What are talents? Why are they important? What unique talents do you possess? How do you define your talents?

According to Gallup Organization’s Buckingham and Clifton in “Now, Discover Your Strengths”, a talent is a naturally recurring pattern of thought feeling or behavior. Some examples of talent are singers with perfect pitch, musicians who play by ear without sheet music, the speed of a sprinter, or the grace and finesse of a ballet dancer. These are all talents, although the talents that we are talking about here are not focused on the physical as much as they are focused on the cerebral.

For example, one of the 34 Talent themes identified by the Gallup organization is “Analytical”. A person with this talent is always digging into data to validate theories, statements and thoughts. The data has to prove the point being made. Or how about the WOO talent, Winning Others Over. A person with this talent is energized by meeting new people and forming friendships with these people.

Now, just because you have a talent in a particular area doesn’t mean that you don’t have to work at this talent to fully develop. It just means that you find this area easiest to work in (and probably more enjoyable) than other areas. A good example of raw talent is Michael Jordan. Perhaps the best athlete to ever live, Jordan’s raw talent far surpassed the developed talent of many National Basketball Association players. However, the thing that made Michael Jordan really stand out was that he recognized his strengths and worked hard to develop them – to the point that on the court, he became an almost unstoppable force. Each week, he spent many hours developing his skills in the area of his talent. He would practice shooting, dunking, passing, and dribbling for hours, even after practice when the rest of the team had left. In contrast, Mickey Mantle – one of the best baseball players of all time – greatly limited his effectiveness by not capitalizing on his talents. Mantle was well-known for his drinking binges and his aversion to practice in the off-season. Most baseball experts agree that Mantle never achieved his full potential. He was expected to surpass players like Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth. It never happened because Mantle did not develop his talents. He relied on his raw talent and a minimal amount of practice. In doing this, he limited his potential.

The key to success is to identify your talents and then build on these talents by developing skills and gaining knowledge in these talent areas. You can use skills and knowledge to improve in an area of strength, but skills are not talents, nor can knowledge about a subject be called a talent. Anyone can gain knowledge or acquire skills in any area, regardless of their natural talents, but no one can become talented in a particular area unless raw, undeveloped talent is already present.

There are a number of tools available to help you determine your top talents. However, it is recommended that the Gallup Organization’s StrengthsFinder tool be used due to the vast amount of research and development that has gone into this tool.