In contrast to skill, talent is about how people learn and turn that learning into a capacity to improve.
Because of their ability to draw insights from experience and apply that learning to performance, talented team members excel more quickly than others, often with less formal training.
Many attributes indicate talent, including intrinsic motivation to improve, emotional regulation, tolerance for ambiguity, high curiosity, and cognitive flexibility, among many others.
As leaders look to discern talent, one attribute that is often overlooked is the attitude of gratefulness.
People who feel and express gratitude tend to reflect on experiences more accurately and extract lessons from outcomes.
Because they are appreciative of the opportunities afforded them, grateful team members generally receive and act on feedback differently. They don’t interpret criticism as correction. Instead, they see it as help.
But the biggest reason gratefulness is such a strong sign of talent is relational.
Experts and mentors are more likely to invest in a grateful person, so they receive more support from others and capitalize on the trust they are extended.
Their gratefulness changes how others collaborate with them.
Grateful people are more likely to acknowledge the contribution of others early and often, share credit instead of hoarding it, behave fairly and with good intentions in social situations, and accept responsibility for failures or mistakes.
This makes grateful team members more desirable as partners and colleagues.
Those who appreciate others and are generally grateful get invited to engage in learning opportunities, and they take full advantage of what can be garnered in those experiences.
Once engaged, the discretionary effort others direct toward them tends to go above and beyond.
The relationships they build in the process amplify their collaborative spirit. Talent doesn’t grow in isolation. It needs other capable people and learning opportunities to develop.
Grateful team members attract both. So, the next time you assess whether someone is truly talented and not just skillful, discern their level of gratefulness.
The more grateful people are, the more their talents are recognized and invested in by others.
For those who are genuinely talented, gratefulness magnifies their ability to learn, which is what talent is all about.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
