In a recent interview, Rahul Dravid – one of the greatest cricketers produced by India- addressed the topic of talent and put it in perspective. Afterall, he was not considered a naturally gifted player, but went on to become one of the game’s legends through sheer hard work, grit and determination. He said that we tend to define talent incorrectly, or may be incompletely ie. we focus too much on ‘natural ability’.

My interpretation of what Rahul Dravid said is this: optimising talent and putting it to best use is also an important talent, perhaps more important than raw talent. That is why we have underachievers and overachievers. People who go beyond what everyone’s assessment of their talent is, are called overachievers. We look at them with awe. While those who don’t, are the underachievers – we look at them with mixed feelings of pity, of regret, a perennial question mark on “What might have been” , “what should have been”.

Talent is as much about sharpening the saw, of continuous improvement and betterment. It is about maximising potential and optimising the diverse skills and innate abilities that we are all gifted with or acquire as we grow in life.

If you are committed and work hard enough at a goal, you will be sure to uncover a host of hidden talents that you didn’t know you possessed!

- Contributed by Jeet Victor
Jeet Victor is an inspirational writer who writes on a range of topics related to winning, success, motivation and self-actualisation.

Image courtesy: RhythymofSuccess

In this article, I will make you understand on why and how to develop strong leadership skills.

Why?
Successful management is not just about assigning tasks to the team but, to achieve them as well. It’s more about inspiring your team members and help them achieve their potential. And you can only inspire them if they respect you. And to be respected, you must develop good leadership skills.

How?

1. Ask for feedback: don’t just blindly think that you’re a good leader. At all intervals, ask for feedback. Doing so will help you in a big way. Based on feedback from others, you can understand your skills better and you will know what changes to be made.

2. Pay attention: there is a vast difference between hearing and listening. Always listen carefully to what your team members are saying. Whether it’s their problems or suggestions think of them as your own and listen. And then accordingly give your empathies or suggestions to them.

3. Communicate: a good leader must know to communicate well. Make sure that you are heard well. It is important that you’re tone of speaking is positive and motivating.

4. Respect your team members: a fundamental part of developing leadership skills is to learn to respect your team’s potential. Give them a chance to take decisions on certain issues. And when you trust them, do it completely.

5. Mean what you say: here’s a simple example; if you stress a lot on punctuality to your team members, then make sure that you’re punctual yourself first, when it comes to deadines or any other important thing. Don’t just preach, rather practice it as well.

6. Allocate leadership: leadership should not be all about you. Make sure that you distribute tasks evenly among your team members. Give them also a chance to explore and learn by themselves. There is no way better than involving more people in the leadership process.

7. Evaluate your success with that of the team: when in a team, success is not all about you. You should be responsible enough to ensure that along with you, your team is also developing. Help them in building their skills as this will enhance motivation and team performance.

Article contributed by Namrata More.