Managing the Talented
So Po Bronson seems to be rebounding from his lame career-exploration book, taking a more Malcolm Gladwell turn in his recent New York Magazine article. It combines the Alfie Kohn’s basic work with some new studies and some self-esteem backlash. Not much new, but a good synthesis.
He touches some on the challenge of mentoring and managing the talented, which is something I became fascinated with when studying the attributes of animation directors.
I’ve noticed that masters of managing creative people don’t shower them with praise. They instead give them a few hailstones of well-chosen criticism.
As I mentioned in my first article on Pixar they have these attributes:
They “get it” - they are master analyzers in their field. This lets them critique quickly and effectively. People who don’t “get it” are hard to take seriously and those who do are sought after for their thoughts.
They’re enthusiastic - they clearly are excited about the work and about working with people to do it. So when they criticize work, it motivates even better work, rather than throwing a wet blanket on it.
They have a definite critical opinion - they know what they’re looking for and criticize freely. They don’t temper their critique to be accepted, to seem friendly, to look sophisticated or to make more money.
They focus on the right things - they offer specific criticism, picking apart something for its strengths and weaknesses. They aren’t satisfied with just telling you their general opinion – they’ll tell you “I didn’t like it, and here’s why…”
I’m really fascinated by the subject of managing the talented, from sports to business to arts to oneself and even to parenting. Talent is limited most by our limitations in directing it.