Increasingly, companies view the ability to manage talent effectively as a strategic priority.1 Yet our research finds that senior executives largely blame themselves and their business line managers for failing to give the issue enough time and attention. They also believe that insular "silo" thinking and a lack of collaboration across the organization remain considerable handicaps. Moreover, executives who think that their companies' succession-planning efforts are deficient don't, on balance, see talent-management processes and systems as the chief problem.
The results of our research—which included in-depth interviews with 50 CEOs, business unit leaders, and human-resources (HR) professionals from around the world—suggest that the obstacles preventing talent-management programs from delivering business value are all too human (exhibit).2 As one leader commented, "Habits of mind are the real barriers to talent management."
Nearly half of the interviewees expressed concern that the senior leadership of their organizations doesn't align talent-management strategies with business strategies. "This is a real blind spot for our leaders—they don't realize the importance and significance of it," commented one HR executive. Furthermore, 54 percent of those interviewed agreed that senior managers don't spend...