It is all the rage to down play talent, quote Malcolm Gladwell, and talk about 10,000 hours of practice. With this mentality, you would only hire people who have spent at least 10,000 hours doing whatever it is you need them to do. There are three things wrong with this thinking:

1. Most positions do not require a level of expertise akin to that of a concert violinist.
2. Most employees are not hired to perform one set of tasks over and over.
3. The demands placed on employees change over time.

In reality, most employees learn many new skills throughout their careers and adapt to a wide variety of demands. As the company changes and their roles change, employees must change and they must do so in far less than 10,000 hours! So, work hard and long to develop the skills and knowledge you most crave, encourage others to work hard and constantly practice to improve their performance, but hire talent! 

When we think of talent, we usually think of innate qualities like intelligence, athletic ability, and musical aptitude. We think of some people as highly talented, others as untalented, and most people somewhere in between. And while we acknowledge that there are different kinds of talents, the same yardstick seems to be applied to all except athletes, who get their own yardstick – sometimes even within their sport.

When we talk about “top talent,” we usually mean really smart people with great skills and a track record of success. Here is that single yardstick – as if there were just one “top.” And here, also, is a very typical, and typically confused, interpretation of what talent is. Talent is not smarts, skills and a track record of success.

What is talent? Talent is innate ability. It is natural inclination. The thing a person can’t help but do. Something a person can’t stop doing.

If you can’t help but get math problems right, you have a talent for math. If you can’t stop trying to get them right, you have a talent for persistence with math-type problems. Many people have neither a talent for math, nor a talent for persistence with math-type problems. People with incredible math talent are often considered “top talent” because it is measureable. People with incredible persistence for math-type problems but without the math talent go unnoticed. (This same person would be the ideal employee in the right context.)

People can have a talent for playing music, recognizing music, reproducing music, composing music, decomposing music, orchestrating music, recording music, and more.

People can also have a talent for methodical work, meticulous work, conceptual, repetitive, big picture, or original work. Divergent or convergent work. Abstract or concrete work. Following direction, thwarting authority, or making it up as they go along. Arriving early or rushing in late.

Give someone with a talent for repetitive work a wild, creative task and you will probably see them fail! Give someone with creative, big picture talent a detailed repetitive task and watch the smoke puff from the ears.

“Top talent” is meaningless except in a narrowly defined race. But match talent to task and any other race is as good as won. If someone can’t help but do a task well and you match them with that task, it is hard to lose. Thus, the task in hiring is to make a great match.

But wait a minute. Aren’t there great employees? Yes, three kinds:

• Those at the top of the organization who shoulder significant responsibility and get results are often great employees. They are usually among those with most of the recognition and money. They may or may not be there because of their talent.
• Those who are well-matched to their responsibilities and provide great service to their company every day, whether anyone recognizes the fact or not.
• Those who learn fast, adapt well, and can fill a number of roles because they have talents like energy, enthusiasm, determination, persistence – a willingness to charge down that path toward 10,000 hours when it is called for.

If you want great employees, hire talent. Hire well-matched specific talent where applicable. Hire energy, enthusiasm, and persistence for every other case.

If you would like help identifying the talent your organization needs or recognizing those talents in job candidates, give us a call at 603-784-5727.