British Admiral Sir Sydney Smith believed that talent should be nurtured. Our culture widely admires artistic, musical, and creative talents. But talent is a wide-ranging concept. Business talents can include being good with people, being good with numbers, or being good at thinking innovatively.

As a team leader, choose members with diverse talents. Don’t stick with the obvious…there are many talents that aren’t good fits on a project but that end up becoming useful. For example, musical talent may not seem like something handy on a business team. But a classical musician’s (or rock musician’s) disciplined focus, or ability to recognize complex and harmonious patterns, might have a calming influence on others when the team begins to spin out of controls. Or, a rock musician might just be what you need to fire up the team when morale seems at a low. And any musician who plays in a group will help a team be successful because of their ability to work cooperatively for a common goal without hogging the spotlight.

Find out what talents your team members are proud of outside of the office, and use their seemingly nonrelated strengths to support the entire organization. It will help your team succeed.

How are you currently seeking out your team’s talents?