The “Talent Stack” is a concept developed by Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip. When he talks about his success, he notes that there are two primary reasons he was able to develop Dilbert into a publishing empire.
First, he wasn’t afraid to try things, fail, learn, and try again. He has a string of failures in his background, and these never got to him too much. This is a key requirement for coaches and anyone else who starts a business or new profession. Failure is part of the process – whether by choosing an initial niche that doesn’t work out, working with an impossible client, or getting rejected on an engagement you wanted to win. You have to have grit and the willingness to keep learning and moving forward.
Second, he developed what he calls a “Talent Stack.” Scott was not great at any one thing. However, he was able to take a few talents that he had in moderation, and combine them to achieve great success. He was an okay artist, had some leadership insights based on his engineering work in large corporations, and he had a decent sense of humor. None of these were incredible on their own, but he combined them to create an empire based on the Dilbert comic strip.
The Talent Stack concept is a big relief for those of us who don’t have one single, amazing talent or skill – in other words, almost all of us. We can still do something great, as long as we can combine a few things we do fairly well. It’s liberating!
Coaching is a fantastic profession for building your Talent Stack.
First, coaching skills build the Talent Stack within your current career. It gives you more openings to help your clients or team members get better. It forces you to think about and improve your own leadership, communication, and overall effectiveness. It also makes you skillful in the conversations that that resolve conflicts, build relationships, create new ideas, and solve big challenges.
If you are a speaker, writer, trainer, consultant, or counselor, coaching adds new ways to help your clients. Coaching might be the breakthrough addition to your Talent Stack that takes your combined practice and brand where you want it to be.
If you are thinking about a next career, coaching can be the key that allows you to take your past experiences and convert them into a business.
If you are a Human Resources leader, coaching gives you a new way to become a trusted, strategic advisor to your constituents.
Once you become a coach, all sorts of new doors open up to help you build your Talent Stack even more. You learn (if you want) how to market proprietary programs and products, do group coaching, speak, write a book, train, lead mastermind groups, build a firm, and take advantage of the many new online technologies.
It’s a really exciting concept.
The only caveat is that you have to be willing to invest in training. Executive and leadership coaching have come a long way since their infancy a couple of decades ago. You need to learn the language, tools, and processes. You also need to learn how to market yourself.
The Center for Executive Coaching specializes in helping seasoned professionals to become successful executive and leadership coaches. We stand apart from other programs with our emphasis on results, practical and proven methods and processes, and highly personalized support.
Take a look at our programs and then contact me anytime to discuss fit: andrewneitlich@centerforexecutivecoaching.com. My cell is 941-539-9623.
Join any of our upcoming in-person executive coach training and certification seminars or you can join our distance learning program anytime. If you have a group, we can fly out to you.
Take action today. Coaching might be the one missing piece of your Talent Stack that can take your career beyond where you thought it could go!
