Why a Talent is Less Valuable Than a Strength
The industry leader in “strengths-based” psychology is Gallup with their CliftonStrengths research. Using Gallup’s framework, a person develops strengths by investing in areas of talent. People inherit talents based on the nature and nurture from their parents and environment.
Gallup defines 34 talent themes. These themes are what you may call personality talent traits rather than physical talent traits. In addition, these 34 themes are the building blocks one uses to develop strengths.
With this in mind, Gallup defines a strength as the ability to consistently provide near perfect performance in an area of talent. Given that, you can only develop a strength in a talent area by investing a considerable amount of time in that talent. This means that if one ignores a talent it will never develop into a strength. In addition, the more talent one has in a specific area, the easier it is to develop that talent into a strength. With the reverse being true as well.
In short, you can not inherit a strength, but you can inherit a talent (or lack thereof). Unquestionably, inheriting talent based on nature and nurture is very valuable. However, this talent is less valuable than a strength, as strengths are the product of investing in talents with hard work and persistence.