Czy koncepcja design thinking ma zastosowanie w zarządzaniu talentami? (wersja angielska)

One could argue that design thinking is just another fancy methodology to serve the universal purpose of problem solving. What are the unique characteristics that make design thinking stand out of from other improvement concepts such as, for instance, six sigma and lean management? I believe in power of facts and figures as well as a time-consuming analysis which ultimately comes to prove a hypothesis under certain assumptions. How did I get convinced to an approach which sees the truth beyond numbers and how did I find it a fascinating methodology to be applied to talent management discipline?

“The design thinking starts with an assumption that the alternative courses of action are ready at hand” [Boland & Collopy; 2004]. The beauty of this innovative concept is that it does not completely neglect the analytical approach but strengthens it with the dose of intuition and creativity, which results in the acceleration of a problem-solving process. It is achieved by a quick introduction of ideas and an opportunity to come back to the right course of actions as soon as a disruption appears.

Learning perspectives of the design thinking process should also be acknowledged. M. Eury indicates holistic, co-creative and human-centred dimensions [Eury; 2012]. I agree with the fact that design thinking examines issues broadly and prevents from reaching fast, inadequate conclusions. It drives cooperation in developing ideas, as learning process is shared by various actors. The main focus is on people’s needs as they are in the centre of designers’ attention, who act with empathy and care while designing. I would develop these perspectives further by indicating the universality and simplicity of the designing thinking concept that allow a learner to easily understand the core assumptions and develop his or her own experience.

One of the examples, where the design thinking could be applied is the set-up of a talent development programme (TDP) for an organization. The common design thinking roadmap includes the following stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test.

The empathize step is to understand the needs of the audience, by asking questions such as: who should be involved in the talent programme, who should be a decision-maker, who will be leading the development assignments and who will own the programme in the organization as well as to whom a TDP should be directed to. The define phase is the moment, when the organisation’s expectations of the TDP are clarified. A programme member’s profile is created with the desired skill set, competences and, most significantly, potential characteristics. The purpose of ideate step is to understand how a TDP can be introduced. This includes a set of decisions on roles and responsibilities, timeline and structure of programme, the geographical extension, the talent acquisition method, evaluation and recognition practices, the development path and career planning after the programme. The prototype phase is a unique component of the design process in comparison to other problem-solving practices. It puts emphasis on how quickly a TDP needs to be implemented while allowing a programme member to take risks via trials and immediate corrections if issues occur to maximize the business benefits. The test phase is all about understanding whether the design process is well-composed to continue or the recalibration is required to make it more efficient, more responsive to business needs.

As a result, the fundamental take-away is not whether or how to use the concept in talent management but why. The reasoning starts from the universal application, user-friendly process and clear structure up to the ability to stimulate free thoughts’ flow, that is so much limited in concepts with strict frameworks and extensive, complex terminology, which usually paralyses the learning process.

Talent management is all about growing people by recognising the potential, understanding needs and developing individual change. Human-centric approach of design thinking shares the same basic assumptions that people are the predominant value in business environment.

Last but not least is the new understanding of innovation, which emerges from collaboration, empathy and creativity. Design thinking is based on human capital, which released from strict rules, drives toward higher productivity and engagement. That is why, the concept is applicable not only to products, but enables the growth of strategies, culture and human dimensions of organizations.

REFERENCES:

1. Boland, R. and Collopy, F. (2004), 'Design matters for management', chapter 1 in Managing as Designing, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 3-18.
2. Eury, M. (2012), 'A journey in design thinking and learning', Training and Development, June 2012