Talent vs Skill: The curse of the high school QB!

Alright! Hopefully the title alone got all the triggers and hurt feelings out of the way. I guess we’ll find out!

This week I want to focus on the concept of talent versus skill. The QB example is just one of many but one we have all encountered. Think about it, when you read that title you immediately thought of someone you know. That person in your life who’s crowning achievement was from 10-20 years ago. Even though a decade or more has passed, they act as though that old accomplishment should still qualify them as an expert.

You see this behavior everywhere. Seriously EVERYWHERE. You see it in fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, even the Army! Yeah we have them too! Let me ask you something. Aside from that one achievement from decades ago, what value does that person bring to the team?

Here’s the issue I see far too often. You have an individual who at one point was incredibly talented at something. They were just naturally gifted. As a result they never really had to put a whole lot of effort into achieving. Meanwhile their peers are working extremely hard just to keep up.

If asked who you’d rather be, a large majority of people say they’d prefer to be the one who is naturally talented. But here’s the rub. The time where that talent is the thing that will carry you is short lived. Without developing the skills that it takes to sustain and progress, you’ll ultimately get left behind.

Let’s look at our good friend corporate America real fast. How many times a week, across the country, do you think a “boss” makes a visit to “check on process”? Hundreds at least, right? Now how many of those “Boss’” actually have any real working knowledge of the processes they are allegedly checking on? Sure there are some but the overwhelming majority have never actually done the task they are checking on. The ones that have, many times have only done it in a “hands on training” environment.

While some familiarity is better than none, the fact is training is not the same as real world, no matter how hard you try to make it. As a result they are assessing a process they have never actually put into practice.

So here’s where my leadership challenge comes in. If you are one of those leaders that found your way into a position through talent, first of all congrats! I really mean that too. Now that you are there don’t let that talent be the thing that gets you left behind and lacking value. Start putting in the work. Stay connected to the processes and the people that you lead. A little empathy can go a long way, and actually knowing how to do what they do is massive.