The Five Talents That Really Matter: How Great Leaders Drive Extraordinary Performance

by Barry Conchie, Sarah Dalton

A former Gallup Global Leadership Research and Development leader and the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Strengths-Based Leadership draws from original research comprising interviews with high-performing global leaders to present for the first time a new model that demystifies the aura and complexity surrounding high performing leaders.   The leadership space is rife with myths, such as the belief that anyone can be a leader with enough effort or that a leader's strengths can be their greatest weaknesses. According to Barry Conchie and his business partner Sarah Dalton, these statements are complete BS. The Five Talents That Really Matter dispels the fluff in leadership literature, unveiling the traits and characteristics that truly determine high-performance leadership.   This book serves as a guide, stripping away misconceptions and providing a template against which career-driven managers and leaders can assess and develop their capabilities. The five evidence-based talent dimensions Setting   High-performing leaders guide their organizations through complex situations and articulate the value that so many employees find motivational and engaging. Building   Driven by a burning work ethic, Talented leaders set an exacting example. They measure progress, and recognize that the most Talented employees beneath them demand their greatest attention and support. Exerting   Talented leaders assert a clear point of view and persuasively drive change and improvement, never settling for average outcomes. Increasing   Outstanding leaders prioritize people, establishing effective followership through purposeful and ethical behavior, and demonstrating care and concern for those they lead. Controlling High performing leaders understand their organizations, driving superior performance by establishing protocols and guardrails while showing agility and flexibility when circumstances change.   Through meticulous research, assessment, and testing, Conchie and Dalton have built a database that predicts the talents and behaviors of the most successful leaders.  In this book they present for the first the first time a scientific model that demystifies the aura and complexity surrounding high performing leaders.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

Published August 27, 2024

Reviews

[Varsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Controversial and extremely thought provoking perspectives shared on the fact that leadership is a talent that cannot be learned! Whether you agree or disagree with the authors, the insights shared will certainly make you reflect on your idea of leadership.

[Eugene ghaiklor Obrezkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

As any of similar books in this category, it is hard to say things like “I like it, everything is written there is true, and I agree with that” or “I don't like it, I don't agree with anything written there”.

There is stuff that I agree with and there is stuff I think is kind of stretched. However… as with any books from this category, we are free to choose for ourselves, what we think is true for us.

And in this regard, I liked it. Authors are discussing the innate traits that a human should possess in order to be if not an exceptional leader, but at least a good one.

The book is structured in a way that every chapter is discussing one of their “talents” as they named it. So as a reader, you have a pretty narrow context in a chapter, where are the thoughts from authors like “Ok, we think that an ability to set long-term direction is really matters, here are our thoughts on the topic” are present.

There is, however, a one chapter I didn't like. The chapter where the authors are telling all the details about how they made all the statistical work. How they tried to solve issues like bias, when interviewing leadership. For me, it was too much and while I still read it and I understand that seems like they really did their job, I didn't understand anything from the chapter :)

So, to conclude. I liked the book, except the single chapter about details on how the research have been executed. It gave me some insights on people's traits and gave me some brain food to process and think about. And that's what I wanted.

[Renee Rubin Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conchie developed a predictive assessment for exceptional leaders. Their criteria is a)achieving number one ranked performance in finance and/or process/functional metrics b)top quartile score in employee engagement c)achieving these for three consecutive years.

Coming from the nonprofit sector, I question how well these criteria apply beyond the corporate sector.

I also wonder about the static perspective on Talents - that leaders “have them” or don’t - which made the book less interesting to me. It isn’t especially helpful in terms of leadership development.

The description of the Talents themselves were sort of interesting - and also overwhelming.

In the end the book felt like a 300 page informercial for their assessment. I suppose that they share enough evidence that their assessment can identify exceptional corporate leaders. But for those of us who aren’t seeking to do that, it feels less useful.

[Fukky Tantang · Rating 3 out of 5]

The five talents:
1) Setting direction for the team
2) Having the internal drive to succeed
3) Influencing and leading the team towards improvement
4) Build great relationship (within the team and externally)
5) Having the ability to execute complex "missions"

Note:
1) Meetings where you discussed ideas and possibilities are preferable to a meeting where you tick off the 'to-do' list ('get things done'). Leaders think about possibilities and not just become an "action junkie"
2) Great leaders are quick to terminate poor performers in the team
3) It is OK (in fact encouraged) for a leader to revisit a decision that has already been made. This shows that a leader is always seeking to achieve the best outcome.
4) Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same "attention/time" from the leader.
5) Manager rating does not measure performance.

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gleaned several insights that I thought were unique. However, there were also some declarative statements that I thought could be challenged.