Whenever in the corporate space we talk about “exceptional performers” we take into consideration both the skills (technical/leadership) and attitude (behaviors/potential/demeanor etc.) of individuals. An ideal candidate is one who has the right technical capabilities to grow and can demonstrate the behavioral skills required for the job.
However, more often than not there is an imperfect balance. There are times when exceptional performers could be lacking in either the skills or their attitude towards work. What do you then? Which individuals would you want to bet your money on- someone with good skills and bad attitude or someone with bad skills but good attitude? What do you give more importance to in the race of aptitude vs attitude?
Why is he the most successful captain?
M S Dhoni is India’s most successful cricket captain. He is known as Captain Cool, which means he has the right attitude. Does that mean he doesn’t have cricketing skills? Of course he does. Does it mean he has the right balance of aptitude and attitude? Think, as I move on.
What made him one of the wealthiest men?
Mark Zuckerberg could lead the social media revolution in the world because of his computer programming aptitude or due to his entrepreneurial attitude? Or he has the right mix?
What made him the Wall?
Dravid is known to be a thorough gentleman of the game. His technical prowess of the game is talked about every now and then. However, he is not talked in the same breath as Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar remains the God. And then there is Ganguly- Laxman-Dravid. What could get Sachin there but not Dravid?
Could a leader not foresee these troubles?
Subrato Roy of the iconic Sahara group is into such a financial mess. For someone who made such a big group, would you attribute his troubles to lack of aptitude or attitude?
What made KFC so big?
1009 times wad Col Sanders turned down when he tried selling his friend chicken recipe. Did he not have the right mix of attitude or aptitude on all these times? Or was it his attitude only that took him to such a growth spree later on?
These are all examples of successful/unsuccessful stories which you and I could only talk about, because our information is restricted to what we read about them. We can only guess, debate with each other and say that it’s Dhoni’s attitude that has taken him so far and not his aptitude. It’s Dravid’s strong technical understanding of the game that took him there but maybe he didn’t have the attitude to be number 1.
What does the World say about this?
We could keep picking examples, even from our very own personal life and this discussion about attitude v/s skills can go on for hours. We have all heard/seen quotes like these:
“Success is 99% attitude and 1% aptitude”
“Attitude is worth more than the aptitude”
“Your attitude, not your aptitude determines your altitude”
But are these quotes practical? Is this how we all act in our daily lives?
The Practical Side of Life
How many times have your hired someone in your team who doesn’t have the skills to do that job but has the attitude?
Do you teach your kid to have the 99% of behaviors right and leave the aptitude to just 1% of his development?
Would Dravid have reached the district level/state level/national level cricket teams if he didn’t have the basic cricketing skills in him?
So finally what wins- attitude or aptitude?
Quotes are fine and available for all of us to feel good about but aptitude come before attitude. You can’t succeed if you don’t have the aptitude for the job. However, you can’t sustain your success if you don’t have the right attitude. How long do you stay on that altitude is dependent on your attitude. And again attitude to learn more, grow more, persevere more and hence to grow your aptitude more.
Hence, for me the winner is aptitude.
If I can’t write well, I can’t be a successful writer, damn my attitude.
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