HOW TO MANAGE YOUR OWN TALENT

What is TALENT?
The word comes from the Classical Latin term TALENTUM. In ancient days TALENT was a currency used by Greeks and Romans for commercial trades.
We can consider it as the potential that, in a certain moment, a person can develop, that it makes him/her standing out from the rest of people and it leads him/her to do a specific task successfully.
Talent can be innate (naturally gifted through genes) and therefore, it is kept for the whole life; or acquired through constant learning and training, but eventually, it easily can be lost if you stop practising it.
Summing up, talent is a mix of "KNOW-HOW, WANT TO DO and CAN DO it".

What is TALENT related to?
We newly find ourselves in front of the famous McClelland's Competency Model trinomial, so much used in the organizations's HR area: KNOW (knowledge), KNOW-HOW (aptitude) and WANT TO DO (attitude).
KNOW: capability to acquire knowledge. It is related to the classical intelligence.
KNOW-HOW: set of skills that are had to perform an activity. It is quite easy to develop through Training.
WANT TO DO: attitude that someone addes to that performance. It is closely related to (*)Emotional Intelligence term coined by Daniel Goleman. We would include here the concepts of: Values, Motivations, Personality Features and Attitudes of the person. It is more difficult to develop, which makes Companies to include it directly through their Recruitment Processes: “You can teach a turkey how to climb, but it is easier to hire a squirrel".

 (*)"Emotional Intelligence is defined as the ability to control one's own emotions and emotions of others in order to assure a mutually satisfactory result". (DanielGoleman-1995). American psychologist.

How can we develop TALENT?
Based in expert opinions in the matter, we find ten keys that could help us to discover and develop our own personal talent:

1. Discover your real vocation
2. Integrate yourself in a tonic environment, not toxic
3. Devote yourself, body and soul, to what you really like it
4. Make yourself different
5. Forgive to whom offends you
6. Rely on the help of a coach to become set
7. Savour what life offers you
8. Get someone's influence gathers you up
9. Give at least 10.000 hours to your training and development
10. Create a powerful brand.

What example from our daily life could help us to understand TALENT concept?

Bearing in mind the great interest this sport wakes up, the best example we can find it in SOCCER.

A talented soccer player fulfills some requirements that help him to stand out in his professional facet.

He knows the soccer rules perfectly (KNOWLEDGE). He has the required skills for the control of the ball, for planning the play, for giving the correct passes to his team mates or scoring a goal (APTITUDE). And, last but not the least, he possesses the fight spirit and devotion needed in the play field (ATTITUDE).

Nevertheless, it is also added a daily training and effort, that it keeps him in a perfect fit and, at the same time, it helps him to perform his task in the field successfully and to obtain the best results in the match.