Talent and Potential

So the important discussion relating to the role of practice in developing winners rages on. In this article from this week's Sunday Times, Adrian Furnham tells us that we are all getting carried away when we emphasise the role of structured, deliberate and consistent practice in developing talent in others. He argues that while practice is a critical requirement for excellent performance, when it is applied to someone with limited natural ability it does not necessarily deliver success.

Fellow journalist Matthew Syed suggests otherwise in his book Bounce of course. He posits that talent is under-rated and that it is practice and hard work that makes the difference. A strengths approach would surely argue that both are of equal importance - discover what you are good at and then grow that talent through learning and practice?

The Power of Introverts

Former lawyer Susan Cain spent 7 years researching and writing her book, Quiet. The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - you can find a clip of her talking about the process of writing and the key messages here. It's amazing that these simple concepts about how different people learn best and do their best work, are so readily overlooked by organisations and educational institutions.

While this is undoubtedly and important book, what struck me most having read it was the age old argument about whether labels of this type are helpful to us at all. What shines through the argument for being more accepting of introverts, is perhaps the need for all of us to see everyone as their own 'type'. Take the time to understand individuals strengths and weakness, how they love to learn and what excites them, and the need to label is surely removed and cannot get in the way learning and performance?

Delivering Success

Have a look at this HBR blog on the '9 Things Successful People Do Differently'. No rocket science here - a strong emphasis on using goals to harness motivation and build confidence is common practice in sport but less common in business?

Complementary Strengths

For many people , having discovered one's strengths, the greater challenge is to create a plan for making them even stronger. This recent HBR acticle offers some practical advice and advocates focussing on developling complementary strengths.

Sparks!

My colleague Mike Pegg introduced me to the term SPARKS, defined as "An individual's deepest passions and interests that give them meaning, focus, joy and energy.."....their strengths?

Peter Benson coined the term as a result of his research among American teenagers. Here is a list of their 10 most common sparks.
1. Creative Arts
2. Athletics
3. Learning (e.g., languages, science, history)
4. Reading
5. Helping, serving
6. Spirituality, religion
7. Nature, ecology, environment
8. Living a quality life (e.g., joy, tolerance, caring)
9. Animal welfare
10. Leading

Peter says, "Children want to be known for their sparks. When you see these sparks in them, affirm them. You shall know them by their sparks." Great stuff.

Standout Strengths

If you are a fan of this form of online assessment tool it is worth investing half an hour in completing Marcus Buckingham's latest online strengths discovery questionnaire - Standout. You can also find a neat review of the tool at Positive Psychology News Daily.

Reviewing Performance

Supporting individuals and teams in identifying learning from critical incidents is a key skill in coaching. For most on the recieving end this can be a tough experience where learning from mistakes becomes the priority for many participants. With a little more thought however, reviewing performacne can be a positive experience aimed at building on success (as well as what has gone wrong). Take a look here for ideas on geting started.