Its not all about Talent

Talent is extremely important when pursuing your goals or dreams. Nobody will dispute the fact that your talent awareness and talent development are key to both performance and to fulfilment.

But talent is not everything, or the only thing.

There is much more at play when you pursue your dreams. Being talented (in terms of having the natural pattern of behaviour, thought and feeling) will never guarantee success - as important element as it is. hard work is also a critical factor.... we wrote about the factor of 10'000 hours of hard work previously on Scribbles. (Read about it here).

Then there are the factors of adding skill, knowledge and experience to talent also. Yes, there are many factors apart from talent that helps you achieve success. One factor that is not always addressed, is the one of you physical abilities. A huge amount of your physical abilities are simply inherited. It's in your DNA. The way you are built, how good you can hear or see, if you have a voice for singing, if you are a natural athlete.... all this is part of natural physical abilities.

Some of these physical abilities can be developed and strengthened. You can get fitter, faster and stronger. But then, sometimes certain physical abilities might simply be outside of your reach - because you do not have the genes for it.

I know someone who dreamed about becoming a professional pilot all his life. He had the drive, passion and yearning for it. He worked hard on his theoretical studies, and really performed good - it seemed like he was going to be a 'natural'....until he had to pass the physical examination. Tests revealed that he had a specific eye disorder that made him colour blind at night. There was no cure for this. He failed the test. His dreams were in shatters.....simply because he did not have the physical abilities needed.

The tables are turned with other people sometimes. You can get someone who is just naturally fit and athletic - but has no desire to achieve through sports, for instance.

When your talent, hard work and physical abilities align with a specific passion, you will see sparks fly! This combination is what is needed for excellence and high performance.

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Talent Dynamics: A Never-Ending Learning Curve

In the last couple of weeks I have had the privilege to Talent-Coach numerous leaders of different types of organizations. Working with leaders excite me. My "Core Theme", Maximizer, really gets energized by the self awareness and experience that most leaders have. But most of all, I think its my "Leaner-Input-Intellection" combination that thrives on everything I learn when I spend quality time talking to leaders.

Most of all, I am intrigued by how experienced leaders tap into their talents with relative ease... Not only in their Top 5 Themes. Leaders tap into their Top 10 Themes like most people do their Top 5. And even "deeper". This is also why I find it almost impossible to coach leaders on simply their Top 5 StrengthsFinder Reports. I need their Full 34 to really understand them, and add value to the conversation. You will never really impress a leader by simply confirming what they already knows are "floating on their surface". Leaders are deep-sea divers. They do not snorkel around the surface and admire the beauty. They like the pressure and excitement of going deeper.

One of the leaders that I coached a couple of weeks ago, had an interesting make up in his Top 10 Themes - mostly all very strong Influencing and Executing Themes. I could clearly pick it up in our conversation also. But then he mentioned to me that he finds it very strange that his Relational Themes aren't in his Top 10 at least, as he perceives himself as being very relational. As I did not know him at all, I could not confirm nor deny this. But I did notice that nearly all his themes from number 11 - 15 was relational in nature.

Later we had a Team session, and in the discussion the other members of the team also commented on the lack of relational themes in the Top 10 that did not make sense. I then suggested that, in his case, we add the next 5 themes and work with his Top 15 like we do with everybodys's Top 10. The moment I added the next 5 to the mix, everybody, including his face lit up. Affirmation and celebration entered the room.

Thing is: nobody denied the intensity of his Top 10 themes. No one wanted to take it away. But it was not complete until the next 5 - Relational Themes in this case - was added. Only then was his profile "complete".

I realised that day that some people really "dive deep" when they tap into their strengths. I do not find a mix of 15 often at all. Nearly never. But, like in this case, it is possible.

Talent dynamics cannot be contained and minimized. We are everyone much too unique.

And how cool is that.

[by Dries Lombaard, CEO Africanmosaic]

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Capacities Every Great Leader needs

Expert Blogger Tony Schwartz writes: “When I was a very young journalist, full of bravado and barely concealed insecurity, Ed Kosner, editor of Newsweek, hired me to do a job I wasn't sure I was capable of doing. Thrown into deep water, I had no choice but to swim. But I also knew he wouldn't let me drown. Over the last dozen years, I've worked with scores of CEOs and senior executives to help them build more engaged, high performance cultures by energizing their employees. Along the way, I've landed on key capacities that show up in the most inspiring leaders I've met.

1. Great leaders recognize strengths in us that we don't always yet fully see in ourselves.
Kosner provided belief where I didn't yet have it, and I trusted his judgment more than my own. It's the Pygmalion effect: expectations become self-fulfilling.
Both positive and negative emotions feed on themselves. In the absence of Kosner's confidence, I simply wouldn't have assumed I was ready to write at that level.
Because he seemed so sure I could--he saw better than I did how my ambition and relentlessness would eventually help me prevail--I wasted little energy in corrosive worry and doubt.
Instead, I simply invested myself in getting better, day by day, step by step.”

Africanmosaic: “We get better and gain more confidence if we practice those things in which we are talented. This pushes us to give more and achieve better success. Our fellow strengths travellers will see that in us and encourage us to grow in our talents.”

2. Great leaders take the time to clearly define what success looks like, and then empower and trust us to figure out the best way to achieve it.
One of our core needs is for self-expression. One of the most demoralizing and infantilizing experiences at work is to feel micromanaged.
The job of leaders is not to do the work of those they lead, but to serve as Chief Energy Officer -- to free and fuel us to bring the best of ourselves to work every day.
Part of that responsibility is defining, in the clearest possible way, what's expected of us--our concrete deliverables. When they do it effectively, the next step for leaders is to get out of the way.
That requires trusting that employees will figure out for themselves the best way to get their work done, and that even though they'll take wrong turns and make mistakes, they learn and grow stronger along the way.

Africanmosaic: “It is key that employees know what their talents are. When they are aware of what they are capable of, based on their natural occurring thoughts, feelings and behavior, they can sort out very quickly what the best way is to get the work done. If they know where their colleagues are strong, they can partner with them where they might lack. In this way you will have a well-rounded team that will deliver on time, with success.”

Taken from: http://www.fastcompany.com/1695382/the-four-capacities-every-great-leader-needs-and-very-few-have?partner=rss

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Stop Being so Nice...

If you have the theme of Harmony in your top 5 StrengthsFinder talent mix, you can identify with the fact that conflict is very difficult for you and that avoidance is usually the way you handle conflict.

But, steering clear of disagreements and leaving things unsaid creates unnecessary complexity and needless anxiety. To get better at confronting conflict constructively, follow these three steps:

1. Reflect. Ask yourself whether there are times you should've spoken up but held your tongue. Do you avoid certain types of conflicts? Is there a pattern?

2. Get feedback. Ask trusted friends and colleagues how they perceive your readiness to engage in constructive conflict. They might see patterns that are less obvious to you. Do you need to see the situation from the other person’s perspective?

3. Experiment. You don't have to change overnight. Try pushing back on a request or speaking up in a meeting and see how it goes. Preface your comment with an admission that you are working on getting better at conflict. This will help demonstrate your sincerity. If you have to confront one-on-one, is there someone else in your team that can assist you with the wording and confrontational style? The talent themes of Command and Empathy can assist you. Can you identify what the common ground is in this situation?

Taken and adapted from
http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/managementtip.php?date=101910

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Command: Leading with Presence

Are you experienced as bossy, opinionated, a "lover of conflict"? Then you might have the talent theme of Command as one of your signature themes.

Here's how Catherine explains her Command theme: "Command is in my top ten. It is a strong naturally occurring pattern for me, although I don't think I have built it into a strength. Even in school this talent theme showed up as I was always the one who took the leadership role in group activities. At work, now, I am the one who is labeled opinionated, the one who speaks up. I enjoy debates and never shy away from confrontation, unless directed not to. And when I am directed not to (my boss has harmony and consistency/fairness in his top five so this happens a lot) I feel thwarted. It feels wrong for me to just let things go. So, if I have to let them go, I really let them go. I detach nearly completely. I think people with a strong sense of Command like to be in charge and if/when we are not able to take the reigns, we yield totally until we find a place where we can take charge. It is an interesting contradiction. I used to always just say, "I am the oldest of seven--I'm bossy!" but now I know that this natural urge within me is my Command talent. It helps to view it as a talent and potential strength.”

Mattias says: “Command has helped me in many ways in my life and I would not want to miss it. Most importantly, it has given me the courage to reach out for help and advise (including people higher up in the hierarchy, or strangers in other companies) and to ask for what I need. In my career, I have often openly pursued my career objectives, I believe this has helped me a lot. I used to think that this is normal until my Strengths "epiphany", and ever since I realize how many people can not bring themselves to spell out what they want or to ask other people for help.”

Jasmine says: “In living in connection with my Command strength, I have gained confidence, empowerment, and focus to be honest and direct while moving forward in my life and accomplishments.”

We might experience Command very negative, but if we start to see how this talent can help us in our team, we can learn to appreciate the people that have to live with it.

Source: www.linkedin.com The StrengthsFinder Group

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Belief - Values that Endures

If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family–oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics — both in yourself and others.

These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities.

This talent of Belief also causes you to see things as "black & white", either right or wrong. No gray areas. People with Belief don't see everything this way, but what they do see in black and white is clear, based on something easily articulated and unshakable.

It's helpful, when working with people embodying this strength, to understand the depth of this conviction. They tend to admire and appreciate people who also have strong convictions - even if they are the same convictions. People, who have the talent of Belief, tend to stand up for those things that they feel strongly about. This may cause friction in the office if they don’t agree with a value. People with Belief can be a valuable part of a team in this way. They're clear, consistent and act with passion about those things they do believe. Just as surely, they'll "check out" when that belief is not respected or supported. They can't work for something they don't believe in.

If you work with someone who has the talent of Belief, make sure that you understand that person’s values. More often than not we don’t know what our values are. Someone with the talent of Belief will feel strongly about things, but might not be aware of those things. They will become aware of it when the value is challenged. This then causes them to act, which sometimes can be seen as causing conflict. Find out what those values are. What do you consider to be important to you in your life?

What gives your life meaning? By identifying your values, you are able to pursue what matters, for you and the person with Belief. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Understanding each other’s values will result in clear expectations in your work environment.