Talent Myth IS a Myth - the "Blank Slate" Myth vs. Capacity & Potential | Reveln
I ran across an intriguing title today in my social media and news checking: How to be Great: Rising Above the Talent Myth. It confirmed to me that I've adopted a different point of view, based on conversations in my coaching circle of colleagues and in working with clients.
via flickr.com
Here's a key quote to illustrate the conflict:
...what’s great about these findings is that we can apply them to all areas of our life. Almost any skill is improvable. Giving presentations. Sports. Negotiating. Whatever it is that you do and have a passion for, you can improve and become truly great — if you are willing to put in the work, that is.
Source: Litemind: The Talent Myth
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These types of findings are fairly pervasive. They create quite an economy of self-help seminars, books, academies, and certainly generate a lot of revenue in leadership coaching arenas.
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As a counterpoint, I have adopted the view that Blank Slate, the you-can-be-anything viewpoint, is a recipe for frustration and unhappiness, let along full effectiveness and success.
These types of findings cited are fairly pervasive. They create quite an economy of self-help seminars, books, academies, and certainly generate a lot of revenue in leadership coaching arenas.
Here was my response to the Talent Myth article. See if you agree. Several other commenters did:
I have a different point of view - as it seems what is written about here may be about success, but not happiness + success tied to capacity and our natural talents.
Several colleagues of mine have already written blog posts on working within your innate strengths and capacities, in order to build both happiness and success together, with speed and minimal frustration. Most people just do not have the arm to be professional baseball pitchers, no matter how long they practice. Most people do not have the pipes to be world famous operatic stars.
The first citation is from a hearfelt blog post by Manya Arond Thomas, a Harvard trained physician and healer as well as a leadership coach:
Manya's Excerpt:
Even if we’re pretty good at a lot of things, we will never get the same result, or bang for the buck, if we aren’t naturally wired for that strength, that is, if it isn’t coded into our DNA. The truth is that everything about who we are and what our potential is, is in our blueprint. Source is her full blog post here.
Another citation, built on the somewhat controversial work of Elliot Jacques is by Herb Koplowitz. It is not easy to understand - yet in a nutshell, oversimplified, it is about understanding and assigning people to places in organizations where they can best succeed based on their capacity, including the capacity for planning into the future. The reference is here based on a strata framework.
I'd be interested in what you think about working toward capacity and strengths, vs. the blank slate approach - which can lead to frustration and inefficiency. Working in your strengths should show results in better work life effectiveness as well as being joyful, energizing, and just plan fun!
--Deb
Deb Nystrom, of Reveln Consulting blogs about innovation, leadership, emerging trends, social media, business strategy, news,higher education and fun stuff. You can learn more about her background & projects on the mothership at Reveln Consulting.
