I’m not usually one for drawing on popular culture to emphasize a point, but every once in a while a situation arises that just begs for use as a reference.
Like many Americans I was saddened this past week to learn that an injury during rehearsals for Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance would force Canadian ballet dancer Alex Wong to withdrawal from competition. I am not a fan of ballet and I myself can’t dance, but I confess, watching a small cadre of amateur and professional dancers push themselves beyond all limits each and every week to master new styles of dance is extremely entertaining.
In a teary eyed and heartfelt goodbye, everyone connected to the show including the judges, choreographers and fellow contestants indicated that Alex’s presence forced everyone else to be better. Emmy award winning choreographer and judge described Alex Wong as “one of the greatest dancers—if not the greatest dancer—to ever come through our stage.” No matter who wins this season, their victory will always be clouded by Alex Wong’s inability to continue in the competition.
The point that we in the human capital management profession should hone in on is that often, access to truly top talent, even if just for a short time can make everyone else a better performer.
I learned during my years as a technical and executive recruiter that in nearly every profession there are ubër talented individuals that simply are not challenged enough by full-time opportunities and choose to engage on a short-term contract basis. They are not motivated by money even though they can command premium compensation; instead they are motivated by challenge and an opportunity to continue learning. Alex Wong was such an individual. He walked away from a role as a principal soloist (second highest position in a ballet company) with the Miami City Ballet (a Top 10 US Ballet Company) to compete in a dance competition that doesn’t feature either of his primary dance styles, ballet and tap.
Week after week he wowed the audience and viewers around the world by mastering, in a matter of five days mind you, complex routines in hip hop, jazz, broadway and contemporary. Three of his four routines were judged as some of the top performances ever to grace the So You Think You Can Dance stage.
Alex brought to the competition what only an ubër talented individual could, a combination of:
- Both natural and acquired skill;
- Unwavering dedication to be outstanding regardless of the amount of personal effort required;
- The ability to apply skill and dedication to perform.
While not always a defining characteristic of the ubër talented, Alex Wong also brought humility, self awareness and a dorky sense of humor that made his talent all that much more approachable to the non-dancing public.
When I was recruiting I knew a small handful of managers in fast growth organizations that recognized the importance of tapping the ubër talented, even if they knew they could never hire them. Once a manager explained to me that one-week with such an individual would enable his team to accomplish more in that week than they normally could in the entire month. Unfortunately the idea of tapping the ubër talented to develop and influence the performance of others isn’t a common strategy.
As an advisor, I have seen the impact of organizations hiring who and when they can hire, and I have seen the impact of organizations that accept a more fluid definition of the workforce. Hands down the latter accomplishes more every time, often with less because enormous volumes of budget are not wasted on semi-productive professionals.
If you need to light a fire under your organization, consider renting access to ubër talent; that is if you have a challenge worthy for them to focus on!
Master Burnett is the managing director of Dr. John Sullivan & Associates, an advisory services organization dedicated to emerging issue research, thought leadership, and talent management best practice evangelism. As a talent management strategy advisor, Master Burnett’s role is to partner with organizations to identify and develop innovative solutions to emerging talent issues that leverage the latest global thinking and technology. He has worked with leading organizations in more than 37 nations and is an avid proponent of taping the wisdom of crowds. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him via LinkedIn, or friend him on Facebook.
Image: Unlimited
There is a typo in the third paragraph. It should read Emmy Award winning choreographer and judge Mia Michaels described ...