Positive Links Speaker Series
The Trouble with "Talent": Why Describing Ability as "Talent" may Undermine Grit in the Workplace
Angela Duckworth and Daniel Southwick
February 08, 2021
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Free, registration required to obtain login information
Angela Duckworth
Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor, University of Pennsylvania
CEO, Character Lab
Daniel Southwick
Doctoral Student
University of Pennsylvania
About the talk
In the last twenty years, the phrase “talent management” has increased dramatically in organizations and management literature. Despite its prevalence, little research has looked at potential consequences of referring to employees and their abilities as “talent.”
Join us for a conversation with Angela Duckworth and Daniel Southwick, hosted by Kim Cameron, to learn how organizational language can impact employee grit. They will discuss their recent research showing that describing ability as a talent (as opposed to a skill) is linked to pessimistic attitudes about improvement and persistence and may lead human resource managers to invest fewer resources in employee development. In this session you will learn what leaders can say and do to unleash grit in the workplace.
About Duckworth
Angela Duckworth is the founder and CEO of Character Lab, whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help children thrive. She is also the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change For Good Initiative, and faculty co-director of Wharton People Analytics.
Previously, Angela founded a summer school for underserved children that was profiled as a Harvard Kennedy School case study and, in 2018, celebrated its 25th anniversary. She has also been a McKinsey management consultant and a public school math and science teacher. Her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance is a #1 New York Times best seller. She is also co-host, with Stephen Dubner, of the podcast No Stupid Questions.
You can receive her Tip of the Week email newsletter by signing up here.
About Southwick
Daniel Southwick is a doctoral student, studying under Dr. Angela Duckworth, in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on practice, expertise, and people’s perceptions of talent. He is particularly interested in understanding the mindsets that facilitate optimal learning.
He has a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of California at Irvine.
Host
Kim Cameron, co-founder of the Center for Positive Organizations; William Russell Kelly Professor Emeritus of Business Administration; Professor Emeritus of Higher Education
Positive Links Speaker Series Sponsors
The Center for Positive Organizations thanks Sanger Leadership Center, Tauber Institute for Global Operations, Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, Lisa and David (MBA ’87) Drews, and Diane (BA ’73) and Paul (MBA ’75) Jones for their support of the 2020-21 Positive Links Speaker Series.
Positive Links Series Promotional Partners
Additionally, we thank Ann Arbor SPARK and the Managerial and Organizational Cognition (MOC) Division of the Academy of Management for their Positive Links Speaker Series promotional partnerships.
