You are the Talent

After 2 years of cringe-worthy headlines in relation to the state of work since the pandemic, aren’t we all ready for a change in the way we treat ourselves and how we think about work itself?

In the event you’ve been living under a rock and avoiding news headlines (which I actually applaud to some extent), here are some of the statements gracing the pages of major publications over the last few years:

-??????Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem

-??????Both remote and on-site workers are grappling with serious mental health consequences of COVID-19

-??????The great attrition is making hiring harder: Are you searching the right talent pool

Oh, and there’s always solace in this one:

-??????Is the great resignation slowing you down? Let intelligent automation help you.

You can be replaced with the equivalent of a Rumba and that device won’t need a coffee break or PTO.

And now there is “quiet quitting” as if it’s new news that when individuals feel undervalued, they are no longer motivated to do work and they withdraw.

All of these headlines really revolve around one thing: Talent.

Keeping the talent.

Assessing the talent.

Engaging the talent.

Offsetting the loss of talent.

But here is the thing.

Do you know that they are all talking about you?

You, my dear, are the talent.

I love to use the word talent (vs. employee) when I think of you showing up in your career, because the talent is uber special. I know that you all hear, “it’s not about talent, it’s about effort” or to be modest, and for one hot second can you just pause? Because the behavior of discounting your worth keeps you settling. And we’re not here to settle, we’re here to shine.

When you start thinking about yourself as talent, you should feel super special. Here’s why:

The talent has confidence that withstands any situation, because he/she/they know their inner worth and ultimately the external world will catch the vibe.

The talent has standards for their environment and is relentless about pursuing those standards.

The talent has an entourage of equally talented people surrounding them.

Your number one job as the talent is to create as many experiences as possible that serves you and makes you happy.

Because happy talent performs.

Because when you embrace your talent, you inspire others to do the same.

So, if you do one thing for yourself this weekend (and I hope that you do more than that), do yourself a favor and start referring yourself as the talent. See how it changes the way you treat yourself. Because when you treat yourself better on the inside, the outside will eventually fall in place.