Talent: Is it essential?

Mark Deterding

Talent: Is it essential?

A key aspect of being an effective servant leader is the delivery of results for the people and the organization that the leader is serving. Servant leadership is not “soft.” Rather, it is about helping people and organizations achieve extraordinary results. It is about raising the bar!

Servant leaders understand that the key to delivering extraordinary results is having the right people on your team. They recognize this to be one of the most important aspects of their leadership role. A great leader never minimizes this part of their job and will take the necessary time and effort to ensure the hiring of the right people.

First and foremost, great servant leaders know and understand the key talents and values that are necessary for the roles on the team, and then they find people with those values and talents.

The reason this is so important is that talent and values cannot be taught or trained. They are ingrained within a person. The skills and knowledge required for a job can be taught and developed over time. Therefore, great leaders understand that given a choice they will always hire for values and talent.

Your best salesperson does not necessarily make your best sales manager. Your best pressman does not necessarily make your best line supervisor. Each role requires very different talents just as a goaltender in hockey requires many different talents than a receiver on a football team.

Challenge yourself to fully understand the unique talents and values that lead to exceptional performance on your team, and then go out and look for more people with those attributes. I assure you it will lead to extraordinary results!

Photo source: istock 


Mark Deterding is the founder and principal of Triune Leadership Services, LLC. In 2011 he formed Triune Leadership Services to follow his passion of working with leaders to help them develop core servant leadership capabilities that allow them to lead at a higher level and enable them to achieve their God-given potential. He is married to his wife Kim, and they have two sons, two lovely daughter-in-laws, and three wonderful grandchildren. This article was first published on triuneleadershipservices.com. Used with permission. Learn More »

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