No more war!

With Russia on the brink of war, I’m reminded about another war I hear about all the time: The War for Talent. Companies are finding it harder and harder to attract (and retain) talented people. Even hot tech companies like Adyen are complaining that it’s too hard to find good developers.

Some mistakenly call it the war on talent. As if talent is something that needs to be combatted, like with the war on drugs (but they probably didn’t pay attention in English class).

Anyway, whether it’s called the war for or the war on talent, I have a problem with this term.

Why do we call it a “war”? There is nothing positive about war. “Win” the war for talent? As if a war can be won. If you ask me, war knows only losers. Surely, that’s not what recruiters want?

Finding talent is not a zero-sum game. It’s not a finite resource like oil. Talent is more like plants: it can grow and multiply if you know how to spot and nurture it. We can look at talent with an abundance mindset. If we talk about it in terms of war, we have a scarcity mindset.

So please, let’s stop using this term. And if we must speak of a war, then let’s talk about ending or better yet: preventing the war for talent. Because that’s what we want with wars: to not happen.