The field of organisational psychology and talent assessment has seen some major changes over the last few years. The old saying goes that new discoveries are made by standing upon the shoulders of giants, and this is certainly true in the field of talent assessment. In light of this, I’ve compiled a list of today’s giants upon whose shoulders future discoveries will stand:

• Maya Shankar: Maya has a PhD in behavioural science from Oxford University and she certainly uses it in her role as the Senior White House Policy Advisor. She has a continuing influence on increasing performance and efficiency throughout the U.S. Government via the implementation of behavioural science within governmental departments. Having lived in the States for eight years, the social and organisational policy there is very close to my heart, and it’s amazing to see someone so passionate about making a positive change.
• Jeffrey Stanton: As a professor of information systems at Syracuse University, Dr. Stanton is a leader in the technological side of human resources. Much of his research is on the relationship between organisational behaviour and technology, and the increasingly integrated role that technology will play in the future.
• Stanley Silverman: An expert on the serious negative effects that arrogant bosses can have on the workplace, Dr. Silverman developed a ‘workplace  arrogance scale’ for measuring managers. Given how damaging these managers can be to workplace morale, I commend him for attempting to combat and prevent this huge problem at the source.
• Anita Woolley: The concept of ‘collective intelligence’ is one of the most exciting new developments in the field of human resources. Unless an employee is a professional hermit, they’re probably going to be working in a group, and we’re increasingly seeing that the ability of a team to work together is just as important as the intelligence of its individual members. Both colloquial knowledge and a growing body of research is increasingly demonstrating that organisational fit is a critical factor in determining workplace success, and I believe our own assessment tools at Talegent can be invaluable in this process.
• Nancy Tippens: Okay, I admit this choice may be a little bit biased as Dr. Tippens works in the same field as I do. She helps companies develop their leadership strategies, reduce hiring mistakes and select high-performance employees. If you have read any of my writing before you’ll know that I think hiring the right employees the first time is possibly the most important factor in running a successful business. After all, you’re only as good as your weakest link.

So there you have it, a crash course on some of the most influential people of 2014. Of course, this list is nowhere near exhaustive and there are many other names who I had to remove so this list didn’t become a short novel. I urge you to check out this article for a comprehensive who’s who of talent assessment and its related fields.