TORC

Bradley Wiggins wins Tour de France and Olympic gold in the one year

The low point of recent British Olympic experience was in 1996 when the rowers Redgrave and Pinsent won the country’s only gold.

Now however the UK ranks as one of the top performers in the medals league.

So how has this happened in such a short time? What has stimulated the dramatic improvement in performance?

Well a new focused strategy to investment in sport was implemented – this strategy is based on 1. Early selection,  2. Intensive training and 3.  Adequate resourcing. The results have been phenomenal with a sequential improvement in medal haul in 2000, 2004 and again in 2008.

Take cycling as an example – a development plan was adopted to identify talented young cyclists, train them intensively and provide them with advanced facilities and equipment. In 2008 the British cycling team won eight gold medals.

There must be a message here for business leaders – if you want to achieve great results you must invest in world-class talent management.

A broadly similar approach could be taken because the principles are basically the same – it is essential to identify the high performers; those who have the ability and drive to deliver results in the future. These people need to be supported and developed and given the opportunity to step-up to new challenges and careers as they arise. However a good talent management programme will also make certain that ‘stretch’ projects are identified for high performers, even if new roles do not emerge in the short-term. 

If you wish to see some relevant case studies:

1. Delivering on Corporate Strategy

2. Coaching For Performance

3. Career Mobility & Talent Mgmt