AERO WORKFORCE
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Use the talent
r By Dr Kohn Kenworthy
ffi n the world of commerce. the search for
ffi talent is ongoing. Individuals seek to
ffi develon their talents, companies seek to
ffi identify talent and retain it, succession
ffi phnning requires it, politicians plan
for it, and the world wants to flnd it. But what
is it?
I was having dinner at a friend's home and
the subject came up because their ll-year-old
son had recently brought home his school re-
port card which stated from his art teacher:
"[His] talent is yet to be fully developed." His
mother, always one for a quick tongue re-
sponded "His only talent is making excuses
for not doing his homework."
The young boy sat at the table grimacing
and whilst his Mum meant it in jest, there
was an element of truth in it. I said "I see a
glittering future as a political spin-doctor."
The boy's eyes lit up. This so-called talent had
a purpose.
The word "talent" is bandied around for
many things and we don't always truly un-
so
derstand what is meant by "talent". So to the
trusty dictionary..
Talent: innate mental or artistir: aptitude (as
opposed to acquired ability); less than genius.
So what is innate?
Innate: existing in one from birth; inborn;
natiue: innate musi.cal talent.
Now my core business is experiential
training and a behaviourist, so if talent
cannot be acquired... Better flnd 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 rvords like 'abil-
ity', ' 'adeptness', 'adroitness', 'charisma', facil'
ity', 'giff , 'knack', 'wisdom', 'gumption', 'capac'
ity', 'brilliance' and 'genius'.
It seems that you are either born with a tal-
ent or not. No acquiring a talent, developing it
certainly but if the foundation is not there...
Companies seek 'talent' for succession
planning, as do politicians. It is most often asso-
ciated with leadership or management'talent'.
Companies are also hooked on retaining
44 AERospAcE STNGAPoRE Apr-Jun 2011
The trouble is that
'talent' is most
often ascribed to
the very brightest,
highly motivated
individuals who
are very driven.
And being bright
(intelligent) does
not, necessarily,
mean talent. Being
'driven' is not the
only criteria for
success.
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 199?, The War for Talent, took this to
the extreme, indulging'talent' and doing eve-
rything they could, to keep them engaged, sat- individuals. In fact, I believe that every single
isfied, even delighted. Malcolm Gladwell, au- person has talent. What that talent is and how
thor of The Tipping Point, wrote an article in it can be used by companies is another matter.
the New Yorker magazine in 2002 entitled The If we accept that talent is something that
Talent Myth. By then the whole war for talent you are born with, surely we need to know
was under a dark, ominous cloud ca-lled Enron. how do we identify talent, and how do we lev-
The McKinssey article had, after all, been large- erage that talent?
Iy based on what Enron was doing at the time
and how everybody should emulate it. ldentifying talent
The trouble is that'talent'is most often as- I've seen this in many organisations. The
cribed to the very brightest, highly motivated brightest and best are identified as part of the
individuals who are very driven. And beilg talent pool - there's some fanfare, a suite of
bright (intelligent) does not, necessarily mean trainilg programmes, perhaps MBAs are tak-
talent. Being'driven' is not the only criteria en and the talent are promoted. Meanwhile,
for success. the non-talent morale has sunk, many have
I have met and worked with many talented quit or actively seek new positions, commit-

ment has dropped and pedormance suffered.
The talent, being highiy drlven, take this upon
themselves and make up for the loss, working
extra hard and many burning out' There fol-
lows 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 con-
tributors - notjustfrom your own organisation
but others too, and uncover their foundational
talents that enable them to be ail that they are.
It really can be quite surPrising:
. The head of
sales of a global telecomms
company highest sales, driven, emulated
by staff. Talent: Running!
. The CFO of a globa1ly renowned audit-
ing firm, admired by staff, relied on by
the enti.re organisation, inspirational
and respected. Talent: Artistl
. Executive Head Chef, world famous,
near-worshipped by other chefs. Talent:
Calculus!
. The COO of an international bank,
greaUy respected, charismatic and ex-
ceptional innovative customer service'
Talent: Acting!
. Innovative entrepreneur, adored by staff,
gregarious, fun and incredibly creative.
Talent: Comedian!
There are many other examples, some ob-
d
vious, many not. Shat is common to most of
the people we have interviewed is that their
talent itself is not what enables them to do
what they do, it is how they do the talent.
I suggest that we do something a little dif-
ferent. Why not find what the underlying and
true individual's talents are and then leverage
them towards the leadership or management
attributes you need? Or perhaps, we can iden-
tify their talent and find out where they best flt
in your organisation and for some, outside it. e
Dr John Kenworthy is a management and leader'
ship competency development expert and coach. He
holds a Doctoraie of Business Administration from
Henley Management College specialising in The
Evaluatian of Leadership and Management Compe'
tencies and Learning,
Apr-Jun 2011 AERosPAcE sINGAPoRE 45