We all spend a great deal of time trying to figure out the best possible ways to predict potential success in those we recruit and interview.
And we aren't alone.
Where there exists a big
question, you can usually find big research. Many people within the field of psychology
spend ample time and research dollars trying to predict the same.
While reading Martin Seligman's most recent book, called "Flourish," I am, once again, struck by how far research has come in boiling down "achievement" to its primary components.
The following is an excerpt of an article summarizing the research on this topic.
"Many people think that if you are smart and have enough talent, you will succeed in fields such as sports, music, education and business. When we think of great people in history such as Mozart, Edison, Confucius, and Shakespeare we hear about their talent and intelligence.
But true genius is being shown to be as much a product of grit as intelligence or skill.
A study of genius (By Dr Angela L. Duckworth and Christopher Peterson) in twenty-one fields, including astronomy, music, mathematics, Eastern and Western philosophy, painting and literature showed that only two or three giants stand way ahead in each of these fields, a few top performers outdistance the rest by a huge amount.
For example, in the publication of scientific papers, very few people publish many papers, but the majority of scientists publish none or only one. In golf, only three golfers have won sixty or more PGA tournaments (Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods). Greatness and high achievement are reserved for only a few. It is their grittiness, as well as their intelligence and skill that caused their success.
The equation that predicts success is: (Skill) x (Effort) = Achievement.
Martin Seligman, a well known academic and psychologist, in his recent book “Flourish,” points to a a great deal of research that shows achievement can be understood and predicted by the following four factors.
SPEED: Seligman calls this ‘Fast’ and it is the sheer speed of your thought about a task. This involves how much and how quickly you have access to relevant knowledge on the task. It is hard to develop this. You either have it or you don’t.
MINDFULNESS: He calls this ‘Slow’. This is the ability to call up memories, plan, check, review and be creative in examining and exploring the task. This can be learned through meditation and mindfulness practices such as walking, eating with attention, and breath awareness.
RATE OF LEARNING: The faster your rate of learning, the more knowledge you can accumulate about the area. This is different from sheer speed of thought. This occurs by being involved in new, challenging, and tight time-lined projects and through reviewing “lessons learned.”
EFFORT: Time on task. This is the time spent on doing or practicing the task and multiplies the skill available in achieving the goal. It also adds to speed since more time spent on a task results in more knowledge of it.Research has shown that extraordinary achievement in sports, chess, music, writing and business is not just talent or IQ but the amount of hours you practice something. If you want to be great at something practice it for 60 hours a week for 20 years!"
When reading the literature, I am left with questions I believe we all need to be asking if we expect to continue learning, growing, and getting better at what we do:
1. Can you find both sides of this equation being lived out in those you know who have succeeded?
2. Does it clearly differentiate workers who succeed from those who don't?
3. Did the successful individuals come with one or both characteristics, or did they develop them?
4. Do people lose either side of the equation with time? If so ,how and why?
5. Can you teach this equation in a way where it will inspire people to develop a growth mindset and better pursue both sides of the equation?
6. Are there components of the equation that are missing? (i.e. interests, signature strengths or innate wiring etc.)
Let me know your answers or other questions that I might be missing.
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
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