Iron Mountain, trusted by thousands of organizations to preserve and leverage digital assets.

An active learner, Peter was CEO of Data Dimensions, Managing Partner of TPI (now ISG), Managing Director for Alvarez & Marsal, and served on public and private company Boards of Directors.

 

Please share with us the top five characteristics (in priority order, first to fifth) of the most talented people you have encountered during your career, and your definition of each.

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