| I didn’t realize I had so much to unpack!” That is how a new client ended our first coaching session recently. Partnering with professionals who want to develop their skills is one of the things I most enjoy doing, especially when clients are hungry to get to the next level. Having a thought partner brings a lot of value and clarity to the challenges we face. Coaching is a new profession, not yet 30 years old, and it has become a fixture in large and small companies because it works. Executive coaching is known for further developing leaders by increasing awareness and emotional intelligence, improving listening and questioning skills, recognizing areas of development, giving and receiving feedback, acting as a thought and accountability partner, and encouraging lifelong learning. |
| Worth The Share |
| Working as a coach, maximizing human performance is often at the top of my mind. This article from Fast Company caught my attention: “What Matters More to Success, Talent or Hard Work? A Psychologist Explains” So what is it? Nature versus nurture; talent versus effort? It is widely thought that our |
| innate talent, our gene pool, is directly correlated to our talent. The author, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, defines talent as performance minus effort, so “the more talent you have, the less effort you need to achieve high performance, and vice versa.” However, talent is a function of our personality traits, such as grit and conscientiousness. Hard work is primarily considered to be about nurture, how we were raised, and how much effort we put into things. Now, this is the interesting part—the traits associated with TALENT have about the same genetic basis as those predictors associated with EFFORT, which is about 50%. Why does this matter? Since talent and effort are separate dimensions of potential, and we look at them that way, we can dial up one if the other area falls short. Some of the insights he shares in the article include: There are no significant gender differences between men and women when looking at most aspects of talentMen have an edge in spatial thinkingWomen have an edge with emotional intelligence and leadership skillsIn contrast, at a young age, girls show higher self-control and conscientiousness, which are both tied to effort Dr. Chamorro-Premuzic says that if we selected leaders based on talent, skills, and potential, women would slightly edge out men if we were gender-blind when choosing talent. Here is some good news: ” Nobody is born with their talent or their effort fully developed or fixed, and everybody needs to invest time and focus into boosting their effort and harnessing their talent.” To do that, tap into your company’s resources and talk to your boss about creating a professional development plan to develop your talents. Put in the effort and focus. Even if your company doesn’t invest in you, commit to investing in yourself. To learn more, read “What Matters More to Success, Talent or Hard Work? A Psychologist Explains” |
| #wisewords “Some people dream of success while others wake up and work.” — Winston Churchill |
| And Finally… |
| Now that summer is here, what are your plans to rest? I mean, truly rest? If you are vacationing to explore Europe, Japan, or Mexico or discover the treasures across the US, build in time to rest. When you come back from vacation, take some time to relax before jumping |
| back into your busy life. We all need time to recharge our batteries; they won’t recharge unless we unplug for a few days or even a few hours. Read a good book, detach from your devices, get off social media, and maybe sit outside and do nothing. |
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