Arts, science, architecture, astronomy, completed it mate. Why can’t we all be more like Da Vinci?
Leonardo Da Vinci was a man of many talents, who crossed and interlinked subject boundaries in a way that we rarely see. As an accomplished painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, astronomist, botanist, cartographer, and even palaeontologist, he was a supreme polymath.
In modern society, we are taught to stick to clearly defined boundaries from a young age via our schooling, where subjects are split out. It naturally then follows that we organise ourselves in a similar way at work, where we have clearly defined job descriptions that list our roles and responsibilities. This delineates the work that we are supposed to do, which we, as dutiful citizens, then follow.
Whilst this works in certain instances, it falls drastically short in others. Consider this, it is evident that high-performing talent materialises where a personality fits the context, across skills, culture, and knowledge. As such, some people will naturally do better in certain jobs than others. For an employer though, it can be incredibly difficult to ascertain whether an employee is going to be that high performer or whether they will muddle in mediocrity.
On top of the performance lottery, it also means that some employees simply aren’t using their full breadth of skills. This restricts them to performing certain tasks that have been predetermined and breeds humanoid robots who follow tasks as instructed. And to add the cherry on top, employees are rarely given the proper training to effectively perform the tasks they are charged with in the first place (1). What a pickle.
The amazing thing about all this? We don’t even know what we’re missing.
Most workers do not use their best talents on a day-to-day basis. And by talent I am not talking about your colleague’s ability to sink a six-foot putt, I am talking about the talents that hold true benefit to your organisation. There are simply missed opportunities everywhere.
For example, take a school janitor. Their job description might detail that they are responsible for maintaining a clean and healthy facility. But what if the janitor had a knack for reading people and reframed their role to consider the school facility in a wider sense? They could help to alert teachers if they sensed any concerns with particular children, or for that matter overworked teachers themselves.
Beyond this, job descriptions rarely detail what employees actually want to do. People like what they are good at, and there is a significant motivation boost when people are able to leverage their talents.
But let’s also consider the performers who are excelling in the right role. What ends up happening with that tranche of bright sparks? They jump to the next level often forcing them into roles where they no longer use those skills. We take our best sales people and put them into a position where they are no longer selling. Instead, they manage a team of other salespeople, no matter if this leverages their talents or not.
These are the systems we have built, where seniority and compensation are inherently linked to certain roles and responsibilities. A sales rep is not going to be rewarded the same as a sales manager, so naturally everyone strives to be a manager, whether they are suitable for the role or not.
So, how do we better use employees’ talents? For a start, find out what they are. You may be surprised at what you find. From there? I would suggest having a look at some of the thinking from our friends over at Corporate Rebels. Maybe then we can put some more smiles on faces around the office.
This blog is part three of a four-part series on people and change management. Find out more information on the series here, and if you need any support tackling your business challenges, get in touch.