Career Success: Does Talent Matter More Than Hard Work?

When it comes to success, most people enjoy it after a combination of hard work and talent. But realistically, elements like luck or connections come into play. Most successful people will talk more about their hard work than their talents. Many well-known success stories often talk about how talent without work is useless. However, research suggests that placing value on hard work over talent may backfire in work situations.

This is because of naturalness bias. People generally respect talented people more than those who have to study and work to perfect their craft. It can be unfair because it’s an unconscious bias. Recruiters may be more inclined to hire a lesser-trained talent over someone who went to school for many years to perfect their skills. This could be because they have less work experience and education. Therefore, they get lower pay packages.

Conversely, further studies find that most athletes believe hard work matters more than talent. About 70% of people believe that hard work can surpass talent. Even talented people believe that effort brought them success more than their innate gifts. Many people believe that they don’t get to use their talents at work. Business leaders also value effort and hard work more than talent or intelligence.

Which is more important, talent or hard work?

In his book Outliers: The Stories of Success, Malcolm Gladwell proposes the 10,000-hour rule. To become great at something, you have to practise for at least 10,000 hours. US surgical residents accumulate at least 16,800 hours of training before becoming surgeons. Practice, hard work, and effort all coalesce to help skilled workers become successful.

Many employers say they prefer to hire someone with a strong work ethic over someone with pure talent. This suggests that hard work may be a better path to success. But then, studies have shown that humans will place greater value on talent than hard work. In an experiment conducted by Harvard University, an audience was subjected to a piece of classical music played by two different artists, but it was the same performer. The listeners were told that one performer was formally trained while the other had inherent talent. Ultimately, they were told to select which group sounded better and was destined for more success. They chose the one who was designated as talented. However, when asked what’s more important for a successful music career, they said hard work.

A similar study was conducted on entrepreneurial success. On average, participants placed greater value on business proposals and bios of an entrepreneur with innate talent over one who worked hard to be successful. Such biases can affect decision-making. You still need hard work to achieve and maintain success if you are talented.

How to finetune your success

In the workplace, being a hard worker is rewarded with more work. However, over-achievers can see this as office slackers getting away with less work for the same pay. Instead, companies should let people who are great at their jobs get more audience with senior management to let their work get more recognition and boost their chances of upward mobility.

People must also change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. People with a growth mindset consider their skills malleable and make room to change and learn. Those with a fixed mindset think their abilities can’t proceed any further. The growth mindset allows people to overcome setbacks and persevere.

Recruiters, coworkers, investors, or any people involved in securing services must be aware of the possibility of bias. Individuals have more qualities than their talent or ability to work hard. For example, hiring a music producer may need someone with leadership and delegation skills and a good ear. A more balanced approach to recruitment that looks at talent, skill, resourcefulness, and capacity to persevere produces better workers and leaders.

Individuals also need to acknowledge their talents. Although, some people may consider it bragging. You might appear more modest if you credit your success to hard work. Always give a nuanced perspective of your journey to success. This reduces the inherent biases of people who value talent over hard work. For instance, if you’re at a corporate job interview and are a talented entrepreneur, you can point out your weaknesses while showing what you’re good at without mentioning whether it’s homegrown or developed. Achievement will always be respected. Balancing your talent and hard work can tip the scale and increase your chances of success.