A MILLENNIAL’S APPROACH TO REDEFINING TALENT AND REVAMPING TALENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IN THE U.S. ARMY

In a world of rapidly evolving talent management and human capital competition with the private sector, this research attempted to ascertain why the U.S. Army must revamp how it defines talent and conducts talent management of millennial-generation mid-grade Army officers. This dissertation pathway consists of the following sections. Section One focuses on the genesis and correlating narratives of the Problem of Practice (PoP) at hand. As a protagonist of the PoP, the author also shares his lived experiences to depict a vivid picture of the problem set. Section Two examines literature focusing on the current military context of the problem set, talent management theories, and talent management practices from various professional sectors centered on the millennial-generation workforce. In Section Three, based on the knowledge deduced from the literature review, the author proposes a Theory of Action (ToA) and an intervention concept that was designed to address the PoP. Section Four describes the specific design and implementation elements of the intervention. This section is further broken down into subsections that highlight theoretical frameworks, lesson plans, and corresponding survey designs of each seminar session. Section Five focuses on analyzing the findings from the intervention, specifically discussing trending themes, driving forces behind the dynamics of the millennial-generation culture, commitment to public service, and departure from service from the perspectives of the target population. Following the analysis section, Section Six presents the implications of the research and next steps for the author, the organization (U.S. Army), and the public service community. Finally, in Section Seven, the author provides recommendations and plans for the U.S. Army as the organization continues its efforts to shape its talent management portfolio in support of building the Army of 2030.