Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that talent is generally innate, while skill is acquired, meaning learned later, said, “To live in life is to take risks. The talents of a person who loves to take risks develop. For one to love taking risks, they need to feel secure and their ideas must be respected.” Tarhan stated that the talents of intelligent but lazy people do not develop, adding, “Talent develops in a person who can dream. Childhood dreams remind us of our own inclinations regarding talents. Pay attention to what dreams your child has. Those dreams can be related to their talents.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that talent is generally innate and skill is an acquired, or subsequently learned, characteristic, explained the issue of skill and talent as follows:
“We can label driving a car as a skill, but, for example, the area related to spatial orientation – the brain’s directional memory – differs in women and men. Men's abilities related to spatial orientation in the brain are a step ahead, whereas women need to work more for it. Similarly, the same applies to empathy, for example. While a thousand experiences might be enough for a woman to learn empathy, perhaps 2,500 experiences are needed for a man.”
'5 Percent Intelligence, 95 Percent Work'
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, explaining that there are 12 basic personalities in humans, and in each personality, certain aspects are strong and prominent, said, “According to some views, the genetic influence on personality might be 30 percent, or 40 percent. They ask Edison, ‘How did you make so many discoveries?’ He replies, ‘5 percent intelligence, 95 percent work.’”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan, noting the importance for parents to guide their child according to their talents from an early age, explained that when talents and environment align, a superb work emerges, citing Mozart as an example.
A Child Growing Up in a Rule-Bound and Orderly Environment Feels Secure
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that internal and external conditions exist for a person to discover their talents, and continued as follows:
“A child growing up in a rule-bound and orderly environment feels secure, feels secure about their future. There are even studies that have been conducted. For a person to feel a sense of belonging to an institution, first comes loving the institution, second comes feeling secure within the institution, and third comes the salary received. For example, if a child loves their mother, father, and home, the path for their talents opens up. They feel secure when there is freedom. If they love their workplace, if they come to work enthusiastically, if they can immerse themselves in a task for hours, they can do superb work. You see people making discoveries in laboratories, Nobel laureates, virtually living day and night in the laboratory.”
Talents Do Not Develop in Those Who Are Intelligent but Lazy
Tarhan stated that “Currently, many institutions in Turkey, especially state institutions, are full of intelligent but lazy people,” adding that the talents of those who are intelligent but lazy do not develop. Tarhan said, “What increases talents is effort, endeavor. For that effort to exist, a desire must come from within the person. For desire to exist, there must be a need.”
Ideas Must Be Respected
Prof. Dr. Tarhan emphasized the importance of taking risks, saying, “To live in life is to take risks. The talents of a person who loves to take risks develop. For one to love taking risks, they need to feel secure and their ideas must be respected. In workplaces, for example, during a management meeting, the boss always gives a motivational speech and doesn't listen to anyone. Talents won't develop there; everyone just tries to please the boss.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that for a child to develop their talents, they need to feel loved, adding, “In life, the role of a mother and father is not to be a captain for the child, but a guide pilot.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that a stressful environment has a positive effect on some individuals, acting as a motivating factor, adding, “In some individuals, it creates a defensive effect. They adopt an opposite identity.”
If We Direct the Dreams of Individuals Who Dream Towards the Right Goals, Talents Develop
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, emphasizing the importance of creating a climate of possibilities rather than a climate of pressure in talent management, continued as follows:
“Peaceful competition develops talents. Competition is more important than pressure, a peaceful competition... It's not about getting ahead by harming others, but setting a goal for oneself and competing with that goal, not competing with others. Vision is important. That's why companies undertake vision, mission, and values work.”
Talents Develop in Individuals Who Can Dream
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, reminding that assigning meaning to one's work according to high ideals and performing it is vision, and thinking about what can be done is mission, said, “Dreaming is very important for this. If we direct the dreams of individuals who dream towards the right goals, talents develop. That is, the first thing in talent management is to give a person the opportunity to dream. This is what we call the climate of possibilities, dreaming…”
Tarhan concluded his words by saying, “Talents develop in a person who can dream.”
“Let's look at our own childhood dreams; whatever we dreamed, most likely we have talents in that direction. In other words, childhood dreams remind us of our own inclinations regarding talents. Or pay attention to what dreams your child has. Those dreams can be related to their talents. The talents of individuals who can ask questions, who succeed in asking, who can ask questions and research, develop. A person who can succeed in adding meaning to a job can develop their talents. Also, it is important for a person to know their weaknesses.”