# The Talent Myth By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-10-11 Talent is undeniably valuable. It is easy to see the difference between someone talented in something and someone not. However, most talents within the workplace are teachable to a high level of performance. Think of it this way: no one is born with the ability to read. If one is never taught to read, it is very unlikely that one will learn it independently. That being said, some are much more talented in the abilities needed to read, so they pick it up faster and perform better in increasingly complex reading tasks. What tasks is one innately good at doing at work because of a natural talent? Sitting in a meeting quietly? Copying and pasting data from one form to another? Conducting performance reviews? Dealing with customers? Moving from point A to point B? Humans are not naturally talented at most work tasks. They are learned tasks. Most people possess the talent to be sufficient at these tasks under the right conditions. If they are not, many jobs exist based on preferences and individual needs. When looking to hire someone for a job, many focus on talented individuals performing particular tasks, but talent has little to do with most of what work ends up being about. Most people can achieve anything within modern working conditions with the right system, instruction, and leader. Give me a random group of people who want to work, a sound system for development and growth, and a leader who acts in solidarity, and we can perform in the top 10% of 99% of all work tasks. Rarely is the issue within an organization talent. It's often the system and mindset that the system creates and incentivizes. Within bad systems, one always blame the talent for the shortcomings. This an act of protectionism by the system and those who benefit from it's operation. Talent is valuable, but not the reason organizations continue to fail. #### Related Items [[Talent]] [[Work]] [[Failure]] [[Myths]] [[Hiring]] [[Leadership]] [[Development]] [[Excuses]]