Why Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong—and How To Fix Them

Meritocracy is meant to level the playing field, but it can reinforce unfairness and privilege

OpenAI

Meritocracy—the idea that individuals should advance and be rewarded on the basis of their talent and hard work—is one of the most widely celebrated ideals in education, business, and government. It shapes how organizations recruit, evaluate, and promote, promising a fair system where the best rise to the top.

Unfortunately, meritocracy often falls short. Hidden personal biases and entrenched social barriers can undermine fairness in talent management across hiring, performance evaluations, pay decisions, and promotions.

In his new book, The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them (Columbia University Press, 2025), MIT Sloan professor Emilio J. Castilla offers practical solutions to help organizations develop fairer and more-effective people management practices.

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Very useful

Why Meritocracy Strategies Go Wrong—and How To Fix Them

The author writes, "We find that meritocracy, the idea that individuals should advance and be rewarded on the basis of their talent and hard work, often falls short. Hidden personal biases and entrenched social barriers often undermines fairness . . ." I read it all with interest, and the first thoughts that crossed my mind were that we really need to 'Refine Meritocracy itself' and perhaps 'Foster a Growth Mindset' to go beyond traditional HR responses. Easier said than done. Essentially so, since it challenges the very foundation of how we define talent, reward it, and help it grow.

Perhaps not quite a Radical Idea, what if organizations were to use something akin to a QFD Matrix (Quality Function Deployment) for identifying candidates? It could bring a much-needed systems thinking approach to talent management.

QFD, as Quality Digest readers know, is a tool from manufacturing and product development. It translates customer needs into technical requirements. It helps organizations align their processes with what's truly important to stakeholders.

In talent management, if we treat the "role" as the product, and "stakeholder (team/org) needs" as the voice of the customer, then a QFD-like matrix could serve as a structured, transparent, and less biased way to assess candidates.