WHEN IS TALENT ALONE ENOUGH?

Talent. Is often overrated and frequently misunderstood. When people achieve great things, others often explain their accomplishments by simply attributing everything to talent. But that is a false and misleading way of looking at success. If talent alone is enough, when then do we know highly talented people who are not highly talented people who aren’t successful?

Talent is never enough. If talent were enough, then the most effective and influential people would always be the most talented ones. But that is often not the case. Consider this:

– More than 50% of all CEO’s of the world’s top companies had C or C – averages in college.

– More than 50% of millionaire entrepreneurs never finished college.

Clearly talent isn’t everything.

The more talent that a sports, business, or service team possesses, the greater potential it has, and the better its leader can be.

Most leaders understand the dynamics of ownership, shared responsibility, division of labor, committee governance and delegation. Often leaders accomplish great tasks by dividing a job into its parts and coordinating the whole effort. Remarkable feats, such as the building of the pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China, were accomplished in that fashion. However, there are some tasks that are not improved by adding more people. More isn’t always better and some things are best done by an individual.

It is important that we marvel at the gifts of talented people. Also we should recognize their contribution to society and also separate what they can do from who they are. Too many talented people who start with an advantage over others lose that advantage because they rest on their talent instead of raising it. They assume that talent alone will keep them out front. They fail to realize that if they rest on their oars, others would soon fly past them. Clearly, more than just talent is needed for anyone who wants to achieve success.

It is important to note that everybody has talent. It also very important for you to develop the talent you have and not the one you want. You cam make choices that will add value to your talent. The key choices you make, apart from the natural talent you already have, will set you apart from others who have talent alone. These key choices that cam help you in maximizing your talent include the following;

– Self belief,
– Passion,
– Initiative,
– Focus,
– Preparedness,
– Perseverance,
– Courage,
– Teachability or being humble,
– Good character,
– Good relationships,
– Responsibility,
– Teamwork.

Make these choices and you can become a talent – plus person. If you have talent, you stand alone. If you have talent plus, you stand out.

Culled from John C. Maxwell’s book, TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH.

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