What is talent?

Abstract Leadership development, according to Ulrich and Smallwood, is not only about developing future generations of leaders. It's also about self‐development. Similarly, the concept of talent is multidimensional, and not completely understood by the C‐suite executives at the top of organizations. Ulrich and Smallwood provide a detailed and concrete examination of what talent really is, and how it can be developed through succession, customization, and modeling, along with suggestions for proper leadership investment. They have also synthesized their findings into the following formula: “Talent = competence × commitment × contribution.”