Talent Camp – Community
Written by Susan Burns
Last week a group of unique people from the talent space came together for the first Talent Camp to delve into transformational work – building the talent function of the future. I’ll get deeper into the ”work” in the next post but I wanted to share something else remarkable that came out of Talent Camp …… community. The mission behind Talent Camp was to bring together a group of smart, passionate people and explore what the talent function would look like if the catalyst behind its “new” existence were a business need. A call to action, if you will, that positions the talent function at the heart of transforming the organization to meet the growing demands presented by the shifts taking place across the business and societal landscapes – driving organizational effectiveness.
The setting on the Oregon Coast was spectacular and a metaphor for our transformational work. A wave is not independent from the ocean just as the organization cannot be separated from the talent that brings it to life each day to drive its success. And, the Coast with all of its remarkable elements is in a state of perpetual change and interdependence. Our meeting place, a 4500 sq. ft. beach house, would serve as a place to open minds and facilitate discussion over the course of 2 ½ days. It would also mean that each of us participating in Talent Camp, who in most cases didn’t know one another, would need to quickly establish a foundation for honest, challenging and meaningful dialogue. We devoted our first evening session to establishing group agreements. 
What time would we begin each day? How much personal time was needed / desired? What was important to each of us in providing an environment that nurtured productive dialogue? What values do we hold around collaboration and communication? And, what would be our comfort level with connecting to the outside world via social media while we were together? This was not an easy conversation. Not because the group was reluctant to discuss it but because their hunger to dive head first into our primary discussion was evident and bursting through, so we took a meandering path. This was time well spent and provided an important foundation that would serve us well over the course of our time together.
What was remarkable was the ease with which the group came together. Every aspect of what would be necessary to be together for this period of time was met with ease. Everyone naturally assumed roles as needed to ensure our shared environment was conducive to being together and immersing ourselves in the work we had come together to explore. Our days were long and our formal conversations began at 9 or 10 am and went until 10 pm. The group’s collective energy created a respectful environment for honest, tough dialogue yet work and play seemed to fuse together as one. We organically found a balance between structure and openness that allowed us to challenge assumptions, wrestle with paradigms, tear things down, and begin again – after all this was transformational work and the path is not linear but an iterative process that unfolds through a process of discovery. People stepped up to lead discussions and everyone stayed engaged and committed to crafting a vision for the future of the talent function, that ultimately led to more questions than answers. There was an ease and a comfort that each person helped to foster through their engagement and persistent commitment to the group dynamics.
Social media played a significant role in how this group came together. With the exception of two people, who I knew, each connection to people attending Talent Camp began with a relationship that grew out of social networking. I do believe that the insight we gain through social networking interactions are quite revealing and in this case helped to bring together a unique group who worked collaboratively to advance a critical conversation around the future of the talent function.
Part 2 of Talent Camp will get into our discoveries and outcomes.
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