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Your strengths and weaknesses are talent possibilities?
My answer would be YES!
The definition of talent is: a natural strength a person uses unconsciously to get what he wants or to prevent what he does not want (to happen). Talents are derived from a person’s drivers and are positively worded behaviors. Drives are a person’s stable needs and they are the building blocks of a person’s personality. They have a major influence on people’s behavior and their (potential) development.
I read this on the internet, written by a student from Cape Town named Jonathan Black: Talent exists when strong genetics and a desire to practice come together to create superior ability for a specific activity. It can only exist along with a deliberate interest.
This made me think and I realized he was quite right this young student. Let me explain!
If we take, for example, the driver Decision Making. This is the extend to which a person wants to take clear positions, has the need to make and stand by decisions. Some people are very decisive and have a desire to take decisions quickly and efficiently. They hold strong opinions and stick to them. Whilst other people feel the need to consider different points of view, various facts and circumstances before taking a decision, They are more nuanced and they will consult other opinions. Same driver two different talents …. decides quickly versus takes time and consults.
Other example: Energy and Action, which is the extend to which a person has the need for action and the energy to perform tasks and to achieve goals. A talent that can derive from this driver is the need for action, to be productive and feeling up to anything. There is a strong focus on action. Whilst on the other end of the spectrum is a person who is calm and patient, economic with his energy and allows other to take initiative. Two different talents yet again.
All this to illustrate that sometimes being indecisive can feel as a pitfall, but there might be a hidden talent. Look further… if you have received feedback from your line manager that you take decisions too quickly or you are too easily distracted? It might feel as a weakness, but try to find out from which driver this behavior comes and realize it is a talent as much as it is a pitfall. It will all depend on what your job function and/or what your work environment demands of you whether the talent will help or hinder you. It does not change the fact that the driver, the need is there.
