Natural Abilities, Talents, and Acquired Skills

We all live in a world where we gain access to information about what’s going on in it through our senses. We then absorb, process, interpret, and act on that information in our brains. And that action is under the direction of our conscious and unconscious thought processes and emotions.

So our brains matter...A LOT! No surprises so far, right?

It shouldn’t be a surprise that those same brains, for a variety of reasons, possess differing natural talents and abilities. And that we can measure those directly (through PET and MRI...awkward, expensive, and incredibly accurate) or indirectly (through psychological assessments that have been researched and validated to some degree of accuracy).

So, it also shouldn’t be a surprise that those natural talents and abilities, when linked to knowledge acquisition, training, and practice make for a pretty potent formula for life.

When we acquire and use skills that we are hard-wired to use, we experience really meaningful work that energizes us, excites us, brings us joy, and leaves us feeling accomplished, successful, and energized at the end of the day.

ON THE OTHER HAND, there’s nothing that says that we will ONLY be drawn to work and learn skills that fit our natural abilities and talents. Think of people who become lawyers because that’s what Dad, Granddad, and maybe even Great Grandad did. Think of any number of occupations where that happens. Or think of the people who got into something “that they just drifted into and stuck with.” Or those who felt compelled in some way to do something, and kept doing it, even though “it didn’t fit.”

WE CAN BE VERY SUCCESSFUL in work and fields with acquired skills that DON’T match our natural abilities and talents.

What we sacrifice when that misalignment occurs is being energized, excited, and joyful while working, and ending the day feeling accomplished, successful, and energized...even if we are objectively successful in the accomplishment of that misaligned job.

And long term, what does it mean for us to be “successful” in our job/career/business if we never feel truly accomplished and successful, and end each day exhausted rather than energized?

How does this all tie to leadership?

Think about a workforce where some, or most, of your team is misaligned. Think about the managers and leaders who work for you, and what happens when they are misaligned. THINK ABOUT YOU, and what happens if YOU are misaligned.

It’s worth it to really ensure that misalignment doesn’t occur, right?

If you want to better understand the issue, I’m recommending a book that I first read about 20 years ago...that influenced my decisions about going into business/leadership/executive coaching. It’s called “Don’t Waste Your Talent” by Bob McDonald, PhD and Don E. Hutcheson, Revised Third Edition. The revisions were released in 2010, 2016, and 2017, so it’s pretty up to date and well worth a read.

That’s all for now!  Let me know what you think about this topic and how it might impact your own situation.