In this chapter, we identify four different approaches to inclusive TM - a concept that is increasingly advocated for by both academics and practitioners but has so far lacked clarity and actionability. The four approaches are (1) focusing on potential and strengths rather than talent and gifts, (2) increasing the size of the talent pool, (3) defining a broader range of talent domains, and (4) topgrading the entire organization. We propose that exclusive and inclusive TM (co-)exist on a continuum rather than as dichotomies and develop a decision tree for organizations and researchers to determine which custom approach might best fit their talent philosophy.
Adebola, S., Swailes, S. & Handley, J. (2015). Conceptualization and evaluation of talent management: Evidence from the UK private sector. Working paper submitted to the Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation track of the 16th UFHRD Conference, University College Cork, June.
Altman, Y. (1997). The high-potential fast-flying achiever: Themes from the English language literature 1976–1995. Career Development International, 2(7), 324–330.
Bélanger, J. & Gagné, F. (2006). Estimating the size of the gifted/talented population from multiple identification criteria. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 30(2), 131–163.
Blume, B.D., Rubin, R.S. & Baldwin, T.T. (2013). Who is attracted to an organisation using a forced distribution performance management system? Forced distribution systems. Human Resource Management Journal, 23(4), 360–378.
Bonneton, D., Festing, M. & Muratbekova-Touron, M. (2020). Exclusive talent management: Unveiling the mechanisms of the construction of an elite community. European Management Review, 17(4), 993–1013.
Briscoe, D. (2008). Talent management and the global learning organization. In Vaiman, V. & Vance, V. (eds.), Smart Talent Management: Building Knowledge Assets for Competitive Advantage. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 195–216.
Buckingham, M. & Clifton, D.O. (2001). Now, Discover Your Strengths. New York: Gallup Press. 2001. https://library.macewan.ca/library-search?adv=&query=Buckingham%20Clifton&sf=au.
Church, A.H., Rotolo, C.T., Ginther, N.M. & Levine, R. (2015). How are top companies designing and managing their high-potential programs? A follow-up talent management benchmark study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 67(1), 17–47.
Cohen, W.M. & Levinthal, D.A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128–152.
Collings, D.G. & Mellahi, K. (2009). Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 19(4), 304–313.
De Boeck, G., Dries, N. & Tierens, H. (2019). The experience of untapped potential: Towards a subjective temporal understanding of work meaningfulness. Journal of Management Studies, 56(3), 529–557.
Downs, Y. & Swailes, S. (2013). A capability approach to organizational talent management. Human Resource Development International, 16(3), 267–281.
Dries, N. (2013). The psychology of talent management: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 272–285.
Dries, N. (2022). What’s your talent philosophy? Talent as construct vs. talent as phenomenon. In Collings, D.G., Vaiman, V., & Scullion, H. (eds.), Talent Management: A Decade of Developments. Bingley: Emerald Publishing, pp. 19–37.
Dries, N. & De Gieter, S. (2014). Information asymmetry in high potential programs: A potential risk for psychological contract breach. Personnel Review, 43(1), 136–162.
Eichenwald, K. (2005). Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story. New York: Broadway Books.
Fiske, S.T. (2011). Envy Up, Scorn Down: How Status Divides Us. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Gagné, F. (1983). Douance et talent: Deux concepts à ne pas confondre. Apprentissage et Socialisation, 6(3), 146–159.
Gagné, F. (1985). Giftedness and talent: Reexamining a reexamination of the definitions. Gifted Child Quarterly, 29(3), 103–112.
Gagné, F. (1993). Sex-differences in the aptitudes and talents of children as judged by peers and teachers. Gifted Child Quarterly, 37(2), 69–77.
Gagné, F. (2000). How many persons are gifted or talented? Understanding Our Gifted, 12(2), 10–13.
Gagné, F. (2004). Transforming gifts into talents: The DMGT as a developmental theory. High Ability Studies, 15(2), 119–147.
Gagné, F., Bélanger, J. & Motard, D. (1993). Popular estimates of the prevalence of giftedness and talent. Roeper Review: A Journal on Gifted Education, 16(2), 96–98.
Gallardo-Gallardo, E., Dries, N. & González-Cruz, T.F. (2013). What is the meaning of “talent” in the world of work? Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 290–300.
Gallardo-Gallardo, E., Nijs, S., Dries, N. & Gallo, P. (2015). Towards an understanding of talent management as a phenomenon-driven field using bibliometric and content analysis. Human Resource Management Review, 25(3), 264–279.
Gardner, H. (1990). Developing the spectrum of human intelligences. In Hedley, C.N., Houtz, J., & Baratta, A. (eds.), Cognition, Curriculum, and Literacy. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing, pp. 11–19.
Gelens, J., Dries, N., Hofmans, J. & Pepermans, R. (2013). The role of perceived organizational justice in shaping the outcomes of talent management: A research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 341–353.
Ghielen, S.T.S., Woerkom, M. van & Meyers, M.C. (2018). Promoting positive outcomes through strengths interventions: A literature review. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(6), 573–585.
Gill, C. (2002). Two-dimensional HRM: Limitations of the soft and hard dichotomy in explaining the phenomenon of HRM. RMIT Working Paper, 4.
Gladwell, M. (2002). The talent myth: Are smart people overrated? Market Leader, 18(1), 34–40.
Grant, R.M. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 109–122.
Groysberg, B., Nanda, A. & Nohria, N. (2004). The risky business of hiring stars. Harvard Business Review, 82(5), 92–100.
Haesli, A. & Boxall, P. (2005). When knowledge management meets HR strategy: An exploration of personalization-retention and codification-recruitment configurations. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(11), 1955–1975.
Hirsch, F. (1977). Social Limits to Growth. London: Routledge.
Hirsch, P.B. (2021). The great discontent. Journal of Business Strategy, 42(6), 439–442.
Hjordrup, S.K., Minbaeva, D. & Jensen, S.H. (2015). The value of talent management: Rethinking practice, problems and possibilities. Copenhagen Business School.
Ho, V.T. (2005). Social influence on evaluations of psychological contract fulfillment. The Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 113–128.
Huselid, M.A., Beatty, R.W. & Becker, B.E. (2005). A players or A positions? Harvard Business Review, 83(12), 110–117.
Iles, P., Chuai, X. & Preece, D. (2010). Talent management and HRM in multinational companies in Beijing: Definitions, differences and drivers. Journal of World Business, 45(2), 179–189.
Iles, P., Preece, D. & Chuai, X. (2010). Talent management as a management fashion in HRD: Towards a research agenda. Human Resource Development International, 13(2), 125–145.
Leigh, A. (2009). Research topic: Talent management. People Management, 15(16), 33.
Lepak, D.P. & Snell, S.A. (1999). The human resource architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. The Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 31–48.
Lepak, D.P. & Snell, S.A. (2002). Examining the human resource architecture: The relationships among human capital, employment, and human resource configurations. Journal of Management, 28(4), 517–543.
Lewis, R.E. & Heckman, R.J. (2006). Talent management: A critical review. Human Resource Management Review, 16(2), 139–154.
Linley, P.A. & Harrington, S. (2006). Playing to your strengths. The Psychologist, 19(2), 86–89.
Lombardo, M.M. & Eichinger, R.W. (2000). High potentials as high learners. Human Resource Management, 39(4), 321–329.
Malik, A.R. & Singh, P. (2014). ‘High potential’ programs: Let’s hear it for ‘B’ players. Human Resource Management Review, 24(4), 330–346.
Marescaux, E., De Winne, S. & Sels, L. (2013). HR practices and affective organisational commitment: (When) does HR differentiation pay off? Human Resource Management Journal, 23(4), 329–345.
McCall, M. (1994). Identifying leadership potential in future international executives: Developing a concept. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 46(1), 49–63.
Meyers, M.C. & van Woerkom, M. (2014). The influence of underlying philosophies on talent management: Theory, implications for practice, and research agenda. Journal of World Business, 49(2), 192–203.
Meyers, M.C., van Woerkom, M., Paauwe, J. & Dries, N. (2020). HR managers’ talent philosophies: Prevalence and relationships with perceived talent management practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(4), 562–588.
Michaels, E., Handfield-Jones, H. & Axelrod, B. (2001). The War for Talent. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Mitroff, I.I. & Denton, E.A. (1999). A study of spirituality in the workplace. Sloan Management Review, 40(4), 83–92.
Morgan, K. (2021). The Great Resignation: How employers drove workers to quit. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employ
ers-drove-workers-to-quit.
Nijs, S., Dries, N., Van Vlasselaer, V. & Sels, L. (2022). Reframing talent identification as a status-organising process: Examining talent hierarchies through data mining. Human Resource Management Journal, 32(1), 169–193.
Nijs, S., Gallardo-Gallardo, E., Dries, N. & Sels, L. (2014). A multidisciplinary review into the definition, operationalization, and measurement of talent. Journal of World Business, 49(2), 180–191.
Noon, M. (2010). The shackled runner: Time to rethink positive discrimination? Work, Employment and Society, 24(4), 728–739.
Nussbaum, M.C. (2012). Capabilités: Comment créer les conditions d’un monde plus juste? Paris: Climats.
O’Connor, E.P. & Crowley-Henry, M. (2019). Exploring the relationship between exclusive talent management, perceived organizational justice and employee engagement: Bridging the literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 156(4), 903–917.
Pepermans, R., Vloeberghs, D. & Perkisas, B. (2003). High potential identification policies: An empirical study among Belgian companies. Journal of Management Development, 22(8), 660–678.
Peters, T. (2006). Leaders as talent fanatics. Leadership Excellence, 23(11), 12–13.
Pfeffer, J. & Sutton, R.I. (2006). The real brain teaser. People Management, 12(8), 28–30.
Philpot, S. & Monahan, K. (2017). A data-driven approach to identifying future leaders: Rather than just relying on the subjective opinions of executives, some companies are using assessment tools to identify high-potential talent. MIT Sloan Management Review, 58(4). https://library.macewan.ca/full-record/cat00565a/9120831.
Pierce, J.L. & Gardner, D.G. (2004). Self-esteem within the work and organizational context: A review of the organization-based self-esteem literature. Journal of Management, 30(5), 591–622.
Pierce, J.L., Gardner, D.G., Cummings, L.L. & Dunham, R.B. (1989). Organization-based self-esteem: Construct definition, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 32(3), 622–648.
Prahalad, C.K. & Hamel, G. (1990). The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 79–91.
Renzulli, J.S. (2005). Applying gifted education pedagogy to total talent development for all students. Theory Into Practice, 44(2), 80–89.
Roberts, L.M., Dutton, J.E., Spreitzer, G.M., Heaphy, E.D. & Quinn, R.E. (2005). Composing the reflected best self-portrait: Building pathways for becoming extraordinary in work organizations. The Academy of Management Review, 30(4), 712.
Roussillon, S. (2002). Perspectives from a clinical psychologist. In Derr, C.B., Roussillon, S. & Bournois, F. (eds.), Cross-Cultural Approaches to Leadership Development. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, pp. 261–288.
Scheffler, I. (1985). Of Human Potential: An Essay in the Philosophy of Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York: Free Press.
Silzer, R. & Church, A.H. (2009a). The pearls and perils of identifying potential. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 2(4), 377–412.
Silzer, R. & Church, A.H. (2009b). The potential for potential. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 2(4), 446–452.
Silzer, R. & Church, A.H. (2010). Identifying and assessing high potential talent: Current organizational practices. In Silzer, R. and Dowell, B.E. (eds.), Strategy Driven Talent Management: A Leadership Imperative. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 213–280.
Slan-Jerusalim, R. & Hausdorf, P.A. (2007). Managers’ justice perceptions of high potential identification practices. Journal of Management Development, 26(10), 933–950.
Smart, B.D. (2012). Topgrading: The Proven Hiring and Promoting Method That Turbocharges Company Performance. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.
Smart, B.D. & Smart, G.H. (1997). Topgrading the organization. Directors & Board, 21(3), 22–28.
Sparrow, P., Scullion, H. & Tarique, I. (eds.) (2014). Strategic Talent Management: Contemporary Issues in International Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spreitzer, G.M., McCall, M.W. & Mahoney, J.D. (1997). Early identification of international executive potential. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(1), 6–29.
Stahl, G., Björkman, I., Farndale, E., Morris, S.S., Paauwe, J., Stiles, P., Trevor, J. & Wright, P. (2012). Six principles of effective global talent management. Sloan Management Review, 53(2), 25–42.
Sterling, C.M., van de Ven, N. & Smith, R.H. (2006). The two faces of envy: Studying benign and malicious envy in the workplace. In Smith, R.H., Merlone, U., & Duffy, M.K. (eds.), Envy at Work and in Organizations: Research, Theory, and Applications. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 57–84.
Sternberg, R.J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Strauss, K., Griffin, M.A. & Parker, S.K. (2012). Future work selves: How salient hoped-for identities motivate proactive career behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(3), 580–598.
Swaab, R.I., Schaerer, M., Anicich, E.M., Ronay, R. & Galinsky, A.D. (2014). The too-much-talent effect: Team interdependence determines when more talent is too much or not enough. Psychological Science, 25(8), 1581–1591.
Swailes, S. (2013). Troubling some assumptions: A response to “The role of perceived organizational justice in shaping the outcomes of talent management: A research agenda.” Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 354–356.
Swailes, S. & Blackburn, M. (2016). Employee reactions to talent pool membership. Employee Relations, 38(1), 112–128.
Swailes, S., Downs, Y. & Orr, K. (2014). Conceptualising inclusive talent management: Potential, possibilities and practicalities. Human Resource Development International, 17(5), 529–544.
Tannenbaum, A.J. (2000). Giftedness: The ultimate instrument for good and evil. In Heller, K.A., Mönks, F.J., Sternberg, R.J. & Subotnik, R. (eds.), International Handbook of Giftedness and Talent. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 447–465.
Taylor, A. & Greve, H.R. (2006). Superman or the fantastic four? Knowledge combination and experience in innovative teams. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 723–740.
Taylor, C.W. (1973). Developing effectively functioning people: The accountable goal of multiple talent teaching. Education, 94(2), 99–110.
Taylor, S.E. & Lobel, M. (1989). Social comparison activity under threat: Downward evaluation and upward contacts. Psychological Review, 96(4), 569–575.
Thomas, D.C. & Lazarova, M.B. (2006). Expatriate adjustment and performance: A critical review. In Stahl, G.K. & Björkman, I. (eds.), Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 247–264.
Trank, C.Q., Rynes, S.L. & Bretz, R.D. (2002). Attracting applicants in the war for talent: Differences in work preferences among high achievers. Journal of Business and Psychology, 16(3), 331–345.
Ulrich, D. & Smallwood, N. (2012). What is talent? Leader to Leader, 63, 55–61.
Vaiman, V. & Vance, C. (eds.) (2008). Smart Talent Management: Building Knowledge Assets for Competitive Advantage. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
van Woerkom, M. & Meyers, M.C. (2015). My strengths count! Effects of a strengths-based psychological climate on positive affect and job performance. Human Resource Management, 54(1), 81–103.
van Woerkom, M., Meyers, M.C. & Bakker, A.B. (2022). Considering strengths use in organizations as a multilevel construct. Human Resource Management Review, 32(3). https://library.macewan.ca/full-record/edselp/S1053482220300401.
Vance, C.M., Boje, D.M., Mendenhall, M.E. & Kropp, H.R. (1991). A taxonomy of individual learning benefits from external knowledge-sharing meetings. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 2(1), 37–52.
Walker, J.W. & LaRocco, J.M. (2002). Talent pools: The best and the rest. Human Resource Planning, 25(3), 12–14.
Wood, A.M., Linley, P.A., Maltby, J., Kashdan, T.B. & Hurling, R. (2011). Using personal and psychological strengths leads to increases in well-being over time: A longitudinal study and the development of the strengths use questionnaire. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(1), 15–19.