Talent...Is it all its cracked up to be?
- Jessica Brown Ph. D
- Apr 5, 2016
- 5 min read
Organizations are consistently working to have better selection techniques and find the "right" talent to fit their company and open positions. When considering candidates, each organization focuses on what they believe to be the most critical skills and characteristics. Many organizations consider education, previous jobs, and skill set to assess these skills, especially since these are consistent with resumes. Generally, this is how a candidate's "talent" is assessed. Is talent the most important characteristic that predicts an employee's performance and success in a position or organization? Although having the right skills for the job is important, do we think any of the greatest minds of all time actually looked good on a resume or even in an interview before they became famous for their contributions? I doubt it. They likely looked like unqualified cuckoos.
Therefore, this article considers 5 other characteristics that may contribute more to an employee's success.
Motivation
"Motivation will almost always beat mere talent."
Overall, motivation is used to describe a person having a strong reason to act or accomplish something. Many people have talent but it is what they are willing to do with it that shows true ambition. Motivated people want to do things bigger than themselves because they have a reason or feel it is their purpose. We can say that the initial reason for all employees tends to be to earn money to provide for themselves and family. However, there are a percentage of employees that demonstrate a passion for making things better and contributing more than what is expected to the organization. This quality sets the candidate up for success within the organization despite any shortcomings they may initially have entering the position. As employees, motivated people look for ways to develop themselves and contribute to making their job more efficient and effective while making the workplace better. Therefore, organizations that focus on finding employees that are motivated to be part of the organization and are ambitious to contribute to the organization's vision will have the type of employees that are motivated to learn the skills necessary to perform their position. In addition, organizations that seek out motivated candidates will continue to reap the benefits as their employees grows within the organization.
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* Ambition
Determination
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." ~Calvin Coolidge
"Everyone has talent. What's rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads"
Determination is defined as firmness of purpose or resoluteness. It is synonymous with words like willpower, strength of character, single-mindedness, purposefulness, intentness. Overall, all these words describe continuing on in the face of obstacles, setbacks, and especially failures. This characteristic alone is a huge contribution to anyone's success. Although I would consider it related to motivation, the distinction is in the doing until resolved. Motivated people have a reason and want to do accomplish something, however motivated do not always accomplish something, many stop or find another motivation. Motivation can be short-lived whereas determination keeps on going. People with determination will go through failure after failure and continue on to accomplish something. Since these are related characteristics it is beneficial to have both. As employees, determined people are likely to rally in rough times, grow from failure to develop solutions. Organizations that seek out determined candidates will persevere through troubled waters and find a way to overcome any barrier.
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* Grit
* Drive
Out of the Box & Innovative Thinking
"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."
"A true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."
~Albert Einstein
These terms are used to describe a creative and sometimes unorthodox way of thinking. People that think innovatively can sometimes be seen as wanting the impossible (ideal) or thinking differently than the norm. As we learn, we take information and store it for later use. As we incur related problems we tend to use are previously learned methods that have worked for us in the past. What happens when a problem arises that we have not experienced before and none of our "tried and true" methods apply or work? This is where our innovative thinkers come in and propose ideas that many times seem impossible or too ideal to ever work. They throw out the rule books and the " can'ts & shouldn'ts" and come up with something that eventually works. These employees are the ones that cut costs in imaginative ways to avoid layoffs, develop creative ways to make the organization more green, and envision new products that reinvent the organization's future. Organizations that focus on identifying candidate's with innovative thinking and harness it within the organization will reap the benefits of continued growth and cutting-edge innovation.
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Character
“Talented people are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts. Character prevents that."
“Talented people may feel superior and expect special privileges. Character helps them know better."
“Talented people are praised for what others see them build. Character builds what’s inside them."
“Talented people have the potential to be difference makers. Character makes the difference in them."
“Talented people are a gift to the world. Character protects that gift.”
Above are some great ways John Maxwell compares character to talent. Character can sometimes be hard to put into words, but you can always tell when someone has it. Character pertains to a person's tendency to be honest, do what's right and ethical, and have integrity in what they say and do. Character comes down to what you do when no one is looking and you won't get caught. These are the employees that are trusted with great responsibility and resources, that do what is best for the organization and its people, and that cultivate an environment of honesty and integrity. Organizations that search for candidate's that are rich in character even more than talent will find that these employees contribute to the way it does business with its customers and the overall culture of the organization.
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Personality
"It's personality with a penny's worth of talent. Error which chances to rise above commonplace."
~Pablo Picasso
"My biggest mistake is probably weighing too much on someone's talent and not someone's personality. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart"
Personality is a compilation of characteristics that describe a person's overall emotional and behavioral tendencies towards themselves, others, and situationally. Personality can include self confidence, people skills, calmness under pressure and so much more. Personality plays a big part in how an employee does working alone versus a team, how they interact with new or unsatisfied clients, or how they impact all those that work with them. Employees with great personalities add to an organization by being great team players, creating a great working environment, and cultivating long lasting relationships with customers. Organizations that consider a candidate's personality, not necessarily through assessments, will be focusing on a characteristic that will benefit their organization and all that work for it.
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Overall, organizations that consider other characteristics that are not on a resume or first interview may actually be doing themselves a favor by thinking outside of the box when it comes to selection. The former ways of resumes and interviews may not be providing the best baseline and understanding of your candidate pool. Consider those candidates that seem too defiant, too idealistic, to motivated that they will want to move up out of the position you are currently offering. Rethink the candidate who does not have the "perfect" resume but may be motivated, determined, innovative thinkers that have the character and personality that organizations are searching high and low to find. They are right in front of you, the diamonds in the rough.
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