The War is Not to Find Talent - It's to Use the Talent You Have Already!

The search for talent is ongoing. Individuals G I Joe Adventure Team to develop their talents, companies seek to identify talent and retain it, succession planning requires it, politicians plan for it, and the world wants 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 had recently 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 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 so many things and we don't always truly understand what is 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'

It seems that you are either born with a talent 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 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 "The War for Talent" took this to extreme, indulging 'talent' and doing everything they could to keep them engaged, satisfied, even delighted. Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, wrote an article 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, been largely 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 individuals who 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 person has 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 we identify talent, and how do we leverage that talent?

Identifying talent

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, take this upon themselves and make up for the loss, working extra hard and many burning 1910 1911 Turkey Red baseball cards There follows 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 enable them to be all that they are. It really can be quite surprising:

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 entire organisation, inspirational and respected. Talent: Artist! Executive Head Chef, world famous, near-worshiped by other chefs. Talent: Calculus! The COO of an International Bank, greatly respected, charismatic and exceptional innovative customer service. Talent: Acting! Innovative Entrepreneur, 1888 Goodwin Champions 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 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 different. 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 identify their talent and find out where they best fit in your organisation and 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 thinking and part conceptual mapping. Some connections make absolute and logical sense, others require us to 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 individual leveraged - either on their own 'naturally' or through coaching.

"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 the freedom 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 - intricately entwined with sub-plots and different characters. By the time I went to university, I'd all but stopped drawing, taking accountancy because that's where the jobs were. Today, I guess I'm still drawing comics in a way. I look for the sub-plots in the accounts, what's the other story behind the main one and 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'd get 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 adored my acting, always encouraging me, in fact they wanted me to continue through drama school and everything. I think they thought I would be a movie star. I did try for a while when I went to university but I never had any money. After uni, I joined a local drama club, met my wife and we soon had our first child. So I left the acting world and joined a local bank - great prospects, regular wages and, a subsidised mortgage. I suppose that a COO is rather like a director in a play, making sure that the right people are in the right place at the right time with the right script. Brilliant!"

"I was always the joker of the family. My brother bore the brunt of most of my wilder practical jokes - and some of them weren't really funny at all. It got me in a lot of trouble at school. In the end I quit and worked on a market stall. I worked for this really sour faced bloke selling vegetables - blimey he was miserable. He hated my joking with the customers, but they loved it and kept coming back, so he didn't 'stop me. I'm still a joker, I like a laugh and I like to keep the guys happy. I suppose being the centre of attention does something for me. That's why I set this up (the company), being the centre of everyone's' attention and we make money. I always say, if you can't have a laugh while your living life then life will laugh at you."

Find your talent and find a way to use it.

Copyright (c) 2008 GainMore Advantage

The GAINMORE Advantage System can help organisations, large and small identify real talent and help you develop it to achieve your objectives. gainmoreleadership.com

Unique Christmas Tree Themes

If you Evel Knievel a style maven who is a bit bored with the traditional then you might be interested in unique christmas 1981 Fleer baseball cards themes. Here are some unique suggestions for christmas tree themes that are sure to be real conversation starters.

The Christmas Cocktail Party Tree

This christmas tree theme looks great on both big and small trees. First, if your tree is not a prelit tree try stringing it with a string of novelty lights instead of the usual egg shaped lights. You can buy plastic novelty lights in the shape of Chinese Lanterns (for a 50's feel), chili peppers (for that modern martini bar feel) and Pink Flamingos (for that Tikki cocktail party atmosphere.)

Then try decorating the tree with tiny cocktail parasols and multicolored cocktail picks. If your tree is really big you could also decorate it with plastic champagne glasses into which you have glued sequins or glitter. Miniature chocolates filled with liquor also make nice tree decorations.

The Gingerbread Tree

This most gorgeous of christmas tree themes never goes out of style. It looks best on a green or red tree. Decorate it with gingerbread man cookies, red glass balls, tons of candy canes, red velvet bows
and homemade paper snowflake ornaments.

This tree looks great accented it with white or gold beaded garland or a bushy red or white tinsel garland. or icicle-look garland. Top it with a Christmas themed stuffed white or brown teddy bear.

The Chocolate and Gold Tree

This is probably the trendiest of the christmas tree themes described here. It looks great on a red artificial tree. The color scheme in this case is reds, browns and golds. Tiny twinkling gold and red
lights look best. Think of the eighties when you decorate this one. Decorate this tree with walnuts, pinecones and chocolates wrapped in foil. Gold coins are a nice touch. Then tie large transclucent gold
and red ribbons, using the kind of ribbon that has bendable wire inside onto the ends of the trees. The ultimate effect of this tree should be very opulent and lush.

The New Baby Tree

If you are celebrating the birth of a child or a child's first birthday this is a great tree to honor how happy you are about the new arrival in your home. The decorations suggested look great on
any kind of tree but you could consider buying a small blue or pink artificial tree. This is a good idea so any toddlers or infants around can't get ahold of any shed needles. Also if you buy prelit artificial Living Dead Dolls then you don't have to worry about them yanking lights and pulling the whole thing down. If you have lots of toddlers around then you might want to opt for a small ceramic christmas tree until they are old enough not to grab at decorations and xmas tree limbs.

Pink, mint green, lavender and blue frosted glass christmas balls look particularly nice on pink or blue artificial trees. You can also decorate these trees with baby toys, baby bottles filled with candy,
teddy bears, baby booties and socks, pacifiers and wooden alphabet blocks. Little stuffed animals look great on this type of tree and a larger teddy bear or soft plush toy makes a great tree topper. If the
baby is a girl you might want to consider topping the tree with a doll dressed as an angel.

The Peppermint Twist Tree

This most minimalist of christmas tree themes looks fantastic on a bright white, prelit artificial tree. The color scheme of this is red and white but you can add a touch of green in the lights that you
string around it. Purists however think that keeping the whole thing red and white in every way looks best.

When it comes to the decorations stick with red and white round glass balls. Red and white frosted glass balls look much better than the conical ones. Also festoon the branches with as many red and white peppermint candy canes as you can find. Remember too that you can also stripe red or white christmas balls with white or red glitter by simply adding some glue in a striped shape to the ball and rolling it in the glitter.

You can also accent this look with red and white ball shaped peppermint candies. A large lollipop with red and white striping and surrounded by a sunburst bouquet of candy canes makes a great tree
topper.

The Sea Side Tree

This most unusual of christmas tree themes looks best on artificial trees in aqua or light blue colors. However it would also suit any tree that has a coral color such as light orange or pink.

This tree is decorated with treasures from the sea including seashells, sea horses, and ornaments made from aquarium decorations (treasure chests, coins and corals.) Strings of pearls can be used as
a garland and novelty lights shaped like seashells or even fish can be strung to enhance the aquatic theme.

The Snow and Ice Tree

This is one of the most unusual of christmas tree themes as it is white and icy blue instead of the more familiar red and green. First decorate it with a garland of novelty lights shaped like icicles or snowflakes. Your decorations should be made of see through plastic or crystal so it looks like the tree is dripping with frozen, glittering shapes. Instead of cotton batten, drape the tree with faux spider
webs or cotton shreddings to simulate boughs heavy with snow. You can even mound this cotton at the ends of the bough so it looks like it has been clumped there.

Your final step is to spray the whole thing down generously with flocking. Flocking is simulated snow that comes in an aerosol can. You can spray this stuff on just about any kind of tree including artificial prelit christmas trees and ceramic trees to make them look frostier.

This treatment is stunning on a white artificial tree but it also looks great on red, purple, blue or other artificial trees as all of the white provides a nice contrast to the tree's original color.

For more information on Christmas trees, visit http://www.o-christmas-tree.com - a year-round resource for all your christmas tree and decoration needs.