Some organizations approach talent management from a big-picture perspective — attracting and retaining the right talent to meet long-term business goals, for example. Others tend to take a microcosmic approach — focusing on ensuring that managers and employees have the right tools to manage their careers and performance.

Both views are important. But it's how you manage the breadth of ground between the two extremes that makes the critical difference between disparate, unaligned programs, and a fully harmonized, integrated and complete talent management strategy.

How do high-performing organizations strike the right balance? They take a step back to examine broader business strategy and objectives. They design programs that work in concert to drive needed behaviors — and build delivery systems that hasten, rather than hinder, results.