Talent Imperative: Inside the US Army’s Talent Management Transformation

Lee Robinson chairs the American Politics program at the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as a strategist for the Army Talent Management Task Force.Michael Arnold served as the deputy director of the US Army Talent Management Task Force and is a veteran fellow with the Hoover Institution.

• INTRODUCTION – THE TALENT IMPERATIVE SECTION 1 – THE PEOPLE ENVIRONMENT CHAPTER 1 – THE ALL-VOLUNTEER FORCE IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT CHAPTER 2 – PEOPLE ARE THE ARMY’S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE SECTION 2 – KNOW YOUR PEOPLE CHAPTER 3: ESTABLISH A COMMON LANGUAGE FOR TALENT CHAPTER 4: SEE YOUR PEOPLE’S TALENTS CHAPTER 5: ASSESS YOUR PEOPLE – THE COMMAND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM CHAPTER 6: EMPLOY YOUR PEOPLE’S TALENTS CHAPTER 7: ALIGN YOUR PEOPLE’S TALENTS – TALENT BASED BRANCHING SECTION 3 – FOSTER YOUR PEOPLE’S POTENTIAL CHAPTER 8: COACH YOUR PEOPLE CHAPTER 9: CAREER MAPPING SECTION 4 – FOSTER A PROFESSIONAL FORCE CHAPTER 10: CONTINUOUS INNOVATION CHAPTER 11: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ALL-VOLUNTEER FORCE APPENDIX: LIST OF ACRONYMS

"The Talent Imperative bridges scholarship and practice with unusual clarity to show how change can happen and its benefit for people and performance. It situates talent management within broader theories of public administration and organizational design, offering a valuable contribution for scholars and practitioners seeking to modernize large, complex institutions. This should be required reading for anyone looking to improve human resource management policies and practices."Jessica E. Sowa, Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration, University of Delaware"America will lose this century's wars without a management system as good as its leadership culture. The Talent Imperative makes the profound and definitive case that better talent management—not weapons or technology—is the vital front for America’s military future. This anthology is excellent, readable, and more necessary than ever."Tim Kane, Dean, University of Austin and the author of Bleeding Talent