talent
ˈtalənt/
noun
- 2.a former weight and unit of currency, used especially by the ancient Romans and Greeks."a mighty steed bought from a Thessalian merchant for thirteen talents"
There are different perspectives of the term "talent". The most common association of the word will always be to link it to "skill". And I suppose, within some contexts, this may be accurate. Generally what we perceive and observe as performance, and then call "talent", is actually skill....(mostly fuelled by talent).
From my perspective, talent is not the same as skill at all. It is actually very different. (For more on the difference, read this blogpost).
Let me drill through the clutter and make the term "talent" as understandable and practical as possible. In my experience through coaching people in their natural talent, it can be condensed to two words:
Energy, and Need.
- Sustainable Energy
However you may define natural talent, it will always be a source of energy to you. This energy tend to manifest in one or more of three areas: emotional energy, physical energy and / or intellectual energy. Actually, it is more than mere energy. It is sustainable energy. Energy that you cannot ignore, avoid or get away from. Energy that truly defines you. (Some people may define this energy with the word "passion", but for me, passion is a broader concept than talent. Passion is your yearning, your desire, your lasting interest.) This energy obviously manifest mostly through specific activities. And it is in the actual doing of the activities that you express your skill (or sometimes, lack of it).
The ability to define your sustainable energy is crucial, as it gives it identity and you thus get a grasp on it in order to celebrate it for the unique talent that it is. The moment you give expression in language and understanding to the different talents, something happens. It is as if you truly own it then, simply because you can accurately name it for what it is.
This is where people experience the research from Gallup so useful in this field, and why the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment is such a fantastic tool - defining 34 themes of talent. StrengthsFinder accurately assess your talent energy, and then gives it names, ranked in order of importance according to your unique response to the 178 questions asked in the assessment. True, some of the words used to describe the talent theme may be a bit confusing at first, but once you understand the true meaning behind the chosen term in context, it is always an empowering and even liberating experience to have a language to express your combination of sustainable energy to yourself and to others.
(If you know StrengthsFinder, think about someone having "Arranger Energy", "Ideation Energy", "Empathy Energy" or "Significance Energy". Simply connecting the CSF terms with the word "energy" opens up a new understanding - especially if you coach people using StrengthsFinder as a baseline tool.)
- Unrelenting Need
A talent is a need. An unrelenting, lasting need for specific expression and specific stimulation. My experience in this field taught me that understanding talent as a need, even more than an energy, leads to the most important paradigm shifts within peoples discovery of their own brilliance and uniqueness. In the same way that talents are energy in thought, emotional or behavioural expression, the different energies (talents) are constantly yearning to be fed. Talents have needs. Specific needs, and generic needs. These needs they have in order to function…to survive…to contribute. If the “needs” are
not met, the Talent will go dormant or stagnate.
Talent contribution is directly linked towards specific talent needs, and it is these needs that need to be managed well in order for the energy to flow best - and the talent to become a strength.
Some needs are
generic to all talents themes, like the need for affirmation, for celebration, for permission or opportunities to play or for expression.
Then again, there are needs specific to certain talent themes, like the need for more time, the need for people interaction, the need to connect with individuals, the need for constant comparison, for emotional expression, for action or activity, for accuracy, for routine, and yes, even a need for chaos.
Understanding talent themes as needs are so important because it is the key that unlocks the true development, and releases your talents to thrive and contribute fully. It is also the practical element in managing your talents well. If you know what a talent need, then you can feed it!
Even more, if the unique needs of talents are understood, it bring an element into the understanding of others that seldom get the attention it deserves within partnerships, relationships or teams. If you can view someone else not from the perspective of what they should bring, but from what they naturally need in order to function with maximum energy, the dynamics change forever.
Imagine being a manager who knows the exact needs of each of your team members, and providing them with the right opportunities and environment to unleash their natural energy within their talents.
Imagine being a spouse who can read the signs of your partners thoughts, feelings and behaviours when it longs for talent energy to flow.
Imagine being a parent who can guide your teenager according to his or her exact needs when it comes to the abundance of talent energy that flows through them.
Imagine being a person with enough self respect to be attentive to your own needs of talent, managing it well, so that your energy that is so unique to you can play as strengths when it combines with the needed knowledge, skill and experience.
(Referring to the StrengthsFinder tool, think about someone having "Focus Needs", "Maximizer Needs", "Includer Needs" or "Learner Needs". Unpacking this with people you coach takes them to a new stratosphere of understanding themselves and others.)
- A simplified perspective on Talent
Whenever you hear the term "talent" again, do not think "ability", "skill", "performance" or "contribution". Think ENERGY and NEED. Then look at the people around you with the lens that identifies the energy for the beauty that it is (even when misdirected or miss-managed), and see their specific needs that yearns for opportunities.
If you want to experience the impact of this simple yet powerful approach, contact me at dries@strengths.institute . It is my passion to help people and companies thrive within their natural energy, by understanding and meeting the specific needs.
Dries Lombaard is the co-owner of Strategic Leadership Institute and NeuWorx, and has more than 7000 hours of Strengths Coaching experience over the last decade. He is leading a vibrant and growing network of Strengths Coaches in Southern Africa, and works with corporate and multinational leadership and management teams and C-level leaders as a Strengths Coach and training facilitator.
