Lesson 5: Attitude and Talent From my experience, Talent matters, but attitude matters more. You need talent to succeed. Technical skills, analytical ability, communication skills, commercial awareness, and all the other capabilities we spend years building absolutely matter. But attitude matters too. By attitude, I mean how you approach work and people. Your willingness to learn, openness to feedback, sense of ownership, ability to stay positive under pressure, respect for others, accountability and work ethic etc. But talent alone does not guarantee success. I've seen very talented people underperform or struggle in teams because of poor attitude. On the other hand, a good attitude does not automatically guarantee success either. However, a bad attitude almost guarantees failure. Leaders want people with both talent and attitude. But if they had to choose between a moderately talented person with a great attitude and a highly talented person with a poor attitude, I know which one most leaders would rather work with. Talent is not contagious. Attitude is. One person with a poor attitude can affect an entire team. One person who constantly complains, resists feedback, creates excuses, avoids accountability, or brings negative energy can do more damage than a skill gap ever will. Skill can be taught. Experience can be gained. Attitude is much harder to fix. In fact, most times, you can get a fairly good sense of someone's attitude within the first few weeks of working with them. Over the years, I've found it useful to think about people in four categories (as shown in the pics) The best teams are not built on talent alone. They are built on people who are capable, coachable, accountable, dependable, and positive. Never underestimate the power of attitude. A lot of team can survive a talent gap. It rarely survives an attitude problem. Your talent may get you noticed. Your attitude determines how far people are willing to go with you. Be intentional about the attitude you are building and displaying at work