How Talent Protocol aligns career incentives
Modern workplaces offer many types of incentives but helping others is not really one of them. Quite the opposite, traditional careers often reward overcompetitive behavior that’s detrimental to others. Let’s explore how exactly they do that and how Talent Protocol fixes this.
The problems of modern workplaces
Whether by accident or by design, workplaces have often become dog-eat-dog societies. Especially in competitive industries like tech, finance, or consulting, it’s “up or out,” meaning outperforming others is prioritized over empathy. That’s not to say that workplaces should resemble Buddhist monasteries in their tranquility, and high-performers should carry laggards. But, for instance, when it comes to taking credit for a project, you’re better off doing so yourself. If modern corporate culture was a video game, it would be strictly in single-player mode, with one person’s benefit being someone else’s loss.
If that wasn’t already bad enough, we all know that too often, who you know counts more than what you know. Almost everyone that’s worked in a traditional company could come up with an anecdote of an undeserved promotion, an outsized rise in pay, or other kinds of favoritism. And it’s not only happening within firms but between them, across entire industries, and even countries. Having friends in the right places is, unfortunately, still more useful than being competent.
This creates an unfortunate mix of disincentives, and younger generations have started becoming aware of it. Precisely for that reason, crypto appeals to so many people. It truly doesn’t matter who is behind a cartoon avatar because the person’s idea matters more than their background or their network. But workplaces aren’t the metaverse, so if we don’t create the right incentives to foster the growth of talented newcomers, it’s unlikely to happen on its own.
What if there was a reward for supporting?
Money is an excellent tool to incentivize behavior. What if supporting and promoting talented people was rewarded?
That’s where Talent Tokens come in. They create the incentives to spot and support talent early. Think of them as being like a football scout. The earlier you discover a promising player, the bigger your upside. In football, being vocal about spotting talent is irrelevant or even detrimental to the player’s performance. The opposite is true for talented people, attracting more attention to them helps their token. Another difference is that you can support talent on their growth path with knowledge and a network.
In doing so, the token creates an unbreakable bond between a talent and a sponsor. That is qualitatively and quantitatively different from investing in companies. Unlike with companies, it makes sense to invest in talent even with a low amount of money. The earlier you back someone, the higher the potential rewards. But an investor might have different reasons to invest beyond financial gain. Some people simply want to give back after having a successful career, while others invest in talent for personal reasons. The beauty is that none of this is tied to a platform or a company. It’s simply an on-chain reflection of the value a relationship between two people creates.
Turning single-player careers into multiplayer journeys
Talent Protocol will turn the current single-player mode of careers into an open multiplayer journey. Talent can tokenize their careers, and sponsors have an incentive to back the people they believe in. Similar to shares in someone’s career, the more progress someone makes, the more their value appreciates. On top of that, talent can offer perks and services that are in demand and increase the attractiveness of their token. Since Talent Protocol is designed to lift everyone up, talent benefits from the success of other talent on the platform. At the same time, being part of this network can open up new opportunities that further add fuel to a talent’s career engine.
By aligning powerful incentives and adding an element of monetary reward, the undiscovered talent we all know is out there can finally be discovered.
Let’s do this. 🤝
