Outsource Issue 30 - (Page 80)

Is talent management falling short in finance shared services? TalenT Gap Jamie Lyon, ACCA Jamie Lyon is Head of Corporate Sector at ACCA and leads their global research programme on Finance Transformation and the CFO agenda. L 80 ● ● et’s start with a rather challenging and controversial question: is having talent or an aptitude for something in a particular field simply down to the genes that are inherited or does nurture have a much more significant role to play in who becomes the superstars and high fliers in a particular discipline? Is high performance really about your chromosomes, or can experience and practice also play a significant role to play in achieving great levels of performance? These issues are at the heart of a fascinating nature/nurture debate right now on the origins and reasons for certain individuals displaying higher levels of skill or talent than others in particular fields. Perhaps our preconceptions about flawless genius may be misconceived. Looking down the long list of “geniuses” who have graced different fields over the centuries, what’s interesting when you lift the lid up is the degree of endeavour and effort these masters undertook to achieve near or complete perfection. From JS Bach to Einstein to Tiger Woods the level of industry and dedication to achieve greatness can’t be overlooked – sometimes perhaps practice does indeed make perfect? This is certainly a central idea running through the thinking of Matthew Syed, the British journalist and author (as well as twotime Olympian) in his book Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice. Syed suggests that the key to achieving excellence is more about experience and that developments in neuroscience appear to suggest brain changes as a To see the full ACCA report on talent management in a shared services world please visit http://www.accaglobal.com/en/research-insights/finance-transformation.html www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk http://www.accaglobal.com/en/research-insights/finance-transformation.html http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Issue 30

Peering through the fog
Who moved my world
Bringing on the beeb
Courting the commentariat
Everyone is responsible
Our survey says
Fast money
Smarten up
Seeing the biggest picture
NOA round-up
Embracing enterprise innovation
Customer matters
Application development outsourcing
India: rules for offshoring
Talent gap
The Professionals
Book learning
The outsourcing jigsaw
The legal view
Top ten
NelsonHall round-up
Spontaneity
Online round-up
The deal doctor
Inside source
The last word

Outsource Issue 30