What’s Your Mindset? Is Talent Nature or Nurture?
Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 by Frank Roche
Some people have talent and others just don’t, right? The smart ones don’t really need training and development, they just know what to do, right? You waste your time trying to bring along the slackers, right?
You can probably guess right now that the “right” answer is “no.” I just finished reading an article that was recommended enthusiastically by Guy Kawasaki called The Effort Effect. The article is a review of the research on talent and success by Stanford psychologist Prof. Carol Dweck, who recently wrote Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Quick summary:
Through more than three decades of systematic research, she has been figuring out answers to why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others don’t—why some become Muhammad Ali and others Mike Tyson. The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed.
What’s more, Dweck has shown that people can learn to adopt the latter belief and make dramatic strides in performance. These days, she’s sought out wherever motivation and achievement matter, from education and parenting to business management and personal development.
I put in my order for Mindset this morning. The entire concept has some direct bearing on performance management, which is one of those processes, along with road construction and planning, could use a huge overhaul. Prof. Dweck’s research has business thinkers talking about HR implications:
Business School professor Jeffrey Pfeffer says Dweck’s research has implications for the more workaday problem of performance management. He faults businesses for spending too much time in rank-and-yank mode, grading and evaluating people instead of developing their skills. “It’s like the Santa Claus theory of management: who’s naughty and who’s nice.”
I’ll get Mindset read and write a review within a week. I’m going to bet that my mindset will be reset. Hooray again for “strong opinions, loosely held.”
Robyn McMaster
Mar 15th, 2007
Frank, great article.
Not only does cognitive research support this, so does research in neuroscience. The more we work at a skill the more our brain rewires and develops new dendrite brain cells for that skill.
However, a person needs to work on different approaches for that skill because othewise it develops only one pattern. Gaining a skill does not necessarily include problem solving that may be needed.
You’re right on the money that nurture does have applications to the business world, but since you’re an HR specialist, I’m sure you know that a one-time presentation does not equal the skill. It takes time, practice and tranfer in several ways to get the depths.
I agree with you that mindset has much to do with this and helping employees improve skills does much more that performance reports.
Mary-Louise
Mar 15th, 2007
I work for Guy Kawasaki. Thanks for the link to Guy’s blog posting: “The Effort Effect!”
Mary-Louise
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/
Frank Roche
Mar 15th, 2007
Hi Mary-Louise…Guy is always so on the money, I could link daily! I really appreciated this find…I’m looking forward to reading this book.
Frank Roche
Mar 16th, 2007
Robyn….so true…one time does not a skill make. Rewiring seems to be at the heart…and I’ve learned a lot reading your work…it’s such interesting work for HR, especially because there are segments of HR that like the “idea de jour.” It takes more for an idea to hold is what I hear you say…unfortunately people move along too quickly to the next thing before perfecting the one they’re working on.