This manifesto is seven years old, and a lot of it has aged well. The question is not whether we call ourselves "top talent", but whether organisations are actually willing to build the leadership and culture such people expect: purpose, autonomy, growth, and leaders worth following.
1. I do not choose to be a common employee. It is my nature to be uncommon.
2. I seek challenges - not security and I expect to grow every day.
3. I am determined to leave footprints; a meaningful purpose of my work outweighs money.
4. I want to be empowered and do not accept to be kept small, humbled or bored by having a micromanager babysitting me.
5. I want to act as an entrepreneur, to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed, to take risks and to explore.
6. I am willing to contribute all my talent, creativity and innovativeness and I expect to be listened to, not just heard.
7. I don't look up to people just because of their hierarchy or titles. I look up to outstanding performance, courage and passion.
8. Arrogance and distant leadership turn me off. I believe leadership means serving others, not the other way around.
9. I don't need isolated top executives, who hide themselves in their shielded boardrooms, but approachable, human, inspirational, empathetic and self-reflected role-models.
10. I believe: Who does the work, deserves the stage. I appreciate a corporate culture which values meritocracy, not nepotism.
11. I seek progress, I don’t fear it; I appreciate being constantly beyond my personal comfort zone, it makes me more resilient.
12. I pledge to have the right mix of humbleness, self-confidence, curiosity and hunger for more.
13. I pledge to appreciate past achievements, but I’ll critically challenge the status-quo and dare to ignore old answers to new questions.
14. I see myself as a citizen of the world; working in a diverse and inspiring environment fires my imagination; a monoculture which tries to fight the different frustrates me.
15. I’m not willing to take either-or-decisions when it comes to my most important life goals. Attractive employers make an effort to allow their employees – men and women, fathers and mothers alike - to combine a fulfilled career with a fulfilled private life.
16. I refuse to barter incentive and career chances for being adapted and to keep my mouth shut. I will speak up, initiate change or leave.
17. As part of an elite I don’t want to be measured by what I take from, but by what I give back to society.
18. It is my self-conception to stand erect, self-confident and unafraid, to unleash my potential and turn it into results.
By this I can proudly say: This is who I am. All this is what it means to be a top talent.
Source: https://twitter.com/ProfYasminWeiss/status/1131643137510780928
© Prof. Dr. Yasmin Weiss (2019)