There are many views on what is talent and lately, this concept is everywhere. Having talent or talents means different things for businesses, which is why there are a lot of ambiguities about it. Industries leaders have different views on talent depending on their needs. For most of them, talent is either a characteristic of people or a synonym for people.

What is or isn’t talent?

Talent can also be about high potential or an inclusive approach where all employees are talented. If all employees are talents before we recruit talents, we need to answer a question. What exactly can we classify as talent? The answer gets complicated and we need criteria to decide what talent is or is not. Almost everyone has an inner hidden talent waiting to be unravelled. However, having talent is just the tip of the iceberg because cultivating it requires support and constant effort.

Yes, you can!

The real obstacle is to say, yes you can and step out of your comfort zone. With a bit of courage, support from peers and a fair amount of discipline the growth path can begin. Hidden potential can be discovered step by step. We, the people, are ruled by inner faiths and beliefs and we stumble and fall as low as our faith let us. And because we are governed by our faiths and beliefs, we reach as high as our set of unconscious limits let us.

The path to personal and professional growth is available to everyone as long as there is an interest in pursuing it. Some of the talents we possess are innate, but some can be learned. Whether our paths are successful or not, depends on surpassing the obstacles we encounter along the way. But, most of all it will depend on the resilience we prove in following the chosen growth path.

Helping people to believe in their potential and achieve their objectives is a good way to engage their creativity and capacity to innovate in the organizational environment. Encouraging this optimistic attitude is almost mandatory if, we are committed to pursuing a positive organisational culture. Support and encouragement are vital for people precisely because the belief in their success is proportional to their efforts and persistence to surpass challenges.

Talent as outstanding performance

Obviously, both companies and people can reach higher levels of performance by developing new competencies. There is another problem to tackle, talent assessment, do we have it or not, can it be learned or improved? Talent can be an inborn ability, high potential, mastery, organizational fit, competencies, or capabilities. It can be all these things together, but in the end, both we and the employers are aiming for an outstanding performance.

Inborn talent or not, adopting a positive yes-you-can mindset in which skills can be acquired, allows us to grow the untapped potential within. By nurturing a continuous learning environment, where challenges are viewed as opportunities to expand capabilities rather than a lack of performance, employers can optimize the competencies of their entire talent pool.

Talents as gifts

As the parable of the talents tells us, talents are true grace gifts. We can ignore it because of fear or multiply it to thrive or transform it into a real treasure. A sense of fulfilment and joy while doing our job is a sign that we are acting based on our values and talents. That is why recognition and reward of people’s talents provide a feeling of accomplishment.

The blend of joy, passion, skillfulness, and enthusiasm in our jobs is talent. The parable of talents is like a friendly warning on an inner self-discovery journey. Those of us who misuse their talent are depriving themselves of the gift of grace. So, when leaders do not foster employees’ talents, they don’t serve their own talent.

Talent is the grace that always amazes and inspires us. These times of trouble are making us question our journey in life and face uncertainty. Now, the commitment to our values faces a challenge. That’s why remaining in service to our talents is proof of faith and resilience in our life journey.

Talent development as an acquisition strategy

Attracting the brightest talent to join a company is a continuous process and a long-term strategy. The talent acquisition function role is also to inspire people and to make hiring more efficient. Adapting recruitment tactics to new technological trends can enable organizational agility. ATS (Application Tracking System), social media, compliance, learning platforms, and events are some tools that convince top talent to join good companies. 

Talent acquisition strategy implementation starts by truly understanding the talent organisations already have. When they hire, they’re investing in people but you also build on their internal potential. The target is to bring added value and generate a long-term relationship. The role of recruitment in talent acquisition strategy is tactical. Recruitment should be aligned with a talent acquisition strategy as part of the overall talent strategy.  The areas with the greatest skills gap are those in need of long-term development and a talent acquisition strategy that goes beyond the tactical approach of recruitment.

Talent development path and talent agility 

The talent development path is transposed in an organization as having clear development paths for all roles. This means designing transparent career opportunities for professional growth by working together to establish attainable goals and create customized plans outlining the training, learning resources and working experiences needed to attain the next development steps.

Talent agility can be achieved by identifying potential for further development. Organizational capability to respond to changes through learning new skills is decisive. When creating a long-term talent strategy, the most important thing is to design explicit roles, responsibilities, and career development paths that integrate a continuous learning mindset.  

The learning and development process plays a major role in creating a flexible and agile talent workforce. Hiring high-potential talent can be a winning strategy. Due to recent tech and social changes recruiters and talent partners became advocates of remote work and reskilling. Digital and technical market demand is making learning and development a solution that solves the skill gap and fills in the new roles.

A yes-can-do attitude and dedicated effort are required to overcome the learning barriers and focus on the learning objectives. Without a shadow of a doubt, everyone willing to learn and take on different responsibilities has a high potential for professional growth.