In these demanding times talent development has a powerful tool at its disposal

Article for HSJ by Judith Krichefski, Zenon Associate

In uncertain times when learning and development budgets are being cut, fostering a culture of talent management has become as vital in the NHS as it is in the corporate world.  High performing people are in demand across the marketplace and organisations are striving to maintain peak performance. This demands individuals with a "can do" attitude who are not fazed at the first obstacle or hurdle. How can managers make sure they identify, develop and retain those people with the talent and capabilities required at all levels and that they demonstrate the link between interventions and results? Mental toughness is a concept that can help meet this challenge as it is directly related to performance, behaviour, wellbeing and aspirations.

Mental toughness is defined as "the capacity for an individual to deal effectively with stressors, pressures and challenges and perform to the best of their abilities irrespective of the circumstances which they find themselves. This is vital for future leaders in the NHS. So how do you measure this quality? This personal resilience is assessed through a questionnaire which provides an occupational measure of an individual's mental toughness. Challenge commitment, control (emotion and life) and confidence (abilities and interpersonal) are all measured, with breakdowns for all four components. From this questionnaire several reports are generated:

• An individual development report provides feedback to the individual together with suggestions for action on their development.
• A coaching report provides the manager/coach with a narrative about the person's leadership style and offers suggestions.
• An assessor report can be used for selection or to probe individual scores more effectively.
• A distance travelled report shows where there has been a change in behaviour It is most often used to assess the impact of a planned and delivered intervention such as training, coaching or mentoring.
• An organisational development report indicates trends or patterns within the organisation.