So What Does Talent Have To Do With Anything?
By now we are familiar with what happens at the beginning of each season of “American Idol.” Thousands of would-be superstars line up to audition before Randy, Paula, and the curmudgeonly Simon.
Of the thousands who audition, only a handful make it to the successive rounds. Many of the others make specatacles of themselves while trying out. They open their mouths to sing, but what comes out is hardly music at all. Some enter the room and perform with all sincerity but completely out of tune. And when told that they will not, under any circumstance, advance to the next round of the competition they begin to cry, some pleading, “But I worked so hard!”
No doubt that they did work hard to prepare for their audition. But lacking talent it is impossible to excel.
Still, look what happens to a contestant on one of Simon’s other shows, “Britain’s Got Talent:”
What do you think?
Was there more to it than “working hard” to prepare for the audition?
Let me know what you think.
Filed under Our Blog by Fr. Daniel Mahan
Comments on So What Does Talent Have To Do With Anything?
Hi, Fr. Dan and Jean….
I finally sat down and took the time to look at this website. What a nice job! I especially loved the utube clip of the the English version – You have talent. That is so inspiring. I plan to add that clip in my Living Your Strengths sessions.
We are at an important place in our LYS program. We continue to offer the sessions to our parishioners and they are going well. We also continue to experience our disengaged staff. I feel that this might be a good time to try to bring together all that have gone through the program for a retreat. Get them to refocus on what the program is about and take them through some processes to give them a little shot in the arm. When I took this to the staff, I was met with “we don’t have time to do this”. Ouch. Creating a retreat is definitely not one of my strengths. Finding someone(s)to facilitate such an endeavor is very important to me.
Have any of the parishes who have engaged in the LYS program developed programs that go beyond the 4 sessions? Can you offer me any suggestions? I truly believe that I am on the right path, but it is hard to be sure when I am wondering in the desert here. I think Lent is a perfect time to refocus and renew, but what do I know.
Your humble follower,
Maggie Quinn
Maggie,
Don’t lose heart! It is so challenging when staff members drag their feet (not only in strengths development, but in any aspect of pastoral life).
I know that you’re not alone, and experienced similar sentiments from staff members at my parish when we introduced Living Your Strengths a few years ago.
I love your idea of a retreat. Here’s what I have seen other groups do to try to further the process:
Set aside a half day (I agree — Lent is a perfect time for this, but even then, people’s lives are packed, so a half day might be easier to arrange without major grumbling.)
Begin with prayer using the parable of the talents as the focus passage of scripture;
Ask people to share one way in which they have recognized or used one talent theme in the last few weeks. This gives the group an opportunity to hear “successes” from one another; invite them to affirm each other as they recognize the themes at work in one another;
Invite participants to pair with someone they would not normally have the opportunity to interact with (this will be more likely to keep the conversation focused, since those who typically work together might be more inclined to wander into other conversation). Ask the pairs to share their top 5, one “ah-ha” for each, and perhaps one talent theme that still seems undeveloped, underdeveloped, or somehow sleeping. The pairs will have a chance to hear their partner share experiences that are sure to resonate with their interactions with one another, and will give another opportunity for affirmation.
Finally, talk for just a few minutes about team-building, either among staff or within parishioner ministries. This might be tough, so don’t plan long for this, but it could also be really helpful. Now that the Strengths Based Leadership book is out, there is much helpful information upon which people can build. The book describes four domains of leadership, with the 34 themes grouped into the four domains. It’s an easy way for people to see how they function when they are “at their best,” and it is a clear way for people to look at the ways their teams are or are not balanced.
End with prayer.
I know it might be difficult to get people to agree to even a half day, and honestly in my experience, even 45 minutes just to be reminded of the importance of strengths development is powerful, so if a half-day seems to create more grumbling rather than the possibility of building community, perhaps that is your beginning point, and then consider a parishioner leader retreat day as described above… as the positive shifts of strengths begin to permeate the parishioners, the staff just might find the need to catch up with the rest along the way!
May God continue to bless you and all in your parish,
Leisa