In truth, we do not all think the same when talking about talent, but we are dealing with a word -buzzword- that we often find in the call for conferences and in management literature: above all, speaking of managerial talent. It seems that a certain synonymy with intelligence and even leadership is sometimes suggested, but we could, perhaps more rigorously, relate talent to an innate ability to do something especially well, a special skill that we do not always discover immediately and that has been developed. to develop properly.
Management talent has certainly been talked about for a long time, and it seems appropriate to also add reflections on technical talent: on the innate disposition that has led not a few of the professionals in the knowledge economy through their curricular careers. It is convenient to stop at the singular reserve of intuitive knowledge of these workers identified with their profession, because they have a fluid connection between the unconscious and the conscience; a connection that could make a difference, and contribute decisively to high performance and innovation. Let's pay attention, yes, also, to technical talent.
It will be thought that intuition is a double-edged sword, or that the important thing is that we are all competent and even excellent, with or without the visible innate skills that we call talent; However, the professional chosen by nature is born with an advantage, and, if he develops the corresponding potential, he can achieve a unique performance and contribute significantly to improvement and innovation. Together with everything acquired later, he has a basic unconscious that, through genuine intuitive phenomenology, will make his curiosity, his insight, his creativity, his perspective and his good judgment more effective, in the performance of the task for the that seems to have been born.
Novelty is the key element of the information and knowledge era, and in fact there are experts who bet more on the expression innovation worker than on that of knowledge worker; therefore it is worth delving into the profile of the most suitable professional for innovation. The headlines of the economic press indicate here -in innovation- a pending issue of our economy and it would be necessary to better analyze why it is; we will focus in these pages on the figure of the talented worker, whose creativity is reinforced by a particular intuition. Welcome to the talented and intuitive worker in the economy of knowledge and innovation.
Although not a few of the great technical and scientific advances have benefited from the so-called sixth sense of well-known researchers, we are not talking about them here: we are talking about people closest to us, who seem to live their activity with special dedication and responsibility, as a intimate mission. If they prefer to leave the sonorous term -talent- for the most striking or exceptional cases, we can also speak of an autotelic vocation (of innate attachment to an activity for its own sake, and not for the money or impact on others that it may generate), and The same thought applies: the individual has a fluid connection between his inherited unconscious and his conscience, that is, with a singular intuition, with a more profound inner voice.
Indeed, it is often used to speak of "talent" when the achievement or activity is more spectacular (art and sports, above all), and the observers are amazed or amazed; but it is also possible to relate a good dose of it to what we most commonly see as well-founded professional vocations in childhood or adolescence, and persist afterwards: towards machines, numbers, some branch of engineering, writing, design, physics, drawing, music, teaching, public relations… Of a boy or girl who stands out in a discipline, we say things like "he likes…", "has talent for…", "without a doubt, okay", "has wood ”, and in all cases we are meaning that it excels in a certain activity; who has a fluid intuition in that field. It is a very different thing from the more childish “when I grow up I want to be…”.
In truth, all this is more complex, because the child, in its manifestations, may be more motivated by the impact it generates on their elders, than attracted by a professional path; But the fact is that some career options have a clearly inherited, endogenous origin, and this makes a difference compared to other enlistments attracted by the surrounding currents and opportunities. We have to accept, in effect, that childhood is highly conditioned in its formation, and we are also in access to a university degree and a job; so that potential talent can sometimes be hidden or ignored: in some cases, only when their lives are more or less resolved, do talented people dedicate themselves to cultivating their gifts…
Let us admit, yes, that favorable circumstances and a particular effort may allow some - only a part of those who come of age with an endogenous orientation - to carry out their apparent mission and dedicate themselves, perhaps within a suitable organization, to the corresponding activity.; It is, of course, a part of workers who live their profession with special intensity, involvement, mindfulness and commitment, and who can therefore contribute to innovation in a decisive way. One must wonder if he has a mission, a professional destiny, a purpose, an intimate identification with his work…, or if he just wants to earn a decent salary: it is different.
Undoubtedly, knowledge companies should take advantage of all the resources of their human beings and catalyze the practical expression of available talents and vocations; but the reflections displayed here are also directed to those destined by nature, in case they contribute in any case to self-knowledge and the better management of their faculties and strengths. If you are a talented worker, accept help to develop your talent, but try to manage it yourself: you are the owner of your human capital. Put it at the service of your organization, but be an owner.
The gifted would have, if you want to see it that way, a certain moral obligation to society, but in practice he lives his skill as an obligation to himself, with his professional discipline - to which he is loyal - and this, by the way, could cause you trouble in environments of militant mediocrity. You will hardly find a boss who allows you to shine more than you shine (which may be little), or count on mediocre colleagues to applaud your talent.
Let us try to focus on some possible differences between the well-trained and competent worker (of good performance, perhaps "remarkable"), and this other more talented (could reach the "honors") to which we refer, who is closely identified with his profession, and before which he displays his integrity and other personal strengths. One would say that there are companies that, in line with the leadership and follow-up models that they incorporate, consider the profile of a competent worker to be sufficient. We list only ten selected parameters to highlight differences; let's see:
- He takes continuous training courses. It accepts the information it handles as good. Apply available knowledge. He is a collaborator of his boss-leader. You are extrinsically motivated. It is basically rational. Work diligently and discipline. Look at the salary as an end. Follows procedure and is politically correct. You have chosen your profession.
And now let's address the ten parallel observations that correspond to the workers most identified with their profession, most protagonists of their work, to whom we are attributing innate talent, and in whom we could observe a greater innovative disposition:
- Practice lifelong learning. Review and contrast the information it handles. Make connections, analogies and abstractions: create. Pursue and achieve goals and objectives. He is intrinsically and autotelically motivated. Reconcile intuition and reason. Work with care and integrity. Look at the salary as a consequence. He is a critical thinker and improves procedure. He has been, in a way, chosen for his profession.
This description reveals, feature by feature, a difference that some companies are firmly committed to. It is not the same to accept the information received as good, than to properly contrast it and rigorously translate it into applicable knowledge; It is not the same to follow instructions from the boss, than to pursue objectives that you make yours; It is not the same to limit thought than to give it a free channel after achieving achievements.
But let's stop at the first difference indicated: it is not the same to attend all courses, in the classroom or online, to which one is summoned, than to assume prominence and be proactive in permanent, formal and not so formal learning. Remembering what Thomas Davenport was talking about in the turn of the century, our talented worker is perhaps more committed to informal learning than to formal learning, without discarding the latter; Perhaps his main external learning tool (e-learning) is Google (recent Prince of Asturias award), but he takes advantage of all his opportunities to learn and still enjoys doing it (autotelic learning).
There may be some companies that only do it verbally, but it seems that excellent organizations really value their people and catalyze the presence of the second profile, that of the talented and intuitive, perhaps more in line with the fullness of the human being and with the pending challenges of productivity and competitiveness. We would have to consider decidedly clumsy companies that, of their employees, value obedience more than intelligence, submission than decision, and do something else that Pío Baroja said good…
In other words, there are managers who facilitate the best (most valuable) expression of their managers, seeing them as professionals and without overstating their status as employees, subordinates, followers, collaborators or resources. And there are surely still others, at the other extreme, who only demand unconditional submission, and who neglect initiatives, suggestions, ideas…
In short, the debate would be useful for interested readers, whose particular vision would undoubtedly enrich these reflections. You bet on the maximum professional expression of the workers, including their genuine intuition.
