The war is not to find talent; it's to use thetalent you have already!

The search for talent is ongoing. Individuals seek to develop their talents, companies seek toidentify talent and retain it, succession planning requires it, politicians plan for it, and the worldwants to find it. But what is it?I was having dinner at a friend's home and the subject came up because their 11 year old son hadrecently brought home his school report card which stated from his art teacher: "[His] talent is yet to be fully developed." His mother, always one for a quick tongue responded "His only talent ismaking excuses for not doing his homework."The young boy sat at the table grimacing. He'd heard this story a few times already and whilst hismum meant it in jest, there was an element of truth in it. I said "I see a glittering future as a politicalspin-doctor." The boy's eyes lit up. This so-called talent had a purpose.The word "talent" is bandied around for so many things and we don't always truly understand whatis meant by "talent". So to the trusty dictionary...

Talent: innate mental or artistic aptitude (as opposed to acquired ability); less than genius.

So what is innate?

Innate: existing in one from birth; inborn; native: innate musical talent.

Now, my core business is experiential training and a behaviouralist, so if talent cannot be acquired...Better find a better definition...

Talent: natural ability to do something well.

'That nasty word 'natural'

Natural: based on the state of things in nature; constituted by nature: Growth is a natural process.

The Thesaurus, always illuminating, and find 'talent' associated with words like

'ability', ' 'adeptness', 'adroitness', 'charisma', 'facility', 'gift', 'knack', 'wisdom', 'gumption', 'capacity','brilliance' and 'genius'

Is it seems that you are either born with a talent or not. No acquiring a talent, developing itcertainly, but if the foundation is not there...When companies and politicians tell us that "we want to identify the talent" exactly what do theymean?Is it: "

I want to identify your talent whatever it is

"? or "

I want to identify specific or particular talent

"?I suspect the latter. Companies seek 'talent' for succession planning, as do politicians. It is mostoften associated with leadership or management 'talent'.

Companies are also hooked on retaining talent. And surely that's right, once you have talent in your organisation, you really don't want to lose it. Many, inspired by a Mckinnsey article in 1997 "TheWar for Talent" took this to extreme, indulging 'talent' and doing everything they could to keepthem engaged, satisfied, even delighted. Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, wrote anarticle in the New Yorker magazine in 2002 entitled "The Talent Myth". By then the whole 'War for talent' was under a dark, ominous cloud called Enron. The McKinssey article had, after all, beenlargely based on what Enron was doing at the time and how everybody should emulate it.The trouble is that 'talent' is most often ascribed to the very brightest, highly motivated individualswho are very driven. And being bright (intelligent) does not, necessarily, mean talent. Being 'driven'is not the only criteria for success.I have met and worked with many talented individuals. In fact, I believe that every single personhas talent. What that talent is and how it can be used by companies is another matter.If we accept that talent is something that you are born with, surely we need to know how do weidentify talent, and how do we leverage that talent?

Identifying talent

In my meetings with clients to discuss their talent identification it usually starts with an attempt todefine what is the talent we are seeking to identify. Most often, this is stated as being 'leadershiptalent', those individuals who are 'bright', 'motivated', 'good leaders', 'inspires others', 'charismatic'and so on - words that we've seen in the thesaurus.This is good, we can test these. Find out who has them and crack on.I've seen this in many organisations. The brightest and best are identified as part of the talent pool -there's some fanfare, a suite of training programs, perhaps MBAs are taken and the talent are promoted. Meanwhile, the non-talent morale has sunk, many have quit or actively seeking new positions, commitment has dropped and performance suffered. The talent, being highly driven, takethis upon themselves and make up for the loss, working extra hard and many burning out. Therefollows a new initiative to regain the work-life balance and a big drive to retain talent.

An alternative

We can talk to the existing talent - the best leaders, managers, the best individual contributors - not just from your own organisation but others too, and uncover their foundational talents that enablethem to be all that they are. It really can be quite surprising:The CEO of a major diversified MNC, very successful, renowned and personal admired byother leaders and staff. Talent: A throat singer!The Sales head of a global telecomms company, highest sales, driven, emulated by staff.Talent: Running!The CFO of a globally renowned auditing firm, admired by staff, relied on by the entireorganisation, inspirational and respected. Talent: Artist!Executive Head Chef, world famous, near-worshipped by other chefs. Talent: Calculus!The COO of an International Bank, greatly respected, charismatic and exceptional innovativecustomer service. Talent: Acting!

Innovative Entrepreneur, adored by staff, gregarious, fun and incredibly creative. Talent:Comedian!There are many other examples, some obvious, many not. What is common to most of the peoplewe have interviewed is that their talent itself is not what enables them to do what they do, it is howthey do the talent.I suggest that we do something a little different. Why not find what the underlying and trueindividual's talents are and then leverage them towards the leadership or management attributes youneed? Or perhaps, we can identify their talent and find out where they best fit in your organisationand for some, outside it.

Leveraging Talent

Taking someone's talent and leveraging it into the workplace requires a little creative thinking.Fortunately, creative thinking is something that we can develop. It's part de Bono's lateral thinkingand part conceptual mapping. Some connections make absolute and logical sense, others require usto dig into the talent and how that talent is done by the individual.Using the examples cited above, I shall briefly outline the main connections that the individualleveraged - either on their own 'naturally' or through coaching.Throat singing is a rather rare and peculiar talent. For this CEO it was his party trick, something hefound he was able to do when very young. Encouraged by his parents to demonstrate in front of friends and neighbours, people enjoyed his performance and found it fascinating. As a young man,he was unafraid to stand in front of an audience and give speeches. He joined the universitydebating society where his commanding voice quieted everyone present. "I like to entertain people,and I like to make them think" he says."Running was all I ever wanted to do. I'd get up early every morning and race the postman on his bike. For me, it was freedom. Now, I run with my team, we race the competition and we enjoy thefreedom we gain from our bonuses and commission.""As a kid, I was always drawing. I loved to draw. Cartoons especially, and comics. When I was at primary school I drew my first comic which turned into a series and a long story - intricatelyentwined with sub-plots and different characters. By the time I went to university, I'd all but stoppeddrawing, taking accountancy because that's where the jobs were. Today, I guess I'm still drawingcomics in a way. I look for the sub-plots in the accounts, what's the other story behind the main oneand that's how I teach my staff. Look for the sub-plots - it makes auditing a whole lot more fun.""Calculus was easy. Everyone else thought it was really difficult and stupid, but I found it easy. I'dget a thrill from finding the right answer. It's obvious to me now, my recipes are just a form of calculus, you take ingredients A and B and turn them into X. I don't 'think I'll tell my chefs that,they might think I'm a nerd and not the great artiste.""I first acted in a play at kindergarten. I was a tree. But I was the best tree ever. My parents adoredmy acting, always encouraging me, in fact they wanted me to continue through drama school andeverything. I think they thought I would be a movie star. I did try for a while when I went touniversity but I never had any money. After uni, I joined a local drama club, met my wife and wesoon had our first child. So I left the acting world and joined a local bank - great prospects, regular